Clean, Second Row 60/40 Split-folding Bench,audio System W Am/fm Stereo W Cd/mp3 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chevy Volt 'Drive My Way' test cuts out the dealership

Last month, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt won the 2016 Green Car of the Year Award at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Awards are nice, but General Motors is now offering to make some folks' familiarity with the second-generation Volt a little more personal. Chevy is enacting what it calls the "Drive My Way" program, where the automaker brings a 2016 Volt directly to some prospective buyers for a 30-minute test drive with no dealer required, according to Hybrid Cars. Kind of like Tesla, only different. RedCap Valet is administering the program and is helping to track drivers' behind-the-wheel behavior, including keeping records on speed, acceleration, and braking habits. General Motors representatives didn't respond to a our request for further details about how many people will be chosen for the program or how these folks were picked to participate in "Drive My Way." Through November, the Volt's sales were down 23 percent from a year earlier to about 13,000 units, so any momentum for the 2016 version is a good thing. If you're just looking for numerical improvements, the new version has got you covered. It can go as far as 53 miles on electricity alone (about 15 miles further than the previous generation model) and it's got better miles per gallon and MPGe ratings as well. Of course, numbers alone aren't usually enough sell a car. Experience counts. So we ask, dear readers, if having a 2016 Volt brought to you for a half-hour test drive might make it more likely that you'll buy one of these extended-range plug-in vehicles. While you're waiting for a new Volt to arrive at your house, you can take a look here for our First Drive review. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Chevrolet Volt: First Drive View 24 Photos News Source: Hybrid Cars Green Chevrolet GM test drive volt extended-range plug-in

General Motors and EVs: No stranger to firsts, but where's the leadership?

2015 is already shaping up to be the year of "affordable, 200-mile EV" concepts. Nissan and Tesla have each been talking about them for some time, the latter promising to unveil its Model 3 at the North American International Auto Show in January before balking when the time came. Instead, Chevrolet beat them all by unveiling the Bolt concept at the same event, followed shortly thereafter with suggestions of a 2016 launch – potentially offering the first nationwide EV with anything close to that range. It was the ballsiest EV-related move General Motors has made in a quarter century. But will it remain so? Exactly 25 years before the Bolt rolled up onto the turntable, then-Chairman Roger Smith unveiled GM's last ground-up EV concept, the even-more-unfortunately-named Impact, at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 1990. A few months later, he surprised most of his colleagues by announcing its intended production in honor of Earth Day. It was the first modern foray into electric vehicles for the US by any automaker, one that was rewarded by the State of California with what is now known as the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate. The program not only forced other automakers into competing with Roger's pet project, but inspired all of them to fight it like small children against bedtime. Some years later, the drivers themselves weighed in, with a biting documentary about that obstinance and the leadership it cost both GM and the country. Within months, GM was first back into the fray of plug-in vehicles. Many criticized the company for starting with a PHEV rather than jump straight back into EVs. The choice wasn't totally out of the blue – even EV1 was meant to be followed by a PHEV. And especially on the heels of Who Killed the Electric Car?, some skittishness was understandable: even a successful EV would invite a "we told you so" public reaction, underscoring their mistake in ending the EV1 program. If a new EV didn't do well, they'd be convicted in the public eye as serial killers. All while seeking a federal bailout. For all the flak, the resulting Chevy Volt was and is a better car than GM has ever gotten credit for. But the company seemed to grow weary of having to overcome its varied past, and while the current owners remain happy, much of the stakeholder and community engagement that so effectively built early goodwill and sales growth faded not long after launch. Marketing has been spotty in both consistency and effectiveness.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee teases return with a Countach

Unless you have an intense aversion to Jerry Seinfeld, it's hard not to find something to like about his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. After all, the series combines funny people telling often hilarious stories while riding in ridiculously cool vehicles. The trailer for the sixth season is now online, and based on this tease, this definitely looks worth watching no matter what part of the videos interest you. Of course, it's the automotive portion that really grabs us, and Seinfeld has quite a fleet to showcase for season six. The trailer shows off a Lamborghini Countach, a '57 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible, a classic Volkswagen Beetle in the green and white German Polizei livery, a Morgan, an Aston Martin DB5, and a Ferrari 308. On the more humorous side of things, the guest list at least includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jim Carrey, Steve Harvey, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher and upcoming host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah. Season six of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee premieres on Crackle on Wednesday, June 3, at 11:30 PM ET.