Fun Friday

What special person or furry friend will you spend your Friday evening with?

Time Vault Gem

It’s Throwback Thursday!  Here’s a little gem from the time vault.  What was your favorite part of this commercial?

http://youtu.be/kSsIxPahYno

Special Offer

You know you want to save money on your vehicle’s maintenance needs!  Click the Facebook Special Offer link to take advantage of the savings.  https://www.facebook.com/TomBellChevrolet/app_280431338635378

Review: 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS

This image made available by General Motors shows the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS.

The newest Chevrolet Sonic is a peppy, stylish, versatile and good handling RS hatchback with standard turbo engine, leather-trimmed seats and smartphone infotainment link -- all for a starting price tag of less $21,000.
Better yet, the 2013 Sonic 5-Door RS has the top, overall, five-out-of-five-stars rating for passenger protection in frontal and side crash testing, according to the federal government.
And the Sonic is a recommended buy of Consumer Reports magazine, where first-year owner reports put predicted reliability of Sonic models at average.
Don't confuse the 138-horsepower Sonic RS, which comes with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission and peak torque of 148 foot-pounds, with the more fuel-sipping versions of Sonic sedan and hatchback. Transmission gearing is different in the RS to get power to the front wheels quicker. With bigger wheels and more standard equipment, the RS also weighs more.
So the best RS fuel economy rating from the U.S. government of 27 miles per gallon in city driving and 34 mpg on the highway with manual transmission is a tad lower than that of other Sonics.
The test Sonic RS hatchback averaged 28 mpg in combined city/highway travel.
But the get-up-and-go of the sporty-looking, four-cylinder turbocharged RS hatchback quickly becomes appealing.
Retail price certainly can be appealing, too, when standard features are factored in.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $20,995 for the 2013 RS five-door hatchback with 1.4-liter, double overhead cam, turbo four cylinder and six-speed manual transmission is $5,400 more than that for a base, 2013 Sonic LS hatchback with non-turbo four cylinder with 125 foot-pounds of torque and five-speed manual.
But the RS standard equipment includes 17-inch, five-spoke, aluminum wheels, rear brake discs and the leather-trimmed, front bucket seats that have suede-like microfiber inserts and stitched "RS" on them and look like those in a sports car. There's a leather-wrapped, sport steering wheel, premium floor mats with RS emblems on them and premium audio with six speakers.
And the RS comes standard with Chevrolet's MyLink infotainment system that is compatible with smartphones for use of Pandora and Stitcher Internet radio as well as the low-cost BringGo smartphone navigation system.
Competitors in the small hatchback category include the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT which has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $19,340. The Elantra GT has a 148-horsepower, naturally aspirated four cylinder with peak torque of 131 foot-pounds at 4,700 rpm and leather-trimmed seats come with a $2,750 option package.
Meantime, the 2013 Ford Fiesta five-door hatchback with 120-horsepower, naturally aspirated four cylinder has a starting retail price of $19,995 with cloth seats.
The Sonic is the "middle child" of Chevrolet's three smallest cars -- Spark, Sonic and Cruze.
The Spark, however, is not a recommended buy of Consumer Reports, and the Cruze is offered only as a sedan with 15 cubic feet of trunk space.
This compares with 19 cubic feet behind the Sonic RS rear seats and the 47.7 cubic feet of cargo room when the Sonic hatchback's rear seats are folded down. These seats split 60/40 for different types of people- and cargo-hauling tasks.
The five-passenger Sonic five-door RS uses the same turbocharged four-cylinder engine that the Cruze has.
Starting retail price, including destination charge, for a 2013 Cruze sedan with this turbo four cylinder is $19,370 and does not include the large wheels and leather seat trim that are on the Sonic RS.
In the test Sonic RS five door, this powerplant gave strong "oomph" to slow-speed start ups, after a bit of turbo lag. The engine sounds were mostly pleasant, save for when the RS was near its 6,500 rpm redline and the four cylinder was buzzing loudly
But the six-speed manual felt loose, not precise, in its movements and there was an overall notchy feel.
Thanks to a slightly lowered ride height, stiffened suspension and performance-tuned dampers, the RS tester was well-planted to the pavement and there was no overall tippy feeling. The ride wasn't punishing. Rather, the RS rode firmly, with many, but not all, road bumps muted beneath passengers.
Power steering is fuel-saving electric and had a lighter feel in the test car than expected.
The test Sonic RS surprised with its upscale interior materials and excellent fit and finish.
Seat adjustments were all manual, and once the driver's seat was properly positioned, there were decent views out front and to the side. Views out the back were somewhat blocked by the Sonic hatchback's rear window pillars, and there is no rearview camera offered as an option. But the Sonic's small size meant many motions at the back could be detected by an alert driver.
Front-seat passengers get a bit less headroom -- 37.6 inches to 38.7 inches, depending on whether there's a sunroof -- than the Fiesta and Elantra GT buyers have.
Interestingly, back-seat riders in the Sonic RS get a full 38.1 inches as the Sonic roofline doesn't slope down until aft of the back-seat passengers' heads. This is more than the 37.2 inches in the Fiesta back seat and the 37.9 inches in the back of the Elantra GT.
Legroom of 41.8 inches in the Sonic hatchback front seats is generous but still a tad less than the 42.2 inches in the front seats of the Fiesta and 42 inches in the Elantra GT. Rear-seat legroom of 34.6 inches is equal to that of the Elantra GT and better than the 31.2 inches in the back of the Fiesta.
The Sonic RS comes with an impressive 10 standard air bags plus electronic stability control and antilock brakes.

- Courtesy of Associated Press

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a public holiday in the United States of America. It is observed on last Monday of May, which is 27 May in 2013.

Memorial Day was first enacted in memory of the soldiers who fought in the American Civil War but later, Memorial Day was expanded to commemorate the soldiers who fought in all American wars, including the World Wars.

2013 Chevrolet Silverado Video

Chevrolet Silverado HD is the 2011 Motor Trend Truck of the Year. The new Chevy Silverado HD, because the things you carry are heavier than the things you haul.

2013 Chevrolet Silverado Spotlight

Here’s to the new 2013 Chevrolet Silverado. With the best lineup of vehicles ever, we believe ingenuity can do the impossible. So why just go from A to B when imagination can take you everywhere?  Get started by looking at our online inventory: http://bit.ly/10Uai2z

The Little Things

On October 29, 2012, the largest Atlantic storm on record struck New York City. Suffice to say that despite all the warnings, I wasn’t prepared for the extent to which it would affect my life for the next month.

What came after Hurricane Sandy’s initial landfall in New York was chaotic and frightening. Areas that I grew up in were without power for weeks on end. One friend saw a neighbor’s house simply float out to sea. Necessities taken for granted—heat, clean water, shelter—were no longer a given. For a brief moment, no one knew what was going to happen next.

I’ve lived in Southern New York for most of my life, so it seemed everyone I grew up with was affected by the storm in some way. There was no shortage of friends in need. And suddenly, I couldn’t get in contact with them anymore. Cut off from power, many of the victims were virtually unreachable. At a time when I needed social media and technology the most, Sandy made communication impossible.

But that’s when my friend B., who lives in San Francisco, got in touch with me. He’s a natural-born entrepreneur and small-business owner who I was drawn to in college for his crazy ideas and willingness to take risks.

I got a text from him: “Hey Steph. U ok? Checking in.” I quickly texted back that I was fine, and that, luckily, I was living in an area of Brooklyn that wasn’t significantly affected by the storm. Then, to my surprise, he called me.

“I just started this company,” he began, “and I think I can do something to help you guys out over there.” Big surprise it was not—since I’ve known B., he must’ve started at least ten companies.

B.’s latest venture specialized in manufacturing solar-powered cell phone chargers, which he wanted to deliver to the areas hit hardest by the hurricane. Problem was, the relief organizations he’d contacted to distribute the chargers were overwhelmed with their own operations. It wasn’t within their capacity to take on another project.

Never one to take no for an answer, B. told me that he’d decided to do what any logical man would do—fill his Chevy Express to the brim with solar-powered cell phone chargers and drive across the country to New York and New Jersey to distribute them himself.

“Just one thing,” he said, “Do you know your way around Brooklyn and Jersey?”

A few days later, B. showed up at my doorstep, ready for business.

We hopped in the Express and drove from Brooklyn to Staten Island. The devastation was incomprehensible—the mood in the car became somber immediately after we crossed over the bridge to Staten Island. Thick trees blocked the roads, wires hung loosely from their poles, broken furniture littered front yards. It was much worse than any photograph could depict.

After surveying the area, we pulled over in one of the most hard-hit neighborhoods, opened up the back doors of the cargo van, and put out a sign B. had made: “Friends, charge your cell phones here”

The response was immediate. Mothers, fathers and children came by, all so grateful that it brought tears to my eyes. And it seemed that most didn’t even come for the chargers—they lingered around the van well after picking them up, asking B. about his business, talking to their neighbors.

For all that we gave that day; we got multitudes back in return. We not only helped a great number of people get in touch with their loved ones, but we learned a good deal about community as well. Who knew something as seemingly insignificant as a phone charger could bring so many people together? I guess it really is the little things that count.

-Courtesy of Chevrolet.com