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C7 Corvette makes inaugural ad appearance in Chevy's first spot with new slogan

Chevrolet's "Runs Deep" tagline has finally been run into the ground, replaced with the Bowtie brand's "Find New Roads" slogan that's part of parent General Motors' plan to unify its everyday brand's marketing efforts worldwide. The new Chevrolet campaign was ushered in on prime time last night during the Grammy Awards on CBS, and the first spot, a 90-second full-line ad, also marks the first appearance of the 2014 Corvette Stingray in a commercial.
Being a full-line ad, the commercial is composed of vignettes centered on different vehicles in the brand's lineup. The all-new 2014 Impala also makes its first commercial appearance in dapper fashion, and time is spent on a skateboarding Sonic and a bouquet of brightly colored Spark hatchbacks driven by fashionable women. The ad starts and ends with Chevy's green halo car, the Volt, along with a young girl with her robotic dog (yes, really).
Chevrolet's "Runs Deep" campaign got off to a rocky start in the fall of 2010, but it did last for a couple of years with some tweaks. This new one, "Find New Roads" seems more intent on drawing new customers into the fold than the outgoing tagline, which seemed to play more toward the brand faithful. It admittedly reminds us more than a little the short-lived "Find Your Own Road" Saab motto (which, we note, was conceived while the Swedish brand was under GM's control), but no matter, we still think it's got more long-term potential than "Runs Deep."

GM won't pay owners of recalled cars for lost value

Kenneth Feinberg, the man in charge of the General Motors compensation fund dealing with the its widespread ignition switch woes, has issued an informal, two-letter response to the plaintiffs in more than 70 lawsuits seeking redress for lost resale value of their Cobalts: "No." The cases were recently combined into one, but Feinberg told The Detroit News that the fund will deal "only with death and physical injury claims," and that "perceived diminished value" will get no consideration.
ALG, the firm specializing in establishing residual values, determined that Cobalt owners had lost $300 compared to the segment competition and doesn't envision any long-term effects from the recall situation. Feinberg's statement comes in advance of public details on how the compensation fund will work and adheres to GM's long-held position on the matter. The company has already asked a judge to throw out such suits using the pre-bankruptcy defense, even as it stopped using that defense in cases of injury and death.
With plenty of potential gain from the GM suit, however, don't expect the plaintiffs to give up yet. When Toyota was sued for the same reason during the unintended acceleration debacle, it eventually settled the case for between $1 billion and $1.4 billion just to get it over with. Since the 85 law firms involved in the Toyota litigation took home more than $250 million of that total, we shouldn't expect the attorneys to give up on a GM payout, either.

2014 Chevrolet Cruze TD fires up its new diesel motor

Ever since General Motors confirmed plans to produce a diesel-powered Cruze back in 2011, we've been eagerly awaiting its arrival. And as part of the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, Chevrolet has pulled back the cover on its oil-burning compact sedan, set to go on sale in the near future with a starting price of $25,695, not including $810 for destination.
The heart and soul of the Cruze TD (that's its official name) is a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel inline four-cylinder engine rated at 148 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, mated solely to a six-speed automatic transmission. The engine also has an overboost function that will increase torque to 280 lb-ft for up to ten seconds. The full brace of official specs haven't been released, but GM tells us that highway fuel economy will come in at 42 miles per gallon. If that number sounds familiar, it's because the Volkswagen Jetta TDI has the exact same rating. Unlike the Jetta, however, the Cruze TD can run on B20 biodiesel, where as the Volkswagen can only accept B5.
Model-specific changes to this 2014 Cruze TD include an aero kit and unique 17-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there's a full leather interior, and Chevrolet will provide two years of complimentary scheduled maintenance, not to mention a 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.