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Vert-A-Pac train cars kept your Chevy Vega's price in check

Our apologies to those who've seen this before, but for the rest of the class, how awesome are these pictures of the Vert-A-Pac shipping system General Motors came up with to ship the Chevrolet Vega back in the 1970s? Developed along with Southern Pacific Railroad, GM was able to double the amount of Vega models it could ship by packing them into the unique storage cars vertically.
At the time, rail cars could fit 15 vehicles each, but Chevrolet was able to lower shipping costs by making it possible to ship 30 Vegas per rail car, in turn allowing the price of the Vega to remain as low as possible. Each rail car had 30 doors that would fold down so that a Vega could be strapped on, and then a forklift would come along and lift the door into place. All the cars were positioned nose down, and since they were shipped with all of their required fluids, certain aspects had to be designed specifically for this type of shipping, including an oil baffle in the engine, a special battery and even a repositioned windshield washer reservoir. See for yourself in our image gallery above.

Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra could get independent rear suspension

The Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra could reportedly receive a variant of the four-link independent rear suspension found under the new Tahoe and Suburban. While that's not a surprise, a recent report suggests electrification, not comfort, convinced General Motors to make the change. Replacing the time-tested solid rear axle with an independent suspension will improve comfort, handling and off-road prowess, while adding weight, and likely making the trucks a little bit more expensive. It's a fair trade-off, but GM Authority learned the real reason for the swap is that at least one of the pickups will spawn an electric model, and it's more difficult to package a bulky battery pack around a solid rear axle. The independent rear suspension takes up far less space, even if it has more moving parts. General Motors will build its first regular-production electric pickup on an evolution of the Silverado's T1 platform named BT1, according to the same source. The b stands for -- you guessed it -- batteries. The firm reportedly doesn't want to make two suspensions for cost reasons, so the independent setup will come standard regardless of whether the truck runs on gasoline, diesel, or electricity. As a bonus, Chevrolet and GMC could choose to offer their T1-based trucks with Magnetic Ride Control or an air suspension, options available on the 2021 Suburban and Tahoe. The independent rear suspension will also find its way to the next-generation GMC Yukon due to be revealed January 14, and to the 2021 Cadillac Escalade scheduled to make its debut February 4. The long-rumored, born-again Hummer will get it, too, because it will arrive as an electric model built on the BT1 platform. It's worth noting none of this is official, and General Motors has remained quiet about what's next for its new suspension design, and what will be under its electric truck's sheet metal. If the GM Authority report is accurate, the Silverado (pictured) and the Sierra could ditch their solid rear axle for the 2021 model year. The change will likely be accompanied by other tweaks inside and out. Featured Gallery 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 View 16 Photos Chevrolet GMC Truck

Chevrolet planning new crossover between Equinox and Traverse

Chevrolet is taking a crowbar to its crossover lineup so it can slide in a new entry between the Equinox (shown) and the Traverse, according to a report in Automotive News. The current Equinox, a tweener compared to its rivals, will get smaller when the next-generation vehicle moves to the Delta platform that underpins the Chevrolet Cruze. The next Traverse will remain full-size, the liberated space between it and the smaller Equinox making room for a fourth offering from the brand. Designed on a short-wheelbase version of the Traverse platform, AN's sources say it will offer three-row seating, and its architecture will also serve the Cadillac SRX successor, the XT5, and the redesigned GMC Acadia. Yes, the Acadia will also come down a notch in size. Once all the rationalizing is complete, the Trax, Equinox, new crossover, and Traverse would give consumers a quicker, easier way to compare size and features with the competition. As it stands, the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, Honda Pilot, and Toyota Highlander are all larger than the Equinox. The future offering and its two- and three-row seating options would take clear aim at those four vehicles, and the Equinox could focus on the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Jeep Cherokee segment. The new Chevy is predicted to go on sale at the end of next year as a 2018 model. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2015 Chevrolet Equinox View 14 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Chevrolet Crossover cadillac srx gmc acadia chevy traverse cadillac xt5