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Chevy 'committed to marketing Bolt the right way'

The 2015 edition of the annual AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, CA in September was a relatively quiet affair. Attendance felt light compared to previous years. But that didn't mean there wasn't something happening that might have just as big an impact on the plug-in scene as anything that's ever happened in previous years at the Santa Monica Convention Center. I say this because of what GM's Shad Balch told me about Chevy's plans to market the upcoming Bolt electric car. This is GM's next-gen electric vehicle, which will have a roughly 200-mile range and may cost about $30,000 after tax incentives (maybe). To say he's excited to start selling this car is an understatement. Set aside the obvious challenge Chevy will have with cars named both the Volt and the Bolt, especially when some languages exchange the pronunciation of the letters B and V. Set aside the fact that, for now, Balch is dealing with his own company actively advertising against the product he's trying to get people excited about. Balch, GM's manager of new product and public policy communications, is tremendously positive about the Bolt's chances in the marketplace when it arrives in 2017 or 2018. "Driving an EV is, in every proof point, better than a gas-powered car, except for charging." - Shad Balch AltCar and the concurrent National Drive Electric Week represented the Bolt's West Coast debut, and Balch told me that the car's arrival in California shows how "Detroit recognized that they need to send it out to their number one market." The car's appearance outside of the Motor City was "The most encouraging part for us out here, being in the market ... to be able to explain that we are committed to marketing this car the right way. ... We're trying to make that known as much as possible, because that is the number one criticism that we hear. That's why events like these are so important, because we can't wrap up into a 30-second spot what these cars are capable of. I can't even explain it to you in 10 minutes what it's like. But the thing is, driving an EV is, in every proof point, better than a gas-powered car, except for charging." Now, there's a fairly decent chance that GM will hit the 250,000-vehicle limit for the $7,500 federal tax incentive right about when the Bolt comes to market, so I had to ask how the Bolt gets marketed if the price tag jumps up a few thousand dollars. Balch was straightforward. "Well, we would sell fewer cars," he said. "It's pure and simple. ...

Sunday Drive: Trucks and SUVs of all shapes and sizes

The American automotive marketplace is dominated by trucks and SUVs, and so was the last week of coverage on Autoblog. By far, the most popular story of the week was our First Drive of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator. It may look like an old-school lumberer, but in reality Lincoln's flagship is a thoroughly modern, turbocharged-V6-powered, three-row, luxury people mover. The Jeep Wrangler is the world's most recognizable vehicle. So it's no surprise that the next version looks a whole heck of a lot like the last one, and the one before. It's all in the details, which is why we were so excited when Jeep decided to unleash a trio of images showing both two- and four-door Wranglers for us to dissect ahead of the SUV's official debut at the L.A. Auto Show later this year. Past that, spy photos of the next Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 were predictably popular. See both of those below, and the cap it all off, check out the entire week's worth of SEMA coverage – including the bonkers Hennessey VelociRaptor 6x6 – in our mega image gallery at the bottom of this post. Enjoy! As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. 2018 Lincoln Navigator First Drive | From black sheep to flagship 2018 Jeep Wrangler revealed: First photos released before L.A. Auto Show debut 2019 Chevy Silverado looks slim and clean beneath the camo 2019 Ram 1500 gets vertical touchscreen infotainment system 2017 SEMA Show Mega Photo Gallery Chevrolet Jeep Lincoln RAM Truck SUV recap sunday drive

Best and Worst GM Cars

Oh yes, because we just love receiving angry letters from devoted Pontiac Grand Am enthusiasts, we have decided to go there. Based on a heated group Slack conversation, the topic came up about the best and worst GM cars. First of all time, and then those currently on sale, and then just mostly a rambling discussion of Oldsmobiles our parents and grandparents owned (or engineered). Eventually, three of us made the video above. Like it? Maybe we can make more. Many awesome GM cars are definitely going unmentioned here, so please let us know your bests and worsts in the comments below. Mostly, it's important to note that this post largely exists as a vehicle for delivering the above video that dives far deeper into GM's greatest hits and biggest flops, specifically those from the 1980s and 1990s. What you'll find below is a collection of our editors identifying a best current and best-of-all-time choice, plus a worst current and worst-of-all-time choice. Comprehensive it is not, but again, comments. -Senior Editor James Riswick Best Current GM Vehicle Chevrolet Corvette We were flying by the seats of our pants a bit in this first outing and my notes were similarly extemporaneous. When it came time to tie it all together on camera, I failed spectacularly. Thank the maker for text, because this gives me the opportunity to perhaps slightly better explain my convoluted reasoning. I chose the C8 Corvette because it's simply overwhelmingly good, and it's merely the baseline from which this generation of Corvette will be expanded.  While the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing (more on that in a minute) is an amazing snapshot of GM's current performance standing and its little sibling so enraptured me that I went out and bought one, their existence is fleeting. Corvette will live on; forced-induction Cadillac sport sedans, not so much. So while all three are amazing machines when viewed in a vacuum, the Corvette stands above them as both a reflection of GM's current performance credentials and a signpost of what is to come. So, given the choice between the C8 and the 5V-Blackwing right now, I'd choose the C8. In 10 years, when the Blackwing is no longer in production and Corvette is in its 9th generation? Well, that might be a different story. Now, just pretend I said something even remotely that coherent when we get to the part of the video where I try to make an argument for the 5-V Blackwing as best GM car I've ever driven. Or just laugh at me while I ramble incoherently.