2002 Chevy 3500 Silverado Western Hauler on 2040-cars

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GM and Ford quarterly sales continue to slump in China

BEIJING — General Motors and Ford announced their quarterly sales in China fell, albeit at a slower pace sequentially, as the U.S. automakers were hit by a slowing economy amid the Sino-U.S. trade war. GM's vehicle sales in China for the quarter ended June 30 dropped 12.2%, while Ford's sales slumped by 21.7%. While GM also suffered from heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment, Ford was hurt by the limited new models for customers to choose from. For the first quarter of this year, Ford's sales in China tumbled 35.8 percent while GM's skid 17.5 percent. Still, the numbers from GM, the second biggest international automaker in China by sales, and Ford portend more uncertainty for the industry which is trying to rebound from a downward spiral that led to its first annual sales decline last year in more than two decades. GM delivered 1.57 million vehicles in China in the January-June period this year, while Ford delivered 290,321 vehicles. China's factory activity shrank more than expected in June, highlighting the need for more economic stimulus amid higher U.S. tariffs and weaker domestic demand. Annual car sales in China fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, and they are expected to fall this year too. Sales tumbled 16.4% in May from the same month a year prior, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That marked the 11th consecutive month of decline and followed falls of 14.6% in April and 5.2% in March. U.S. car companies' share of total China passenger vehicles sales fell to 9.6% in the first five months of this year from 10.9% in the year-ago period, according to CAAM. Over the same period, German car makers' share has risen to 23.3% from 20.9% and Japanese auto makers' to 21.3% from 17.3%. CAAM is set to announce June sales next week, which industry analysts forecast will be negative.   New models In China, GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp, in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are made. It also has another venture, with SAIC and GuangxiAutomobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars. Sales of GM's affordable brand Baojun dropped 31.8% for the latest quarter. But luxury brand Cadillac's sales jumped 36.6%. GM sold 3.64 million units in China last year, down from 4.04 units in 2017. Ford makes cars in China through its joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC).

How real is the Chevy Bolt EV and will it really cost $30,000?

"This is us bragging that we can do this kind of car." That's how Michael Simcoe, GM's executive director for NA exteriors, described the Chevy Bolt EV concept, which made a surprise appearance at the Detroit Auto Show today. While there was talk of a 2017 production debut, this is for sure a concept vehicle. But that means the ideas behind the vehicle are perhaps more important than the details. For example, no one is talking about what size battery might appear in a production Bolt, but Simcoe would talk about how rapid progress in battery improvements made it possible for GM to make the bold Bolt declaration that promises 200 miles and a price tag of around $30,000 (after incentives). But if the Bolt makes it to market, it won't be until 2017 (as rumored) or later, is it really fair to promote the car as being available with a federal tax credit? For one thing, credits for plug-in vehicles may change in the next few years, but if the laws stay the same, each manufacturer is limited to 200,000 vehicles before the credits start to decline. GM is justifiably proud that it's sold over 70,000 Volts thus far, but with a new model coming out later this year and a few years to go until the Bolt potentially arrives, GM could be pushing right up against that 200,000 limit when the Bolt goes on sale. But Volt executive chief engineer Pam Fletcher told AutoblogGreen that, "We're just trying to take some of the confusion out." "Think about talking to the average consumer," she said. "First, going through the explanation of how the federal tax credit was set up, how it's being used and so on. [In the industry, we] have the luxury of understanding the nuances of that regulation, but right now people who aren't in the marketplace, they don't have the luxury of all that. It's already hard to communicate the details so we gave them data in a way that is what they're used to seeing." There was one question that drove the two-year Bolt gestation and design period, Simcoe said: What does a better battery offer a vehicle designer? "We've got a number of spaces we play in for powertrain technology and obviously electrification is one of them," he said. "With Volt 1 and then the Spark EV, with that development and batteries getting better for us, we started doing some practical packaging to deliver a vehicle which was not the traditional aero form which you see around electric vehicles.

2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport Quick Spin

Coincidentally, the week we had the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport a friend asked, "What would you buy if you could only have one vehicle for everything?" After a week's driving and trailer hauling, very close to first choice would be an American pickup. They're all so good now, you can't lose. And as we found in the Chevy you can go anywhere and haul anything, and you pay no penalty for capability until you try to find an open space on the street to park. Nicely equipped versions like the Custom Sport aren't cheap, but if you need a truck and you like the look of this one, it is really good. Driving Notes The cabin is big and inviting, and everything in it is big and inviting. The materials are nice enough to look and feel swanky but not so lavish that you're afraid to get them dirty. The seats are sized for adult male bears but they don't swallow you up. The sunroof is big enough to be an observatory. It's also quiet. The only time it gets mildly unruly is when you call for power and the engine has to downshift a few gears, otherwise you don't hear the exhaust unless you roll down the window. It looks like it was designed with a T-square. I quite like it, the body-colored bumpers toning things down, the 20-inch wheels doing a much better job of filling those ample arches than the standard 17-inchers. The truck is built for people who take their work and all their gadgets with them. The front console has three USB ports, two 12-volt cigarette lighter ports, and a three-prong 110-volt outlet. The giant cubby at the base of the console has an insert to hold a clipboard or a small tablet. The abyss under the center armrest has one more 12V cigarette lighter, two more USB ports, an SD card reader, and another specialized holder for something the size of a small tablet. There's a WiFi hotspot so the streaming never has to stop. The Chevrolet navigation was trouble-free as usual, and you can input destinations on a QWERTY touchscreen keyboard. Every nav system should be so solid. The Silverado has some of the best feature implementations we've encountered in any vehicle. The lane departure warning and park assist systems don't vibrate the steering wheel, they vibrate the seat. The left, right, and middle of the seat bottom will pulse as necessary, an intuitive, peripheral way to deliver a message that doesn't interrupt your primary focus. The rear-view camera is no longer offset, it's centered.