The nostalgic Bel Air concept retraces the swish traces of the conventional 1955-57 Chevy Bel Airs, however provides the overall performance and generation of a modern-day convertible. Making use of body-on-frame construction, the Bel Air idea employs the equal hydroforming generation used within the frame rails of the Corvette. The idea sports the signature Bel Air beltline kick-up, the Chevrolet bowtie, and five-spoke 18-inch aluminum wheels. Inside, the concept features numerous indoors cues inspired from its Nineteen Fifties predecessors: twin-detail device panel, steering column-hooked up gearshift, and bench seats, which can be covered in smooth excessive-technology fabric, in colorings that in shape the exterior. At the same time as the 1955 Bel Air turned into powered by way of small-block V-8 that used the modern-day engine technology of the time, the Bel Air concept is influenced through an equally advanced powerplant. The all-aluminum Vortec 3500 turbocharged inline five-cylinder idea engine gives you up to 315 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque. "This new engine is simply as sizable as that V-eight changed into within the '55," stated Wayne Cherry, GM's vp for layout.
PRICE $22,500 Tell anyone that the new Chevy Malibu hybrid shares much of its powertrain with the Volt and they’ll inevitably ask how far it can go in EV mode. Answer: not far. Unlike the Volt, the Malibu hybrid is set up to maximize fuel economy from a running engine, not to stretch electric range. Wait till you tell them you can’t even plug it in. Instead, there’s this: 48 mpg city and 45 highway. Those EPA numbers are high enough to beat the hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry. It might not beat the Honda Accord hybrid’s 50/45 figures, but that car is on hiatus till 2017 as production moves to Japan.
Pulled directly from the Volt are the two electric motors, the transmission, and the regenerative-braking system. There are two major differences, however: the engine and the battery. Under the aluminum hood is a 122-hp 1.8-liter four-cylinder instead of the Volt’s 101-hp 1.5-liter four. GM deemed a larger engine necessary because the Malibu relies on its gas burner more often, the battery pack being a mere fraction of the Volt’s. The Malibu’s 1.5-kWh battery packs in the trunk and eats about as much space as a roller-bag suitcase; the Volt has a bulky 18.4-kWh pack running up its spine.
Tucked just behind the rear seats, the Malibu’s battery reduces trunk volume from 15.8 cubic feet to 11.6. And while the rear seats still fold, the battery mostly blocks the pass-through. Hybrid hardware isn’t light, either. The hybrid weighs 371 pounds more than a base Malibu with the 1.5-liter engine.
Lifting off the accelerator sends some charge back to the battery. Apply the brakes gently to increase the electrical regeneration, or select L1 or L2 on the gear shifter to increase the amount of resistance from the motor. Borrowed from the Volt, the Malibu’s braking system seamlessly blends the braking done by the motor-turned-generator and the disc brakes. They feel linear and normal, which can’t be said of many other hybrids. Visually, there are a few subtle tweaks to reduce drag, such as additional radiator shutters and a slightly lower ride height. Otherwise, the Malibu hybrid is a dead ringer for the conventional model. Even the tires are the same; no rock-hard, low-rolling-resistance rubber or 45-psi pressures here. Chevy hasn’t announced pricing, but when the hybrid arrives this spring, we’d guess it’ll add about $2000 to the bottom line of a Malibu 1LT. So expect prices to open at $28,000 for a base version. What buyers will get is a normal Malibu with the soul of a Volt, the space of a mid-size sedan, and nearly the fuel economy of the outgoing Prius. That’s worth crowing about.
2016 Chevrolet CamaroTrim, Toned, and Out for Mustang Blood review he 2016 Chevrolet Camaro has arrived, and it looks trim and toned—and thirsty for Ford Mustang blood.
Yes, we’ve already mentioned that car. There’s simply no way to avoid the Mustang when you discuss the Camaro, just as there’s no denying that the Ford largely overshadowed the Chevy for five decades. Consider that the first 1967 Camaro was a two-year-late response to the Blue Oval’s original pony. Or that, until recently, the Mustang traditionally outsold the Camaro. Or that the Camaro nameplate was scuttled from 2003 through 2009, an indignity never suffered by the Mustang. (To be fair, that the front-drive Probe was intended to be a Mustang might be the bigger humiliation.) Or, perhaps worst of all for bow-tie fans, that the Camaro has usually lost to the Mustang in our comparison tests.
Laying the Groundwork
The most potent weapon in the new, sixth-gen Camaro’s arsenal is its platform. The new car sits on GM’s Alpha architecture, the foundation on which the Cadillac ATS and CTS have built their reputations for kick-ass dynamics. Chevrolet says that the new car is 28 percent more structurally rigid than the last one, and that some 70 percent of its Alpha component set is unique to the 2016 Camaro. (This seems like a good point to drop in the fact that the only carry-over part numbers are said to be the bow tie on the decklid and the SS badge.) The Alpha bones make for a slightly smaller Camaro in every dimension; the 2016 is 2.3 inches shorter overall, 0.8 inch narrower, and 1.1 inch shorter in height. The wheelbase is down by 1.6 inches, and the track measurements, front and rear, are reduced by between 0.4 and 1.1 inch, depending on trim level.
All the decimal shaving results in a car that, depending on the trim level, is more than 200 pounds lighter at the curb, according to Chevrolet; the body-in-white alone is down by 133 pounds. Even before we dive into the rest of the chassis and powertrain details, that’s already promising—weight is the enemy of performance, after all. Rendering the cross-dash beam in aluminum instead of steel saved 9.2 pounds, while 26 pounds were pulled from the suspension by using aluminum links up front and punching holes into the steel links fitted out back. Once again, the front end is suspended via struts while the rear gets a multilink arrangement; GM’s sublime Magnetic Ride Control active dampers will be available for the first time on the Camaro SS.
The four—the first in a Camaro in 30 years—and the six can be ordered bolted to a Tremec TR3160 six-speed manual transmission or GM’s 8L45 eight-speed automatic. The SS gets the same transmission types and gear counts, but the manual is the familiar Tremec TR6060 (now with active rev-matching) and the automatic is the 8L90 that’s also available in the latest Corvette. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine makes 275 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, just about equal with its output in the Cadillac ATS and CTS. Chevy says it’ll return more than 30 mpg on the highway and hustle the Camaro to 60 mph in less than six seconds, although the company doesn’t specify which transmission achieves those numbers. For reference, we’ve tested the EcoBoost Mustang and achieved zero to 60 mph in 5.5 (manual) and 5.2 seconds (automatic). GM’s 2.0-liter is too coarse and uneven in its Cadillac applications, but hopefully the Camaro wizards have found a way to smooth out the power delivery. We also wouldn’t mind if they made it rev a little more freely.
