2004 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 Z71 Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.3l - One Owner on 2040-cars

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Chevy Bolt name just might get through US trademark office

UPDATE: GM told AutoblogGreen on June 1 that, "Our Chevrolet Legal team has been working closely with the USPT on the Chevrolet Bolt trademark. As of last week, our legal staff received consent from Yamaha to use the Bolt name. According to our legal team, our USPT application is back to active status." Also, it appears that GM has further trademarked Bolt EV and Chevrolet Bolt EV. Chevy wants to sell a 200-mile electric vehicle for around $35,000 in a few years. The Detroit automaker wants to call that car the Bolt, not to be confused with the company's other plug-in, the Chevy Volt. Unless something changes, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is going to crush GM's Bolt-flavored dreams. The USPTO has suspended GM's trademark application. The USPTO said in its suspension that there was a "likelihood of confusion" with another Bolt trademark, No. 4429759, which applies to a Bolt trademark filed by Yamaha on August 09, 2012. That's well before GM's effort to trademark the Bolt name in 2014. GM's application will remain suspended, the USPTO said, "until the earlier-filed referenced application(s) is either registered or abandoned." Maybe GM will use this setback to respond to the many criticisms of the Bolt name we've heard since it was first announced. There is another page on the USPTO's website that says GM's Bolt application is still live, but we assume that just hasn't been updated yet. Related Video:

Europeans ask Chevy to bring Volt back to Europe

A group of French fans is asking for a jolt of support from General Motors to get the 2016 Chevrolet Volt across the pond. The Association Amperistes et Amis des Vehicules Rechargeables is running a Change.org petition that currently has 383 signatures out of a goal of 500. While the attempt is admirable, it's probably going to take a lot more than several hundred people for the model to make a return to the continent after the poor showing of the Opel Ampera – first-gen Volt's European cousin. The group's major argument for bringing a version of the second-gen Volt to Europe is that consumers need "an intermediate choice between expensive or range-limited pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids with a miserable electric range." Furthermore, such a vehicle would prod the competition to produce similarly efficient electrified models. They also lavish praise on the abilities of the Ampera for its long EV driving range. The supporters aren't entirely kind to GM in the petition, though, and claim the company excluded the original car from marketing efforts there. The Ampera actually enjoyed a strong European launch with more orders than initially expected and briefly topped the best-sellers list among EVs there. It was even named 2012 European Car of the Year. Those halcyon days didn't last long, and by 2014 sales fell off to a trickle. The waning reception caused GM's decision not to introduce a version of the new 2016 Volt there or in Australia. Related Video:

2020 Ford Explorer vs 3-row crossover rivals: How they compare on paper

The 2020 Ford Explorer has finally landed, and if history serves as an indicator, it should be bigger than sliced bread. And people sure love themselves some sliced bread. This new Explorer may look familiar on the outside, but beneath the skin is a radically new rear-drive platform related to the Ford Mustang (as opposed to a front-drive platform related to the Ford Taurus and a Volvo from the 1990s). Turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines now exclusively rest under its hood, which as you'll see below, both better anything its competitors offer. Ah, but if you're curious to know how the new 2020 Explorer compares to its various three-row family crossover rivals, take a look at the chart below where we stack it up against the 2019 Chevrolet Traverse, 2019 Honda Pilot, 2020 Hyundai Palisade, 2019 Subaru Ascent and 2019 Toyota Highlander. There are others of course (Mazda CX-9, Dodge Durango, GMC Acadia, VW Atlas), but we only had so much room on the chart, and these were the newest and/or most likely to be cross-shopped with the new Explorer. Engine specs and towing Although the Traverse's V6 just nips it on horsepower, the 2020 Explorer's base 2.3-liter "EcoBoost" turbocharged four-cylinder engine smokes it on torque. Therefore, "best-in-class" power seems like a fair claim from Ford. That there's also a 365-horsepower turbo V6 available, plus a hybrid and even-more powerful ST model on the way shows that Ford isn't kidding around under the hood. Curb weight also seems competitive for the segment. In terms of drivetrain, the Explorer is the only member of this particular group to come standard with rear-wheel drive (2.3-liter only). The Durango is the only other three-row, non-luxury crossover to do so. This is significant for two reasons: First, you could potentially do a power slide in an Explorer. Second, and more important, those in the Snowbelt will have to opt for all-wheel drive (it comes standard with the 3.0-liter). By contrast, a set of winter tires will probably do the job just fine if you want to save some money and gas by sticking with its rivals' standard front-wheel drive. Well, except for the Subaru Ascent — that's standard with AWD. In terms of towing, the Explorer takes the cake with as much as 5,300 pounds for the four-cylinder and 5,600 pounds for the V6. Everything else tops out at 5,000, though again, the Durango is capable of besting them all thanks to its Hemi V8 engine option.