Chevrolet Trucks Blog

Alternative, eco-friendly fuel stations have been slowly sprouting around the country like ant hills thanks to the widespread attempt of car companies to create vehicles using this type of fuel. Now Chevrolet plans on joining the fray.

Based on reports, the Classic Chevorlet/Hummer dealership located in Grapevine will be putting up a fuel station which will provide E85 ethanol based fuel and biodiesel fuel. The dealership will be shelling out $500,000 in order to finance the development of the station.

The new Grapevine station will be seventh fuel station in Dallas-Fort Worth to provide this type of fuel.

Source: Star Telegram

Chevrolet has decided to get sporty by sponsoring the Football Matters Academies which is headed by David Platt, a former England midfielder. The program will work on introducing football to children aged 4-14 all over the UK.

Academies will be set up to accommodate 150 participants, who will be offered training on sports, journalism, physiotherapy, nutrition and leadership skills as well as football coaching.

The program will begin during Easter and carry through the summer and will be held at football clubs and schools.

Source: Motor Trader

This just made me remember a scene from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In this sequence, the Terminator, John Connor and Katherine Brewster just narrowly escaped the T-X (Kristanna Loken). However, they were not able to escape unscathed. The Terminator suffered damage to his abdomen which contained his hydrogen fuel cells. These cells were damaged and set to explode in a matter of seconds. To avoid harming his companions, the Terminator removed it from his body and threw it out of the car where it exploded, mushroom cloud and all. Now the reason why I brought up this topic is because General Motors is trying to work on the same technology for their Chevrolet brand.

At the Philadelphia Auto Show, General Motors will be introducing a new type of alternative fuel for its Chevrolet Equinox SUV. The plan is to make the vehicle run on a hydrogen fuel cell. According to GM, the SUV will be combining hydrogen and oxygen in order to generate electricity and power the car. This alternative fuel cell will enable the Equinox to reach 160 miles just by relying on a single tank of hydrogen.

Based on the reports collected by delawareonline.com, GM shelled out around $1 billion in order to fund this project and be the first car manufacturer to mass-produce a hydrogen-powered vehicle.

As part of their campaign, GM will launch a promotion called “Project Driveway.” They will have one hundred drivers from New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles test-drive the hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox for three months. During this test-drive, these drivers will report to GM whatever findings they may have while using this vehicle.

GM has also joined forces with Shell in order to provide the participating drivers with a service station carrying hydrogen fuel. . Per their agreement, Shell has set-up five service stations with hydrogen facilities, one in White Plains NY, one in Washington and three in California.

Although GM has exerted a lot of effort in promoting this technological advancement, the public will not be able to get their hands on this type of vehicle anytime soon.

“It won’t be until sometime in the next decade that the public will be able to buy GM’s fuel-cell vehicles,” according to John F. Smith, GM’s group vice-president for global product planning.

Well that gives GM ample time to make sure that these hydrogen fuel-cells don’t explode when damaged just like what happened in Terminator 3. Makes you wonder whether GM will end up becoming like Skynet in the near future.

Sources: Fuel Cell Today, Delaware Online, Terminator, Rise of the Machines

Chevy just hit the jackpot when it was dubbed the “official vehicle of the 50^th Annual Grammy Awards” and was tapped to provide a throng of eco-friendly vehicles to be used by the different musical celebrities attending e 50^th Annual Grammy Awards which will be held on February 10, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The company will be providing Hybrid and Flexfuel 85 ethanol SUVs for the awards night. On top of the above-mentioned vehicles, Chevrolet will also be showcasing on the awards night its Chevy Volt Concept car.

As part of the agreement with this prestigious award-giving body, Chevrolet will provide them with a mix of 100 Tahoe Hybrids and Flex Fuel 85 ethanol Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. The Chevy Tahoe Hybrids features the new GM Hybrid System. It has an improved fuel economy thanks in part to the Electrically Variable Transmission (EVT) that was integrated into the car. The vehicle is also equipped with Active Fuel Management complemented with lighter and aerodynamic components that helps the vehicle achieve 21 miles per gallon of fuel economy. The Chevy Tahoe Hybrid also has the distinction of being recognized as the Green Car Journal’s 2008 Green Car of the Year thanks to its use of Flex Fuel 85 ethanol, a biofuel that is composed of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent of gasoline. This fuel helps in limiting the production of greenhouse gases during combustion, reduces the use of petroleum and provides enhanced engine performance.

The Chevy Volt Concept, a four-passenger, battery-powered car on the other hand is powered by the E-Flex propulsion system. This system was designed to help limit the motorists from going to a gas station for a refill of gas and limit the production of C02 emissions. The Chevy Volt, once fully-charged, can run without the use of gas and will not emit any exhaust gases. Recharging can be done through the use of a 110-volt electrical outlet. The car primarily makes use of a gas engine to generate electricity. Other sources of electricity that can also be used to help power the Chevy Volt are wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric energies and biofuels.

Source: Auto News 24H

In Vietnam, there is now a high demand for medium-priced vehicles and so Vidamco or what is also known as GM Daewoo Vietnam Co. is starting to promote Chevrolet’s multi-purpose van (MPV) which is the Chevrolet Vivant.

This vehicle has actually already been introduced in various auto markets such as North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe by General Motors. This vehicle is also part of the globally strategic products of the giant automaker. Thus, Vidamco wants to build on its success after it has successfully launched the in-demand Captiva more than a year ago.

During the product launch in Park Hyatt Hotel in downtown HCMC, Kung In Kim said, “The seven-seat car is an MPV already introduced by GM to many countries such as Australia, mainland China, Sweden, and Korea.” He added that this Chevrolet MPV is a vehicle of sporty, dynamic, and convenient styling and has been designed by non other than a famous deigning firm in Italy, Pininfarina.

The car has a lot of great features that are known of seven-seat MPVs to have such as a fuel efficient 2.0 DOHC engine which meets the Euro 2 European emission standard and for safety, anti-lock braking system (ABS) and air bags.

Price of the Chevrolet Vivant is said to be US$22,300 for a Chevrolet Vivant SE, US$25,300 for a Chevrolet Vivant CDX-AT, and US$23,900 for a Chevrolet Vivant CDX, all inclusive of VAT.