How it Works:  2018 Traverse Traction Mode Select

How it Works:  2018 Traverse Traction Mode Select

Salesperson Mike Logue gives us a brief video explanation of how easy it is to use the all new traction mode select in the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse.

If you would like to experience this feature in person, feel free to drop by our dealership anytime or call our customer care team at 630-898-9630 to set up a V.I.P. appointment.

If you want to shop online, visit our website at www.westphalchevy.com. Ron Westphal Chevrolet has a large selection of brand new and pre-owned Chevrolet Traverse and SUV models to choose from, in stock and available for immediate delivery.

Thanks for watching How it Works:  2018 Traverse Traction Mode Select!

2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Sets Camaro Lap Record At The Nürburgring

2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Officially, the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is the fastest Camaro around the Nürburgring. With a lap time of 7:16.04, this track-day car is in good company on the leaderboard.

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE can’t be called a muscle car. It’s got so much rework going into its aerodynamics, suspension setup and construction that the car is more of a track-day machine than a raw muscle car built for straight-line blasts.

Looking for your own muscle car?  Visit Ron Westphal Chevrolet in Aurora, IL to test drive the Chevrolet Camaro.  Or, call our Customer Care Team at 630-898-9630.  Drop by our website too!

And to prove that the ZL1 1LE is something that the Europeans, the Japanese and the Italians should be scared of, Chevrolet unleashed their track monster on the Nürburgring. The car didn’t disappoint at all. Posting a lap time of 7:16.04, the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is now the fastest Camaro around the Green Hell. That’s 13 seconds faster than the Camaro ZL1.

The lap time places the Chevy at the 14th spot on the Nürburgring’s Top 100 leaderboard. The Camaro ZL1 is at seat number 36 and the spots between those two are populated with the likes of the Nissan GT-R, the Ferrari 488 GTB, McLaren MP4-12C, Porsches and the Chevy Corvette ZR1 among other fast cars.2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

So how does the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE turn out to be much faster around the German track when its 650 hp L4 supercharged V8 powerplant is more or less the same as the one found under the regular ZL1? To begin with, the aero kit is not for endowing the ZL1 1LE with menacing looks. Everything from that massive rear wing to the front dive planes work to create downforce strong enough to keep the car glued to the road and the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R summer-only tires do the rest. The Multimatic DSSV suspension is far superior to the Magnetic Ride Control setup found in the standard ZL1 and is better for the role of a track-day car. It’s also lighter than the ZL1 by 27 kg.

Chevrolet has released the onboard video of the lap and the driver toils a lot throughout the run since the car has a 6-speed manual transmission (Thank you, Chevy!) The driver’s right arm is extremely busy as seen in the clip. Err… that didn’t sound right, did it?

Source: 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Sets Camaro Lap Record At The Nürburgring

Video 2018 Chevy Traverse Redline Series Exterior Ron Westphal Chevrolet

Watch this home-made You Tube Video of the 2018 Chevy Traverse Redline Series Exterior at Ron Westphal Chevrolet.

Hello!  If you would like to see the all new 2018 Chevy Traverse in person, feel free to visit the Ron Westphal Chevrolet showroom weekdays 9-9 and Saturdays 9-6.  If you have any questions or concerns our Customer Care Team can be reached at 630-898-9630.  We also have a website at http://www.WestphalChevy.com that’s open 24 hours a day.

 

Detailed Video 2018 Chevy Traverse High Country Interior Jet:Loft Brown Leather

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Detailed Video 2018 Chevy Traverse High Country Interior Jet:Loft Brown Leather

If you have any questions, concerns or just want to chat…please call our Customer Care Team at 630-898-9630.  Our sales department is open from 9-9 Monday through Friday and from 9-6 on Saturdays.  Want to see more 2018 Traverse models?  Visit our website anytime!

2018 Chevrolet Equinox Video Review

2018 Chevrolet Equinox Video Review.

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked, “What’s your favorite car?” I could buy that car. Even if it were an exotic.

Looking for a 2018 Equinox?  Call our Customer Care Team now at 630-898-9630 or select your perfect Crossover on our website at www.WestphalChevy.com.  

Truth be told, the vehicles that get my professional admiration are the everyday ones, the dependable workhorses that shuttle our children hither and yon, the cars that become part of the family. It’s easy to love performance machines or luxury vehicles with fur-lined glove boxes (not a thing, but you get the gist). But the car geek in me admires budget-restrained engineering teams who create affordable cars that are truly desirable. That’s a black art.

The all-new third generation Chevrolet Equinox crossover is more proof that under Mary Barra, General Motors has found its footing. The Equinox takes care of five people, does the chores, doesn’t drink to excess and looks good.

In the brutal automotive business, the compact crossover market is the most fiercely competitive. It includes not only the Equinox but also the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Kia Sportage, Volkswagen Tiguan and Hyundai Tucson. The Equinox is critical to General Motors. Chevrolet moved 242,195 of them in the United States in 2016, which was second in volume only to the Silverado pickup truck. The 2018 model will probably sell quicker because it’s a far better vehicle.

Here’s why. The Equinox is more than four inches shorter now but retains the same interior space. The 400 pounds it has shed may exceed the weight of the young family who drives it. Let’s buy a round for the engineers.

The Equinox’s breezy design language, which also graces the Cruze, Malibu and Volt, could be used by Lexus in a parallel universe. One reason the second generation overstayed its welcome is that the original design for the third generation was so unloved in consumer clinics that it was scrapped. Good to know the Chevrolet team understands that ugly is forever once it’s on the road.

Friends and neighbors fawned over the Premier model’s cabin with stitched elements on the instrument panel. Owners will be staring at it for years in bad traffic, so glad it’s handsome. Budget plastics are placed below the center console where they’re seldom seen or touched. (It’s how wise product planners cut costs.) The center console is roomy enough to fit a single-lens reflex camera. G.M.’s touch-screen user interface, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, is simple to use.

A base price of $24,525 will give pause to price-sensitive internet shoppers. Climbing to $33,975, my top trim Premier tester lacked available all-wheel drive and a panoramic sunroof. And adaptive cruise control is not even listed as an option. To be fair, the price includes vented front seats, a heated steering wheel and a surround-view camera system that some competitors

don’t offer. Generous pricing margins may allow Chevy dealers plenty of negotiation room. Get in there and haggle hard.

Considering the comfort and refinement, the effort may be worth it. The Equinox shines by delivering a polished and quiet dynamic verging on luxury brand levels. If the roads to soccer or Little League practice are rough, this suspension smooths the bumps. It’s respectable in the curves, too, without challenging the Mazda CX-5’s cornering chops.

Chevy’s supportive seats impressed my backside (though that’s a personal thing). A bonus: Set off the lane-keeping assist system and the driver’s cushion vibrates discreetly, with no tattletale chimes. It’s a marriage-saving feature first found in Cadillacs.

The standard engine is a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder providing 170 horsepower and 203 pound-feet of torque. That’s hooked up to a 6-speed transmission that aggressively holds low ratios for fuel efficiency. This standard power plant is smooth with acceleration in the middle of the pack. The CR-V is a little quicker and efficient. The Environmental Protection Agency rated the average fuel economy of a front-drive Equinox at 28 miles per gallon versus the Honda’s at 30. A comparable RAV4 scores 25.

Any performance and efficiency deficiencies can be rectified in spades with two engine options. There’s a 2-liter turbo gasoline engine with 252 horsepower and a nine-speed transmission for Speed Racer. Scrooge McDuck may be interested in the four-cylinder turbo diesel paired to a six-speed that’s expected to return 40 miles per gallon.

The Equinox’s automatic engine start-stop system is smooth enough to forget about in many situations. Good thing because it can’t be turned off. Unlike the automatic all-wheel drive systems used by others, the Equinox requires drivers to enable it manually. (There’s a prompt to push the button when conditions warrant.)

Automatic emergency braking is standard on the RAV4, the 2018 Nissan Rogue and most CR-Vs. That safety tech is part of a $1,900 package on the Equinox and only available on the top Premier model.

The back seat no longer slides fore and aft (eliminated because some second-generation owners never knew it did). The space is generous with a raised seat cushion offering significant thigh support for adults and superior visibility for children. The back also sports two USB ports, a 12-volt socket and a 115-volt three-prong outlet, so there’s nothing that can’t be charged.

The days of Japan Inc. clearly outgunning Detroit & Co. on every level are gone. While my left brain admires the overachieving Honda CR-V, my right brain gives the nod to the comfortable, refined and stylish Equinox. Both engineering teams performed the black magic needed to make a mainstream car appealing. I won’t be around to nag you to test drive. So experience at least three vehicles before writing that big check. A tip? The Equinox is worth a look.

Thanks for reading/watching the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Video Review.  This is Tom Voelk’s last Driven column for The Times. His reviews will continue to appear on the YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/DrivenCarReviews.

Chevrolet muscle car event set for Bowling Green

Chevrolet muscle car event set for Bowling GreenChevrolet muscle car event set for Bowling Green

Registration and spectator tickets are now available for America’s definitive showcase of customized cars as part of the 2017 Chevrolet Performance CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals, Presented by Holley/MSD, July 21-23 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky.

This will be the annual event will be held in Bowling Green.

“This move to Bowling Green allows for true brand integration with all the Chevy presence in town,” said Craig Shantz, Manager, Chevrolet Performance Shows/Events and Specialty Vehicle Builds. “It’s a great venue for the future of CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals.”

Chevrolet Performance CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals showcases more than 2,500 performance cars and attracts upward of 25,000 enthusiasts from across the country over the course of three days. The 2017 Chevrolet Performance CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals will include, among other highlights:

  • faster open autocross
  • drift showcase
  • chances to test torque and horsepower against the best in the Dyno Challenge
  • Undiscovered Builders’ Invitational
  • Pro Builders’ Shootout
  • Midnight drags
  • drag racing challenges
  • burnout competition
  • professionally judged and awarded Show-‘N’-Shine Competition
  • The Performance Marketplace
  • Kids Zone
  • giveaways and activities on the main stage
  • chance to meet CAR CRAFT editors and photographers on site.

Hours and Ticket Information
Event hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 21, 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, July 22, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 23.

For the chance to appreciate (and show off) the spirit of American cars, participants may register their vehicles to be a part of Chevrolet Performance CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals. Registration includes entry for one vehicle, driver and copilot, and one goodie bag. Pre-registration (available until July 18, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. CST) is $60 ($75 after July 18, 2017). Participants also will be able to register on-site during the event. For more information and to register, visit carcraft.com/events.

Spectator tickets are on sale now and available at carcraft.com/events. Pricing is as follows (if attending on Saturday includes Midnight Drags):

  • One-day ticket admission – $13 in advance, $15 at the gate (valid any one day)
  • Three-day ticket admission – $30 in advance, $35 at the gate

“The Car Craft Summer Nationals is a historic event with a life of its own and we’re excited to see it come to our home town,” said Bill Tichenor, director of Marketing, Holley/MSD. “Car Craft followers use products from our company as much as any car guys on the planet, so it makes perfect sense to sponsor this renowned event.”

For the latest information, visit carcraft.com/events, Facebook at FB.com/Car Craft Magazine, email carcraftsummernats@carcraft.com, or call 310-363-4231.

For hotel bookings please go to travelplanners.net, or call 410-349-3000.

For additional information about Chevrolet muscle car event set for Bowling Green, read more at the Source: GM enthusiasts: Chevrolet muscle car event set for Bowling Green – Franklin Home Page

2018 Chevrolet Equinox 2.0T AWD Premier and 1.5T FWD Premier

2018 Chevrolet EquinoxWe had the opportunity to drive an Equinox FWD Premier with the base 1.5-liter turbo-four, and the new 2.0T AWD model back to back.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — We are driving the all-new 2018 Chevrolet Equinox AWD Premier 2.0T AWD on the super smooth Natchez Trace Parkway. This road is perfect for the compact crossover and makes us appreciate the sedate, friendly ride and comfortably capable handling.

2018 Chevrolet Equinox 2.0T AWD Premier and 1.5T FWD Premier

The 2.0T designates the third-generation Equinox’s new optional engine, a 2.0-liter turbo-four that makes 252 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. But before catching our flight to the Music City, we had the opportunity to drive an Equinox FWD Premier with the base 1.5-liter turbo-four, an engine good for 170 hp and 203 lb-ft of torque.

Mated to a six-speed automatic, it will get to 60 mph in an eventual 9.2 seconds. Gas misers will be happy to know that the six-speed is tuned with fuel economy in mind and it upshifts to its highest gear regularly. Back home in Los Angeles, it did the job comfortably during rush hour traffic and around town hauling groceries.

The 2.0-liter is considerably quicker, getting the Equinox to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. It was noticeably quicker than the 1.5T on the backroads of Tennessee, displaying decent passing power. Pound the accelerator hard enough and its nine-speed automatic will skip a few gears to help get you down the road. The first five ratios are close together and the powertrain gets the job done with minimal lag, at least with two adults and no cargo in the SUV. The bigger engine can also tow up to 3,500 pounds, according to the latest Chevy spec sheets.

Looking for a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox 2.0T AWD Premier and 1.5T FWD Premier?  Visit Ron Westphal Chevy in Aurora, IL or view us online at www.WestphalChevy.com.  Call our Customer care team at 630-898-9630 to set up your VIP test drive.

Read more at the Source: Back to Back: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox 2.0T AWD Premier and 1.5T FWD Premier | Automobile Magazine

How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?

How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?
How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?

How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?

 

It’s one of the most common questions among electric-car buyers: what happens if the battery fails?

The answer is that all electric-car batteries are warranted against failure for either 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles, depending on which state you live in.

The followup is often: OK, then, what does a battery cost once my car’s out of warranty? Isn’t it going to be really expensive?

DON’T MISS: Nissan Leaf New Battery Cost: $5,500 For Replacement With Heat-Resistant Chemistry(Jun 2014)

We’ve known the answer to that question for the original 2011-2014 Nissan Leaf electric car with its 24-kilowatt-hour battery pack: $5,500.

But now there’s a new kid in town. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first affordable, long-range electric car, with a 238-mile EPA combined range rating from its 60-kwh battery pack.

So what does one of those cost to replace?How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?  Ron Westphal Chevy

We reached out to Chevy, and got the following response from Fred Ligouri of Chevrolet Communications.

How much is a Chevy Bolt battery?  Short answer:

The current list price of a Bolt EV HV battery pack is $15,734.29 and the part number is 24285978.

LOOKING FOR YOUR OWN ELECTRIC VEHICLE?  CALL OUR CUSTOMER CARE TEAM AT 630-898-9630 OR VISIT RON WESTPHAL CHEVY ONLINE!

Ligouri went on, however, to provide some additional context around the sometimes worrisome topic of battery replacements.

The Bolt EV battery is covered by the electric-car propulsion warranty (see specifics below) and Bolt EV customers shouldn’t expect to pay parts costs for warrantied repairs.

In [almost seven] years of Volt sales we have yet to replace a single battery pack under warranty for general capacity degradation, and many owners are still reporting they enjoy the same range capability they had when they purchased the car.

How much is a Chevy Bolt battery? Image Ron Westphal ChevroletWhole battery-pack replacement is also largely mitigated by the design, manufacturing technique, dealer diagnostic, and repair tools included to support the manufacture, sale, and service needs of the Bolt EV, meaning individual modules can be replaced should it be required.

In addition to the 3-year/36,000-mile Bumper-to-Bumper Coverage, Chevrolet warrants certain components for each Bolt EV for 8 years or 100,000 miles (160, 000 kilometers), whichever comes first, from the original in-service date of the vehicle … for repairs to the specific electric propulsion components of the vehicle.

In other words, even if some component in a Bolt EV battery degrades or fails, the whole pack doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced.

CHECK OUT: Electric-Car Buyers Expect Battery Upgrades To Be Available

Thus far, based on first-generation Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars now in service for more than six years, degradation in the capacity of GM battery packs has yet to prove a significant issue.

That’s demonstrated, among other examples, by the case of Erick Belmer’s 2012 Chevrolet Volt. That car crossed 300,000 miles in March 2016, with no discernible change to its battery range.

Only time will tell how well the Bolt EV battery packs hold out, and of course the Volt’s gasoline engine provides backup to mitigate any concerns over range anxiety in that car.

Still, now we know the cost of a replacement Bolt EV battery—whether or not any of them end up being sold.

Source: How much is a replacement Chevy Bolt EV electric-car battery?

Chevy’s Hydrogen-Fueled Future

Chevy's Hydrogen-Fueled FutureThe Army has long coveted the technology because it brings a combination of desperately-needed fuel efficiency and near-silent operation to the battlefield.

Chevy’s Hydrogen-Fueled Future

On the outside, it looks like a sporty version of a mid-sized Chevrolet pickup.

But the Army has little interest in its camouflage-chic paint job, its custom wheels or its knobby tires. The Army wants what’s under the hood. It is not a motor.

Looking for your own camouflaged beauty?  Visit us online, contact our Customer Care Team at 630-898-9630 or drop by our showroom.

Meet the hydrogen-powered ZH-2, an experimental truck built by General Motors and recently tested by the Army at Fort Carson. It has no pistons, no cylinders. Instead it has a space-age fuel cell crammed under the hood that turns pure hydrogen into electricity to run the rig and water vapor that surges out its exhaust.

“One of the things you notice is how quiet it is,” GM’s Chris Colquitt, the lead engineer behind the truck said last week as the ZH-2 quietly whirred behind him.

The fuel cell has essentially no moving parts. It works like a battery that never runs flat because a constant flow of hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen keeps the juice flowing.

The Army has long coveted the technology because it brings a combination of desperately-needed fuel efficiency and near-silent operation to the battlefield.

The American military is the world’s largest consumer of diesel fuel, running up a tab at the pump as high as $13 billion per year.

In battle, fuel costs go up astronomically. Pentagon officials told congress in 2009 that diesel fuel at remote locations in Afghanistan runs more than $400 per gallon when transportation costs are added in.

Brian Butrico, an Army engineer overseeing the ZH-2 said the fuel cell sips fuel at less than half the rate of a Humvee. And unlike Army trucks that guzzle fuel while idling, the fuel cell shuts down.

“The feedback is positive so far,” he said.

Hydrogen used to power the truck isn’t something you can pick up at the neighborhood 7-Eleven. To go along with the truck, Butrico’s colleagues at the Army Tank and Automotive Research and Development Center in Michigan are building a “reformer” that can produce the hydrogen by refining other easily-available fuels.

The hydrogen-maker will be about the size of an Army trailer and could be hauled straight to the battlefield to fuel next-generation rigs.

Butrico said the utility of the fuel cell goes far beyond vehicles.

One of the military’s biggest gas-guzzlers overseas is the generator. At the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army generators at forward bases converted 357 million gallons of diesel into electricity and ear-splitting noise each year.

In Baghdad, soldiers could determine their proximity to an American base by listening for the generators’ roar.

A fuel cell could kill the noise and cut the fuel consumption by half or more, the Army estimates.

The ZH-2’s fuel cell generates about 50 kilowatts of power that can be fed into its hulking electric motor or fed to other equipment thanks to handy power outlets in the bed.

“It’s the electrification of a vehicle,” Butrico explained.

The ZH-2 is no tree-hugging Tesla, though. It weighs in at more than 3 tons and its electric motor produces a transmission-shredding 256 pounds of torque, politely managed by several internal computers.

For its girth, the truck is surprisingly nimble, gliding easily over Fort Carson’s tank trails and gullies.

For all its charm, though, the ZH-2 will never wear Army green into battle.

The truck is an experiment designed to examine the fuel cell itself rather than the sheet metal and drive train around it.

Colquitt said GM engineers put the truck together in about a year by marrying the car maker’s experimental fuel cell to parts from several vehicles in its stable. The one-of-a-kind ZH-2 is about a quarter Chevy Colorado, part Camaro, part Corvette and part Volt, too.

The fuel cell itself was used in a wider consumer market experiment based on the Chevrolet Equinox, a vehicle commonly spotted on the sidelines of youth soccer games.

“We’ve pushed the boundary with this,” Colquitt said of the ZH-2.

The ultra-green pickup could be the progenitor for generations of hydrogen powered military vehicles.

“We’re investigating it,” Butrico said.

Read more about Chevy’s Hydrogen-Fueled Future at the Source: Colorado’s Fort Carson Pioneers Hydrogen-Fueled Future