Auto Mobile U Spy: Land Rover Prototypes Snapped Running Around Death Valley

While travelling through Death Valley in Eastern California, Carscoop reader Perry D. stumbled upon a convoy of Land Rover prototypes including the compact five-door Range Rover Evoque and the full-size 2013 Range Rover luxury SUV.

We're not sure what the camo'ed up Evoque test cars with the swirly-whirly disguise were doing in Death Valley as the five-door model was unwrapped at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show and is bound to go on sale in the States in October.

However, unless they had a supporting role, one possible explanation is that Land Rover's engineers were testing the baby Range Rover with a different powertrain setup.

Things are clearer when it comes to the 2013 Range Rover, which we've spied in several occasions with the same exact camouflage while testing in Europe.

The British firm's flagship model is expected to land towards the end of 2012 or early 2013 and will be significantly lighter than the current model thanks to the aluminium chassis and an alloy body shell.

The new Range Rover will be offered with a revised engine lineup of V6 and V8 diesels, and V8 petrol units, the latter in both naturally aspirated and supercharged formats, matched to Land Rover’s 8-speed automatic transmission.

More importantly, Land Rover is said to be developing plug-in hybrid variants paired up with diesel and gasoline engines, as previewed by the Range_e concept shown earlier this year.

Along with the Land Rover models, Perry also spotted a couple of Chevrolet Volts (one of which had a "press" sticker) that don't look any different than the ones that are for sale.

Thanks go to Perry D. for the scoop!

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Video: New Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Thrashed Around the Nürburgring

The horsepower monster that is the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been filmed lapping the infamous Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

Apparently, General Motors continues to fine-tune the flagship version of its new Camaro series that was first revealed to the public at this year's Chicago Auto Show in February, but won't arrive in dealerships before early next year.

Recently, GM released the final performance figures on the Camaro ZL1 that will top Ford's 550HP Shelby GT500 with its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine producing a SAE certified 580-ponnies and 556 lb.-ft. (754 Nm).

The most powerful production Camaro ever will be offered with a standard six-speed manual gearbox, but buyers will be able to opt for a six-speed automatic transmission.

Video source: Youtube/Camaro5

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GM to Manufacturer New Mid-Size Pickup in Missouri, and Two New Mid-Size Models at Former Saturn Plant

[Chevrolet Colorado Concept from 2011 Bangkok Motor Show pictured above]
General Motors has revealed plans to build a new mid-size pickup truck at its Missouri plant as well as to reopen a former Saturn assembly plant in Tennessee for the production of two new mid-size models.

A GM representative declined to provide further information, saying that the company will not comment on its future products, however, the most likely candidates for the pickup truck model are the successors to the Chevrolet Colorado or the GMC Canyon.

While the Detroit automaker has released details on the Asian Pacific and South American region 2012 Chevrolet Colorado, which will be manufactured in Thailand, GM has not clarified if the pickup truck will be available in the States as well.

Whatever the new mid-size pickup truck may be, it will be built at the Wentzville plant where GM will invest around $380 million, according to details released as part of the labor pact signed between GM and the UAW, in which the company has also agreed to invest $2.5 billion in new products thus retaining or creating new jobs.

As for the two unnamed new mid-size passenger cars, they will be manufactured at GM's Spring Hill facility in Tennessee, which has been idle since 2009 after the company shut down the Saturn brand.

Story Source: Autonews [Sub. Req.]

GM Prepares All-New 2012 Chevrolet Colorado for Launch, but it won't Come to the U.S.

After traveling all around the world in concept format, the new 2012 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck has entered the final testing phase in Thailand before the introduction of the production model that will go on sale towards the end of the year.

Today, General Motors released some new photos showing the prototype models being put through their paces as the company prepares to produce the midsize pickup in its Rayong assembly plant in Thailand.

The Detroit automaker said the Rayong manufacturing facility has undergone a $300 million upgrade, including a retooling of the entire vehicle assembly line, to build the new pickup truck.

“The hard work for this program has been done, and we are incredibly pleased with the results,” said Chevrolet Colorado Chief Engineer, Roberto Rempel. “This is a world-class truck that will appeal to buyers not just in the heavily concentrated truck markets of Southeast Asia, but around the world.

GM says that the new Colorado will be sold in markets across Asia Pacific including Australia where Holden showed its own concept model, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Thailand will be the first market to receive the Colorado. No word if GM's future plans include the North American region.

While these photos don't reveal much about the appearance of the final production version of the Colorado, a completely undisguised prototype of the pickup truck was recently spotted unguarded at a parking lot in Thailand (click here to check out the photos).

At least for the Asia Pacific region, the new 2012 Chevrolet Colorado will be offered with newly developed 2.5-liter and 2.8-liter turbocharged diesel engines that will also be produced at an adjacent GM plant in Thailand.

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Chevrolet Orlando gets in a Harlequin Suit for the Sake of Art

We do not know if Belgian design label Quinze & Milan had the famous Volkswagen Polo Harlequin special in mind when it was reinterpreting Chevrolet's new 7-seater Orlando, but the result sure looks familiar.

However, unlike Volkswagen's special edition supermini, Quinze & Milan's one-off creation is not only characterized by the pallet of colors, but also for the fact that the modified parts inside and out are sprayed in the firm's signature foam coating called QM FOAM.

The bespoke Orlando was created to celebrate Chevrolet’s centennial anniversary and will be shown the Superbrands London festival at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane from Sept 22nd to 25th.

Photographer credits: Mathieu Damiens

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General Motors Claims That 2013 Malibu's New 2.5-liter Ecotec, will Cover More than 30mpg Highway

2013 Chevrolet Malibu

As time goes by, General Motors is slowly releasing more information on its upcoming 2013 Chevrolet Malibu that's destined to go on sale in nearly 100 countries on six continents, with the U.S. market launch planned for spring of 2012.

Today, the Detroit-based automaker announced some fresh details on its all-new 2.5-liter four-cylinder Ecotec engine that will take the place of the firm's current 2.4-liter unit as the standard powerplant in the 2013 Malibu's range.

GM said the 2.5-liter four-banger "is expected" to generate an estimated output of 190-horsepower (140kW) and 180 lb-ft (250Nm) of peak torque, or about 12 per cent more horsepower and 16 percent more torque than the outgoing 2.4L unit does.

The company said it expects the 2013 Malibu with the 2.5-liter powerplant to return an estimated highway fuel economy in excess of 30mpg (7.8lt/100km). The current 2012 Malibu with the 169HP 2.4L Ecotec is rated at 33mpg highway.

GM noted that its new four-banger would excel in quietness and refinement.

“The noise intensity is 40 percent less than our 2.4L direct-injected engine, which was named one of Ward’s 10 Best Engines,” said Mike Anderson, global chief engineer. “Engineers also tuned the 2.5L to deliver more of its torque at lower rpm, giving the Malibu a stronger feel at launch and during on-demand maneuvers, such as passing or accelerating on a freeway entrance ramp.”

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Car Movie Review: Super Hybrid

Tilda’s (Shannon Beckner) life is less than perfect: her boyfriend is a layabout body builder who refuses to work because of a back injury, her boss (Oded Fehr) is a sexist asshat who has just passed her over for a promotion and her estranged nephew (Ryan Kennedy) talks about her behind her back.

She works at the 29th District Garage in Chicago, the place where all the accident vehicles go. The garage’s latest resident is a near-totaled Chevrolet Nova with a matte black paint job.

Only this isn’t just any old car: it’s actually a shape-shifting, man-eating killing machine! With the garage closed for renovations over the weekend and our band of misfits sealed in, it is a race to survive against nature’s smartest – and most devious – predator.

Director Eric Valette is a Frenchman perhaps best known for the awful One Missed Call, while writer Benjamin Carr was involved in the Tony Shalhoub haunted house flick Thir13en Ghosts. Not a great pedigree, but Super Hybrid (or Hybrid, the title it was released under in Australia) is better than might you expect.

The pacing is good, the plot gets us from A to B very quickly and the characters are all surprisingly well fleshed out for a horror movie. Then there’s the monster itself. Played by eight different cars – among them a Chevrolet C-10 and a Mercury Colony Park – the titular super hybrid is the most sinister car I’ve seen since Christine.

Though killer cars are nothing new (take The Wraith, The Car and the aforementioned Christine) and the fact its plot borrows liberally from the likes of The Thing, Super Hybrid manages to retain its own identity.

It's not high art – few horror movies are – but it is an enjoyable flick with a swift 84 minute runtime, a tight script and solid acting across the board.

I have but two gripes with Super Hybrid: Tilda’s transformation from humble auto mechanic to Ellen Ripley-wannabe happens way too fast and some of the CG looks like it was taken from a video game from the mid-‘90s.

Other than that, it's a fun little popcorn flick for both car lovers and horror lovers. 3 stars out of 5.

By Tristan Hankins

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New Chevy Sonic with 1.4L Turbo gets 40MPG on the Highway, 1.8L Returns 35MPG

2012 Chevrolet Sonic

General Motor has released the official EPA fuel economy estimates for the new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic sub-compact, which officially joins the 40mpg club.

When equipped with the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that delivers 138-horsepower and 148 ft.-lbs. (200 Nm) of torque, the 2012 Sonic returns an EPA-estimated 40 mpg on the highway and city fuel economy of 29 mpg. The 1.4 Turbo is offered exclusively with a 6-speed manual.

If you opt for the larger displacement but naturally aspirated 1.8-liter unit that generates 135HP and 123 lb.-ft. of torque (167 Nm), the Sonic gets fuel economy of 26 mpg city and 35 mpg highway when matched to a 5-speed manual gearbox, and 25 mpg city and 35 mpg highway when paired to the 6-speed automatic transmission.

The Sonic went on sale earlier this month with a starting price of $14,495 including destination but excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees.

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IAA 2011: New 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Receives its European Premiere

Chevrolet Malibu

Taking center stage at Chevrolet's Frankfurt Motor Show stand is the new Malibu sedan that celebrates its European debut after its world premiere at concurrent shows in the U.S. and China earlier this year.

This is the first time that the Malibu will be offered in Europe as GM tries to take Chevrolet global.

"The Malibu will come on top of the seven new entries launched in Chevrolet's centennial year," said Wayne Brannon, President and Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe. "The Chevrolet Malibu is the brand's new top-of-the-range offering, bringing proven value with a premium feel to Europe's midsize segment."

The new Malibu measures 4,859mm (191.3-in.) in length, 1,854mm (73.0-in.) in width and 1,462mm (57.6-in.) in height.

In Europe, buyers will be able to choose between two four-cylinder diesel or gasoline-fueled engines with 2.0 liter and 2.4 liter displacements and a power output of 164HP and 169HP, respectively. The Malibu will be available with both manual and automatic transmissions.

Production of the new Malibu take place in manufacturing facilities around the world, including the United States, South Korea and China.

European sales will begin next year.

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