Purveyor of Powerslides VS the Prince of Precision!
EDMUNDS: So we're stuck. Stuck with a decision no enthusiast can fairly make. Picking the 'Vette is the obvious choice since it's supported by ample empirical data. At the end of the day, we can't deny that the home team nailed at least one of its primary targets. Making the Corvette as quick and rewarding as a 911 is a big task, and it's been fully accomplished.
The Corvette, when driven hard, is as good as the 911, maybe better.
There, we said it.
But then there's the undeniable reality that the 911 is the better car. Whether we're taking our kids to school or adding subtle countersteer to correct that big slide, we'd rather have the Porsche. It's the car that wins our hearts so it's the car that wins this test.
This week the folks at GM have shown off details on the 2014
Chevrolet Malibu, including a rather green point of distinction. The 2014
Malibu will be the first midsize sedan sold in the United States to offer
fuel-saving stop/start technology standard, coming in on its 2.5L base model.
This technology allows the engine on the vehicle to shut down completely when
the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
This technology first automatically turns the engine off
when the car comes to – for example – a stoplight. Once the driver takes his or
her foot off the brake, the engine restarts, and the driver is able to continue
driving the same as they would any other vehicle. This stop/start system
monitors a number of systems to make sure turning the engine off is the most
efficient means of saving power.
The systems this technology monitors are vehicle speed, the
force with which the brake has been applied, and climate control system
operation. Amongst other systems, the monitoring of these three elements allows
the stop/start system in the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu to decide if it makes more
sense to just keep the engine running, too – if you’re in heavy traffic, for
example.
During each of these engine restarts, the vehicle works with
an auxiliary 12-volt battery which powers electric accessories such as power
windows, radio, heating, and air conditioning. Employing this technology on the
base model 2014 Malibu has Chevrolet aiming to mainstream stop/start technology
for the masses.
“The key was to apply the knowledge we gained from our
eAssist technology. By leveraging knowledge from the stop/start system we use
on eAssist, we were able to significantly improve city fuel ratings by 3 mpg,
or 14 percent on Malibu’s entry-level 2.5L model, compared to the 2013 model.”
– Todd Pawlik, Malibu chief engineer
This vehicle also works with Intake Valve Lift Control
valve-actuation technology, allowing the engine on the vehicle to pump only the
air needed to meet the demand of the driver. That’s in low-lift mode – in
high-lift mode, the engine switches to full output capabilities to take on
heavy loads and high speeds.
The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu is available in three trims: LS,
LT, and LTZ, each of them coming in with an $825 destination charge at prices
that bump by 2k a level: $22,965 for the LS, $24,335 for the 1LT, $26,040 for
the 2LT and $28,515 for the top LTZ trim. These prices exclude tax, title,
license, and all dealer fees.
Updated looks and better performance will be the draw
against Germany's best!
How good can life be?
Just remove the hardtop roof panel of a new Corvette
Stingray, punch the accelerator to fully absorb the reassuring rumble of its
V-8 and feel the wind in your hair. You may find the answer.
Chevrolet has completely updated its famous sports car in a
bid for more respect among world-class sports cars, and with an eye to
attracting new and younger fans and buyers. The 2014 Corvette aims valiantly to
shed an image of being the embodiment of the Ugly American — powerful yet
unrefined and fat.
The Corvette's new cockpit makes full use of real stuff —
leather, carbon-fiber accents and aluminum — in contrast to a sea of plastic
that marked the outgoing model. At 460 horsepower, the 6.2-liter V-8 with the
performance exhaust system has 25 more ponies than the engine it replaces, yet
is powerful, smooth and more efficient. On undulating roads near Monterey,
Calif., Corvette is fun and confident, planting itself firmly in even the
tightest curves.
The whole package is good enough that for the seventh
generation of the car since Corvette rolled out in 1953, Chevrolet is declaring
war anew on Porsche and other European sports cars. In the process, it also is
taking dead aim at younger, affluent driving enthusiasts who may have written
off Corvette as their dad's plaything.
The average age of a buyer of the current Corvette has been
climbing each year and now is in the high 50s. It wants more of the upwardly
mobile buyers in their 40s and even younger looking to reward themselves. Plus,
Corvette attracts more blue-collar customers than other sports car brands.
Nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that more buyers have to stretch
their budgets for one. General Motors wouldn't mind having more fans rich
enough to pick up a sports car on a whim, and take the top of the line.