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Fernando Alonso sputters in his Indy test

INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves and Fernando Alonso kept waiting around Wednesday. Now both international stars have some unfinished business to take care before qualifying for this year's Indianapolis 500. After enduring a rain delay of more than four hours then watching IndyCar regulars turn laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for two more hours, Castroneves and Alonso finally made it onto the track — but couldn't quite complete their refresher course. "Happy to be back here because this place is great," Alonso said after posting a fast lap of 218.690 mph — the slowest of the nine-driver evening session. "We were slow because the weather and some of the decisions people made on running time and things like that." He faced a bevy of problems in his first trip back to Indy since an impressive rookie performance in 2017. The rain delay forced organizers into rescheduling the one-day test, moving the rookie and refresher driver time from midday to the evening, cutting a significant amount of practice time for Alonso and the others. And when the green flag finally waved, Alonso's No. 66 car stalled in the warmup lane forcing the two-time Formula One champion from Spain to be towed back to pit lane where his crew worked feverishly to fix an electrical problem while sat in the cockpit. Eventually, he did get out and passed the first of two refresher phases. He'll have to wait until opening practice of the 500 on May 14 to pass the second. "It was frustrating for everyone because it was a brand new chassis and a brand new car, so we expected to run a lot," said Alonso, who drives for McLaren Racing. "If we could have had this at midday, you could work on your issues in the afternoon and then go out again." To put his day in perspective, Takuma Sato, the 2017 Indy winner from Japan, posted the fastest lap of the day at 226.993 mph and Colton Herta was the fastest rookie at 226.108. Castroneves, as usual, was good right from the start and posted a fast lap of 225.565. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner looked smooth and fast on his favorite track and wasted no time passing the first phase. That much should have been expected from the popular Brazilian, who has recorded seven top-three finishes in 18 Indy starts and will make his season debut May 11 in the IndyCar Grand Prix. The weather and yellow flags prevented four of the five veterans — Castroneves, Alonso, Oriol Servia and JR Hildebrand — from passing phase two. Only Indy native Conor Daly made it.

New Chevrolet Silverado to be revealed on Facebook on Thursday

There's not much to see here, but if you're one of those waiting for the reveal of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, above is the teaser image that Chevrolet posted on its Facebook page. We've seen the truck in form-fitting camo before, and even less can be made out here beyond those seriously punchy Silverado-esque fenders and the knowledge that the projector-beam headlamps teased previously do indeed work. We'll have to wait until Thursday for a full perusal of the "bold exterior design" and "careful attention given to every detail" we've been promised.
Gathering intel and rumors, magnesium and aluminum contribute to the Silverado's weight loss plan, the purported "High Country" top-tier trim will contribute to luxury pickup truck competition and profit margins and the next-generation small-block V8 will contribute to improved fuel economy. On the engine note, there have been rumors of available V6 engines, and when Facebook user John Jones asked "Where's your answer to that EcoBoost Chevy?", the Bowtie replied "stay tuned on the 13th. We think you'll be pleased...".
Along with the "Raise the Bar" tag, Chevrolet says of the Silverado, "You asked, we delivered." You can watch the reveal live on Chevrolet's Facebook page at 9:30 am EST, this Thursday, December 13. The GMC Sierra 1500 will also be there, and we'll see both in person at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE Corvette EV designed for the 'Ring

The Genovation GXE all-electric Corvette has broken cover. At the Battery Show 2015 in Novi, MI, this week, the converted C6 Z06 Corvette that we first heard about back in August was tucked into a booth along the back wall. Don't let the demure location fool you. This is a muscle-y electric vehicle, ready to roar into the limited-run, expensive EV game. The Genovation GXE Corvette can go from 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds and has a top speed of 200 mph. The powertrain was designed and built in the US, and offers over 700 horsepower and over 600 pound-feet or torque. With a near 50/50 weight distribution, this is "a real driver's car," Genovation CEO Andrew Saul told AutoblogGreen. Saul said that the GXE was designed to do two hard laps at Nurburgring thanks to a 44-kWh battery pack uses the same sort of cylindrical 18650 cells that you can find in a Tesla. That translates to about 40-50 miles of fast, on-road driving, Saul said, or 150 miles on the New York City test cycle. That particular test, "simulates low speed urban driving with frequent stops," according to DieselNet. The car also has a 6-kW charger and a six-speed manual transmission and the adjustable regenerative braking levels can be controlled by paddles on the steering wheel. Of course, none of those performance figures have been proven yet because the GXE hasn't had a chance to hit the road. Saul said that it will take another three-to-four weeks to finish the build and then, finally, there will be a few weeks of road testing. This will include a quarter-mile run on a track as well as a trip to Nevada to do a several-mile top speed test. If all of that sounds like something you're interested in, then get ready to open your wallet wide and wait. Saul said that buying one will set you back $330,000 (just $290,000 if you bring your own C6 Z06). Genovation also won't be making all that many. Saul said he expects to put the GXE into limited production of under 200 units, starting off at maybe five or 10 a year. Featured Gallery Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE All-Electric Corvette View 14 Photos Green Chevrolet AutoblogGreen Exclusive Electric exclusive corvette genovation