2005 Chevy Trailblazer on 2040-cars

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GM files for Z71 Trail Boss trademark

Try as they might to keep their plans a secret, automakers have their hands tipped through a variety of methods – be they through loose lips, spy shots or patent and trademark applications. That's how we know, in this instance, that General Motors is working on (or at least considering) an off-road machine wearing the name Z71 Trail Boss – the name which our compatriots at AutoGuide.com tell us that GM has registered for use on light-duty trucks. Now if that alphanumeric designator sounds familiar, it should. GM has long used it to designate the off-road packages on many of its body-on-frame trucks from Chevy and GMC. These days you can order a Z71 package on the Chevy Colorado, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban and on the GMC Canyon, Sierra and Yukon. The package typically includes components like a beefed-up suspension bits, high-capacity air cleaner and underbody protection plates. The Trail Boss designator would seem to suggest something further reaching than a suspension package, though. Just what it would entail we don't know; minds immediately start running toward Chevy or GMC going after the Ford F-150 Raptor, but we'll likely be looking at something closer to the Trailhawk packages Jeep offers on the likes of the Renegade and Cherokee. Featured Gallery 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 View 16 Photos News Source: AutoGuide.comImage Credit: Chevrolet Chevrolet GM GMC Truck SUV Off-Road Vehicles patent trademark

Callaway debuts its new C7 Stingray at National Corvette Museum

Callaway showed off its first tuned version of the 2014 Corvette Stingray at the National Corvette Museum last week, giving the rampant enthusiasts of America's sports car a look at the roughly 620-horsepower, supercharged rocket.
Unlike the Corvette SC610 we showed you back in January, this Stingray packs a fair bit more oomph. Horsepower is only up ten ponies, but torque has jumped from 556 pound-feet to "at least" 600 pound-feet. Neither horsepower nor torque is official quite yet, although Callaway is expecting to know just what its creation can do once testing and validation is completed later this month.
The 6.2-liter, supercharged V8 now boasts a new, three-element intercooler, which Callaway claims only allowed the inlet air temperature to increase by ten degrees Fahrenheit during dyno runs. Previous designs saw a 35-degree-Fahrenheit jump. The exhaust system has also been fettled with, and now is even less restrictive.

Camaro chief: 'rock-star' 4-cylinder set for Mustang fight

It was inevitable, the 2016 Chevy Camaro had to have a four-cylinder engine. The archrival Ford Mustang packs a spunky 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-banger, and everyone from BMW to Subaru uses four-cylinders to great effect to power their sports cars. Now it's Chevy's turn. Again. The Camaro ran the infamous Iron Duke four-cylinder with 88 to 92 horsepower in the 1980s. It was a fuel-economy play at a time when performance was not a priority. After the 1970s muscle-car era, output even for the V8s didn't top 200 hp again until the mid-'80s. Thankfully for enthusiasts, things have changed dramatically in the last 30 years. The gen six Camaro will offer a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder with 275 horsepower. It's the standard engine, slotting below the 335-hp V6 and the 455-hp V8. But don't mistake the new I4 for an Iron Duke encore. Camaro chief engineer Al Oppenheiser called it a "rock star" and said cars equipped with it feel lighter than V6 models. The four-cylinder (295 pound-feet at 3,000-4,500 rpm) also summons more torque in quicker fashion than the V6 (284 lb-ft at 5,300 rpm). Chevy expects the Camaro to hit 60 miles per hour in "well under six seconds," according to press materials. The Mustang EcoBoost (310 hp, 320 lb-ft) clocks times in the low to mid five-second range. "We're not doing it just so we have one," Oppenheiser said. "We're not doing it because like in gen three you're forced to do it because of fuel economy. We're doing it because it belongs in the car. It has a distinct character." Speaking with Autoblog recently at the Detroit Grand Prix racecourse on Belle Isle, Oppenheiser said he expects the I4 to attract a younger crowd to the Camaro and will put up stiff competition against the V6 for sales. "I've read blogs where younger folks won't buy a Camaro because it doesn't have a 2.0-liter turbo or a turbocharged four-cylinder," he said. "So we're going to excite them." While we talked a lot about four-cylinder engines, Oppenheiser also elaborated on the V6 (It's pretty damn good, too. We drove it.) and the new Alpha platform that the Camaro borrowed from Cadillac. Here's the rest of our edited conversation. Autoblog: Talk a little bit about the four-cylinder – the first turbo four-cylinder ever for Camaro. Do you have any idea what the take rate's going to be? Al Oppenheiser: I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. It's actually a fun car to drive. It's got a really good balance of turbo noise and exhaust note.