2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ltz on 2040-cars

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24 Hours of Le Mans live update part two

We tasked surfing journalist Rory Parker to watch this year's live stream of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. What follows is an experiment to experience the world's greatest endurance race from the perspective of a motorsports novice. Parker lives in Hawaii and can hold his breath longer than he can go without swearing. For Part One, click here. Or you can skip ahead to Part Three here. I write about surfing for a living. If you can call it a living. Basically means I spend my days fucking around and my wife pays for everything. Because she's got a real job that pays well. Brings home the bacon. Very progressive arrangement. Super twenty first century. I run a surf website, beachgrit.com, with two other guys. It's a strange gig. More or less uncensored. Kind of popular. Very good at alienating advertisers. My behavior has cost us a few bucks. I'm terrible at self-censorship. Know there's a line out there, no idea where it lies. I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. For contests I do long rambling write ups. They rarely make much sense. Mainly just talk about my life, whatever random thoughts pop into my head. "Can you do something similar for Le Mans?" "Sure, but I know absolutely fuck-all about racing." "That's okay. Just write what you want." "Will do. But you're gonna need to edit my stuff. Probably censor it heavily." So here I am. I spent the last week trying to learn all I can about the sport of endurance racing. But there's only so much you can jam in your head. And I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. While I rambled things were happening. Tracy Krohn spun into the gravel on the Forza chicane. #89 is out of the race after an accident I missed. Pegasus racing hit the wall on the Porsche curves. Bashed up front end, in the garage getting fixed. Toyota and Porsche are swapping back and forth in the front three. Ford back in the lead in GTE Pro. #91 Porsche took a stone through the radiator, down two laps. Not good. The wife and I are one of those weird childless couples that spend way too much time caring for the needs of their pet. French bulldog, Mr Eugene Victor Debs. Great little guy. Spent the last four years training him to be obedient and friendly. Nice thing about dogs, when you're sick of dealing with them you can just lock 'em in another room for a few hours. You don't need to worry about paying for college.

2016 Chevrolet Volt First Drive

There's a hit vehicle hiding in GM's formula for the Chevy Volt. You can sense it in the enthusiasm that current Volt drivers have for their cars. You can see it in the amount of money GM has poured into its extended-range electric vehicle project. And perhaps most importantly, you can feel it from the driver's seat of the new, second-gen model. The big question is whether or not GM will be able to turn its much-hyped 'halo car' into a best-seller this time around. After driving it in northern California, I can tell you that the Volt is tremendous. But we all know it takes more than that to create a hit. GM has so far sold over 82,000 Volts in the US. That's respectable, but in the early, glory days before the car launched, company representatives were talking about much more impressive numbers. With a few years to talk to customers and potential prospects, GM has learned a lot about what makes someone buy a Volt. For the 2016 model, Chevy has changed just about everything for the better. The new Volt has more all-electric range (53 miles vs. 38 in the first generation), is more fuel efficient whether you're looking at the overall value (106 combined MPGe vs. 98) or just when the car burns gas (42 miles per gallon vs. 37). All of that means that the car's overall range is bumped up to 420 miles, from 380. The battery is smaller and lighter while offering more energy capacity. The range-extending gas engine is bigger (1.5 liters vs. 1.4) but it's also more efficient and can burn regular gasoline instead of just premium. The Volt's overall range is bumped up to 420 miles, from 380. The cost is lower, too: $33,995 vs. $34,170, before incentives. This is a car that GM thinks will compete against the Toyota Priuses and Nissan Leafs of the world (as its new ads make abundantly clear). All three cars have completely different powertrains, but we all know that they're the headline green cars of our time (along with Tesla), so buyers will have to want to pony up a bit more money if they like what the Volt is offering. The 2016 Leaf with its 107-mile range starts at $37,640 (before incentives), while a 2015 Prius can be had for $25,035 (pricing for the 2016 has not yet been announced). So, on paper, the new Volt is an all-around winner. I'm here to tell you that it wins on the road, too. You can't help but notice the changes. They are literally front and center.

Car owners getting more irritated with their repair experiences, study says

The J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index Study (CSI) is a barometer of a vehicle owner's happiness with the service experience. While it wasn't all bad in the 2023 study, the overall owner satisfaction score dropped. This year's tally of 846 out of 1,000 is two points down from 2022, the 43-year-old study's first decline in more than 28 years, and one point down from 2021. However, the overall score remains well up from the pre-pandemic scores of 821 in 2018 and 837 in 2020. The study claims the stumbling block is the horde of BEV launches. The flood into the new energy space has created a recall rate among EVs that's more than double the rate for ICE vehicles. Furthermore, dealership service department knowledge of EVs isn't on par with internal combustion engine expertise, leaving EV owners less satisfied with service advisors compared to ICE owners. Chris Sutton, VP of automotive retail at J.D. Power, said, "As training programs for service advisors and technicians evolve, EV service quality and customer experience must address both the vehicle and the unique customer needs. The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but weÂ’re not seeing the benefits yet." Matters are slightly worse for all owners, though, with labor and parts shortages contributing to longer wait times for service appointments. The CSI study surveys owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles to gauge their happiness with service at franchised dealer or aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work. The criteria in order of importance are service quality (32%); service advisor (19%); vehicle pick-up (19%); service facility (15%); and service initiation (15%). Lexus retains the top spot for luxury brands, giving it three wins in four years. The Japanese automaker won in 2020 as well, its run interrupted by Porsche in 2021. Cadillac, Infiniti and Acura complete the luxury top 5.  For mass-market cars, Mitsubishi wins again after a victory in 2021 and falling to fourth last year. It's followed by Mazda, Buick, Subaru and Mini.  Considering the different service needs and service experience of different body styles, the study has broken results out by segment for the first time. Lexus earned a second victory thanks to winning the premium SUV segment, and Mitsubishi earned a second victory by winning the mass-market SUV/minivan category.