Category Archives: design and styling

2016 Camaro Convertible Revealed

General Motors North American President Alan Batey unveils the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible this morning in Detroit, Michigan. The Camaro convertible has a hard tonneau cover that deploys automatically, when the top is lowered and stowed. It is capable of opening or closing at speeds up to 30 mph. Continue reading

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Ford Selling Digital Images, 3D-printable Files for Private Use

When a buyer purchases a model or digital image, he or she must register with the site and agree that the item will not be used commercially. Continue reading

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GM Investing $1 Billion in Warren Technical Center

General Motors said today that it would invest $1 billion in its Warren Technical Center. Continue reading

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Volt Camouflage Designed to hide Freshened Sheet Metal

The camouflage package on the next-generation Volt was started six months in advance of early development. The tricks are constantly updated to keep spy photographers – Jim Dunne, who graciously contributes to AutoInformed – and the curious guessing. Continue reading

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Hey, Detroit Three What Ever Happened to Pizzazz?

The people who invented pizzazz, Detroit’s Big Three, have all but ditched some of the more alluring coupes and convertibles that once were their shining stars. Continue reading

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Is the Cadillac ELR a flop? Incentives via a Free 240 Volt Charger and ‘no-charge’ Home Installation added

The ELR on an ultra-low-mileage, 39-month lease for qualified lessees starts at $699 per month with $5,999 due. Cadillac deliver six ELR hybrids in December, but since the Volt-based coupe just went on sale, January and Q1 2014 sales will be a better indicator of actual demand. Continue reading

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Cars Get Smaller, but Luxury Interiors can Compensate

While not as ‘over the top’ as a Paris or New York fashion show, the presentation foreshadowed interior design trends that will appear in a couple of years and be available for a much larger audience. Moreover, unlike the fashion industry’s use of exotic hides and materials in clothing and accessories that come from endangered species that the socially repugnant super-rich then flaunt, automakers are using byproducts of animals raised for food – recycling at its best. Continue reading

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Pebble Beach Postcards

“Millionaires and billionaires everywhere, you have to see it to believe!” Continue reading

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Infotainment Systems Transform Instrument Panels

Only a decade ago, the powertrain and performance of an automobile were the main selling points. Infotainment systems did not exist with virtually all light vehicles without any type of so-called connectivity to the world outside – no telematics, cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Continue reading

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2014 Toyota Corolla Ups Ante in Compact Car Game

Toyota Motor coming off two straight months knocking Ford Motor out of its traditional Number Two sales position in the U.S. market is introducing an all-new Corolla model. Not only will this present formidable competition for the Ford Focus, but it will also challenge Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Mazda3 as well as the rest of compact cars in this high volume segment. Continue reading

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Sirens and Chrome Wow at Concours d’Elegance of America

The production underway called “Sirens of Chrome” is based on a coffee-table book by Margery Krevsky that chronicles decades of the most beautiful cars and the women who adorned them. The Concours served as the elegant setting for excellent automobiles and the “sirens” who evoked a touch of Hollywood glamor. Continue reading

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New Steel Alloys can Outperform Aluminum and Carbon fiber

Part of the steel industry’s problem, aside from the overall lack of interest among technically illiterate consumers, is regulatory. While the Obama Administration is in the process of implementing the most stringent emissions and fuel economy standards in history, the Environmental Protection Agency only looks at a crude mile per gallon rating that does not take into effect the energy used and greenhouse gas emissions that result during the creation of the 10,000 or more components that comprise an automobile. Continue reading

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First Look – 2014 Cadillac CTS Mid-Size Sedan

In GM’s latest attempt to make Cadillac a global brand, it is increasing the size of the CTS while toning down its distinctive styling that made it successful in the U.S. but is thought too radical for offshore customers of German and Japanese luxury cars. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Debuts 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible

Chevrolet revealed the 2014 Corvette Stingray convertible at the Geneva Motor Show. The 2014 model will have an all-new electronic top that can be lowered remotely using the car’s key fob. The top can also be opened or closed at speeds of up to 30 mph. A thick, three-ply fabric top, along with sound-absorbing padding and a glass rear window, should allow for a relatively quiet cabin. Continue reading

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Jeep Cherokee Returns as 2014 Model. New York Auto Show Debut

Cherokee is inches wider and longer than its Italian donor platform and as you can see uses the traditional Jeep styling features such as a box-like body and the famous vertical slotted grille that goes back to Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe cartoons that won Pulitzer prizes during WW2. Continue reading

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