General Motors officially unveiled its much-anticipated production version of the Chevrolet Volt, its extended-range electric vehicle, just in time to kick off its next 100 years. The automaker is celebrating its one hundredth year this year. “Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century,” said Rick Wagoner, GM Chairman and CEO. “The Volt is symbolic of GM’s strong commitment to the future … just the kind of technology innovation that our industry needs to respond to today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges.”

The Chevrolet Volt production version is redesigned from the original concept revealed at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. The new Volt now features a sleeker and more aerodynamically efficient design with rounded and flush front fascia, tapered corners and grille, sharp edges and streamlined spoiler as well as an aggressive rake on the windshield and back glass. Design elements from the original concept still endure such as the closed front grille, athletic stance, rear design graphics, outside rearview mirrors and more.

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General Motors announced that it will invest half a billion dollars to build and develop a new compact sized car, the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze is set to be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor show this October. It will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant which also assembles the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the Cruze would be a significant step toward ending the automaker’s reliance on big trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV). The Cruze will replace the Cobalt, the most fuel-efficient compact car in the US and one of GM’s top selling vehicles.

GM says the Cruze will get 46 miles per gallon, a good 9 miles more than the Cobalt. It will go on sale in Europe and Asia by 2009, with a North American debut slated for 2010.

Via Forbes

Just days ahead of its planned debut, the new Camaro in production trim was revealed in a series of leaked photos on the internet. The pictures showing the production car in red as well as one interior shot were posted by CarTribe, a UK car site.

The new Camaro will be available in standard US-market models LS, LT and SS with a hint at a fourth trim level. The car will be fitted with 6-speed manual and auto transmissions. To improve fuel economy, the Camaro will feature a fuel-efficient 296hp (220kW) 3.6-liter V6 and 416hp (310kW) 6.2-liter V8 engines. The Camaro will also boast of a fully independent suspension and stability control.

Check out some serious eye candy (click on image to enlarge):

Via Motor Authority

If you drive a 1995 Honda Civic, you better employ better anti-theft solutions because this popular model is America’s most stolen car for 2007, according to ‘Hot Wheels’, a report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau based on information from the National Crime Information Center. The ’95 Civic is followed by another Honda model, the 1991 Honda Accord in the list.

The 1989 Toyota Camry was the third most stolen vehicle while the 1997 Ford F-150 was the highest-listed pickup truck as well as the most stolen domestic-branded vehicle. Other domestic models were the 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 and the 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup, all trucks. Rounding out the top ten perennial favorites of car thieves were the Acura Integra, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Pickup and the Toyota Corolla.

According to the NICB, the types of vehicles being stolen remain consistent year to year. Thieves continue to prey on these older vehicles because they provide the best market for stolen vehicle parts.

To protect your cars from thieves, NICB recommends a ‘layered approach’ by using simple, low-cost solutions to make vehicles less vulnerable to carjackers. These four layers are: common sense, a warning device, an immobilizing device and a tracking device. Common sense means locking the car and taking the keys with you.

Using a warning device or alarm is also an effective deterrent. The third layer encourages the use of an immobilizing device that will prevent the vehicle from being driven such as a smart key or fuel cut off. The fourth layer is the use of a tracking device that law enforcement officers can use to track and recover a stolen vehicle.

For 2008, the Chevrolet Equinox would be coming with a new V6 engine, a report from the New York Times disclosed. These power units made in China would be used by General Motors’ most popular vehicle in the North American auto market.

The engine has the capacity to produce 185 horsepower. This is the very first engine unit that is made in China and is used in a vehicle manufactured in the United States. According to General Motors, the V6 engine is not only powerful - it is also quiet and makes vehicles run smoothly. The car maker also boasts that with the 2008 Chevy Equinox using such an engine, the vehicle would be able to be far better than other competition.

An expert in the industry has mentioned that General Motors’ decision on using a China-manufactured engine is actually an experiment to see if they would be able to cut down on costs with regards to producing a vehicle.

A convertible has been added to Avis Rent A Car System, LLC’s fleet in the country. This convertible is the Chevrolet Corvette and it has been added to the company’s ‘Cool Car’ collection which is known as a range of popular and sophisticated automobiles.

The 2008 Chevrolet Corvette comes with cruise control, auto-dimming mirrors, and power door locks and power windows. Its power comes from an LS3 V8 engine that is capable of creating 430 horsepower. The vehicle also has an auxiliary audio input jack as well as an electronic keyless ignition.

Avis has over a hundred various vehicle makes and models and these are readily available for consumers. Included in Avis’ car range are the Toyota Prius, Nissan Altima, Ford Escape, Cadillac CTS, Lincoln MKX, Hummer H3, and Chrysler Crossfire.

Customers can now rent this vehicle model which is available in select Avis branches in Arizona, Florida, California, and Las Vegas.

Because of its unique combination of positive improvements especially in its powertrain, chassis, ride and handling and interior amenities, the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado is named as the best redesigned vehicle for the year by Kelly Blue Book’s kbb.com. The Silverado bested over 40 other redesigned vehicles for this year. Following the Silverado were the following finalists: Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Aveo Sedan, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chrysler Sebring, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Toyota Camry.

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The perennial best-seller, Ford F-Series pickup, along with the other best-selling pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado and the Dodge Ram staved off the very stiff competition from smaller cars with way better gas mileage, to remain at the top of Forbes’ list of the top selling cars for 2006.

The F-Series still lords it over all the other vehicles sold in the US this year although sales have fallen 13% down from 625,047 units by August of last year to 545,963 by the end of August this year. Meanwhile, sales of the other pickups in the top ten also tumbled; the top three pickups sold a combined 1.2 million units in the first eight months of 2006, down 8% or over 110,000 units from the 1.3 million US sales registered in the first eight months of 2004.

A telling sign is the conspicuous absence of any SUV or van in the list. Ford’s Explorer SUV, once ranked sixth in 2004 is now dropped from the list, having experienced a 31% decline in sales this year despite significant upgrades in luxury and refinement.

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Two months ago, we blogged about the starring role of the up-for-production Chevrolet Camaro concept in the new Transformers film. Although, there have been objections from Transformer purists about the Camaro being cast as Bumblebee, since the Bee was originally a Volkswagen Beetle, these recent pictures might convince them otherwise. If you don’t know yet, the Bumblebee is the only Transformer that will be built for the movie, the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons will be CGI; and Bumblebee looks quite cool in these spy shots: one with the Autobot lying on its back and the other showing its full height. Check ‘em out.

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When the Chevrolet Sequel Concept was introduced back in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show, it immediately drew raves because it was the first vehicle to fully integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system with a wide range of advanced technologies. These technologies included a lightweight aluminum structure, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries, steer-and brake-by-wire controls. More than these sophisticated innovations, what made the Chevrolet Sequel stand out at the auto show was its being a clean and environmentally-friendly automobile that uses only clean, renewable hydrogen as fuel and emits only water vapor.

The Chevrolet Sequel is dubbed as the most technologically advanced automobile ever built. Why, you ask? Because it basically changes everything we know about automobiles. Instead of an internal combustion engine, the Sequel is powered by fuel cell propulsion. In place of mechanical systems, this concept car has electrical systems. And most importantly, the car uses hydrogen, instead of petroleum.

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