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Chevy kicks start Trucks Legend programme to celebrate loyalty

Chevrolet trucks is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with the introduction of its 2018 line up. And to commemorate the occasion, the company is launching a nation wide programme to reward its loyal customers called, the Trucks Legend programme.

Those who have owned the following vehicles are eligible to be members of the programme:

Silverado and Silverado HD (and past C/K trucks)
Colorado (and past S-10 trucks)
Tahoe
Suburban
Avalanche

It’s been introduced to recognize customers who have owned a Chevy truck that has travelled more than 160,934km or have had a brand new one in their lifetime. Customers who fall into this category are eligible to join Chevy’s active community that has grown to more than 5,400 members.

“We had an incredible response to the Truck Legends pilot program, and greatly appreciate the owners who have shared their stories,” said Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet Trucks Marketing director. “We look forward to hearing from customers across the country, and for the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to our most loyal customers.”

Through this same programme, Chevrolet will periodically offer Truck Legends members once-in-a-lifetime experiences for events that include front-row seats at concerts, attending sold-out Major League Baseball events and getting a sneak peek at new Chevrolet models.

Later in the year, a select number of people from the Truck Legends programme will be invited to join an exclusive Chevy Trucks Centennial Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 at the Texas Motor Speedway. The event will feature opportunities to experience the latest Chevrolet products and have the opportunity to meet celebrities like Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as a number of others.

Chevy will also be giving out memorabilia to members of the exclusive programme that include branded hats, decals and decals celebrating milestones in mileage and number of vehicles owned.

As such, 2017 is shaping up to be a very memorable year for Chevy and its legion of truck owners who have loyaly stood by the brand its trucks. Unlike other parts of the world, in the US, trucks serve more than just one purpose, in fact, they are a way of life.

GM believes its Lunar Rover helped pave the way for its modern advanced EV vehicles

Many don’t realise this, but General Motors had a hand in developing the 1971 Lunar Rover that made history by servicing as the primary mode of transportation of the Apollo 15 astronauts on the moon. It was a fully electric vehicle, which at the time was relatively new technology and used in an environment that was relatively unknown.

At the time, the vehicle was a testament of the the willingness of that generation of engineers to push the boundaries of what was possible. Working with its partners, GM developed, designed and tested the Lunar Rover. It also helped create a revolutionary electric motor drive system, suspension, mesh wire wheels and a unique drive controller adapted for lunar gloves.

Project Chief Engineer of the Lunar Rover, Ferenc Pavlics as well as his team had spent extensive time time overcoming challenges of building an EV for astronauts and technology that would inevitably be filtered down into future electric vehicles. Till this day, Pavlics remembers the hard work, innovations and dedication that was required to build the vehicle that would eventually become the Lunar Rover.

“When our team began engineering for the Lunar Rover, there were so many unknowns, including varied terrain, extreme temperatures and the effect of reduced gravity,” said Pavlics, now retired. “We pushed the boundaries of automotive technology and worked hand in hand with the astronauts on the vehicle’s design.”

Now, some 46 years later, GM believes that with its 2017 Chevy Bolt electric vehicle, that it is once again at the forefront of EV technology. Costing a fraction of the budget used to develop the Lunar Rover, the Bolt EV’s 383km range makes it a practical mode of transportation for most city dwellers.

The car is equipped with electronic precision shift, one-pedal driving thanks to regenerative braking, steering wheel paddle, 10.2-inch-diagonal color screen, the top-trim model adds leather-appointed seats, front and rear heated seats, Surround Vision Camera system, Reverse camera system as well as others.

Chevrolet, GM’s subsidiary, has not seen it fit to offer the Bolt here in our market. Only Nissan, Mitsubishi and a handful of others have brought in fully electric vehicles for Malaysian car buyers.

Hopefully that eventually changes once our country’s infrastructure is upgraded to support the EV platform.

OnStar brings car thief to justice

Having your car stolen is a horrifying experience, especially if you are forcefully made to hand it over. This is exactly what happened to a Vauxhall Astra owner in Glasgow named James Watson. The thief forced him out, got in and sped off in the car. Fortunately for Watson, his Astra was equipped with the famous OnStar system.

OnStar is General Motor’s driver assistance system that allow drivers to receive roadside assistance from the OnStar support staff as well as a number of other services. OnStar services rely on a GPS locater that is built in to OnStar to triangulate the exact location of the driver/vehicle in distress.

Watson’s Astra was equipped with this setup and as such, he was able to notify the OnStar operator of what had happened prompting immediate action. Certain instructions were sent to that particular Astra, the car was told disable the ignition once the thief turned off the engine.

Police managed to find the vehicle with the help of the OnStar team at a petrol stations not far from where it was stolen. The thief turned off the engine presumably when attempting to fill the car with petrol. Police officers managed to apprehend the thief at the site, allowing Watson to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the perpetrator is now behind bars and that he has his Astra back.

Speaking of the incident, Watson said, “It was a terrible experience, one I wouldn’t wish on anybody else. After the initial shock of what happened subsided, I realized that we could locate the car – and probably the offender – through OnStar. I’m really grateful that the technology was in place to recover the vehicle so quickly, helping me to get back on the road knowing the thief had been caught.”

The thief has been sentenced to 10 months and 15 days in jail as well as having been banned from driving for nine months.

OnStar is available across the Vauxhall range of vehicles and has a number of safety and convenience features besides ‘stolen vehicle assistance’ which include crash response, destination download, 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, smartphone connectivity and vehicle diagnostics.

Chevrolet Corvette C7 Aerowagen by Callaway

Ever wondered what a shooting brake Corvette would look like? Well, wonder no more because Callaway, a US based company has done to the C7 Vette. Considered sacrilege by die hard Corvette fans, the car is offically known as the Aerowagen. Despite the extensive work on the car, the styling and fitment wouldn’t look out of place if it did roll off GM’s production floor.

The Callaway name is synonymous with modified performance Vettes since the early 2000s. And this Aerowagen in particular, has received more than just styling adjustments, Callaway gave the car performance tweaks as well. Originally, the Vette’s 6.2-litre V8 produced 650 horsepower in stock form, but Callaway has bumped up the power to 757bhp.

The car was featured on former The Tonight’s Show host Jay Leno’s famous YouTube channel, Jay Leno’s Garage. Jay did his usual walk-around of the car while interviewing owner/producer of the respective car that is on his show. This time around for the Aerowagen, it was Peter Callaway, General Manager of Callaway Cars Inc and his father Reeves Callaway, the founder of the company. And as you will see in his video, and as expected, he takes the car on his signature test drive. Take a look at this clip for the full video:

Like Brabus is to Mercedes-Benz, Shelby is to Ford, Callaway has been been tuning and upgrading Corvettes for a very long time. That said, the company, which was incorporated in the 1970s, initially gained recognition for offering Alfa Romeos and BMWs with a lot more horsepower then when they came from the factory. And despite being supercharger experts today, from the 1970s to 1990s, the company’s bread and butter was turbochargers.

As impressive as the Aerowagen is, this particular type of styling isn’t to everyone’s liking as it’s more of an acquired taste. Ferrari too tried its hand at a shooting brake with the introduction of the GTC4Lusso and despite coming from the Mac daddy of sports car makers, it wasn’t a stellar hit. Only time will tell if the Aerowagen does gain any popularity.

Chevrolet Malaysia offer Double Bonus promotion for Colorado

Naza Quest Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Chevy vehicles in Malaysia has launched a new sales promotion called the “Double Bonus”.This promotion provides a rebate of up to RM6,000 and 3 Years/60,000km complimentary Parts & Labour Service for all variants of the new Chevrolet Colorado. Buyers are eligible for the deals from 1st March 2017 onward.

Chevy’s high spec Colorado is offered with a 2.8-litre Duramax VGT engine that produces 190hp and 500Nm of torque is priced at RM112,788. The variant offered with the 2.5-litre engine on the other hand develops 180hp and 444Nm of torque and is priced at RM90,188.

Features for the various variants of the Colorado include Engine Remote Start, 8-inch infotainment touchscreen system with four speakers and compatibility with Apple CarPlay, Traction Control, Front Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Tire Pressure Monitoring System and 3 airbags (Driver, passenger and knee).

Chevrolet Malaysia is also offering a comprehensive 5 Year/ 200,000km warranty and 1 year complimentary Chevy Assist Membership on all variants of the new Colorado as part of the manufacturer’s Complete Care programme. Visit your nearest Chevrolet dealership to learn more.