Introducing the 2014 Chevrolet SS: From the Track to the Streets

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Chevrolet SS Wins in its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut

Five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, won the 55th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. It also marked the first victory for the recently introduced Chevrolet SS, which made its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut.

“I’m very happy to win the first Gen-6 race in the Gen-6 car for Chevrolet in their SS,” said Johnson, who led 16 laps and took the lead for good shortly after the final restart. “Awesome day.”

Johnson, who also won Daytona 500 in 2006, now has 61 victories in 400 career starts.

“Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, (crew chief) Chad Knaus and (team owner) Rick Hendrick on their victory in The Great American Race,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “And for the Chevrolet SS to win its first points race is incredible. This is a culmination of a tremendous effort by our engineers, owners, drivers, crew chiefs and teams who worked together to develop the Chevrolet SS race car. So much hard work went into preparing the Chevrolet SS for competition in the Sprint Cup series. We waited a long time for this race, and the performance of the No. 48 team made that wait worthwhile.”

Johnson finished 0.129 seconds ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS). It’s the third time in the last four years that Earnhardt Jr. has been the Daytona 500 runner-up. Ryan Newman (fifth, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS), Regan Smith (seventh, No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet) and pole-sitter Danica Patrick (eighth, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS) also finished in the top 10 for Team Chevy.

It was the seventh Daytona 500 victory for Hendrick.

Chevrolet now has 22 Daytona 500 victories, more than any other manufacturer. A Team Chevy driver has won seven of the last 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series openers at the 2.5-mile track.

Courtesy of GM Media

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2014 Corvette Stingray: The Driving Experience

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Lock It Up: 2014 Chevrolet Impala Offers Secure Info Storage

Anyone who has ever felt trepidation about handing their car keys to a valet will appreciate the 2014 Chevrolet Impala. The redesigned flagship sedan offers a “valet mode” that lets someone unknown take the wheel but shields personal items and information from prying eyes.

The new Impala’s available 8-inch center stack display is an interactive touch screen for the next-generation Chevrolet MyLink system but doubles as a PIN-activated retractable faceplate over a secure storage bin large enough to hold valuables like a wallet, MP3 player and smartphone. Addresses and contacts stored on MyLink also remain PIN-protected.

“Valet mode is the kind of feature that Impala customers will appreciate,” said Chris Perry, Chevrolet vice president of Global Marketing. “It is one of many great new features on our newest MyLink and a small part of Impala’s overall technology package.”

Impala owners will be able to access valet mode through MyLink’s Settings menu via a four-digit code, much like on a hotel safe. A confirmation entry of the code simultaneously locks the bin and secures personal information.

Chevrolet customer clinic participants showed avid interest in valet mode, particularly young car buyers who valued MyLink’s information privacy protection feature. Impala’s hidden bin also addresses customers’ frequently expressed need for a secure place to keep personal items out of sight.
“We were able to move the MyLink system’s electronics to another location in the vehicle, effectively creating the space behind the touch screen,” said Matt Highstrom, General Motors human-machine interface designer.

In addition to privacy protection, Impala’s next-generation MyLink system allows for increased personalization. Owners can click and drag icons on the home screen located in the center stack, similar to operating a smartphone or tablet.

Using consumer research, including interviews and online voting, designers of the award-winning MyLink developed four specific graphic appearances or “skins,” selectable through the Settings menu, designed to appeal to distinct customer group personalities. They include:

• Contemporary – Clean, simple interface that’s neither overly colorful nor busy, geared to busy moms and families.
• Edge – Youth-oriented, dynamic feel with vibrant colors and pop culture-inspired icons.
• Velocity – Sleek, with carbon fiber background appearance and glowing neon, aimed at driving enthusiasts.
• Main Street – An all-around, crowd-pleasing design using primary colors.

These and other functions, including valet mode, will be rolled out to other Chevrolet models featuring the next-generation MyLink system.

“We can’t design a custom Impala interior for every customer, but we can give them the next best thing – an infotainment system that reflects their tastes and features that meet their needs,” said Matt Fuligni, design manager, Chevrolet User Experience.

The 2014 Impala will begin production this spring and eventually will be offered with three engine choices. A 3.6L V6 will be available at launch, starting at $30,760 including destination charges.

Courtesy of GM Media

Chevrolet Debuts Lightweight ‘Smart Material’ on Corvette

From its fiberglass body in 1953 to its aluminum chassis for 2014, Chevrolet Corvette has a six-decade track record for introducing lightweight materials that improve vehicle performance. With the 2014 Corvette’s aluminum frame weighing in 99 pounds lighter than its predecessor, that trend continues.

In addition, the redesigned seventh-generation sports car is the first vehicle to use a General Motors’-developed lightweight shape memory alloy wire in place of a heavier motorized actuator to open and close the hatch vent that releases air from the trunk. This allows the trunk lid to close more easily than on the previous models where trapped air could make the lid harder to close.
Considering there are about 200 motorized movable parts on the typical vehicle that could be replaced with lightweight smart materials, GM is looking at significant mass reduction going forward.

Shape memory alloys – typically made of copper-aluminum-nickel or nickel-titanium – are smart materials that can change their shape, strength, and/or stiffness when activated by heat, stress, a magnetic field or electrical voltage. Shape memory alloys “remember” their original shape and return to it when deactivated.

In the new Corvette, a shape memory alloy wire opens the hatch vent whenever the deck lid is opened, using heat from an electrical current in a similar manner to the trunk lights. When activated, the wire contracts and moves a lever arm to open the vent, allowing the trunk lid to close. Once the trunk lid is closed, the electrical current switches off, allowing the wire to cool and return to its normal shape, which closes the vent to maintain cabin temperature.

“Smart materials like shape memory alloys offer new possibilities for many movable vehicle features,” said Jon Lauckner, GM’s chief technology officer. “These new materials enable innovative designs and new and improved features at a lower cost than traditional motors and actuators.”
Shape memory alloy also helps remove unwanted mass, which can help improve vehicle performance and fuel economy. The wire actuator used on the new Corvette is approximately 1.1 pound (.5 kilogram) lighter than a conventional motorized system.

“The shape memory alloy used on the new Corvette represents nearly five years of research and development work on smart materials for which GM has earned 247 patents,” said Paul Alexander, GM smart materials and structures researcher. “And it is just the beginning. We have many more smart material applications in the pipeline that will bring even more improvements to our vehicles going forward.”

Courtesy of GM Media 

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Super Bowl XLVII MVP Takes Home Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

The honor of awarding the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award was given to Rick Flick of New Orleans’ Banner Chevrolet, who knows a thing or two about comebacks. Banner Chevrolet, a part of Flick’s family for 40 years, was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina and was the first business to reopen in New Orleans East after the devastating 2005 storm. On behalf of Chevrolet, the official sponsor of the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award, Flick presented quarterback Joe Flacco with a 2014 Corvette Stingray on Monday in recognition of his effort in leading the Baltimore Ravens’ to a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. 

“Banner Chevrolet and the entire city of New Orleans have been through so much since the storm, we felt this was a small gesture to bring the comeback story full circle,” said Alan Batey, GM vice president of U.S. Sales, Service and Marketing. “With the Super Bowl in his backyard, we couldn’t think of a better guy to have the honor of awarding the MVP with his Corvette Stingray.”

Banner Chevrolet was of the largest losses ever recorded for a dealership in the United States and recently completed a massive multimillion-dollar renovation with state-of-the-art technology. Banner is the only Chevrolet dealer in Orleans Parrish.

“We lost our entire inventory of 650 new Chevrolets and 120 pre-owned vehicles during Katrina,” Flick said. “I’m happy we are still a vital part of this community today and I can be here to represent the people of Chevrolet and its dealerships as we celebrate the Super Bowl MVP.”

The Super Bowl MVP receives the Pete Rozelle Trophy, a silver trophy made by Tiffany & Co., and the Corvette Stingray.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower (335 kW) and 450 lb.-ft. of torque (610 Nm). It is also the most capable standard model ever, able to accelerate from 0-60 in less than four seconds and achieve more than 1g in cornering grip. It is expected to be the most fuel-efficient Corvette, exceeding the EPA-estimated 26 mpg of the current model.

Courtesy of GM Media