The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche is offered with a new 6-speed automatic transmission, a heavy-duty trailering package, and a new Luxury package. This reconfigurable pickup truck is essentially a crew-cab version of Chevrolet's Suburban SUV with a folding midgate separating the cab from the cargo bed. Lowering the midgate extends the bed to 8.2 ft from 5.3. Avalanche seats up to six and comes in LS, LT, and LTZ trims. Each is available with rear-wheel drive or full-time 4-wheel drive that can be left engaged on dry pavement and includes a low-range gear for off-roading. Standard on 2WD Avalanches is a 320-hp 5.3-liter V8 engine. 4WD models get a 310-hp version of the same engine. Both are capable of running on E85 ethanol-blended fuel. Optional on LT and LTZ models is a 366-hp 6.0-liter V8. All engines have GM's Active Fuel Management cylinder deactivation, and they team with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Maximum towing capacity is 8100 lb. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, and curtain side airbags. GM's Autoride load-leveling suspension is standard on LTZs, optional on LTs. Options include a navigation system and DVD entertainment. Heated and cooled front seats are standard on LTZ models. Real-time traffic information is now available on models with the navigation system. Also available are a wireless cell phone link and rearview camera. 20-inch chrome-clad wheels are available on LTZ models.
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2009 Cars Update:
2011 Chevrolet Volt
At a recent General Motors media event, GM "product czar" Bob Lutz wanted to be sure there wasn't any confusion. According to Lutz, the 2011 Chevy Volt is not a plug-in hybrid, but rather it is an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV).
General Motors is determined to sell a E-REV before anyone else. That’s why it’s working flat-out to meet a self-imposed November 2010 deadline with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Among the most radical of GM’s near-term “green car” promises, the Volt is not just a symbolic “moon shot” for this beleaguered American company. It’s a grudge-match challenge to Toyota, which is poised to end GM’s 75-year reign as the world’s largest automaker, an achievement fueled in part by the Japanese brand’s big lead in hybrid technology and sales. As Larry Burns, GM vice president for research and development, told Car and Driver magazine, “Toyota creamed us on the Prius. It won’t happen again.” Yes, folks, this is personal.
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will differ markedly from the Prius and other gasoline/electric hybrids. It will also differ in many ways from the racy-looking Volt concept unveiled at the January 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Since that big-buzz reveal, GM has gone out of its way to keep the media fully briefed on the production car’s progress. As a result, we now have a good many specifics about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, though important questions remain.
For starters, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will be a compact five-door sedan with front-wheel drive, four-passenger seating, and an external footprint like that of Chevrolet’s conventional Cobalt compact car. It will use GM’s new “Delta 2” global small-car platform, but will have unique styling and GM’s much-touted “E-Flex” powertrain architecture. E-Flex differs from existing hybrid systems that use a battery-powered electric motor as an adjunct to an internal combustion engine. Instead, the gas-fueled engine serves as a electricity generator and battery charger and is not connected to the drive wheels. Technically speaking, the Volt is thus an electric vehicle (EV) as well as a “serial hybrid.” The Toyota Prius and similar vehicles are termed “parallel hybrids.”
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will be one of the first retail-market vehicles to use state-of-the-art lithium-ion (LI) batteries instead of the older and more common nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) type. LI batteries store more energy in less space, which is why they’re used in cell phones, laptop computers, and other small devices that need ample juice. They’re also faster to recharge. These advantages are naturally attractive for an electric car, but LI batteries have never been used on this scale, and devising suitable cells has been the major challenge in bringing the Volt to market.
GM is currently evaluating batteries from two joint ventures, A123 Systems/Continental AG and Compact Power/LG Chem. Chemistry is the main difference: so-called nanophosphate for the former, magnesium for the latter. Accelerated lab tests are now underway to determine which type better satisfies eight GM criteria, including energy density, extreme-temperature performance, materials, and cost. The choice should be announced by mid to late 2009.
Incidentally, these competing chemistries differ completely from that of the Sony LI batteries that made scare headlines by causing some laptop computers to overheat and even catch fire. The batteries in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt are thus expected to be quite safe, though they, too, must be kept within a specific temperature range. The Volt has a separate liquid-cooling system for that purpose.
The battery pack itself, rated at 16 kilowatts/hour, comprises more than 220 separate cells wired in series. That means the failure of any one cell disables the entire array, though some existing hybrid vehicles also have this flaw. The Volt pack is about six feet long and weighs a hefty 375 pounds. As in GM’s early-1990s EV1 pure-electric vehicle, it mounts in T-formation with the “leg” running beneath the center tunnel and the top situated crosswise under the rear seats. The latter precludes a middle back-seat position, but does allow spreading the outboard seats further apart than usual. For convenience, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will include an “intelligent” control module that allows plugging in to either 120- or 240-volt household circuits. GM estimates the Volt's battery can be charged in less than three hours via a 240-volt outlet, or in about eight hours with a 120-volt outlet.
As for the battery-charger engine, it’s said to be an existing four-cylinder GM unit of 1.4 liters displacement. Two versions may appear: one running on gasoline and tuned to PZEV (partial-zero emissions vehicle) standards, the other capable of using E85 ethanol and tuned to looser ULEV (ultra-low-emissions vehicle) levels. A small diesel engine could also be used, and was in the recent Opel Flextreme concept, but GM says it has no immediate plans to offer this.
Various reports indicate that electronic controls in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will fire up the gas engine once the battery pack runs down to 30-percent power, then keep cycling the engine to maintain power within a specified band. GM estimates the Volt’s total driving range at 640 miles, which is about double that of most conventional hybrids.
GM also claims the 2011 Chevrolet Volt can run solely on electric power for 40 miles with a full battery charge. That’s in line with studies showing that most Americans drive only about 40 miles a day, so in theory at least, a Volt could go for weeks without using a drop of gas or spewing any CO2. But some analysts think the real-world electric range will be closer to 30 miles and probably less, depending on vehicle speed, ambient temperature (which affects battery performance), and whether trips include steep grades. Like conventional hybrids, however, the Volt incorporates a regenerative-braking feature that helps recharge the batteries when coasting or decelerating.
Powertrain aside, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is fairly ordinary. Indeed, GM is reportedly trying to use as many off-the-shelf components as possible to offset the costly batteries and related systems in an effort to keep delivered price reasonable. That’s why the Volt shares a platform with conventional GM compacts and will likely be built alongside some of them in the company’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant. Cost concerns also explain an orthodox coil-spring suspension with front struts and a simple twist-beam rear axle located by trailing arms. Appropriate for a “volts-wagon,” the steering is electrically operated, albeit designed for minimal power consumption. The brakes are electro-hydraulic, with “by-wire” activation and a normal fluid reservoir for antilock control and antiskid/traction control.
GM unveiled the production Volt during the company's 100th Anniversary celebration in September 2008. Against the low-slung 2007 concept, which insiders nicknamed the “Electric Camaro,” the production model has a longer, smoother nose and greater windshield slant, but is otherwise similar, especially in back. Some observers feel the Volt bears a family resemblance to the midsize 2008 Chevrolet Malibu and it does have a similar “twin-cowl” dashboard. GM says many of the exterior changes were made to reduce air drag and thus maximize driving range. The concept Volt was apparently drawn without much regard to aerodynamics, and proved very disappointing when tested in the GM wind tunnel. Company design chief Ed Wellburn claims the final design reduces the concept’s drag coefficient by 30 percent, and a statement by Bob Lutz implies a value of around 0.25, impressively low for a four-seat sedan.
It’s clear that GM views the 2011 Chevrolet Volt as a potential game-changer for the entire auto industry. After all, the E-Flex architecture is designed so that the gas engine can be replaced by a hydrogen fuel cell, once those are ready. But it’s equally clear that GM is throwing all the money and resources it can at the Volt program just so it can one-up Toyota with an extended-range electric car. Yet the Volt is unlikely to make money right away, and GM could even be forced to subsidize the price to pump-prime the market. Later on, of course, the Volt could pay off big in both prestige and profits, much as the Prius has for Toyota.
In any case, GM knows it will eat a lot of crow if it misses its deadline, which could happen if there’s an unexpected delay with the batteries. But all involved express confidence that the Volt will be on time, if not on budget. As Bob Lutz recently told Wired magazine: “November 2010 is our internal target. We are holding the team’s feet to the fire...[T]here is no doubt you’d like to be able to leapfrog Toyota and come out with a car they aren’t ready to do. There’s nothing magic about the technology. Two or three years after the Volt is introduced, everybody will have something like it. We’d just like to be first for once... If we pull it off successfully, it can really put us back at the top of the heap of automotive technology instead of being called laggards that are being left behind by the Germans and the Japanese... If it doesn’t work, it’s not fatal. But if it does work, it will be sensational...”
The 2009 Cadillac STS lineup gets no major changes following its 2008 freshening. STS is available in V6, V8, and high-performance STS-V models. All come with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is available on all but the STS-V. V6 models have a 302-hp 3.6-liter engine. V8 models use a 320-hp 4.6-liter V8. The STS-V uses a supercharged 4.4-liter V8 with 469 hp. STS-V also includes a sport suspension and unique trim. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, front side airbags, and curtain side airbags. A lane departure and blind-spot alert system are offered, as is an active steering system designed to turn the front wheels into a skid when the rears lose traction. Also available are heated and cooled front seats and a touch screen navigation system with voice recognition and a wireless cell phone link. The STS Platinum has specific interior and exterior trim.
Although the M5 is a luxurious and solid performer, reviewers complain that complex interior controls can make driving it a hassle. Altogether, it ranks near the middle of its class.
The M5 is a sporty five-passenger sedan that is powered by an obscenely powerful V10 engine. "There are a lot of great super sedans on America's dealer lots these days -- and none of them holds a candle to BMW's," writes AutoWeek. "Sure, some might post very similar numbers when put through a track test, but no company -- not Cadillac, Mercedes or Audi -- delivers the fundamental feeling of oneness between driver and automobile that BMW does. If you can ever say 'full-size, four-door sports car' with a straight face, now's the time." Still, the M5 is not perfect. Auto writers consistently complain that its iDrive feature management system and customizable performance settings are too complex. What's more, many of its super luxury sports car competitors trump it in style.
For 2008, the BMW M5 adds a new front air dam, as well as two new exterior colors.
* "For those aspiring to a 5 series BMW the 3 liter engine is perfectly adequate for 99% of the people. For the remaining -- wealthy -- 1% the M5 is something very special, especially on or near the limit. Oh, and preferably before lunch." -- The Auto Channel
* "The high price tag on the 2008 BMW M5 is, in part, accounted for by its legion of standard features including, 7-speed sequential transmission, aluminum alloy 19-inch wheels with high-traction tires, fully adjustable seats, hydraulically enhanced energy-absorbing collision protection, and a tire deflation sensor system." -- Carseek
The 2009 BMW 1-Series line is largely unchanged following its introduction for the 2008 model year. The lineup includes 128i and 135i models. The 1-Series slots below BMW's 3-Series in size and price. The 1-Series is available as either a 2-door coupe or convertible with a power folding soft top. Engines are 3.0-liter 6-cylinders shared with the 3-Series. The 128i has 230 hp, while the 135i is turbocharged and has 300 hp. All models have a standard 6-speed manual transmission and offer an optional 6-speed automatic. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain side airbags (coupes), and front side airbags. A sunroof and split folding rear seat are standard on coupes. An available Premium Package includes leather upholstery, power front seat, and BMW's Assist system. A Sport Package includes specific trim, sport suspension (on 128i), and sport bucket seats. Other options include a voice-activated navigation system, aluminum or burled walnut interior trim, and heated front seats.
The 2009 Acura MDX is largely unchanged. This premium midsize SUV seats up to seven and has all-wheel drive. The sole powertrain is a 300-hp 3.7-liter V6 engine and 5-speed automatic transmission. Maximum towing capacity is 5000 lb. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, front side airbags, and curtain side airbags that cover all seating rows. Standard features include a sunroof, leather upholstery, heated front seats, and a wireless cell phone link. Options come in three packages, all priced as separate models. The Technology Package has a rearview camera, voice-activated navigation system with real-time traffic information, and power liftgate. A Sport Package includes those features plus driver-adjustable suspension. The Entertainment Package, available only in conjunction with the Technology or Sport packages, contains DVD entertainment and heated 2nd-row seats.
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