chevy

Tips to maximize Chevy Volt fuel economy

Most Chevrolet Volt owners probably apply the same driving habits long practiced by hybrid owners, such as braking and accelerating gently, to conserve energy and maximize battery power. But they may not know that small, seemingly inconsequential choices, like how they choose to warm the Volt's interior on a chilly day, can also makes a difference in how far they can go on battery power alone.

Chevy Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz has lots of practice eeking the most out of his Volt's 16 kWh battery, and says that even during Michigan's cold winter months he'… Read more

Car Tech Live 211: CNET drives the new 2011 BMW X3 (podcast)

We take an inside look at the New York auto show. Is your car one of the most stolen? Also, a TV chef makes a serious car downgrade, and we drive one of the most-awaited new BMWs.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 211 SHOW NOTES

• CNET Review of the 2011 BMW X3 xDrive35i

• Nissan Leaf starting problems

• New York auto show: Chevy MyLink

• New York auto show: Lexus LF- Gh concept

• New York auto show: New Mercedes A-class concept

• CNET's LOL cars gallery!

Car Tech Live 210: CNET gets the Chevy Volt (podcast)

Toyota and Microsoft head for the clouds, 2010 the safest year ever on U.S. roads--the technologies behind that, what Lexus has up its green sleeve in New York, and we hit the road in the 2011 Chevy Volt.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 210 SHOW NOTES

• 2011 Chevy Volt review and video

• Microsoft and Toyota team on telematics

• New way to monitor where all the bad accidents are

• Largest automotive lithium ion battery plant completed

• CNET's LOLCars gallery!

CNET Car Tech: 2011 Chevy Volt

You can literally count the truly influential new cars of the postwar era on two hands with a couple fingers left over. With the arrival of the Chevy Volt, there's one less finger free. But does that guarantee the Volt will do all it's expected to? Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech.

Use OnStar for a chance to win a new GM vehicle

General Motors is giving a vehicle each to 10 winners of the PushOn sweepstakes. Contestants need to register through OnStar by May 31, 2011, to win a new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac models.

The sweepstakes rules allow anyone with a digital OnStar-equipped vehicle--regardless of whether they are a current OnStar subscribe--can enter to win by pressing the blue OnStar button. The eligibility doesn't include fleet vehicles (such as rental or media fleets), only personal vehicles, the company said.

An alternative way to register for the sweepstakes is to send in a hand-written postcard. Details of the contest rules, … Read more

Trackside in the Chevrolet Volt

There are cars that were born for the track and those that have absolutely no business there. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is one of the latter. But when given the opportunity to lap Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in GM's newest electrified vehicle, we jumped at the opportunity.

Imagine, for a moment, pushing your favorite dull midsize sedan (say a Toyota Camry or Chevy Malibu) at 8/10ths around your favorite back road with all of the understeer, body roll, and middling power-to-weight ratio. It's unoffensive, but few would call the experience "fun." This is the starting … Read more

Better Place a good deal for Danish drivers?

Better Place, which offers battery service for electric vehicles, opened today its first European retail station in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Better Place stations offer battery swaps for electric vehicles as an alternative to waiting to recharge the batteries. Commercial stations are already running in Israel and Japan. Until now, though, Better Place had only been testing pilot stations in the U.S. and Europe.

Most of the stations offer fast-charging plug-in spots for EVs, as well as battery swaps for subscribing members. The battery swap is a convenience for drivers because it takes only a minute to make the switch, according … Read more

Car Tech Live 205: Big Geneva auto show preview (podcast)

For Geneva next week, we'll see a fat Ferrari, a faster Jaguar, and an electric Phantom. Meanwhile, Priuses, Prium, or Prii? And we find out there is an 'i' in BMW.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 205 SHOW NOTES

• Fastest four-seater ever: Ferrari FF hits 208 mph

• People pick Prius plurality

• For BMW, i is the new e

• Chevy MyLink catches up with Ford Sync

• Presidential rides of past and present

Chevy MyLink catches up with Ford Sync

Ford Sync took an early lead in providing advanced integration with cell phones and MP3 players, but now Chevy is catching up, announcing a new technology called MyLink, which will offer many similar features.

Last year OnStar started testing app integration, using Pandora and Facebook. Chevy MyLink refines this functionality, incorporating Pandora and Stitcher, a podcast streamer. These apps are resident in the car, but use a paired smartphone's data plan for connectivity. Ford recently expanded Sync with AppLink, a service that integrates apps on a paired phone with the car's interface.

Beyond apps, MyLink provides the same … Read more

Follow-up report: President Obama signs Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act into law

It looks like automakers will be required by law to add audible alerts to silent-running electric vehicles to keep sight-impaired pedestrians safe.

President Barack Obama this week signed into law the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841), which will protect the blind and other pedestrians from injury as a result of silent-vehicle technology, said the National Federation of the Blind.

The new bill, sponsored by Senator John Kerry, and 29 other co-sponsors, allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) begin crafting standards for an alert sound.

"The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that this critical legislation … Read more