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'Tomorrowland' movie will advertise Chevy Volt, E-NVs

Before the 2016 Chevrolet Volt arrives at dealerships, it's going to come to a cineplex near you. The next-generation hybrid and the EN-V electric networked vehicle concept will play bit parts in the background of the upcoming Disney movie Tomorrowland starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson. Chevrolet will run digital and television ads around the movie's opening, which is May 22 in the US. The Bowtie and Disney tie-up is another in their years-long collaboration, going back to the revamped Test Track that opened at Epcot Center in 2012, and Chevolet is also the official vehicle of Shanghai Disney. The press release below has more on the movie and the Volt, the movie trailer is above – there's no Volt in it, but there is a late-model Buick. Chevrolet and Disney See Possibilities in 'Tomorrowland' Film to help kick off marketing efforts for next-generation Chevrolet Volt DETROIT, 2015-03-26 – At their core, Disney and Chevrolet are entities of optimism, believing that with a little ingenuity, anything is possible. They will come together in the new Disney film "Tomorrowland" to imagine the possibilities. The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt and EN-V concepts appear in the backdrops of the present day and Tomorrowland. The film's U.S. debut is May 22. In Disney's riveting mystery adventure "Tomorrowland," a jaded scientist and an optimistic teen embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space. "Tomorrowland is a place where nothing is impossible, which is something that Chevrolet believes can exist in the here and now," said Tim Mahoney, vice president, Global Chevrolet. "The Chevrolet spirit reflects the hopes and possibilities of tomorrow in real instruments of change for today like the next-generation Chevrolet Volt." The first marketing efforts for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt will be tied to Tomorrowland. A television spot and digital advertising will debut in early May. The all-new Volt is an electric car with extended range, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. The Volt's new, efficient propulsion system will offer an estimated total driving range of more than 400 miles. With regular charging, owners can expect to average more than 1,000 miles between gas fill-ups. Chevrolet and Disney have a long history of collaboration around the globe.

Here are a few of our automotive guilty pleasures

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. The world is full of cars, and just about as many of them are bad as are good. It's pretty easy to pick which fall into each category after giving them a thorough walkaround and, more important, driving them. But every once in a while, an automobile straddles the line somehow between good and bad — it may be hideously overpriced and therefore a marketplace failure, it may be stupid quick in a straight line but handles like a drunken noodle, or it may have an interior that looks like it was made of a mess of injection-molded Legos. Heck, maybe all three. Yet there's something special about some bad cars that actually makes them likable. The idea for this list came to me while I was browsing classified ads for cars within a few hundred miles of my house. I ran across a few oddballs and shared them with the rest of the team in our online chat room. It turns out several of us have a few automotive guilty pleasures that we're willing to admit to. We'll call a few of 'em out here. Feel free to share some of your own in the comments below. Dodge Neon SRT4 and Caliber SRT4: The Neon was a passably good and plucky little city car when it debuted for the 1995 model year. The Caliber, which replaced the aging Neon and sought to replace its friendly marketing campaign with something more sinister, was panned from the very outset for its cheap interior furnishings, but at least offered some decent utility with its hatchback shape. What the two little front-wheel-drive Dodge models have in common are their rip-roarin' SRT variants, each powered by turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines. Known for their propensity to light up their front tires under hard acceleration, the duo were legitimately quick and fun to drive with a fantastic turbo whoosh that called to mind the early days of turbo technology. — Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski  Chevrolet HHR SS: Chevy's HHR SS came out early in my automotive journalism career, and I have fond memories of the press launch (and having dinner with Bob Lutz) that included plenty of tire-smoking hard launches and demonstrations of the manual transmission's no-lift shift feature. The 260-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder was and still is a spunky little engine that makes the retro-inspired HHR a fun little hot rod that works quite well as a fun little daily driver.

Weekly Recap: Chevy and Alfa plot comeback strategies

Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo were two of the 20th Century's most iconic automotive brands. Chevy embodied America's post-war power and confidence. Alfa was the definition of the stylish Italian sports car. They reached halcyon heights in the 1950s and '60s, before declining precipitously amid new competition, changing consumer tastes, and uneven corporate management. Both say 2015 is the start of something better, and this week Chevy and Alfa laid out ambitious plans and showcased new cars that they hope will make them more relevant this year, and in the coming years. Each brand sits at its own crossroads, and their paths forward are as different as the Chevy Cruze and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Chevy is still a sales beast, as evidenced by its volume of 4.8 million vehicles sold around the world last year. Chevy executives are fond of saying one of their cars is sold every seven seconds, which illustrates the strength and reach of a car brand that is the fourth largest in the world. "Make no mistake about it, we are a brand for the people," said General Motors North America president Alan Batey. But he wants consumers to want to buy a Chevy for its design and technology, not simply because it's affordable. That starts with all Chevys now featuring a distinctive a family look, with sporty cues from the Corvette or strong lines that riff on the Silverado pickup. "We want people to fall in lust with our cars," said Mike Pevovar, executive design director for Chevy passenger cars. "That initial emotional attraction has to be right on the exterior, and that's where form comes into play." Chevy is also loading up its cars, like the freshly unveiled 2016 Chevy Cruze, with technology to appeal to a younger crowd that prizes connectivity. The Cruze will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with its MyLink infotainment system, and OnStar with 4G LTE and wifi. Seeking out younger buyers is also sound business practice: Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers as the largest single age group in the United States. Younger buyers also can improve a brand's image, which is another area where Chevy would like to improve. Chevy ranks 82nd on Interbrand's Best Global Brand's list, behind 11 other automakers. Apple is No. 1. "We need our own variation of the Genius Bar," Batey said. 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia View 3 Photos Meanwhile, Alfa is in different shape.