2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Lt Sport Utility 4-door 5.3l on 2040-cars

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How Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra will take on the Ford F-150 profit machine

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When General Motors engineers were developing the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, some of them joined public tours of Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory to watch aluminum-bodied F-Series trucks go down the assembly line. The redesign of the Ford F-Series trucks, launched in 2014, set a new standard for fuel economy and lightweight vehicle construction. But armed with stopwatches and trained eyes, the GM engineers believed they saw problems. "They had a real hard time getting those doors to fit," Tim Herrick, the executive chief engineer for GM truck programs, told Reuters. His team did more intelligence gathering. They bought and tore apart Ford F-Series doors sold as repair parts. Their conclusion: GM could cut weight in its trucks for a lower cost using doors made of a combination of aluminum and high-strength steel that could be thinner than standard steel, shaving off kilograms in the process. These pounds-and-pennies decisions will have major implications in the highest-stakes game going in Detroit: dominance in the world's most profitable vehicle market, the gasoline-fueled large pickup segment. What's more, GM is banking on strong sales of overhauled 2019 Silverados and GMC Sierras to fund its push into automated and electric vehicles — a business many investors see as the auto industry's long-term future. The risks are high given the hits automakers have taken from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. Rising aluminum prices spurred by Trump's tariffs are driving up costs on the Ford's F-Series, while rising steel and aluminum prices likewise drag on GM results. GM also has a significant risk should the United States, Mexico and Canada fail to agree on a new NAFTA trade deal, given GM trucks built at its Silao, Mexico, factory could face a 25 percent tariff if NAFTA collapses. Major profit per truck Interviews with GM executives and a tour at its factory here in northwest Indiana provide a detailed look inside GM's plan for the most important vehicles in its global lineup. These big pickups are everything Tesla's Model 3 or Chevy's Bolt electric car is not. The mostly steel body is bolted to the truck's steel frame, rather than the one-piece body and frame electric vehicles. The majority of trucks will have a V-8 gasoline engine powering the rear wheels — like the classic GM cars of the 1950s. Some Silverados will have new four-cylinder engines, but there is no electric or hybrid offering as of now.

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

"Corvette" has stood for American muscle, American sports car, and American supercar. In many cases, it still stands for America: liberty on the go, LS-powered freedom. There was also a time when it meant really impressive numbers that didn't equate to really impressive handling, and a not-so-nice cabin. The handling issue really turned the road-legal corner when the C5 Z06 was introduced in 2001, and by the time the super-duper ZR1 ended its run in 2010, Corvette had exorcised practically all of its dynamic demons. But when I took a seat in the 2015 Corvette Z06 on the first day of my week-long loan, I espied a few demons still squatting in the interior. When colleague Seyth Miersma drove the Z06, he wrote, "Listen, I'm not going to be the guy that dogs the Corvette for having a cheap-feeling interior, this generation has put those once-legitimate claims to rest." Well, I am going to be that guy, because I don't think those claims have been put to rest. One day Chevy will give us leather that looks and feels like leather, instead of the astonishingly thin hide that is laid directly on top of the instrument panel structure. This material was set off by white stitching, but there were no seams, just a trail of white stitches. In some places it was hard to tell where the leather ended and the plastic began; or it might all have been the same upholstery, I don't know. Five dollars of foam padding would add five thousand dollars of luxury to the cockpit. One day Corvette will have plastics that don't look so plasticky. I know General Motors can do it. And after years of thinking Corvette seats were too wide and flat, this latest Z06 is almost there. The seatbacks were nice, but the exaggerated side bolstering on the seat bottoms was too narrow and sharp. That's a personal preference, though; other drivers with thinner thighs will think differently. My complaint isn't that the interior isn't luxurious, it's that it's not luxurious enough. If Chevrolet was worried about pricing, it could add some kind of profligate package to the options list. Have some ex-Porsche people design it, call it the Teutonic Splendor Package, slap a massive price on it, and count the money. People will buy it, and no one will ever have to say again, "But the interior..." That said, this test car's cabin had every feature I wanted. The gauge cluster was bright, crisp, and readable in every shade of daylight.

Cruze Diesel Road Trip reveals the good and bad, but no ugly

Most of us have strong opinions on diesel-powered cars based on our perceptions of and experience with them. I used to thoroughly dislike oil burners for their noise, smoke and lackluster performance, and the fact that they ran on greasy, smelly stuff that was more expensive than gasoline, could be hard to find and was nasty to get on your hands when refueling. Those negatives, for me, trumped diesel's major positives of big torque for strong acceleration and better fuel economy. Are any of those knocks on diesel still valid today? I'm not talking semis, which continue to annoy me when their operators for some reason almost never shut them down. At any busy truck stop, the air seems always filled with the sound – and sometimes smell – of dozens of big-rig diesels idling endlessly and mindlessly. Or diesel heavy-duty pickups. Those muscular workhorses are far more refined than they once were and burn much less fuel than their gasoline counterparts. But good luck arriving home late at night, or departing early morning, without waking your housemates and neighbors with their clattery racket. No, I'm talking diesel-powered passenger cars, which account for more than half the market in Europe (diesel fuel is cheaper there) yet still barely bump the sales charts in North America. Diesel fuel remains more expensive here, too few stations carry it, and too many Americans remember when diesel cars were noisy, smelly slugs. Also, US emissions requirements make them substantially more expensive to certify, and therefore to buy. But put aside (if you can) higher vehicle purchase and fuel prices, and today's diesel cars can be delightful to drive while delivering much better fuel efficiency than gas-powered versions. So far in the US, all except Chevrolet's compact Cruze Diesel come from German brands, and all are amazingly quiet, visually clean (no smoke) and can be torquey-fun to drive. When a GM Powertrain engineering team set out to modify a tried-and-true GM of Europe turbodiesel four for North American Chevy Cruze compacts, says assistant chief engineer Mike Siegrist, it had a clear target in mind: the Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2.0-liter diesel. And they'll tell you that they beat it in nearly every way. "I believe we have a superior product," he says. "It's powerful, efficient and clean, and it will change perceptions of what a diesel car can be." The 2.0L Cruze turbodiesel pumps out 151 SAE certified horses and 264 pound-feet of torque (at just 2,000 rpm) vs.