1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Ss on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport brings American fury to Geneva

Power isn't everything – even when it comes to Corvettes. Sure, the mighty, 650-horsepower Z06 is a real peach, but there's a lot to be said for the base Stingray with its naturally aspirated LT1 V8, putting out 460 hp in top spec. That's still plenty of grunt. Now, put that engine in a lightweight, aerodynamic-focused Corvette with super-sticky tires, and you get the new Grand Sport – a naturally aspirated Stingray that can pull up to 1.2 Gs. GM says the new Grand Sport is nearly as quick around its Milford Proving Ground track as the previous-generation ZR1. Specific updates include sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires – 285/30ZR19 up front and 335/25ZR20 at the rear. Huge Brembo brakes are fitted to slow things down with a quickness, new stabilizer bars and springs keep the car hunkered down, and a seven-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions are available. Want an even more hardcore package? Option the Z07 pack, which adds carbon ceramic brakes and Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. Both coupe and convertible versions will be available, and a Collector Edition will come later in the year, painted in Watkins Glen Gray with Tension Blue hash marks, satin black stripes, black wheels, and a blue full leather and suede interior. The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport debuts at this week's Geneva Motor Show, and will go on sale in the US this summer. View 18 Photos View 6 Photos 2017 CORVETTE GRAND SPORT HAS RACING ROOTS A 'purist' model that leverages a half-century legacy of motorsports success - Lightweight architecture and track-honed aerodynamics - An engine offering an estimated 1.05g in cornering capability and up to 1.2g with the available Z07 package - Coupe and convertible available this summer in U.S. and fall in Europe - Grand Sport Collector Edition available later in model year GENEVA – With Corvette Racing in its DNA, the all-new 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is a pure expression of the car's motorsports-bred pedigree. It was introduced today at the Geneva International Motor Show. Like the 2015 Le Mans-winning Corvette C7.R GTE Pro race car, the new Grand Sport combines a lightweight architecture, a track-honed aerodynamics package, Michelin tires and a naturally aspirated engine. The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport offers an estimated 1.05g in cornering capability – and up to 1.2g with the available Z07 package.

Seventies super-salesman challenges new car-sales record

Some of the fondest memories from my youth were the Sunday afternoons spent walking between rows of new and used cars. This preceded the advent of widely available internet, so the cars didn't sell themselves online: A tentative buyer had to come see the cars in the metal, with old-school salesmen taking well-earned smoke breaks after putting someone behind the wheel of a new Saab 900. All-inclusive subscription services were unheard of. If you open a Guinness records book and look up car salesmen, you'll find Joe Girard. The definitely old-school Detroit salesman regularly sold over 1,000 new cars per year, with a particular high point of 1,425 cars in 1973 guaranteeing him a mention in the Guinness book. To reach that kind of sales figure, you had to be a pretty special salesman, and Girard was. He didn't take breaks unless absolutely necessary, and even his lunch hours were dedicated to selling more cars instead of shooting the breeze with other sales persons. By 1977 he was worn through, having sold over 13,000 cars in his career, and his physique couldn't take it anymore. He's been a motivational speaker since. Now, 44 years later, a Dearborn, Mich., Cadillac and Chevrolet salesman named Ali Reda has reportedly broken Girard's record. The books at Les Stanford Chevrolet Cadillac say Reda sold 1,530 new cars and 52 used cars in 2017, averaging 130 vehicles per month. But after Girard, 89, heard of the sales record, he called his attorney, not letting his record be broken without a fight — or at least an audit. The Dearborn dealer isn't too concerned about Girard's doubts, at least according to Gary Stanford, whose father founded the dealership. "It's very official, trust me," said Stanford to the Detroit Free Press. "Ali is the hardest worker I've ever seen. And if someone doesn't believe the data, well, they're more than welcome to consult with GM. It's all there in black and white." What Girard doesn't get is that Reda was honoring him with the accomplishment. "I read his book, 'How to Sell Anything to Anybody,' and it said it would teach you how to become the best," said Reda, who at age 44 was a newborn when Girard hit his peak. "He's an absolute legend in the industry. Your whole career, you're chasing his name.

The Opel GT is the concept General Motors should build for the US

Now is the time. General Motors should double-down on performance cars and build the Opel GT concept that's set to debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show. Better yet, sell it in the United States as the Chevy GT. Consumers are showing a thirst for performance cars not seen in decades. Ford has them coming in waves, with everything from the F-150 Raptor to a hotted-up Fusion. FCA US is unrepentantly building loads of Hellcats. GM should respond. The General's cupboard is hardly bare. With the Corvette, Camaro, and Cadillac's V-Series, GM has more than enough to compete with its crosstown rivals and anything Europe or Japan can throw at it. But there's also an opportunity. There's not many front-mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat sports cars out there like the Opel GT concept. A Chevy GT that used that layout and captured some of the concept car's proportions and curves would ignite a different kind of passion in enthusiasts. It would be Miata-like. With Chevy branding, this sports car would be the everyday exotic. The concept has a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, which makes about 143 horsepower to motivate a structure that weighs less than 2,200 pounds. It can hit 60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds. All of those numbers are within the front-engined Miata's territory. This new Opel is inspired by two great mid-1960s concepts that helped put its design studio, and that of its sister brand, the British Vauxhall, on the map. (The GT concept is also technically a Vauxhall, as the brands are linked in GM's European strategy.) One of them, the '66 Vauxhall XVR remained a concept. The '65 Opel Experimental GT was on the road by 1968. That shows this is doable. There's precedent. The Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice shared a chassis with a modern GT during that trio's brief run. If GM ever makes this concept, Opel and Vauxhall should get their versions. But Chevy is the one that could make this car a global icon. Chevrolet GT. Make it happen. News & Analysis News: The potential return of the Ford Bronco is generating a ton of attention. Analysis: That's not news, per se. But when the Bronco6G.com fan site did a rendering of a next-generation Bronco, it almost broke the Internet. Everyone from Automotive News to Jalopnik picked up the illustrations. Our own post has drawn a lot of traffic and passionate responses. People are clamoring for the Bronco's return.