1968 Chevrolet C-10 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 2003 Chevrolet Tracker

When General Motors created the Geo brand to sell vehicles designed and — in some cases — built by Japanese partners, the first four models were introduced for the 1989 model year: the Metro (Suzuki Cultus), Prizm (Toyota Sprinter), Spectrum (Isuzu Gemini) and Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick). Geo got the axe in 1997, with the Metro, Prizm and Tracker becoming Chevrolets. Of those, the Tracker survived the longest, with U.S.-market sales continuing into 2004. Here's an example of a very late Tracker, found in a North Carolina car graveyard recently. The 1989-1997 first-generation Trackers were based on the Suzuki Sidekick, while the 1998-2004 Trackers had the Suzuki Vitaras (not to be confused with the much grander Grand Vitaras) as their siblings. Production of these trucks for the South American market (as the Chevrolet Vitara) continued in Ecuador all the way through 2014. The Tracker name has also gone onto some versions of the Chevrolet Trax around the world. This one is a base four-door hard top/rear-wheel-drive model, which had an MSRP of $17,330. That's about $29,789 in 2024 dollars. You'll find one in every car. You'll see. The engine is a Suzuki 2.0-liter straight-four rated at 127 horsepower and 134 pound-feet. A five-speed manual was base equipment, but very few American vehicle shoppers wanted three pedals by the middle 2000s. This truck has the Aisin four-speed automatic. We like it loud. It appears that someone associated with this truck graduated from Julius L. Chambers High School last year. In the United States, the Tracker was replaced by the Saturn Vue. If Tracker can handle (unspecified Middle Eastern country), it can survive the jungle back home. Siempre contigo.

2016 Chevy Volt will start at $33,995*

One of the biggest mysteries regarding the 2016 Chevy Volt has been revealed. Chevy announced today that the next-gen plug-in hybrid will have an MSRP of $33,995, which includes GM's $825 destination fee. That's a few hundred dollars less than the current Volt, which has an MSRP of $34,170. The second-gen Volt is about more than a price cut, though. The car has an increased all-electric range (50 miles vs. 38 in the current model) and better fuel economy. Once the battery power runs out – which it doesn't do, in most situations, since 90 percent of all trips are electric-only – the no-longer-premium-only gas engine offers 41 miles per gallon, up from 37 mpg. We know most buyers are price-conscious, and with the still-available federal tax incentive of up to $7,500, the new Volt can be had for $26,495. That should put a spring back into sluggish Volt sales, which are down 46 percent year-over-year so far in 2015. Through the end of April, GM has sold a cumulative 76,136 first-gen Volts since introducing the car in 2010. Chevrolet Announces 2016 Volt Pricing Next Gen delivers more technology at new price as low as $26,495 DETROIT – The Chevrolet Volt is poised to continue to bring new owners to the electric plug-in family. Pricing will be as low as $26,495 after the full federal tax credit of $7,500. (Federal tax credit can range from $0 up to $7,500.) In California, the vehicle's largest market, residents of the state will be able to purchase the all-new Volt for as low as $24,995 after state and Federal incentives. The 2016 model will start at $33,995 MSRP, including an $825 destination fee (excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees). This is almost $1,200 less than the current generation Volt. "The next generation Chevrolet Volt delivers more technology, the ability to drive further between gas fill ups and now with even more value to our customers. It's what our loyal Volt owners told us they wanted," said Steve Majoros, Director, Chevrolet Marketing. "We are confident we will continue to attract new customers to Volt with the vehicle's product improvements and attractive price." The Volt continues to be a success with the brand with nearly 70 percent of Volt owners trading in a non-GM product or adding to their household fleet in 2014, the highest of any Chevy nameplate. The number one trade-in for the Volt is the Toyota Prius. To date more than 75,000 first generation Volt owners have driven hundreds of millions of EV miles.

GM program sees dealers taking on way more loaner cars

Given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. Bring your car into the dealership for service, and you may need a loaner car in exchange. And with so many recalls being carried out, that means a lot of loaners – especially at General Motors dealerships. That could be one of the reasons why GM is massively expanding its loaner fleet program. While many Chevrolet and Buick-GMC dealerships have an on-site rental car location operated by a third party like Enterprise (which may or may not provide a GM vehicle), others manage their own loaner fleets. But while the range of dealerships operating such fleets was once small, reports Automotive News, the number has been growing rapidly: from the locations responsible for only 20 percent of those brands' sales two years ago to about 90 percent today. The impetus for that growth comes down to a massive expansion of GM's Courtesy Transportation Program. The initiative encourages dealers to ramp up their loaner fleet to a maximum size determined by GM, with a mix determined by the dealer itself, so that a showroom in Texas can be bolstered with a fleet of pickup trucks and a dealer in California can employ more Volt and Camaro Convertible loaners. The dealership gets a $500 credit for each vehicle its puts in its fleet, and can use those vehicles as loaners for service customers, as multi-day test drivers or to rent out separately. The vehicles remain in the dealer's fleet for 90 days or 7,500 miles, then they can be sold as used, but with new-car incentives. The dealer gets a fleet of loaners, customers get to use the loaners, try out a new car overnight or buy a barely used car with attractive incentives, and GM gets to clock more sales. But therein lies the kicker: the automaker counts the dispatch of the loaner new vehicle to the dealership as a new-car sale, which could end up distorting its sales figures. Counting loaner vehicles as sold vehicles is something of an industry-standard practice, but given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. One dealership - Paddock Chevrolet in Kenmore, NY, for example - had no loaner fleet two years ago, but now runs a fleet of 50 vehicles. Multiply that by the 4,000 or so dealers GM has across America and you're talking about the potential for hundreds of thousands of these sorts of sales.