Another Win for the Impala

            Another top award in the auto industry has gone to Chevrolet’s all new Impala.  This award comes from Consumer Reports and the award is the best large sedan.  This is the first domestic car to have the

highest award from Consumer Reports since they’ve been keeping score in 1992.  During all that time, there were 11 Japanese and 9 European cars taking the top honor.  This year is different with the Impala as it not only got the first domestic car taking the top score in the large sedan category, but it got one of the highest scores Consumer Reports has ever graded on a car.  The only two that beat it was the Tesla Model S and BMW 135i.

            The score the Impala was a 95 out of 100. Consumer Reports says that Impala boasts “agile handling” and “excellent braking.” The interior and fit is made from higher quality parts that look great.  In fact the Impala is so good, it competes directly with cars that are $20,000 more expensive than it and can win against those cars in a head to head competition.  The new Chevy Impala is showing just how good domestic cars really are and how they are just as good if not better than the European and Japanese imports.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet

NASCAR takes to the Dirt Track

            For the first time in over 40 years, a NASCAR race will be run on a dirt track.  Where will it be run?  Ohio’s Eldora Speedway owned by Tony Stewart.  When will it take place?  Wednesday night, July 24^th.

            The last time a NASCAR race was run on dirt was September 30^th, 1970 at State Fairgrounds Speedway in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Richard Petty won that race driving a Plymouth. The CarCash Mudsummer Classic is the first time NASCAR has returned to the surface since that time.

            The ½ mile dirt oval is owned by Tony Stewart where he talked to NASCAR almost half-jokingly asking to see if there could be a race held there.  Eventually talks commenced and the end result is the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will run the race in two days under the lights.  The standard lineup of cars for the Truck Series is 36 trucks, but due to the track not being able to accommodate all 36 trucks, the lineup was trimmed to 30.

            The qualifying procedures for the race will be very different compared to the standard qualifying routine for NASCAR.  It will start off with a standard two lap qualifying session to determine the starting order for the qualifying heat races.  There will be five qualifying races, each consisting of eight laps each.  Five trucks will transfer from each race.  At the end of these qualifying races, there will be 25 trucks locked into the show. The next five trucks will qualify for the race in a Last Chance Race.  This race will be a little bit longer and the top four advance to the race.  The last person to start will be a champions provisional.  If all the past series champions entered have already qualified, the driver finishing 5^th in the Last Chance Race will start the race.

            Will this be a success for NASCAR?  We all will find out Wednesday night.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet

Limited Edition Colors for the Sonic

            When Chevrolet first introduced the Sonic in 2011 with the initial launch color being a bright Orange.  The car made a splash during the commercials of Super Bowl XLVI with the commercial showing its first kickflip, skydive, bungee jump and music video.  After that introduction, that bright Orange paint, dubbed Inferno Orange left the color palette of the Sonic and the car was left with more traditional colors.

            As a way to spice things up and keep things fresh with the Sonic, Chevy will be introducing three limited edition colors for the car.  The first, which will be introduced in August, will be called Deep Magenta Metallic.  This color is a plum-like color that Chevy decided to develop after seeing the success of the pink color that was on the Spark.

            The second color of the special edition lineup will be introduced in November and be known as Cool Blue, which is a greyish blue.  After that, Dragon Green, will be introduced in the first quarter of 2014 and become a standard part of the color lineup during that time.

            These colors will only be available for a limited amount of time.  Deep Magenta Metallic will be available from August-November.  Cool Blue will be available from November-March and Dragon Green be a standard color, beginning next year.

            If any of these special edition colors are of interest to you, please check www.handychevy.com periodically to see if your dream color is available.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet

Chevy Cruze Diesel

            During the fuel and energy crisis in the 1970s and 80s, automakers began introducing diesel powered cars. Diesel engines are more efficient than cars that run on regular 87 octane gasoline.  Part of this that is because diesel engines have a much higher compression ratio than a typical gasoline powered engine.  With

the higher compression, diesel engines don’t need spark plugs to ignite the fuel/air mixture; it is done on its own.  Since diesel is a more efficient way to run an engine, why hasn’t it caught on with the American public?

            Back in the 1980s, diesel engines were rushed into public to provide a more efficient alternative to regular gasoline. However, these cars were noisy, smelled weird and were unreliable. Those cars also tended to shake due to the vibration of the diesel engine.  This left a bad taste in the public’s mouth and diesel powered cars soon began disappearing from the streets. 

            Thanks to technological advances, the diesel engine is beginning to make a comeback and this is evident with Chevrolet introducing a diesel version of the popular Cruze.  This is not the old diesel from the 1980s, this is an all new animal based on its much larger cousin, the Duramax diesel.  Chevy is using a steel crankshaft with aluminum pistons and aluminum heads.  All of this brings in a compression ratio of 16.5:1; compared to the standard 1.8L I4’s 10.5:1.

            Diesel engines run at lower RPM than their gasoline engine counterparts, so they’ll make more torque than horsepower.  The Cruze diesel makes an impressive 264 ft-lbs of torque compared to 125 for the 1.8L. The diesel can make up to 280 ft-lbs of overboost torque for a maximum of 10 seconds.

            The real eye opener with the Cruze diesel is the fuel economy.  Car and Driver reported at 55mph, a fuel economy of 58.4mpg. The EPA rated the fuel economy at 46mpg highway and 27mpg city.  This is better than the Cruze diesel’s competitor, the Volkswagen Jetta.  The Jetta is rated at 42mpg highway.  The Cruze also makes more horsepower at 151 compared to the Jetta’s 140.  Torque also goes to the Cruze at 264 ft-lbs compared to the Jetta’s 236. The Cruze also has a better warranty at five years/100,000 miles.  The Jetta is five year/60,000 miles.

            It’s clear that Chevy is developing a formidable diesel automobile, and changing the public’s opinion on diesel engines from their bad experiences in the 1980s.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet

2014 Chevy Malibu

            After the introduction of the all-new 2013 Chevy Malibu, Chevrolet sought out to try and improve on the car for the 2014 model year.  The new car was unveiled at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix late last week. 

           The styling of the car was changed slightly with more aggressive headlights and grille.  There was nothing wrong with the 2013 styling, but GM just sought out to refine the looks a little bit.  The bigger improvements were made in the interior and under the hood of the car.

            Customers will enjoy the increase in legroom over the 2013 Malibu.  GM designers were able to squeeze out an additional 1.25” of legroom to sitting in the back a little easier on the knees.  While it doesn’t sound like much, 1.25” is enough to keep your legs from hitting the seat in front of you and give you just a little more room to stretch out. The interior was also improved in the center console area of the car.  Chevy replaced the storage area with cup holders and cell phone bins. The Malibu will also come with Chevy’s version of infotainment, MyLink.

            Under the hood, Malibu customers will have a choice of either the naturally aspirated 2.5L Direct Injected four-cylinder, or the 2.0L turbocharged four cylinder engine. Engineers were able to squeeze out more performance with the engines that are available in the Malibu.  The 2.5L features variable valve timing and Intake Valve Lift Control, which is said to enhance low end torque. However, with the new technology, the engine loses one horsepower to 196 and also loses five ft-lbs of torque to 186.  If people want an increase in performance, the turbocharged 2.0L saw a boost in power.  The horsepower rating stays the same at 259, but torque went up an impressive 35 ft-lbs to 295.  Fuel economy improved slightly to 35mpg highway.

            With the small tweaks made to an already fine motor vehicle, The Malibu should sell even better than it did in 2012.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet

Throwback Thursday

            The Stingray became synonymous with the Chevrolet Corvette when it entered production in 1963.  This was a car that Car and Driver described as, “At long last America has a formidable weapon to challenge Europe’s fastest grand touring cars on their home ground.”  The Stingray Corvette stayed in production until 1968 when the next year the C3 was debuted.  Since then, the Stingray nameplate on the Corvette has laid dormant until the all new C7 Corvette debuted at the Detroit auto show. At the reveal, it was announced that they were bringing back the Stingray with the new Corvette.

            The base engine in the 1963 Corvette produced only 250 horsepower.  On May 28^th, Chevrolet released some of the performance numbers for the 2014 Corvette. The base engine in the new Stingray makes heart pumping 455 horsepower. This makes the new Corvette the most powerful base model ever. Back in the 1960s, such options like power steering, air conditioning, and electric window cranks were an option. All of these features will be standard equipment in the new 2014 Stingray.  Such engine features like direct fuel injection and active fuel management weren’t a thought in 1963 with the first generation Stingray.  The new Corvette will have both features in their small block V-8. Direct fuel injection means that the fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber of each cylinder, which makes the engine more fuel efficient since there is now a more precise amount of fuel being injected into each cylinder.  Active fuel management means that when the driver isn’t demanding a huge amount of power from the engine, it will deactivate four cylinders to be more fuel efficient. When power is required again, the engine will reactivate those cylinders and bring the 455 horsepower V-8 to life.

            Now the question has to be asked, which Corvette do you think is the best ever? The original Stingray, built from 1963-1967 that many consider the best Corvette ever, or the brand new 7^th generation Corvette Stingray beginning production this year.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet