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Corvette racer Gavin confirms Grand Sport debut in Geneva

Need further proof that Chevrolet is trying to turn the Corvette into a truly globe-spanning sports car? Then check out this Instagram post from Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin that shows a new Grand Sport model will debut not at Detroit, or Los Angeles, or even New York, but at Geneva. In Switzerland. That's in Europe, land of Bugatti, Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Gavin hasn't deleted the image as of this writing, but is probably getting an earful from his Chevrolet handlers at this moment. His post shows a number of press materials, including a schedule for Chevrolet's press conference, slated for late tomorrow morning (Geneva time, of course). Gavin will be handling the introduction at the Palexpo, and he'll be joined by Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter, who according to the materials will be driving the new Grand Sport on stage. It's a bold move on the part of Chevrolet, showing its homespun Kentucky-built Corvette alongside debuts like the Bugatti Chiron and Aston Martin DB11. But while we now know that the Grand Sport is coming tomorrow, our next question moves on to how it will look and perform. Will Chevy revive the classic Grand Sport color scheme – a single wide, white stripe on an Admiral Blue body with two red accents on the driver's front fender – or follow the example set by the C6, which went for a subtler look with classic Cunningham-like stripes? Will there be any performance advantages over the standard model? Perhaps less weight and a smidge more power? Chevy's Geneva presser kicks off at 10:45 a.m. or 4:45 a.m. here on America's east coast. We'll be on hand both in Geneva and here at home to cover all the excitement, so check back then. And bring coffee. Related Video:

Detroit Three's lucrative pickup war intensifies as Ram makes big gains

DETROIT — The battle for profits from sales of large pickup trucks is intensifying among the Detroit Three automakers as sales of small cars in the United States shrivel. For decades Ford has had the single best-selling truck brand in its F-Series trucks. General Motors' Chevrolet brand was a solid No. 2, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram was a distant third. Now, that hierarchy may be in flux. Sales figures for December and the fourth quarter released on Thursday show Ram tied with GM's Chevy for the No. 2 spot, as sales of the redesigned Ram pickup surged, fueled in part by demand for an optional 12-inch (30.48 cm) dashboard screen. Chevy not long ago held second place to Ford by a wide margin. GM executives said on Thursday they are bullish on their new GMC and Chevy trucks for 2019.Related: How the Detroit Three's pickups compare on paper 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie review 2019 Chevy Silverado 2.7L four-cylinder review 2019 Ford F-150 2.7L EcoBoost review "There's no doubt this segment (pickup trucks) is one of the epicenters of the auto wars," said Sandor Piszar, director of marketing for Chevrolet at GM. "It's been that way forever, and we wouldn't have it any other way." On Wall Street, investors give electric car leader Tesla a higher valuation than any of the Detroit automakers. But in the nation's heartland, big pickups remain far more popular and profitable than any electric car — and most other consumer vehicles of any kind. Large pickups generate at least $17,000 a vehicle in pretax profit for GM, the company has indicated in disclosures to investors. By contrast, many Detroit Three sedans are so unprofitable, their manufacturers have decided not to build them anymore. 'Hotly contested' Sustaining sales and pricing in the large-pickup segment will be critical in a year when most forecasters expect overall U.S. car and light truck sales to fall. Ford's U.S. sales chief, Mark LaNeve, on Thursday called the F Series "the backbone of our franchise" during a conference call, and added the "segment will continue to be strong, but hotly contested" in 2019. Automakers are banking on pickup truck sales to stay strong even if U.S. interest rates continue to rise. Rising interest rates translate into higher monthly car payments and are expected to deter some buyers in 2019. GM has said 27 percent of Chevrolet and GMC trucks — which can haul trailers by day and substitute for a luxury sedan by night — sell for more than $55,000.

GM delaying additional Silverado EV and Sierra EV production to Q4 2025

This looks like more "Gotcha!" news about storms in the EV sector, but the word "additional" is key here. The Detroit News reported today that GM is pushing delaying production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups at the Orion Assembly Plant to late 2025, about a year behind expectations. The Silverado EV Work Truck is already in production at GM's Factory Zero in Detroit, which won't change. Retail versions of the Silverado EV are still planned for production at Factory Zero before the end of this year, and the Sierra EV is expected to enter production at Factory Zero early next year. This new plan simply means GM won't add more production of those electric trucks at Orion.  GM builds the Chevrolet Bolt at Orion right now, assembly of that groundbreaking car to end this year. GM's original idea was to spend $4 billion to convert Orion to EV pickup production in time to get its two giant profit makers rolling down lines in early 2025. The move to late 2025 could mean the plant is out of commission for about two years. The facility's 1,261 employees are being offered spots in other plants, including Factory Zero.  The automaker gave several reasons for the move, a spokesperson telling The Detroit News the company wants "to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand," and telling the Detroit Free Press, "We're looking at EV demand and the trendline for EVs is stabilizing. ... It is not rising as fast as originally forecasted." On top of that, engineers "have identified engineering improvements that we will implement to increase the profitability of our products." The spokesperson also made it clear that the delay has nothing to do with the UAW strike, now in its 32nd day.  Factory Zero's working up to a near-term production capacity of about 600,000 units annually, GM saying it wanted to get capacity to 1 million EVs annually by the end of 2025. At the moment, the site builds the Silverado EV Work Truck, the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV, and the Cruise Origin shuttles — not the Bolt taxis, the autonomous pods. The Detroit News reported GM sold 18 Silverado EV Work Trucks in Q3 this year, GM Authority says GMC Hummer EV production has ramped up to about 3,000 units per month, and Cruise Origin is still waiting on approval from the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration to mass-produce the autonomous shuttles because the shuttles need an exemption for not having steering wheels.