Preparing The Chevy Cruze For Storm Season

How many gallons of water could your car withstand? How about 6,600 gallons? At Chevrolet, engineers channel Mother Nature to help ensure the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze can withstand the elements – from heat to hurricanes – through high-tech weather testing simulators.

Our people in Detroit have been hard at work trying to bring you the best. They have tested the Chevy Cruze on all kinds of summer weather and road conditions. Not to mention the Cruze has been tested at the exclusive Universal Water Test Booth at the GM Milford Proving Ground. 6,600 gallons of water drenches the Cruze in just 8 minutes. The test is designed to expose any weaknesses in the car's seals. This, as I understand, is a good thing. I mean, who doesn't want to stay dry in their car?

They also tested the Cruze in GM's Climatic Wind Tunnel which simulates hurricane force winds. It is also driven through up to one foot of water in the Flooded Road Lab to help eliminate water leaks into the engine compartment or doors. The Thermal Chamber tests the car for conditions ranging from arctic cold to desert heat  and the Dust Booth exposes the car to an extreme number of dust particles to help keep it air tight.

“We go above and beyond Mother Nature to ensure our vehicles can withstand the elements,” said Kevin Dunn, GM global vehicle development owner – splash contaminants. “This type of creative testing helps ensure our vehicles can better withstand rain, snow, wind, dust and other day-to-day contaminants.”

Through these tests, GM experts bring further quality, durability and safety to consumers.

Source media.gm.com

2012 Sonic and What to Expect

Rob Dyrdek Shows Off His Super Sonic at the LA Auto Show

Some of the new features of the 2012 Sonic are vast improvements for its class. For one the Chevrolet Sonic is set to have the exact same 1.4L Turbo engine (138hp) the larger Cruze holds which should provide the Sonic with great fuel economy. With a fold down rear seat the Sonic has a lot of cargo space. Personally I like the interior of the model I saw. The steering wheel appears identical to the one in the Cruze and the technology offered is unlike most in its class. The Cruze steering wheel feels solid, so I expect the Sonic's steering wheel to bear the same quality. There are USB hook ups to charge your iPod, or phone, which is an absolute must for anyone with a power hungry smart phone. You also get 6  months of OnStar's Turn-by-Turn and XM Satellite Radio capabilities. The Sonic even connects to MyChevrolet mobile application with OnStar MyLink. We hope to get a Sonic to take a look at in Tucson soon and we expect these to hit our dealership in the next few months. Unfortunatly I am not aware of the pricing, but Chevy assures us it should be very competitive with other models in its class. Around $14,000 to $16,000 seems in the ballpark but I will update once I know for sure.

Edit: Check out our new inventory of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic!