Burned Rubber

This a shocking story reported by 20/20. Old tires are being passsed off as brand new and are posing a serious safety risk. You have our word that this shady practice does not happen at Singh Chevrolet.

View the short video on abc.com.

The Tahoe Hybrid: Size AND Economy

Considering downsizing the size of your vehicle to save on soaring fuel costs? Worried about how to squeeze in those five kids you need to lug to soccer practice every week? Does the sight of a wimpy small sedan fill you with consternation but does the sight of gas prices at $4.00 a gallon fill you with absolute terror? Then perhaps the all new 2008 Tahoe Hybrid will cure what ails you! Available in both 2WD and 4WD, it is comparable with the existing Tahoe in terms of seating, cargo capacity, and price range.

 

The Tahoe Hybrid’s fuel conserving technology includes its 6.0L Vortec V8 engine with Active Fuel Management. It has Late Intake Valve closing for additional fuel savings with Variable Valve Timing and 10.8:1 compression ratio. Even with this high compression rate, the Tahoe Hybrid can run on regular unleaded fuel. The Tahoe Hybrid’s patented technology, the world’s first 2-mode (two motors, both generating 60kW of electricity) hybrid propulsion system, optimizes fuel economy for various driving conditions. The first mode, used at low speeds with light loads, enables the vehicle to operate in three ways: 1) electric power only, 2) engine power only, and 3) combination of electric and engine power. The second mode is used primarily at highway speeds, full engine power is used when necessary such as passing, towing a trailer, and climbing steep grades. The Tahoe Hybrid also recharges itself through regenerative braking. About 30% of its battery power is regenerated through regenerating braking, but be sure to not brake too hard! Just let off the gas and ease down for regeneration to occur.

 

The exterior has also been redesigned for aerodynamic improvements. It has a sleeker aluminum hood, grille and front fascia with a lower air dam, 18” wheels, assist steps, rear spats, a new rear spoiler, D-pillar moldings, tail lamps, rear fascia and an aluminum liftgate with fixed lift glass.

 

The Tahoe Hybrid’s safety components also exceed what you would normally find in a conventional Tahoe. It has a unique crash sensor for high-voltage content, a 300V battery protected by a box which encases it as well as the vehicle structure, a high-voltage system that shuts down automatically when the air bags deploy, and access protection, which shuts down the high-voltage system if any safety cover with integral switches is removed.

 

So cram in all of your kids, pets, and toys! The 2WD supports a payload of 1830 lbs and the 4WD model 1773 lbs. With 332 horsepower, a torque of 367 at 4100 rpm, and towing capacities of 6200 lbs (2WD) and 6000 lbs (4WD), you’ll forget that you’re driving something that uses so little gasoline! Three hundred gallons less per year than the competition, in fact!

Need A Ride To Go With That Diploma?

Beginning May 1st, General Motors is launching a new College Graduate Discount Program. The program allows college seniors (graduating in the next six months from a two- or four-year school), recent graduates (within the past two years), nursing students, and graduate students to take advantage of the prices given to GM supplier partners. This program offers the same discount as the recently-announced GM Military Discount program. Interested students should visit gmcollegegrad.com to register and obtain an authorization number. This authorization number can be taken to any participating GM dealer for a discounted purchase price. The discounted price can be combined with current GM incentives, allowing you to save thousands! All 2008 and 2009 GM vehicles except the Corvette Z06 and hybrids are eligible for a discount.  It’s time to reward yourself for a job well done!

XM Radio – More Choices – Fewer Commercials

Do you have XM Radio? You should for many reasons, especially if you spend plenty of “commuter time” behind the wheel. Imagine digital quality sound; over 170 Channels with every genre of music, new, talk radio, sports and more…If you were to jump in your car and drive from L.A. to New York, you could listen to all of your favorite music and never hear the same song twice! On almost every new 2008 Chevrolet car or truck is equipped with XM Satellite Radio and you get 3 months of XM Satellite Radio service included with your purchase. Be sure to ask about it at Singh Chevrolet.

If King Kong Built A Chevy

So you are big truck enthusiast that feels the need for size. Well, if a Chevrolet 3500 Silverado isn’t big enough for your needs, we have something you will want to have. How about the big boy of pickups, the Chevrolet Kodiak 4500. Not familiar with that truck? You are, but usually this medium duty heavy truck is more commonly configured as dump trucks, school buses and moving vans. But the folks at Monroe Truck Equipment Company have teamed up with Chevy to build the Kodiak 4500 pickup.

At the heart of the Kodiak is the Duramax 6600 diesel and Allison six-speed transmission (with PTO) that is found in the Silverado and Sierra HD trucks. And while versions of the Duramax can be tuned to 350 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, the medium-duty versions such as what’s in the Kodiak are not. The Kodiak power totals 300 horses and 605 pound-feet of torque, which provide plenty of grunt for getting around town and towing. At highway speeds, the Kodiak loafs along at under 2,000 rpm. But being a very large vehicle, you do not accelerate with anything close to regular truck speeds. Momentum gathers more locomotive-like. The Allision transmission though is remarkably smooth-shifting, seamlessly snicking off gears without any jerks to the chassis.

Steering and braking are quite good for such a huge vehicle, but its home is clearly the open road. You will need about four regular parking spots to visit your local Wal-Mart, and drive-throughs, whether at the bank or your favorite fast food restaurant, are really out of the question unless you like to spend a lot of cash for repairing buildings.

But if you are someone that has the need for a serious tow vehicle, with the power and weight to get almost the biggest consumer trailer down the road, the Kodiak 4500 pickup is your vehicle.

Keep’em Coming

GM and Toyota have not yet announced their final numbers for total sales, but each manufacturer built around 9.3 million vehicles. That’s enough cars and trucks to fill an eight-lane highway from Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota Japan, to GM’s Renaissance Center in Detroit Michigan. To put it another way, each company, on average, manufactured one vehicle every 3.4 seconds for the entire year. Essentially, the time it takes an 07 Corvette Z06 to hit 60 mph, GM and Toyota could have each built one car. And in the time it takes and 07 Highlander Hybrid to hit 60 mph, each could have built two.

 

 

 

 

The Whole Picture

The cost of owning a vehicle goes beyond the purchase price. Expenses like insurance and maintenance can add up.

To attain absolute rock bottom ownership costs,which still tally more than $30,000 over five years, even for a $10,000 car, a vehicle must be spartan. It must be small and lightweight to maximize fuel economy. And it should skimp on features, so that maintenance and repair costs stay low.

But most of all, it must start life with a sticker price well below even the most affordable luxury cars. A low purchase price holds down insurance premiums, taxes and fees, financing costs, and, especially, depreciation.You must calculate five-year ownership expenses by estimating cumulative losses from depreciation, interest and opportunity costs, maintenance and repairs, taxes and fees, fuel, and insurance. Some vehicles are relatively inexpensive, but their value is rising in the current economy, especially as gasoline prices climb. Autodata, which tracks sales for the auto industry, reports that overall vehicle sales dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of 2008. But the small-car segment actually grew by 3 percent during that down period. If small-car demand continues to grow, ownership costs could decrease even more: Higher prices for economical used cars will keep new-vehicle depreciation in check.

A good resale value is critical to total ownership cost because depreciation is the greatest single part of the total. Cars with lower depreciation rates (higher resale values) will require lower total ownership expenses than peers in the same price group or model segment. “Depreciation is the one cost that most people forget about,” says John Paul, manager of public affairs for AAA of Southern New England. “They look at all the other costs, but they forget how much a car is going to depreciate, even over the first year.” Models with attractive low depreciation rates exist in all vehicle categories. But if being frugal takes priority above all other automotive concerns, consider one of the 7 vehicles that Chevy offers.Chevy offers seven models with an EPA estimated 30 MPG highway or better. Which in turn gives you “fuel efficiency with a choice.”

Help Chevy Help Autism

April is National Autism Awareness Month and Chevrolet has partnered with Autism Speaks to promote Autism awareness in the community. Chevrolet is pledging a donation to Autism Speaks for every person who watches a brief and informative video about the all new Chevy Malibu, the North American Car of the Year.

Why not help fund Autism research and learn about a great new car all with the click of a button? You can see the video here. And if a donation to autism isn’t enough motivation for you, you also qualify for 30 free days of XM radio just for watching the video.

If you are curious about the importance of funding autism research there are plenty of inspirational stories on the Walk Now For Autism website.

Why a Chevy

Chevy offers seven models with an EPA estimated 30 MPG highway or better. Not only that, Chevy brings you the most dependable, longest-lasting,safest trucks on the road, that simply have the competition saying, “what the truck.”

What matters most though, is your family’s safety. Whether it’s a short trip to the grocery store or a cross-country road trip,Chevrolet is committed to helping keep your investment safe, and most importantly, you and your family’s safety. From the start of your journey to your destination.Chevy boasts a long list of safety achievements, but perhaps the most important have been in the area of crash test ratings. In fact, for 2008, Chevrolet offers 12 models with a five-star frontal crash safety rating, more vehicles than Toyota or Dodge.

That’s why most Chevy vehicles built today come with comprehensive safety and security features to help protect you before, during and, thanks to available OnStar, after a collision. Chevrolet offers technologies to provide you with information and safety features specifically designed to help you avoid a crash. Some of the safety features designed to help protect occupants in the event of a crash include safety cage and crush zones, safety belts, air bags and the LATCH system for child safety seats, BUT WAIT there’s more.

1.Standard on every Chevy vehicle are Daytime Running Lamps, they are reduced-intensity lights on the front of vehicles that automatically illuminate when a vehicle is started. They make the vehicle easier to see, by other drivers and pedestrians, in a variety of daytime conditions including fog, rain, dusk, and bright sunlight.The most important advantage of these lights is the potential for reducing crashes and injuries, and saving lives.

2.ABS- helps you maintain steering control by reducing wheel lockup during hard braking on most slippery surfaces.

3.The StabiliTrak Electronic Stability Control System- helps you stay the course by detecting the difference between the steering wheel angle and the direction the vehicle is actually turning. StabiliTrak “reads” the steering wheel position, the amount of sideways force in play, the speed of the vehicle and the vehicle’s response to steering wheel input. It then uses the brakes and, if necessary, adjusts engine torque to help you keep your vehicle on track.The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study estimated that electronic stability control systems could avoid as many as 10,000 fatal crashes in the U.S. annually if the technology were used on every vehicle.

4. OnStar- with OnStar, you’re not alone. If you’re ever in a crash, at the touch of a button, an OnStar Advisor can contact emergency help for you. If the air bags deploy, OnStar can automatically call you. It knows your exact location and can contact the nearest fire, police and EMS personnel. In the event you’re in a crash, OnStar Advisors are there. At the touch of a button, an OnStar Advisor is available to contact emergency help for you. In a crash, when the air bags deploy, OnStar can automatically send a call for help with the exact location of our vehicle to the OnStar Center, where trained Advisors will immediately contact emergency services.

All that technology bundled up in the most dependable, longest lasting, safest, vehicles on the road.

So when asked again, “why buy a Chevy”, I simply think to myself, why would I buy anything else, whoever said you cant buy happiness, never bought a Chevrolet.

 

 

Active Fuel Management

Active Fuel Management is a new innovation to help you save gas! This is how it works. With Active Fuel Management technology from GM, the Vortec 5.3L V8 and 6.0L engines in half-ton models deliver power only when you need it.  In situations where extra power is not needed, such as cruising down the highway on level roads, Active Fuel Management shuts down four of the eight cylinders, which in turn saves you gas. When more power is need, the cylinders start back up immediately. This exciting new technology is available in most Tahoes, Silverados, Suburbans, and Avalanches.