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New Chevy Malibu helps parents monitor teen driver's performance

For teens, a driver's license can represent freedom. For parents, it can represent fear. Now there's a way parents can alleviate some of their worries and monitor their teen drivers. The 2016 Chevy Malibu, which debuted Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, contains a new feature that tracks driving performance and helps inexperienced drivers rein in some of their more dangerous habits. Accessed through a password in the car's infotainment system, parents can learn how far their child has driven, how fast they've gone and how many times they've braked hard, among other features. "It's an in-vehicle report card that gives parents information," says Mary Ann Beebe, one of the lead engineers who designed the system. "It's meant to be used as a teaching tool. Parents can sit down and talk with their teen about, 'Here are some areas where you're doing well, and here's some where you can use improvement.'" Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens ages 16 to 19, and only last week, AAA released a study that found their driving behavior can leave them particularly susceptible to crashes. General Motors had sought ways to help educate and train younger drivers. In an era where data can be harvested from cars, monitoring performance is one way to provide information. Parents access the Teen Driver system in the car through a PIN-number entered into the Malibu's infotainment system. The report card can only be seen in the car – so far, it's not available via a smartphone app, like some other types of on-board diagnostic information. The system is activated by the use of a specially programmed key fob that lets the system know who is driving the car. Once the vehicle recognizes the key fob, it takes preventive measures to ensure safer conduct behind the wheel: Until the driver and front passenger buckle their seat belts, the radio is muted. Safety systems such as forward-collision assist and electronic stability control are automatically turned on. Parents can preset preferred speed limits, and drivers will hear a warning if that sound is exceeded. "We have these great technologies, and we want to make sure we turn them on for the teen," Beebe said. There are no geo-location aspects of the program, and data is stored on the car, not uploaded to the Cloud or even seen by General Motors, she said.

GM adds 1,200 jobs at Detroit-Hamtramck plant

General Motors is making a big move at its Hamtramck, MI, factory, announcing it will add a second shift and hire over 1,200 workers within the next several months. It's expected that by early 2016, the factory will employ over 2,800 workers to build the Chevrolet Volt, Impala, Malibu, Cadillac ELR, and by early next year, the new CT6. According to GM Hamtramck spokesperson Courtney Zemke, 40 of the 1,200 positions are for salaried employees, while the remainder will be hourly positions. As for where these employees will go, positions are being made available across the factory, so GM isn't focusing on any particular area for its new hires. It's a similar story behind the hiring surge itself. GM said in its press release that the "second shift is necessary to meet forecasted market demand," a position Zemke reiterated. It's a matter of demand across the plant's portfolio, rather than any one particular product seriously outstripping supply. Naturally, the United Auto Workers is happy with the move. "The workforce at Detroit-Hamtramck is second to none," UAW Local 22 Shop Chairman Don LaForest said in the attached release. "We appreciate the opportunity to expand our UAW-GM family." Hiring is going on now, with the second shift slated to get underway in early 2016. GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly to Add Second Shift and More Than 1,200 Jobs Plant will nearly double its workforce by early 2016 2015-10-22 DETROIT – General Motors is nearly doubling its workforce at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly by adding a second shift and more than 1,200 hourly and salaried jobs. The addition of a second shift will increase the plant's workforce to approximately 2,800 people when hiring is completed. The second shift is necessary to meet forecasted market demand for the five cars produced at Detroit-Hamtramck. "This is the result of the award-winning vehicles Detroit-Hamtramck produces and the confidence GM has in our team to build world-class quality for our customers," said Plant Manager Gary West. Second shift hiring is underway, and the shift is scheduled to begin operations in early 2016. "The workforce at Detroit-Hamtramck is second to none," said UAW Local 22 Shop Chairman Don LaForest. "We appreciate the opportunity to expand our UAW-GM family." The 4.1 million-square-foot Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly opened in 1985. GM has invested $1 billion in the plant over the last six years, making it one of the company's most-agile manufacturing facilities in North America.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro: Everything we know so far [UPDATE]

UPDATE: We fully expect the floodgates to open as facts and photos leak throughout the day. Watch this space for more information as it breaks, including these leaked photos, and some new powertrain speculation. Chevrolet has made a grand production of teasing the all-new, sixth-generation Camaro. That slow trickle will become a deluge this weekend, when the 2016 model hits the stage on Detroit's Belle Isle as part of an all-day Camaro-palooza. Considering you're likely to hear plenty about the next-gen muscle car in the next couple days, we figured now is the perfect time to sort out all the facts and rumors we've heard about the next-generation coupe that's coming this weekend. Here's everything we know about Camaro Six. What Will It Look Like? Arguably the easiest Camaro question to answer after all the teasers and spy shots, General Motors' design team favored evolving the current car's retro design language while retaining the same basic shape. The long hood will carry on, joined by an even shorter, wing-topped rear deck, giving the 2016 an almost fastback-like look. The greenhouse is still slim, but lateral visibility may improve slightly owing to the larger quarter windows. We can only hope. The rear end looks to have been rounded, while Chevy's own teaser shows off larger, more prominent taillight housings than the simple rectangular lights on today's car. Expect quad-tipped exhausts to be offered on at least one version of the Camaro. Judging by the single teaser of the car's profile, the rear haunches will be larger and more chiseled. The muscular aluminum hood and its accompanying power bulge are more heavily styled than on today's car, although it looks largely similar in terms of size. It sits atop an even slimmer upper grille that's barely big enough for Chevy's Bowtie logo, with most of the visual mass moving to the gaping lower grille. One of the more tantalizing rumors surrounding the new Camaro focuses on its roof. As evidenced in a rather bizarre round of spy photos, it almost looks like Chevy is considering a removable panel, a la Corvette Stingray. T-tops are also a distinct (and more probable, we hope) possibility. The new shape will result in a more aerodynamic car, and Chevy claims the 2016 Camaro spent 350 hours in the wind tunnel. Overall lift has apparently been cut by 30 percent, thanks partially to a new, smooth underbody panel. Chevrolet has been far less forthcoming with information on the new Camaro's cabin.