1989 C-4 Corvette / Red / Rebuilt Nice / L@@k on 2040-cars

Auto blog

First 2016 Chevy Volt commercial rocks us to sleep

The 2016 Chevrolet Volt, with its thorough restyling and increased all-electric range, is an exciting evolution of Chevy's groundbreaking plug-in hybrid, so it's only fitting that the commercial campaign to sell it to the masses also be engaging and vibrant. Well, the first ad has just been officially released and it rocks... us to sleep. Now, we get that General Motors didn't want to repeat past Volt-commercial mistakes. No one wants to see dogs licking feet or dumb (and weirdly horny) aliens again. Nor would it be smart to slam all-electric vehicles, since it now sells the Spark EV and has just revealed its 200-mile Bolt concept. So, what does that leave? How about a mostly computer-generated spot that relies on cliche images and an upbeat synthetic soundtrack to communicate that the Volt is now as boring as other four-door appliances? An intro, featuring a lightly-bearded gentleman peering at his tablet through designer glasses launches us into the action as the Volt makes its way across a city bridge, then a curvaceous country road. Chevrolet doesn't include voiceover to inform you that the new Volt has a 50-mile battery-only range. There's no mention of its gas mileage once its electric charge is depleted – items that just might be of importance to hybrid buyers. The ad also makes no attempt at establishing an emotional connection, either through drama or comedy. There are, however, lots of fast cuts of the new, normalized interior, including a two-second detail shot featuring the windshield wiper switch. We imagine that this is only the first in a series of spots that will tell the Volt story and motivate potential buyers to run down to their local dealer, hopefully the next spots will be more interesting and informative. View 16 Photos

2019 Chevy Blazer vs Honda Passport, other midsize crossovers: How they compare

The two-row midsize crossover market is a sizable one that just keeps growing. The two newest additions being the 2019 Chevy Blazer and the 2019 Honda Passport, additions we just recently drove. As such, it seemed like a good time to see how their numbers compare with the veterans of the segment: Ford Edge, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan Murano. In this comparison to see where it lands in the numbers game, we'll take a look at everything including power, torque, towing, ground clearance, passenger room, cargo space, fuel economy and pricing. Cue the chart. Powertrain The Passport only has one engine option, Honda's trusty 3.5-liter V6. You can find this engine in both the Pilot and Ridgeline, and we like it in all its applications. But if you're looking for something more affordable or more frugal, you're out of luck. The Passport is one of just two that offer just one engine option. Most of the others have two choices, and Jeep even offers three. Compared with similar engine options, the Passport is pretty middling. The Ford Edge ST's turbo V6 makes the most power and torque at 335 ponies and 380 pound-feet. Next up is the Blazer, the only other to break 300 horsepower, and then the 295-horsepower Grand Cherokee. The Passport does beat the V6 Murano and the turbocharged Santa Fe, though. 2019 Chevrolet Blazer View 37 Photos For vehicles with smaller engines, the Edge wins again with its 250-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder. The Chevy Blazer is next, but at 193 horsepower, it's barely ahead of the 185-horsepower Santa Fe. The Jeep Grand Cherokee has a couple of powertrain aces, though. It's the only vehicle available with a V8, and it makes an impressive 360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque. There's even a turbodiesel model with 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, the most twist of the group. The Grand Cherokee is also the choice if you want to tow much. The V6 models will pull 6,200 pounds, and the V8 and diesel can handle 7,200 pounds. Add 200 more pounds to the diesel if it only has rear drive. 2019 Honda Passport View 19 Photos When it comes to fuel economy, the front-drive four-cylinder Edge and Santa Fe are tied for the best, with the all-wheel-drive Edge getting one more mpg on the all-wheel-drive Santa Fe on the highway. The Murano comes up next.

Buick takes top spot in 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

People, economies, and supply chains weren't the only things continuing to get sick over the past year. The 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) is out, showing the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership increased overall. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. This year, the average jumps to 180 problems. J.D. Power says that figure is a record high over the 36-year history of the study. Buick leapt to the top of the rankings this year with the fewest issues, at 139 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 100 days of ownership. After Dodge became the first American automaker to lead the IQS in 2020, followed by Ram in 2021, this year marks a three-peat for U.S. carmakers. Dodge took second this year at 143 PP100, Chevrolet third with 147 PP100, Genesis the first luxury maker on the chart in fourth with 156 PP100. Between February and May, this year's study gathered responses to 223 questions from more than 84,000 new 2022-model-year car owners and lessees. The questions are designed to zero in on real-world problems new owners encounter with nine categories of vehicle features: Infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. As has been the case in the past few year, infotainment has proved to be the most problematic bugbear making scores worse. Considering features individually, six of 10 of the worst problem areas dealt with infotainment, causing infotainment's score of 45 PP100 to be 19.5 PP100 worse than the second-placed feature. Consumers ranked getting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to connect reliably as the most troublesome.  GM didn't just score with Buick, which was one of only nine of the 33 ranked brands to show improvement this year. The conglomerate earned first place with the fewest PP100 among all the automaker groups, and scored the most model-level awards with nine, ahead of BMW with eight and Hyundai Group with three.  This year's study again showed a gap between luxury and mass-market makers, thought to be down to the amount of tech in luxury vehicles that consumers aren't properly informed about or that doesn't act as expected — that latter issue exacerbated by the chip shortage.