1997 Chevrolet C2500 Silverado Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 6.5l on 2040-cars

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Autonomous tech will drive motorheads off the road

While autonomous technology could make car travel much safer and more efficient — and automakers and marketers are salivating over the prospect of a "passenger economy" that could potentially generate $7 trillion by 2050 — those of us who enjoy driving are not so stoked. Experts have predicted that as autonomous vehicles are deployed in large numbers, human-driven cars eventually could be outlawed on public roads due to the carnage they create, which is currently more than 41,000 deaths a year in the U.S. alone and climbing. Such scenarios have driving enthusiasts envisioning a "Red Barchetta" style nightmare becoming reality, making Rush lyricist Neil Peart a clairvoyant as well as one of rock's most badass skin-pounders. But there could be a couple of refuges left for motorheads, and they won't be on public roads. As Popular Science's Joe Brown points out in a recent editorial, we're seeing a wave of vehicles being offered by legit mainstream automakers that aren't made for public roads. The poster child of this vanguard is the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, which comes with a crate full of goodies that lets you turn the already formidable street-legal muscle car into a drag-strip dominator. Brown also notes that two out of five of the Ford GT's driving modes are for use on the track, "catering to the $450,000 machine's club-racing clientele." We're also currently enjoying the heyday of production off-road-ready pickups that kicked off with the Ford Raptor in 2009. The latest salvo in this escalating war of overachieving trucks is the Chevy Colorado ZR2 that can take on the likes of California's Rubicon Trail without issue. Brown also gives a shout-out to his magazine's Grand Award Winner, the Alta Motors Redshift MX, which "isn't even allowed on public roads" and is "meant for bombing around motocross tracks, big backyards and single-track woods trails." If you follow Brown on Instagram, you know that he's also a two-wheel aficionado, and he points out that sales of off-road bikes are leaving street machines in the dust. Sales of off-highway motorcycles rose 29 percent between 2012 and 2016, according to the ­Motorcycle Industry Council — compared to 6 percent for road-bike sales during the same period. "That's a nearly 400-percent drubbing," Brown remarks.

Basic configurator for 2021 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon slips online

TFLnow discovered basic configurators for the 2021 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are already online at GM's site for employee discounts. These aren't the fully-featured whiz-bang configurators that will show on the retail websites soon, but they include a bunch of the relevant info a shopper would be looking for. After trim changes detailed earlier this year, the 2021 Colorado offers the most choice, even with the two-door base model gone. Cutting the entry-level Colorado also means the entry-level price has gone up by $3,900; the 2020 Colorado could be had for $22,495, but the 2021 model starts at $26,395 after the $1,195 destination charge. That gets you the extended cab with a standard bed in two-wheel drive. The 2WD crew cab with a short bed starts at $28,295, and the 2WD crew cab with a standard bed starts at $30,595. At the top end, the ZR2 model runs $44,395, which is $200 more than the 2020 version. The color palette isn't complete, but the options page shows a number of choices for packages. The Redline Special Edition Package goes up $10 to $2,690, the Tonneau and Step Package increase $100 to $1,195, a new Chrome Package puts shiny stuff in places like the door handles and steps for $300, while the Black Bowtie Emblem Package drops $80 to $140. The one-inch front leveling kit, which was thought to cost $150 based on early order information GM Authority had seen, is here listed for $450 and available on the Colorado but not the Canyon.  The Canyon makes matters a tad simpler by having many options locked in depending on which one starts with — 2WD Elevation Standard starting at $27,595, 2WD Elevation for $31,195, 4WD AT4 with a cloth interior for $39,395 or AT4 with leather for $41,195, the least expensive Denali starting at $42,095 for a crew cab short box with 2WD. The Elevation includes items like the Convenience Package that are options on the base model, and also offers a $1,400 High Elevation Package conferring heated and power black leather seats, plus a heated steering wheel, that can't be optioned on the Elevation Standard. The pinnacle is the crew cab with a standard bed in Denali 4WD trim for $45,895. Colors and many of the final options and accessories, such as the AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition Package we've heard about, are also missing here, but there's heaps to play around with to get an idea of what you'll be in for if you're considering a 2021 Canyon. Related Video:    

GM invests $175 million in Chevy Camaro factory

General Motors just keeps rolling out portions of its $5.4-billion plan for factory upgrades over the next three years. In the latest announcement, the automotive giant is putting $175 million into the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant for improvements to build the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. The investment brings new equipment to the plant to build the pony car. An upgrade is needed to support Camaro-specific colors like Summit White, Bright Yellow, and Red Hot, and the factory is also getting two robotic framers. A second shift of 500 workers is resuming in Lansing later this summer to produce the model, as well. So far, GM has announced allocations for $2.8 billion of the $5.4 billion in upgrades. The investments include $1.2 billion to improve pickup production, $439 million for a paint shop for the Corvette, and more new equipment at other plants too. Lansing Grand River Plant Tools Up for 2016 Camaro $175 million investment enables production of lighter, more powerful model 2015-05-28 LANSING, Mich. – A $175 million investment for new tooling and equipment for the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, and the return of hundreds of workers to build America's best-selling performance car for the last five years, was announced today. The facility improvements include three new paint systems for Camaro-specific colors: Summit White, Bright Yellow, and Red Hot. The investment also includes installation of two robotic framers, which allow better dimensional control to provide a more precise drive experience. The Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant will resume a second shift of 500 jobs in late summer. The all-new Chevrolet Camaro was introduced on Detroit's Belle Isle on May 16. The current generation Camaro has been America's favorite performance car for five consecutive years, attracting both long-term Camaro fans and new buyers to Chevrolet. To improve on that success, the sixth-generation Camaro elevates every aspect of Camaro with a suite of new technologies, even higher levels of performance and fuel economy, and a leaner, more athletic design. "I may be the luckiest mayor in America today," said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. "Gearing up for full-scale production of the legendary Chevy Camaro is a new high point in the more than two decades of extraordinary partnership between the City of Lansing, General Motors and the UAW.