The Chevy Impala had its heyday back in the later 50’s through the 60’s and sort of become an “old foagy” mobile from that point on. Not anymore though! The 2014 Chevy Impala has gotten a makeover in some big ways and now puts the fresh back in the large sedan category. It’s moved up significantly in terms of styling, both inside and out along with becoming more technically advanced as well. It is definitely slated to be a top contender in the large car category. It’s competitors, namely the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Ford Taurus, Hyundai Azera, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon and Volkswagen Passat should watch out for this one.

The 2014 Chevy Impala has a couple engine choices starting with a 2.5 liter four cylinder that offers up 196 horsepower, a 3.6 liter V6 that offers up 302 horsepower and a mild hybrid that gives 182 horses. The V6 offers the most assertive feeling drive, but the other choices aren’t totally miserable if you have a higher patience level for how long it takes to get from 0 to 60. All of these choices come with front wheel drive and are mated to a six speed automatic transmission. Pricing hasn’t been released for the hybrid version yet, but the LS model with the 2.5 liter four cylinder starts at $27,725 and the LT model with the V6 starts at $29,950. If you want to up the ante and get upgraded features, you’ll want the LTZ that starts at $35,770.

The Standard Features for each 2014 Chevy Impala model are:

• Antilock brakes
• Sstability control
• Curtain air bags
• Front and rear seat-mounted side air bags
• Driver and front passenger knee air bags
• Front seat belt pretensioners
• Six months of OnStar service with automatic crash notification and turn-by-turn navigation
• LED daytime running lights
• Automatic headlights
• Forward collision alert
• Blind spot alert
• Rear cross traffic alert
• Lane departure warning
• Rear vision camera with park assist
• Power sun roof
• Power mirrors, windows and locks
• Heated outside mirrors
• Pushbutton start
• Passive entry system
• Leather seats
• Power front seats
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Steering wheel controls
• Dual zone automatic climate control
• JD radio
• Three months of XM satellite radio
• Voice recognition for phone, audio and navigation
• Touch screen
• Storage compartment behind touch screen
• Bluetooth audio and phone compatible; USB input
  Remote start; two 12-volt outlets
• Floor mats
• 60/40 folding rear seat

2014 Chevy Impala options include:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Memory for driver’s seat
• Mirrors
• Steering wheel
• Carpeted trunk mat
• Auto-dimming rearview mirror
• Ventilated front seats
• Power tilt and telescoping steering column
• Universal garage door opener
• Heated steering wheel
• Navigation system
• 11-speaker Bose audio
• Crystal red paint

Source YouTube

Good news for Ford, although some workers may be disappointed to not be able to take advantage of the traditional two week shut down. Ford needs new cars and trucks to keep rolling off the production lines because so many people are now buying new vehicles. The plan is to add an additional 200,000 vehicles per year and cancelling the summer shutdown will help make up about 40,000 of those. This plan also includes doing more work in fewer plants in order to keep manufacturing costs down. This requires some juggling, including flexible labor contracts and almost round the clock operations. Down time for maintenance on the production lines is not going to be looked upon well in order to reach these goals though.

Jim Tetreault, head of Ford North America manufacturing, comments, “That’s more capacity (added) than (I’ve seen) in my 35 years in the business, that is being added in a very short period of time. We have F-Series plants that are going to produce 320,000 annually.”

Last year was the first year that 400,000 vehicles were produced in order to keep up with the 13% growth increase that Ford enjoyed in the American market for the first four months of this year. To continue keeping up Ford will be adding 3,500 workers to stay in compliance with the 2011 UAW contract that promises 12,000 additional workers to be added by 2015. Most of the 3,500 workers will be hired for the Flat Rock plant to help make more Fusions. Some of them will also be hired on at the Kansas City Plant in to make more F-150 trucks and the new Transit commercial Fan.

General Motors and Chrysler have also been ramping up production to keep up with car sales. General Motors doesn’t have summer shutdowns so their lines stay running without having to cancel any time off. Some Chrysler plants will have a one week shutdown except for the Jefferson North Toledo Plant and the Connor Avenue Plant. These plants will need to continue working without a shutdown.

Source Detroit Free Press

The General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly plant is getting a new Logistics Optimization Center. This new 400,000 square foot building will be adjacent to the rest of the plant in order to sequence and assemble part to help make the manufacturing process more streamlined and flexible. The cost is estimated to run about $44.5 million and 200 new workers will be needed.

Christine Sitek, GM North America manufacturing manager, said, “This project is the latest example of how we’re doing business differently in GM today. We’ve developed an innovative material strategy that increases efficiency and improves quality to benefit our customers, employees and the bottom line.”

While the investment seems like an astronomical amount, it will save money in the long run and makes sense to simplify the car building process.

“This investment was earned through the quality and flexibility that has been a hallmark of Lansing Grand River since it opened in 2001,” said Lansing Regional Plant Manager Tony Francavilla. “However, our plant could not be successful without the strong support from our local community, the city council and Mayor Virg Bernero. We’re committed to continuing world-class manufacturing performance for which we are known, and our customers demand.”

The General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant builds the Cadillac ATS and three of the Cadillac CTS models including the sedan, coupe and wagon. It also builds the high performance V Series of each model. Awards for these vehicles include:

• Car and Driver 10Best List for five straight years (CTS-V Sedan, Coupe and Wagon)
• Consumer Reports’ most-reliable domestic car 2012 (CTS Coupe)
• 2013 North American Car of the Year ( ATS)
• 2013 Car of the Year by Esquire (ATS)
• 2013 Autobytel Luxury Car of the Year (ATS)
• 2013 Motor Press Guild Vehicle of the Year (ATS)
• Lansing Grand River by the numbers

Source General Motors

While Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is heading to the Sons of Italy Foundation this Friday to be honored, another organization, the Italian American One Voice Coalition was a bit up in arms with some of the comments he made at the recent Detroit Auto Show. He has apologized for what was perceived as offensive remarks by the One Voice Coalition. A Chrysler spokesperson said the timing of this apology had nothing to do with Marchionne’s plans with the Sons of Italy.

Apparently, while Marchionne was talking about the new Alfa Romeo car that is going to be sold in the United States, he said, “with all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine.” The point he was getting at was that he felt an Italian designed Fiat engine would work about best for this specific model. Using the term “wop” is what seemed to have offended the Italian American One Voice Coalition.

This agency has been after Marchionne ever since he made that remark demanding an apology. The American Italian Coalition felt that it was a biased, ethnic slur even though for Marchionne, it was more than likely a fond term of endearment. Manny Alfano, founder and president of the coalition stated, “We jumped on it immediately.”

Marchionne’s apology stated, “Having had to live through a period of integration into another country a number of years ago, I am keenly aware of the negative implications of stereotyping and the significant efforts required to undo its effects (He moved from Italy to Canada in his youth). I am proud of my Italian heritage, and nothing I have said should be interpreted as an attempt at minimizing its value. I extend my apologies to anyone who may have been offended by my remark.”

This is the second time people have been up in arms about Marchionne’s colloquialisms. In 2011 he was prompted to apologize for using the term “shyster” when talking about the high interest rates on loans from the United States and Candadian governments.

Source Detroit Free Press

Connected World Magazine has named the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi as their Connected Car of the Year for this year due to its advanced technology and most advance driver assist features that help drivers keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and still stay connected to their smartphones at the same time through the Ford SYNC.

Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation, shares, “SYNC has helped us evolve as an automaker, to think and act more like a technology company, with a new level of openness and access that has forever changed how we look at our business and respond to our customers. Ultimately, SYNC embodies one of the many things Ford is all about: going further to transform innovative ideas into products that are affordable, attainable and valuable for millions of people.”

The recent Ford press release states that anyone with an internet connection and a Ford Fusion Energi, C-Max Energi and Focus Electric can download an app that allows them to:

• Find current and projected state of charge information including estimated range and the amount of charge time necessary for additional travel distances
• Program vehicle charging with utility input, allowing the car to start charging immediately or when electricity prices are lowest with the value charging feature, powered by Microsoft
• Using features powered by MapQuest®:
• Locate charging stations and get the destination sent to the vehicle
• Know if the vehicle can reach a specific charge station from its current location with the current charge level
• Create a journey with multiple stops, and determine the likelihood the car has adequate charge for the full journey
• Find the car by creating a route from a mobile phone to the vehicle
• Receive alerts if the vehicle isn’t charging when it’s scheduled to, or if charging stops unexpectedly due to a power outage, plug removal or other event
• Receive alerts during recharge when the vehicle has reached a particular preset charge level or has the ability to reach a particular destination
• Engage remote vehicle preconditioning, using grid power to heat or cool the battery and vehicle interior
• Remotely lock/unlock doors
• Use the built-in GPS system to locate the car
• Download performance and system data
• Earn various achievements for driving and ownership milestones that can then be posted to your Facebook or Twitter account
• Fun ways of understanding your driver behavior, with ratings from “Zen” to “zippy”
• Receive information personalized, depending on which key used

This app is available for either Apple iOS users or Google Android Users. The available driver assist technologies also helped the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi win this award. The technologies included are a land keeping system, driver alert system, blind spot information system, active park assist, collision warning, rear view camera and adaptive cruise control.

Not many cars can fit into just about any available parking space the way a Fiat 500 can. Urban drivers love to be able to jet around in these tiny compacts, but many of them just can’t stand feeling like all they can do is putt around the city when they would really like to zip around from point A to B. The 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo was created to do just that and it seems Fiat was able to get it right with this little car.

The 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo hosts a 1.4 liter MultiAir turbocharged inline four cylinder engine. This will give you 135 horsepower and 150 pound feet of torque. In this size car, that offer a definitely assertive driving experience. This is 25 fewer horses than what the Abarth offers, but more than the hatchback and you can look forward to getting from 0 to 60 in 6.9 seconds to help keep up with rush hour traffic.

Climbing inside the 2013 Fiat Turbo is a good reminder that this is a compact and if you have kids, pets, and other items to carry around with you, it’s not going to be the most comfortable. But for you, a passenger and perhaps some groceries, it should do just fine. The seats ride high so even though you are in a small car, you have the feeling of being just a little bigger than you really are.

The 2013 Fiat Turbo starts at $19,500 and there is a whole variety of options you can pick and choose through. The comfort and convenience package for an additional $650 should definitely be one option you choose is you want features such as automatic air conditioning, heated front seats and satellite radio. You can choose the Beats by Dr. Dre audio system for another $1,500.

Source YouTube