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General Motors reportedly considering small electric pickup

General Motors is considering adding a small entry-level model to its range of electric pickups, according to a recent report. The carmaker is currently showing a prototype to a select group of customers to gather feedback about the model before executives decide its fate. Industry trade journal Automotive News claims that it saw the pickup during a workshop organized by General Motors and describes it as being "smaller than the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz." For context, the Maverick stretches about 200 inches long, 73 inches wide, and 69 inches tall, so it's around 12 inches shorter, 11 inches narrower, and 10 inches lower than the recently-unveiled Chevrolet Colorado. It sounds like this little GM truck would be closer in size to the Brazilian-market Chevy Montana, pictured at top. But unlike the Montana, the model that Automotive News got a look at had two doors, a "low roofline," a four- to four-and-a-half-foot cargo box, and a design described as futuristic and sporty. If launched, the yet-unnamed pickup would be marketed as an "affordable" EV with a base price pegged under $30,000. However, that's a big if: the pickup — whose name hasn't been announced — hasn't been approved for production. "We're creating these to get a reaction and then to try to modify it or move on," Michael Pevovar, the director affordable EV and crossover design for Chevrolet, told the publication. "The input may come back that it's just too small, and that's okay," he added. If it turns out to be too small for buyers, General Motors hasn't ruled out building its entry-level electric pickup on a different architecture to make it a little bigger. It's too early to tell where the electric pickup would slot in the General Motors portfolio if executives approve it. Chevrolet immediately comes to mind, especially considering the sub-$30,000 price point. The model would make more sense with a bowtie on its front end than with a Cadillac emblem, GMC's trucks are normally positioned higher than Chevrolet's, and Buick hasn't built a pickup in many decades. Similarly, there's no word on when it would enter production or where it would be built. With that being said, there's very clearly a market for affordable, small pickup trucks. As of the third quarter of last year, Ford had sold more Mavericks than it had the Expedition or the Ranger. Hyundai hasn't sold as many Santa Cruz trucks, but it's still not too shabby, having beaten out the Venue and Accent last year.

Next-gen Chevy Camaro ZL1 teases big changes under its camo

With work complete on the lighter, stiffer 2016 Camaro, it's time for Chevrolet's engineers to really start having fun by developing the next, ZL1 version. Here it is for the first time. Unfortunately, the muscle car is still wearing quite a bit of camouflage, but the concealment isn't enough to hide some of the meaner model's more obvious performance tweaks. Starting from the front, this Camaro now wears a much more aggressive front fascia with bigger air inlets. Managing the airflow around the engine bay is clearly a big deal because another photo reveals a fairly large extractor in the hood, as well. Moving down the profile, the lower side sills and orientation of the camo suggest some blistered fenders in the back to cover wider rubber, and at the very rear a much larger wing further suggests the need to keep things planted to the road. Check out the comparison images in the gallery for a better look at the tweaks. What will power the next ZL1 is still entirely a mystery, although sticking with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 could be a possibility, especially if you take the big extractor in the hood as a hint. Whereas the current ZL1 makes 580 horsepower and 556 pound-feet of torque, the LT4 in the latest Cadillac CTS-V pumps out 640 hp and 630 lb-ft. Combined with the Camaro's other improvements, we're thinking that this new ZL1 will be quite a hot ticket, and based on these spy shots, we can't wait to find out.

The Corvette Museum sinkhole has been filled

After swallowing eight of the most prized pieces of the collection from the National Corvette Museum, the massive sinkhole from a year ago is rapidly becoming nothing but a bad memory. Based on the museum's weekly construction update, you can barely see the remnants of the 25-foot deep hole once in the floor. The Corvette Museum's Skydome was not always going to look like this. The original hope was to keep the sinkhole there as a tourist attraction. That plan eventually fell through, though, and instead it was decided five of the less-damaged Corvettes would remain unrestored. Progress has been moving fast to get the repairs done. Even a month ago, the hole was still very visible, and the construction company used remote-controlled Bobcat loaders to fill it in. Now, the museum has launched a contest to guess how many tons of stone it took to fill in the massive crater. The winner gets a print of the 2009 Corvette ZR1 Blue Devil being lifted out. Related Gallery National Corvette Museum Car Recovery View 25 Photos News Source: Corvettemuseum via YouTubeImage Credit: National Corvette Museum Weird Car News Chevrolet GM Videos National Corvette Museum