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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. ...

2022 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra now cost more, again

GM Authority put Chevrolet and GMC pickup truck prices under the microscope, spying the same macroscopic issues none of us can avoid seeing: Price increases. The 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 and 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 have been hit with their third price increases this year. The Heavy Duty versions of those same trucks have been given their fourth price increases this year. Starting with the light-duty options, they've been rung up for another $900 across the board, which breaks down to $800 added to the MSRP and $100 added to the destination charge. The mandatory cost for shipping a truck from the factory to the dealer is now $1,795. That destination fee is now more than 5% of the purchase price of the least expensive 2022 Silverado, the Regular Cab Work Truck trim with a Standard Bed and 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder retailing for $36,395 after destination. And that price is $3,200 more than the initial list price from last December. At the other end, the Silverado ZR2 is up $3,400. Average that out, and the Silverado's MSRP has gone up by nearly $700 every month since initial pricing came out. On the GMC side, the bidding starts at $37,195 for the Regular Cab Pro trim with a Standard Bed, a $4,700 increase over pricing announced last October.  Stepping up a tow rating or two, the Silverado HD is now $1,100 more expensive — $1,000 tacked onto the MSRP, the destination charge plumped another $100 to $1,795. The Silvy 2500 HD now starts at $41,295. The Sierra HD turns the screw a few more degrees, going up by $2,100 after the $100 increase for destination. The low bar for the Sierra 2500 HD is $41,995, a $4,100 rise over the price when it hit dealer lots last summer. Whew. Anyone know where the exit is for this "new normal?" Related video:

AMC Trans Am Javelin SST, an ultra-rare underdog, is up for auction

Among the rarest of the American muscle cars that went racing in the early Seventies — cars including the Camaro Z/28 and the Boss 302 Mustang — the 1970 AMC Trans Am Javelin SST may be the most hard to find, and among the most valuable. Only 100 units of this unique Javelin were produced, and one of them is up for auction at the Mecum event in Dallas on September 20. The Trans Am Javelin was fashioned in a patriotic livery of tricolor paint — red, white and blue — and arrived after the American Motors Corporation had decided in 1968 to compete in the Trans Am racing series against Ford and General Motors. The company's chief driver, Mark Donohue, would dominate the 1971 season, taking seven wins in his Javelin AMX and that yearÂ’s SCCA Trans-Am Championship. AMC took the trophy with 82 points, well ahead of Ford's 61, Chevrolet's 17 and Pontiac's paltry 7. The example listed for auction came equipped with a 390-cubic-inch V-8 engine with 325 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 420 pound-feet of torque, power steering and brakes, dual exhaust, BorgWarner four-speed manual transmission and Hurst competition shifter. Its “ram induction system” sealed a chamber around the air filter so that cool air from the functional hood scoop would be funneled into the intake. This JavÂ’s factory price was $3,995 — a mere $32,000 or so in today's money, though it was expensive by the standards of the time. The 100 Trans Ams were among 19,714 Javelin units built in 1970, so they started out rare, and today the surviving examples are highly collectible, if and when they come up for sale. No bid estimate is available yet. Related Video: Motorsports Chevrolet Ford Pontiac Auctions Automotive History Racing Vehicles Classics