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Chevrolet is having some pointed fun with its apocalyptic Super Bowl ad featuring the Silverado called “2012,” only the fun is pointed directly at Ford, which finds it a little too sharp to be all that much fun. So on the eve of the big game, Ford sent Chevy a cease-and-desist letter to pull the ad and “pressured” NBC not to run the commercial, according to a report on Yahoo!’s Motoramic blog. Chevy has released a statement in response, which you can read after the jump, indicating that the ad will run despite Ford’s protest.

Ford found no reason to chuckle at some of the commercial’s claims, “particularly around durability.” One in particular comes from a character that says of their now-deceased, F-150-driving pal, “Dave didn’t drive the longest-lasting most dependable truck on the road. Dave drove a Ford.”

Ford spokesman Mike Levine says his company has more trucks with 250,000-plus miles on the road than any other brand, which would appear to contradict the small print that appears in the “2012″ ad that reads, “Dependability based on longevity: 1981-2011 full-size pickup registrations.” Ford says its lawyers will decide what to do (if anything) after the ad airs during tonight’s game, but Chevy’s legal minions must have vetted the spot closely well before time.

Or Ford could take Chevy marketing honcho Joel Ewanick up on his offer and bide its time. Said Ewanick, “We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize.”

Continue reading Ford asks Chevrolet, then NBC, to pull Silverado Super Bowl ad

Ford asks Chevrolet, then NBC, to pull Silverado Super Bowl ad

There are very few things that get the unanimous approval of everyone here at Autoblog. One of them is Icon 4×4, which makes impossibly expensive yet worth-every-penny reimaginings of history’s best off-roaders. For this year’s SEMA Show, Icon debuted something new that had nothing to do with off-roading, yet still had our whole team salivating.

Christened a “Derelict” by Icon founder and designer Jonathon Ward, this 1952 Chevy Coupe looks like an abused artifact from a time not worth remembering. Knowing Icon like we do, however, it’s anything but. The Derelict is fitted with a 6.2-liter V8 from General Motors producing 430 horsepower and an interior upholstered in gorgeous vintage briefcase leather, but the exterior is as original and rusty as it was when Icon found it. What we didn’t know at SEMA is that the ‘52 Chevy isn’t the first Derelict that Icon produced.

Our friends at eGarage have produced an excellent video about how the two Derelicts came to be, including how Jonathon Ward and his company made them. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t as easy as dropping a new engine into an old car and redoing the leather. The Derelicts were meant to be high-performance yet reliable daily drivers, which requires more thought and engineering than we ever imagined.

Follow the jump to be one of the first to watch this latest video from eGarage.

Continue reading Jonathon Ward talks about his Icon Derelicts in latest eGarage video

Jonathon Ward talks about his Icon Derelicts in latest eGarage video

Chevrolet continues its onslaught of Super Bowl ads released before this Sunday’s big game, clearly hoping that volume plays in its favor when the points are tallied by marketing analysts on Monday.

Today’s commercial, entitled “2012,” stars the Chevrolet Silverado in a post-apocalyptic world. In this ad, Chevy reminds us of its oft-repeated statistic that its trucks are the longest lasting, most dependable trucks on the road, and it does so by imagining that the Mayans were right and that 2012 is our last year on Earth.

It’s a well-done spot with lots of fun things to focus on – we’re even amused by the soundtrack, which isn’t what we’d immediately expect to hear as the backing music following life after an Extinction Level Event.

Follow the jump to view the end of the world through Chevy’s eyes.

Continue reading Chevy Silverado takes shot at Ford in apocalyptic Super Bowl ad

Chevy Silverado takes shot at Ford in apocalyptic Super Bowl ad

Just when you thought you’d seen all the Super Bowl ads there were to see, Chevrolet is jumping in with a whole new spot for the Volt. The General Motors plug-in hybrid has been struggling to make sales headway for a number of reasons, including a now-closed government investigation into the vehicle’s safety. With negative press at its peak in January, Volt sales took a nosedive last month – GM managed to move a paltry 603 units. With some Chevy dealers refusing their allocations, the automaker is understandably keen to put the spurs to Volt sales. This Super Bowl ad features a host of very curious aliens attempting to comprehend the science behind the propulsion system in the Chevrolet Volt.

It would seem GM believes buyers are being scared off from the Volt because they simply don’t understand the mechanicals in the plug-in hybrid. If that’s the case, this new commercial should help clear up any mysteries surrounding the vehicle. Hit the jump to see E.T. in action for yourself.

Continue reading Chevy turns to aliens to pitch Volt in Super Bowl ad

Chevy turns to aliens to pitch Volt in Super Bowl ad

The Chevrolet Sonic has been busy lately – taking part in a host of adventurous activities like sky diving, bungee jumping, kickflipping, and making a music video. We’ve seen snippets of a lot of the extreme sports activities the Sonic hatch has been involved in, but we have yet to see the music video for OK Go and its song “Needing/Getting.” Chevy has just released a teaser to whet our appetites, however, as well as its latest full-length Sonic ad for the Super Bowl, both of which you can view after the jump.

The 60-second extreme sports spot is part of an onslaught of seven ads that Chevrolet will run before and during the game, and at least four of the brand’s ads will be devoted to the Sonic. Follow the jump to check out the new spot called “Stunt Anthem,” and if you like the song in the ad – The Fun’s “We Are Young” – you can download it here.

Continue reading Chevy Sonic teases Ok Go music video and extreme sports ads for Super Bowl

Chevy Sonic teases Ok Go music video and extreme sports ads for Super Bowl

In the wake of last week’s bruising hearing on Capitol Hill about the safety of the Chevrolet Volt (which itself followed an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that concluded plug-in vehicles do not “pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles“) former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has written a column for Forbes that strikes back against the media (especially conservatives) who are attacking the car he thought would be one of his most important legacies.

Politicians and members of the media on the right, from Mitt Romney to Neil Cavuto, have talked smack about the Volt, and Lutz says this “has attracted my attention and ire.” In typical Lutz fashion, he doesn’t mince words, writing:

The Oscar for totally irresponsible journalism has to go to The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, with, as its key guest, Lou Dobbs. Amid much jocular yukking, the Volt was depicted as a typical federal failure. … Boiled down to the subtext, Dobbs’ message was this: “All Volts catch fire, and therefore all Volts have been recalled.” That simply isn’t the case. …

To top it off, these two media pros lamented the fact that the same government that had forced GM to produce the Volt was now extending $7,500 tax credits towards its purchase, thus squandering even more of “our taxpayer” dollars on this failed Socialist-collectivist flop. Truth? The $7,500 tax credit was enacted under the Bush administration!

Don’t let Lutz’s words make you think he’s taking a left/liberal stance. He’s still a self-declared “conservative Republican” who hates that right-wing talking heads are spiraling downward into this sort of “deliberate misstatement of facts.” They “have managed to make me embarrassed to describe myself as a conservative,” he writes, adding, “Let’s leave the ‘invention of facts’ to the left-wing climate-change alarmists.” There – that should offend pretty much everyone who’s not in the dead political center.

Bob Lutz: Hey right-wingers, stop attacking Chevy Volt

At the Washington Auto Show today, Chevrolet introduced a sticker.

Okay, the new Ecologic environmental labels that will be coming to all new Chevy vehicles – starting with the 2013 Sonic – is a lot more than just an adhesive piece of paper. Last year, the EPA revamped its mileage stickers, and GM has realized that many people like more information about the environmental impact of the vehicle they may be buying. GM North America President Mark Reuss said at the show that, “Customers want companies to be honest and transparent about their environmental efforts and sustainability goals, and rightly so.” This is why the information on the labels will be verified by the independent organization Two Tomorrows. The label campaign will be backed up with a website that includes “more information on the audit process and environmental features for each vehicle with an Ecologic label.”

What’s on the labels? Information about the car from its time “before,” “on” and “after” the road. This means that environmentally friendly steps that GM uses in the manufacturing process (before), steps taken to improve fuel economy (on) and information on how much of the vehicle can be recycled at the end of its life (after). You can see a detailed example of the Sonic sticker by clicking on the picture above. Since Ecologic is going to be on all Chevy models, we’ll admit we’re interested to see how GM finds the eco side of the Camaro ZL1.

Continue reading Chevrolet introduces new Ecologic window sticker, coming first to Sonic

Chevrolet introduces new Ecologic window sticker, coming first to Sonic

General Motors has launched an advertising campaign touting the safety of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in electric vehicle, just as its CEO testified to Congress that a recent Volt fire that took place after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test would never occur under real-world circumstances, Bloomberg has reported.

GM CEO Dan Akerson (pictured) said in the campaign that he “couldn’t be prouder” of the technology the company uses to produce the Volt, the wire service noted. The campaign includes full-page ads in 19 U.S. daily newspapers, including the The New York Times, as well as a television ad that will debut on News Corp’s Fox News channel. GM has also released a new “normal” ad that calls the Volt “the car America had to build.” You can watch the 30-second clip, which may appear in or around the Super Bowl, after the jump.

Akerson spoke Wednesday in a hearing with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. Both he and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said the car was safe and defended NHTSA’s handling of the situation against accusations from some Republican members of Congress who’ve been critical of the Obama Administration and its relationship with GM.

NHTSA said late last week that it finished its two-month investigation into the crash test that resulted in a fire three weeks after the fact last summer, and concluded that neither the Volt nor other electric vehicles pose more of a fire risk than conventional vehicles.

Continue reading GM launches ad campaign touting Chevy Volt safety [w/video]

GM launches ad campaign touting Chevy Volt safety [w/video]

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is holding meetings that could put the hammer down on getting more zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) on the road – or so it seems at first glance.

CARB, which always looks far down the road, is discussing how it will change the ZEV program that concerns model year 2018 vehicles and beyond. The proposal (PDF, but watch out: it’s 670 pages that are not searchable!) could force automakers to add half a million pure electric or fuel cell vehicles and another 900,000 plug-in hybrids by 2025, writes The New York Times. Overall, CARB’s proposal would increase the market segment of advanced clean cars from four percent in 2025 to 15 percent in the future. CARB is also asking for more hydrogen stations to be built.

That may all sound good, but there’s another side to the story, one that’s a big loophole. Plug In America is calling on its members to oppose a portion of the proposal that could actually reduce the number of ZEVs on the roads in the future. Comparatively, anyway. In a letter to the DOE and EPA, CARB Chair Mary Nichols wrote:

California commits to propose that its revised ZEV program for the 2018-2021 MYs include a provision providing that over-compliance with the federal GHG standards in the prior model year may be used to reduce in part a manufacturer’s ZEV obligation in the next model year.

The details are that, for every two grams per mile of GHG overcompliance, an automaker could “cut the number of pure electric-drive vehicles [it has to offer] by as much as 50% over 2018 to 2021,” writes Plug In America, which also calls it a “sweetheart deal” and “a bad deal for California and for the United States.” PIA writes that Honda, Hyundai and Toyota lobbied for this overcompliance language. We’ll keep following this one.

CARB’s latest ZEV revision could add 1.4m more green cars, create a big loophole

If you think the Chevrolet Sonic sedan looks a bit abbreviated now, you should have seen it before General Motors stretched the vehicle. Take a good look at the spec sheets for the Sonic hatch and Sonic sedan, and you’ll likely notice the four-door is over a foot longer than its twin. According to Automotive News, GM felt that early design attempts at the sedan bodystyle were too stubby looking. While the four-door was always intended to be somewhat longer than the hatch, designers rolled in additional space in the vehicle’s rump to help situate the vehicle’s proportions.

All told, the Sonic sedan is a whopping 14.1 inches longer than the Sonic hatchback, and nearly all of that length is in the trunk area. That gives the Sonic Sedan 14 cubic-feet of cargo area, just 1.4 cubes less than the significantly larger Chevrolet Cruze.

Chevy stretched Sonic sedan because it looked funny

One rear-drive coupe with over 500 horsepower would be enough for most automakers. But not General Motors. The biggest of the Detroit automakers just couldn’t get by with what some rivals would put on a showroom turntable with more flood-lights than an ATF raid. That’s why it makes the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and ZR1, the Camaro ZL1 and the Cadillac CTS-V. (And that’s before we get into overseas products like the Holden Commodore GTS/Vauxhall VXR8.)

The question is, which one is best for burnouts? To bring us one step closer to the answer we all crave, our compatriots over at Inside Line took two such 500+hp GM super-coupes – the Z06 Centennial Edition and the CTS-V Coupe – down to the Streets of Willow for the fifth installment of their Burnout Super Test.

So, which of the General’s eight-cylinder muscle machines laid down the longest strip of rubber? We won’t spoil it for you, so follow the jump to watch the video clip and the link for the full article.

Continue reading Chevy Corvette Z06 Centennial goes head-to-head with Cadillac CTS-V Coupe in Burnout Super Test

Chevy Corvette Z06 Centennial goes head-to-head with Cadillac CTS-V Coupe in Burnout Super Test

What a surprise. Today’s Congressional hearing over the Chevrolet Volt fire and the resulting investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration turned out to be contentious.

The hearing took place in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. Just from the title of the event – “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?” – it was plain to see that chairman Darrell Issa was not looking to mess around. Issa had General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and John German (Senior Fellow and Program Director at the International Council on Clean Transportation) at his disposal, but he clearly didn’t always like what they had to say. Issa and other Republicans questioned the “unnatural relationship” between the Obama Administration and GM as well as why it took NHTSA so many months to reveal the fire in November when it happened in June.

GM’s Akerson stood up for the Volt, saying that the fire that’s caused so much commotion only happened “after putting the battery through lab conditions that no driver would experience in the real world,” according to his prepared remarks. Strickland said NHTSA “pulled no punches” in the Volt fire investigation – which recently ended after finding the Volt to be a safe car – but Issa was having none of it. He told Strickland: “I hear you, I don’t believe you.”

You can find the official Congressional website about the hearing (which includes a video of the entire session) here. The subcommittee’s staff report, “Government Motors: A Preliminary Report on the Effects of Bailouts and Politics on the Obama Administration’s Ability to Protect American Consumers” is available as a PDF. Be careful when reading it, though, as it starts by subtly misleading the reader. The report says:

Moreover, in the case of GM, the [Obama] Administration has offered substantial taxpayer funded subsidies to encourage production of the Volt. … It has also extended a significant subsidy to encourage consumers to purchase the vehicle, offering buyers of the Volt a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 per vehicle.

A bit of research shows that the $7,500 tax credit was first put into law in the 2007-2008 Congress with the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, well before there was an Obama Administration.

GM CEO stands up for Chevy Volt in D.C. hearing; Issa tells NHTSA: “I don’t believe you”

Barrett-Jackson 2012, Camaro ZL1 vs Shelby GT500, Volkswagen says it’s really #1, C7 Chevrolet Corvette

Episode #266 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, Zach and Drew Phillips this week. Topics include the Barrett-Jackson auction, smack talk from the Camaro ZL1 chief, Volkswagen disputing GM’s claim of #1 in the world, and a C7 Corvette sighting. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #266:

• Barrett-Jackson 2012
• Camaro chief says ZL1 will beat Shelby GT500
• GM beats Volkswagen, or does it? And does it matter?
• Chevrolet C7 Corvette spotted

In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2012 Nissan Rogue
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Drew Phillips, Zach Bowman

Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #266

Autoblog Podcast #266

Elevating The Muscle Car Rivalry To A Whole New Level

Ford versus Chevy. It’s one of the greatest rivalries in the world, joining the likes of Coke versus Pepsi and Michigan versus Ohio State. While the Mustang and Camaro can’t be credited as the first two vehicles to start the Blue Oval and Golden Bowtie wars, it’s fair to say the two muscle cars kicked the battle into high gear in the 1960s.

Wherever there are rivals, you can be sure there will also be healthy levels of both respect and distaste for one another. In fact, emotions from Ford fans following the debut of both the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 culminated in Camaro lead engineer Al Oppenheiser being unwittingly cast in the lead role of another Downfall Hitler overdub spoof. Perhaps it was something he said…

Of course, none of this ZL1 versus GT500 smack-talk will amount to anything if either car isn’t up to snuff. With that in mind, At Chevrolet’s behest, we traveled to the Bondurant Road Course just south of Phoenix, Arizona to put the 2012 Camaro ZL1 through its paces.

Continue reading 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

We’re almost ready to record Episode #266 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via UStream, as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player after the jump. Thanks for listening!

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #266

• Barrett-Jackson 2012
• Camaro chief says ZL1 will beat Shelby GT500
• GM beats Volkswagen, or does it? And does it matter?
• Chevrolet C7 Corvette spotted

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #266 goes LIVE at 10PM Eastern

Autoblog Podcast #266 goes LIVE at 10PM Eastern

We record Episode #266 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #266

• Barrett-Jackson 2012
• Camaro chief says ZL1 will beat Shelby GT500
• GM beats Volkswagen, or does it? And does it matter?
• Chevrolet C7 Corvette spotted

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #266 LIVE

Long before the first U.S. soldier laid a boot on Iraq soil in the first Gulf War, General Motors planned to build a manufacturing facility in the country. According to The Detroit News, the years since haven’t been entirely kind to the automaker’s sales efforts in Iraq. That’s no shock given America’s reputation in the Middle East nation, but its prospects are beginning to look up. Whereas GM once trailed even Renault in sales, the company managed to move 35,000 vehicles last year. Not bad considering the entire new vehicle market in Iraq totaled just 115,000 in 2011.

GM’s sales largely consisted of SUVs and pickup trucks (like the locally available version of the Colorado seen above), though The Detroit News notes that some Chevrolet and Cadillac sedans have sold as well, too. That’s particularly impressive given that Iraqi drivers aren’t required to have insurance and kidnappers in the country have been known to favor those who drive high-dollar luxury vehicles.

GM’s business in Iraq is booming

General Motors is having a hard time with the Chevrolet Volt. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into the vehicle over the possibility of post-crash fires, and now some of its dealers are refusing to take their allocations of the extended-range plug-in hybrid. For example, according to Automotive News, GM set aside 104 Volt models for 14 dealerships across the greater New York City market. Of those vehicles, dealers took just 31. The problem isn’t just out East, either. The report claims one California dealer turned down all six Volt models allocated to him despite the fact that his franchise sold 10 of the vehicles last year.

GM, meanwhile, admits that ordering on the vehicle is down. The automaker attributes the slump to the fact that most dealers were awaiting resolution on the NHTSA investigation (the Volt has since been given a clean bill of health), though GM has announced a voluntary repair to prevent the fires in the future. Even so, public opinion on the vehicle has taken a ding, and many dealers may simply be waiting for the dust to settle before recommitting to the model.

Some Chevy dealers rejecting further Volt allocations

This electric DeLorean is just a prototype, but our sister publication, Translogic got to take it for a spin and found that a 260-horsepower electric motor finally makes the DMC-12 the sports car everyone has always wanted it to be. While we get to see plenty of footage of the car lapping Houston Motorsports Park, this episode also includes an interview with DeLorean Motor Company CEO Stephen Wynne.

While we don’t want to give too much away, Wynne discusses future plans for the Texas-based DeLorean restorer and remanufacturer, which include bringing the electric DeLorean to market. Wynne tells Translogic that the car is expected to sell for between $95,000-$100,000. The car is said to have a 100-mile range, which would make it roughly equivalent to the Nissan Leaf, but with far more performance - not to mention its iconic time machine looks.

With all the negative publicity some pundits have heaped upon electric vehicles as of late, we wonder if perhaps this is the car to change their minds about EVs? See Translogic’s full experience with the electric DeLorean in the video after the jump.

Continue reading Translogic takes DeLorean DMC-EV for a spin

Translogic takes DeLorean DMC-EV for a spin

The Chevrolet Sonic marketing shenanigans continue under the rubric of “Let’s Do This,” this time with a five-story 3D projection of a claw game on the side of The Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. In fact, that a couple of Sunset Boulevard’s lanes had to be shut down to accommodate the controls, which were a waist-high gearshift and an acclerator pedal.

So big was the PR stunt that it earned Chevrolet a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the mightiest claw game on Earth. Follow the jump to see it in action and to watch someone win a non-projected, very real, Chevy Sonic.

Continue reading Chevrolet takes the Guinness record for the world’s largest claw game

Chevrolet takes the Guinness record for the world’s largest claw game