1969 Chevrolet C10 Pickup on 2040-cars

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Now's the time to buy a cheap first-gen Chevy Volt

Would you fork over 18 grand and change for a new Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in vehicle? If so, there are some for the taking. Since the updated Volt is about ready to hit dealerships, current models have become a lot easier to afford. For some reason, it appears the best deals are in Iowa, recalling some sort of Field of Dreams-style whispering voice luring car shoppers to their first plug-in vehicle, according to EV Obsession. To wit, a couple of 2014 Volts with a sticker price in the $35,000 range are being offered for less than $26,000 in that Midwestern state. Factor in the $7,500 tax credit from the federal government, and the Volt can be had for less than the sticker price of a Toyota Prius C compact hybrid. Chevy started priming that particular pump earlier this year, though didn't appear to have a ton of success. This past spring, Chevrolet was offering some impressive lease deals on the Volt, with monthly payments dropping to less than $250. There's a reason buyers will want to wait for the second-generation Volt. The 2016 version will have a 53-mile all-electric range, up from the 38-mile range in the current version, along with 106 MPGe. Some will say that the style is improved as well, and the first-gen's touch-sensitive control panel was discarded for more buttons. Still, if you're more concerned about price than having the newest car on the lot, now's a good time to shop. And speaking of the current version, sales remain down substantially. Last month, Chevy moved 1,380 Volts, a 45-percent plunge from a year earlier. Through August, Volt sales were down 37 percent this year compared to 2014 numbers, to 8,315 units.

2014 Chevrolet Malibu gets more torque, more room and inspiration from the Impala

The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu, having stared at the Impala across the showroom floor for a year, gets nips and tucks all over inspired by its larger brother. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder in the base car will get a stop-start system and 23 city miles per gallon, 35 highway, each number representing a one-mpg improvement over the 2013 car. Output is 196 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque.
Opt for the 2.0-liter turbo and, while power holds steady at 259 hp, torque goes up by 14 percent to a striking 295 lb-ft (a figure Chevy calls best in the class). The final details include newly programmed transmission shift points and faster shifts, for better engaging and enjoying the added power.
Looks-wise, the grille's been reshaped to be more in line with the new Chevrolet look, a narrower upper grille hovering over a larger lower grille.

Chevrolet To Oversee Restoring Sinkhole Corvettes

What Mother Earth devoured, Chevrolet plans to resurrect. The carmaker said Thursday it will oversee restoration of the classic cars swallowed by a huge sinkhole beneath the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. General Motors Design in Warren, Mich., will manage the painstaking work to repair the eight prize vehicles, the automaker said Thursday. The cars were consumed when the earth opened up early Wednesday beneath a display area when the museum in Bowling Green, Ky., was closed. No injuries were reported. The museum was open Thursday except for the area where the sinkhole occurred. Mark Reuss, GM's head of global product development, said the damaged vehicles rank as "some of the most significant in automotive history." "There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built," he said, referring to one of the damaged cars. "We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them." Just how the cars will be pulled out of the ground remains to be seen, said museum executive director Wendell Strode. The local fire department estimated the hole is about 40 feet across and 25 to 30 feet deep. The hole opened beneath part of the museum's domed section. "We feel pretty confident that most of the cars can be extracted," Strode said Thursday. "And we hope and believe that with just a little bit of luck, that all eight cars can be extracted and be part of the restoration." Chevrolet spokesman Monte Doran said some of the cars look to be in good shape, while others are buried in rubble. "It will likely be several weeks until we can get the cars out and assessed," he said. The GM Design team has helped restore other historic cars, but the Corvette project looks to be its biggest, he said. "These Corvettes are part of our history, and they want them restored properly," Strode said. "We're thrilled they're doing this." The cars looked like toys as they plunged into the hole, piled in a heap amid dirt and concrete fragments. The museum owns six of the cars while two - a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil - are on loan from General Motors. The other cars damaged were a 1962 black Corvette, a 1984 PPG Pace Car, a 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette, a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, a 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette and a 2009 white 1.5 Millionth Corvette. Pictures of the sinkhole showed a collapsed section of floor with multiple cars visible inside the hole.