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2016 Chevrolet Malibu First Drive [w/video]

You have to appreciate honesty in this business. When a car company admits its offering in a segment isn't up to the task, it catches you by surprise. The surprisingly open Chevy reps stopped short of saying that making the last Malibu smaller was a mistake, but given that the righting of the ship included a lengthening of this new model, it was certainly implied. The eighth-generation Malibu lasted only three years, with a major update coming just one year in to try and fix some of the bigger concerns. The goal for the 2016 Malibu wasn't to make a competent product better, it was to make an okay one good again. That started with a stretch. The Malibu is long again, a big car that meets America's warped idea of a midsized car. Because of this, the Malibu's dimensions sidle up to the Impala's. In fact, it's within a fraction of an inch of the Impala's wheelbase measurement, and sits right between the last Malibu and the Impala in terms of EPA passenger volume. The back seat gets the most of the payoff, bringing it back into competition with other midsized counterparts. The Malibu is now one of the longest in the segment, but also among, if not the, lightest. The 2016 model is claimed to be about 300 pounds lighter than its dimensionally challenged predecessor. While most new models tend to choose between lighter or larger these days, Chevy managed not-insignificant improvements to both. Styling doo-dads no longer separate the trim levels, it's the features inside that fuel the upsell. Some of that weight came out of the front end. The aluminum hood is lighter than before, and we'd wager that's because it stops very short of the leading edge of the car. Instead, the nose is enshrouded in a big plastic fascia, which has to be an advantage at the scales but creates a somewhat unfinished look. That's amplified by the fact that everything ahead of the hood is a bit busy, and actually surprisingly aggressive, in contrast to the rest of the design. The new Cruze, with its cowl-to-grille hood, wears a more cohesive new-Chevy front end. The styling adopts the, dare we say it, coupe-like look of many (most?) new family sedans. The profile is attractive enough but almost generic now since the Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, and others have already moved in this direction. The rear-end styling is inoffensive, almost original Mercedes CLS meets current Impala.

Tuning shop plans to turn C8 Corvette into a supercar homage to Cadillac

In March 1902, Henry Ford walked away from his Henry Ford Company investors, leaving his former financial backers to dissolve the concern. The engineer brought in to appraise the old equipment, Henry Leland, convinced the investors to form a new car company and back him instead. Hence, six years before Ford gave the world the Model T, he inadvertently gave the world the Cadillac Automobile Company in August 1902. That makes 2022 the 120th anniversary of the brand that once called itself "The Standard of the World." We don't know if Cadillac has anything planned for the year, but U.S.-based tuner Competition Carbon does. As Carscoops picked up on, the aftermarket shop specializing in Corvette and Lamborghini mods intends to turn a current C8 Corvette into a supercar homage to Cadillac called the C120R. There will be two versions of this creation, one of them a V12 roadster. All we have are Instagram captions and photos to go on at the moment, one of those photos tagged with a list of Competition Carbon's partners in the project. One of the names is Kasim Tlibekov, who specializes in creating body kits for all manner of cars, another is Group A Motoring, which makes and sells body kit parts for six Japanese automakers. In a post on the Group A Instagram page, a Competition Carbon caption informs us the C120R is its "2022 SEMA project! Inspired by [2002] Cadillac Cien Super Car Concept (100 Anniversary), we redesigned and updated to our modern world after 20 years." On the same post, Group A writes that this bodykit is "prob the first complete rebody C8 project, already at 3D Printing." So, yes, despite the name, the body kit is worked up in SLA resin, not carbon. As for the kit's looks, the rationale for its intensity makes sense after looking at the Cien. The twin-duct hood dipping below the vectored front fascia, the reshaped side intakes, the flying buttresses over bulked-up and squared rear fenders, all come straight off the Cien, pictured below. The adjustable rear wing and the roof scoop are new. That scoop would be one of two engine cover treatments for the car. The first has eight cutouts, and we suspect the car that Competition Carbon brings to this year's SEMA show will use the Corvette's 6.2-liter V8. However, another of the tagged names is Hartley Engines, a small engine builder out of New Zealand. There's apparently another C120R already planned for the 2023 SEMA show, that one packing an open top above and a V12 behind.

Travis Kvapil tells Twitter his Sprint Cup car was stolen

There's a bizarre story coming out of Atlanta today, as NASCAR racer Travis Kvapil is reporting that his Sprint Cup Car was stolen from a lot at the Drury Inn in Morrow, GA. Kvapil announced the theft, which included the black pickup that was hauling the trailer and the #44 Chevrolet SS Sprint Cup Car – shown above, with driver JJ Yeley at the wheel – on Twitter. According to Kvapil, the car wasn't going to be ready for the Thursday test session at Atlanta Motor Speedway, although forecasts of snow forced the team to dispatch their main trailer and tools to the track ahead of the car, which left for Atlanta later yesterday. According to ESPN, police in Morrow have video of the "incident," which happened at 5:34 AM Friday, with police investigating it as as criminal in nature. "Sometimes what happens when thieves see trailers, they might just assume there's something in the trailer they can go off and sell," Sgt. Larry Oglesby, of the Morrow PD, told USA Today. "Sometimes when things like this occur, they will drop off the items in a parking lot somewhere – like a Walmart parking lot – once they realize what they have." "All we know is it was a silver jeep," team owner John Cohen told USA Today. "One guy got out and they pulled off together." Earlier, Cohen told ESPN that the theft will force the team out of this weekend's race at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kvapil, meanwhile, has taken to Twitter to appeal to his followers to be on the lookout for the truck, trailer and race car. Here's hoping it turns up all together. Check out the driver's tweets, below. Wow. Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal - Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015 I bet when whoever has it, opens the trailer and is going to be like 'oh snap' - Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015 Ok, to clarify. @Teamxtreme44 transporter is @amsupdates. The guys stayed and worked on the car Thursday at the shop in NC. They drove.... - Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015 down last night in a Ford dually and enclosed trailer with racecar inside. That was stolen out of hotel parking lot this am in Morrow, GA - Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015 Black Ford dually, white enclosed tag behind trailer. New Jersey plates - Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015 Dang.... I'm wishing we had LoJack or something on it!