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2016 Chevy Colorado grabs Motor Trend Truck of the Year award

It's not an easy feat to win Motor Trend Truck of the Year twice in a row, but the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado managed to do just that. Thanks to the introduction of the 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder diesel, the magazine decided to bring the pickup back to defend the title. In more good news for the Bowtie brand, the 2016 Camaro earned the magazine's Car of the Year award. The Colorado beat a tough group of finalists to earn the nod this year, including its GMC Canyon sibling. The Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra also made this year's list. The Nissan Titan XD and latest Toyota Tacoma rounded out the challengers. A model had to shine in six criteria to earn the title: advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, efficiency, value, and performance of intended function. Like it did with the Camaro, Motor Trend posted a story online that explained the rationale for picking the Colorado again. They praised the diesel profusely and lauded the whole platform as quite a capable hauler. This year's Motor Trend SUV of the Year honor went to the Volvo XC90. The Swedish 'ute had to win against an initial group of 16 candidates that the magazine eventually whittled down to finalists that consisted of the Honda Pilot, Lincoln MKX, the combined Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and GLE Coupe, and Nissan Murano. "Seven-passenger people movers aren't supposed to drive like this," senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said about the Volvo in the announcement of the champions. The Honda CR-V won last year. In the explanation online, the judges applauded the XC90's new modular platform, and they loved both the T6 twin-charged engine and T8 hybrid version. The SUV's key enamored the writers, too. Related Video: MOTOR TREND Announces 2016 "Of The Year" Winners Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Person of the Year announced during live ceremony and webcast in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, for the first time in the brand's 66-year history, MOTOR TREND announced winners of the Golden Calipers for Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Person of the Year at a red-carpet gala in front of an audience of industry insiders and celebrity guests. The awards show was also streamed live on the MOTOR TREND Channel on YouTube, with 3.5 million subscribers the world's largest automotive video channel, and on MOTOR TREND OnDemand, the brand's new subscription video on demand (SVOD) channel.

A Chevy Camaro hybrid? That's what EcoCAR3 could bring

Figuring out a way for a hybrid powertrain to co-exist with the performance expectations of a classic American muscle car is a challenge that could vex that most experienced of automotive engineers. It's a challenge, in fact, being handed to a bunch of college students. Over the next four years, students from 16 North American colleges and universities will attempt to wring fuel efficiency from a 2016 Chevy Camaro as part of EcoCAR3, an advanced-vehicle technology competition sponsored by the Department of Energy, General Motors and others. They'll be attempting to use hybrid or plug-in hybrid technology while not sacrificing the performance of the Camaro, which was selected in part because the current model achieves just 17 miles per gallon in city driving and 28 MPGs on the highway, per EPA numbers. Students will get the latest version of the vehicle to work on, one that is expected to be unveiled next month on Belle Isle in Detroit. "If we still want to produce V8 Camaros, we're going to have to look at alternative methods of propulsion," said Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer on the Camaro. "So the ideas that these college teams come up with could very easily be adapted to a car like the Camaro." Unlike similar competitions that reward fuel efficiency in vehicles, EcoCAR seeks those gains while emphasizing cost and consumer acceptance of these vehicles. The cars shouldn't look like experiments; they should look like everyday vehicles on the road. Previous competitions have allowed the teams to use whatever powertrain they desired. This time, EcoCAR officials designed the competition to concentrate on hybrid, hybrid-electric and diesel options. Competitors won't have the option of using hydrogen fuel cells as they have in the past. Last year, a team from Colorado State built a vehicle that contained both hydrogen and electric power sources. This year's limit is a curious choice, as some automakers such as Toyota have placed heavy bets on fuel cells in recent years. General Motors also runs a fuel-cell program. With the focus on cost and practicality, however, the program officials wanted to narrow the framework of the contest. "We always have some good decisions on what to make within the scope or out of scope," said Jim Kolhoff, global director of software engineering for General Motors.

GM will recall more than 3.3 million vehicles in China for suspension defect

BEIJING (Reuters) - General Motors' joint venture in China, Shanghai GM, will recall more than 3.3 million Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles stating Oct. 20 because of a defect with the suspension system, China's market regulator said on Saturday. GM Shanghai said in a text message to Reuters that the suspension arm may be deformed under extreme operating conditions, but there are no known casualties related to the issue. The recall includes cars produced between 2013 and 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement. GM will contact those affected and repair the vehicles free of charge, it said. (Reporting by Josephine Mason and Hallie Gu; additional reporting by Yilei Sun; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Michael Perry)Related Video: Image Credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Recalls Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Safety