Pricing Announced: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty

Chevrolet announced pricing for the 2011 Silverado Heavy Duty and the base pricing starts at $27,965, which excludes a $995 destination charge. An upgrade to the proven DuraMax diesel engine and Allison transmission combination runs $8,395 – the same discount as in 2010, offering significant improvements in fuel economy, including a highway cruising range of up to 680 miles; increases in performance; and new B20 biodiesel capability.


Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois' largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.PhillipsChevy.com.

2011 Chevrolet Camaro Introduces Additional Features

The 2010 model year proved to be a very successful and exciting year for the segment-leading Chevrolet Camaro. For the 2011 model year, Chevrolet is looking to expand the car's popularity among consumers with the introduction of additional features that include 312 horsepower for the V6 engine, expanded availability of synergy colors (a Camaro tradition using dramatic colors, such as Hugger Orange, Daytona Yellow, and Rallye Green) and heads-up display.

Jim Campbell, Vice President for Chevrolet Marketing stated, “We are pleased with Camaro's success in the market during its first year of production. The 2010 model year has been a banner year for us, and we plan to build on this momentum.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois' largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com.

GM Expands Battery Lab Ahead of Volt Launch

General Motors Co. is doubling the size of its battery lab ahead of the debut of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid late this year.

In GM's Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, the lab will expand from 30,000 square feet to 63,000. The increase will create more space for developing chargers, building batteries for trials, and running tests.

Construction of the new space starts this month and will end this summer.

The lab opened in January 2009, part of GM's commitment to building batteries for the Volt in a plant south of Detroit. The batteries use lithium ion cells from South Korean supplier LG Chem.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois' largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com.

Cruze Eco Claims High MPG for Low Price

Chevrolet will pitch its 2011 Cruze Eco variant as a gasoline-powered car that delivers hybrid-like fuel economy without a hybrid's hefty price tag. General Motors Co. estimates the Cruze Eco's highway fuel economy at 40 mpg. EPA ratings for the Eco and the standard Cruze compact are not yet available. The Eco will be more expensive than the base Cruze, but the premium will be nowhere near as high as the cost of hybrid technology.

By contrast, the Ford Fusion Hybrid has a base price of $27,995 including shipping, a bump of $8,000 over the base Fusion. Hybrid models often have more standard equipment than base models. GM put some pricey equipment on the Eco to reduce weight. For instance, the Eco has 17-inch forged aluminum wheels, a feature usually found on sporty models. GM felt strongly that they needed to be on this vehicle, because the forged aluminum wheels save over 10 kilograms.

The version of the Cruze Eco shown at the New York show had a six-speed manual transmission teamed with a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine with variable valve timing. An automatic transmission also will be offered.

The Cruze will go on sale in the third quarter, and the Eco will follow later in the year. The base Cruze will be priced competitively with compact leaders Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco will go on sale near the end of the year.

Chevrolet to Offer Limited Number of Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car Replicas

Chevrolet will build and sell a replica of a Camaro Indianapolis 500 Pace Car for the first time since 1993. Chevy is setting out to build a collectible vehicle that will appeal to the die-hard Camaro and Indianapolis 500 fan and believes they have done just that with the 2010 Chevy Camaro Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Limited Edition. This will be the second year in a row that 2010 Camaro SS will pace the Indianapolis 500.

The model will be based off of the Camaro 2SS/RS production Model, painted Inferno Orange Metallic exterior and Inferno Orange interior. The vehicle will include: a 6 speed automatic transmission with remote start, 20” polished aluminum wheels, full body white pearl decal rally strips, Inferno Orange Heritage front grille, Inferno Orange V8 engine cover, Premium floor mats, front head rest with Indy 500 logo embroidered, Indy 500 logo on the doors, and Cloisonne on the front fender. The MSRP for this model is $41,950 plus destination, tax, title, license, and dealer fees.

There will only be 250 of these units produced. Fifty of these cars will be used at the track as festival cars by the race officials. They will be disposed of at the end of the race by the usual means previously used to dispose of past festival cars. The remaining 200 models will be new vehicles and allocated to the top Camaro Dealers based on 2009 Camaro Sales. Dealerships slated to receive this unit have already had this limited edition unit ordered. Once released from the Oshawa Plant, it will show in their “In-Transit” or “In-Stock” tabs of order workbench. There will be no free-flow-ordering available on this unit at this time.

Phillips Chevrolet is one of only two dealerships in Illinois that will receive a pace car.

Cruze gets an upgrade for North America

General Motors Co. has changed the North American version of its new global compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze, to reduce noise and improve safety and fuel economy. The Cruze goes on sale here in the third quarter as the successor to the Cobalt. It is bigger than the Cobalt, will be better equipped and will be priced higher. "We have a different set of competitive vehicles here in North America than what exists in Europe," said Chuck Russell, GM's vehicle line director for compact cars in North America. "We needed to make a number of adjustments."

The North American Cruze will reduce noise, an acoustic laminated windshield was substituted, and doors got more insulation. Sealers were added to some of the door headers.

10 airbags will be included in the The North American Cruze with knee airbags and rear seat side airbags, more than any other version of the Cruze.

In place of an independent rear suspension, GM selected a Z-link design. Russell said: "We use it to provide the car with a lot of agility, a lot of directness with respect to the way the vehicle steers and the way the rear end of the car follows the front."

GM said the Cruze Eco model will get 40 mpg on the highway, compared with 29 to 36 mpg highway, depending on the model, for the nonhybrid 2010 Honda Civic. To reach that target, the Cruze Eco has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, low-resistance tires and aluminum wheels to cut weight.

Chevy Volt Marketed to High-Tech Futurists with iPad, Other Gadgets

GM was testing Apple's upcoming iPad in its Chevy Volt at South by Southwest Interactive Festival this past week. GM is using networking events like this one for web developers as a test platform for a number of social-media marketing projects. Perhaps most important is the preview of its forthcoming Chevy Volt plug-in electric car. Alternative-Fuel cars typically are marketed to environmentally conscious consumers, hoping to save on high fuel costs. GM believes with the Volt, they can find additional target market in people drawn to edgy technology of the Volt. The Volt's touch-screen console and accompanying mobile application are appealing. And the idea of plugging a car into the same outlets where you can charge your laptop and iPhone is awesome!

Apple has sold 120,000 units of its untested iPad device that consumers have never even seen or touched yet. The Skeleton framework of a Volt was set up by Chevrolet outside Austin Convention Center. Chevrolet sponsored gadget-related charging stations around the venue for attendees to charge phones and laptops. The Automakers' challenge in targeting high-tech futurists is addressing the same crowd that talks about ditching cars.