Ring in the New Year with Chevrolet

The Chevrolet brand just celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011 and as the New Year approaches, has a lot to look forward to in 2012. For the first 11 months of 2011, Chevrolet sold 1.6 million cars and trucks in the United States up from 1.4 million over the same period last year (all sales data source Automotive News). Since its parent company, General Motors, emerged from bankruptcy in 2008, the brand has been going through a product renaissance that has been well received by the media and even more so by the public. That trend should continue in 2012.

The recent sales success has been led by the recently launched Equinox crossover, Camaro sports coupe and Cruze compact. This year, the Equinox will sell close to 200,000 units. The Camaro has added close to 100,000 sales to the bottom line since it was relaunched a few years ago. The Cruze has been a blockbuster product for Chevrolet. Compared to the outgoing model, the Cobalt, which sold only 96,000 units during the first 11 months of 2009, Chevrolet sold 215,000 of the Cruze during that same period in 2011.

Looking forward to 2012, the midsize Malibu, Chevrolet's most important car, will be redesigned. The styling of the Malibu will be more aggressive and will share some design cues from the sporty Camaro. Early reviews of preproduction vehicles have been very positive. The momentum is with Chevrolet and it would be a trophy for the brand if the Malibu can have the same success as the Cruze and outsell its competitors.

The new Malibu comes hot on the heels of the just launched Sonic sub-compact. It is too early to make a judgment as to how well the Sonic is selling but early indications are it may be a hit in its class. In November 2011, Chevrolet sold 4,400 of the Sonic vehicles.

So the New Year could be very bright, indeed, for Chevrolet if we can continue this positive momentum into 2012. Everyone at O'Rielly Chevrolet would like to wish you a safe and happy New Year!

Chevrolet is Turning 100

O'Rielly Chevrolet

Today I get to tell you about some of the really cool things we have planned for Chevrolet's 100th anniversary!

Incase you haven't seen, Chevrolet has really gone all out to celebrate this great milestone. They recently held a vote to see what Chevy car or truck you thought was the best of all time and the '69 Camaro kept edging out the other Chevrolet models.

1969 Camaro - Chevrolet 100

By 1969 the Camaro was extremely popular. And though this was the final year of the Camaro's original iconic design, it went out with flying colors. The '69 Camaro paced the Indianapolis 500^® for the second time. It was the first and only year the legendary aluminum ZL1 engine was offered, and the Z28^® SS/RS performance package qualified the '69 Camaro to compete in the Trans-Am racing series. It's still considered one of the hottest-looking rides of the classic muscle car era. It had a 290-horsepower rating but tested at close to 400. This four-wheeled icon has graced the silver screen many times. InAlmost Famous, a young William Miller watches his sister drive off with her boyfriend in a blue 1969 Camaro coupe. And a slightly earlier version stars as the famous black beauty in Better Off Dead.

There are some other pretty cool things you can do over on the Chevrolet 100 website, http://www.chevrolet.com/100-years/. They have created a Pandora Radio station that plays all of the tunes that pay tribute to Chevrolet like Don McClean's  "American Pie." Even I didn't realize there were that many songs about Chevys.

Ladies Chevrolet 100 Jacket

We keep rolling out new activities for you and you family to enjoy. I recommend taking a look at the Chevy 100 Facebook page to check out when there will be events in your areas. At O'Rielly Chevrolet in Tucson we will be having a huge event November 17th through the 19th. There will be a lot of cool things going on with music, food, fun and of course deals. I will post more information about the specifics of the event tomorrow on the blog and on our Facebook page.