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2015 Chevy Colorado to start at $20,100*, GMC Canyon at $20,995**

General Motors has just announced pricing for its new midsize pickup trucks, the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Chevy's truck starts at $20,100, *not including $895 for destination, and the GMC starts at $20,995, **not including $925 for destination. These prices are for the base, extended cab models with the 200-horsepower, 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine.
Comparatively, these prices fit nicely with the $18,125 starting MSRP of the Toyota Tacoma and the $21,510 of the Nissan Frontier. Compared to the Colorado, the Canyon's extra $895 gets you niceties like LED running lamps, 16-inch alloy wheels, and a four-way power driver's seat.
Both trucks come standard with the 2.5-liter engine, and a more powerful, 305-hp 3.6-liter V6 will also be available. Pricing has not been announced for the upcoming diesel model, which is expected to launch for the 2016 model year.

GMC Syclone pickup returns via Special Vehicle Engineering

The original GMC Syclone was a 1991 mid-size Sonoma pickup turned muscle truck. Its heavily modified 4.3-liter V6 sported a turbocharger, intercooler, and modified internals, raising output to a Corvette-baiting 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. The engine was paired with a four-speed automatic, rear-biased all-wheel drive, and four-wheel antilock brakes (the coming thing). With an all-black livery and a lowered ride height, the Syclone looked the business, and backed up those looks with a 0-to-60 time of 4.3 seconds and a 13.4-second quarter-mile, according to contemporary magazine testing. Given all the recent interest in high-performance pickups, it's amazing that GMC hasn't revived the Syclone. But where manufacturers leave an opening, the aftermarket steps in — in this case that's Specialty Vehicle Engineering, which as CNET reports is resurrecting the nameplate for a build of 100 new Syclones, based on the GMC Canyon, which will update the idea a lot more horsepower. The 2019 Syclone takes as its starting point the extended-cab version of the Canyon. The engine is again a V6, this time a 3.6-liter fitted with a supercharger and a custom cat-back exhaust system, upping output to 455 ponies from the stock 306. SVE's Syclone can be had with rear- or all-wheel drive, and it, too, features upgrades to the brakes and chassis. Six-piston front calipers are fitted in place of the standard four-piston units, and the slotted front rotors are upsized from 12.2 inches to 13.6. The suspension is lowered by two inches up front and five inches at the rear, with stiffer traction bars, bushings, dampers, and a heftier rear anti-roll bar. Unlike the original, the modern Syclone can be had in colors other than black — any of the standard Canyon hues are available — but the appearance is customized with rocker-panel extensions, body-color grille and rear bumper, and a composite hood insert. The interior gets embroidered logos and badges, including a numbered plaque on the dash. The price for the Syclone is $39,995 — that's for the package, on top of the cost of the truck. But at least ordering is easy: The Syclone package can be ordered through select GMC dealers.

Recharge Wrap-up: BYD unveils 60-ft electric bus, Honda sticking with hybrids in Europe

BYD has debuted a 60-foot electric bus at the American Public Transportation Association Expo in Houston, TX. The Lancaster bus, as it is called, has a 120-passenger capacity and can drive over 170 miles on a single charge. The articulated bus features low floors and no steps, thanks to in-wheel hub motors. BYD also displayed a 40-foot electric bus that drove the 1,500 miles to the show under its own power (recharging along the way, of course). Read more in the press release below. Honda says it will continue to sell hybrids in Europe, despite the fact that it has stopped selling the CR-Z and Insight due to slow sales. "Our focus at the moment is on our 1.6-liter diesel but we haven't forgotten about hybrid technology," says Honda Europe's Philip Ross. Honda will sell the next-generation Fit (badged as the Jazz) in Europe when it launches next summer, and will sell the next-gen hybrid version beginning in 2016. Honda sold 4,500 of the Jazz hybrid in Europe last year. Read more at Automotive News. XL Hybrids is selling its XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System in California. The news comes after the California Air Resources Board issued an executive order allowing the aftermarket hybrid conversion for 2012-2014 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans. The XL3 Hybrid regenerative braking conversion increases real-world mpg by about 25 percent. Read more in the press release below. NRG eVgo has finished installing 60 charging stations at the Sony Pictures Entertainment studio lot and offices in Culver City, California. The Level 2 chargers, which will be managed by NRG eVgo, allow employees to charge their EVs during the workday. An average of 90 EVs and PHEVs park at the studio headquarters every day, thanks in part to Sony Pictures' Alternative Vehicles Incentive program for its employees. Learn more in the press release below. Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission will allow operators of EV charging stations to set prices based on kilowatt hour usage. This change ensures that drivers pay for the actual energy they use, rather than the time they spend charging, since different cars can charge at different speeds. Car Charging Group has already begun using the per-kWh fee structure at its charging stations throughout the state. Other states that allow kWh pricing are California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. Read more in the press release below.