Chevrolet Racing Claims 14 Championships in 2013

 

The new Corvette C7.R race car, wearing an updated “Jake” mascot, will make its competition debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 25-26, 2014. Jake, named for the infamous character played by the late John Belushi in The Blues Brothers, first appeared in the early 2000s, when the Corvette Racing team was gaining momentum, winning multiple ALMS championships, the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

2013-12-12

DETROIT – Chevrolet was the most successful name in professional motorsports in the United States this year, capturing 14 manufacturer, driver and team championships in NASCAR, IndyCar, ALMS, GRAND-AM and the Pirelli World Challenge series.

Chevrolet will kick off the 2014 season with the debut of the all-new Corvette C7.R at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The new Corvette race car, wearing an updated “Jake” mascot, will make its competition debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 25-26, 2014.

“We had an amazing year in 2013, winning more championships in professional motorsport than any other manufacturer,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors’ U.S. vice president, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Our success was the direct result of considerable preparation, strategy, teamwork and great drive from our teams, drivers, and partners in open wheel, stock car, and sports car racing. We are looking forward to continuing that momentum for 2014.” 

Three Championships in NASCAR
For an unprecedented 11th consecutive year, Chevrolet won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Manufacturers’ Championship – for a record 37th time overall. Jimmie Johnson’s ninth-place finish in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway earned him the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers Championship. It was the sixth time in a record-setting eight-year span that Johnson, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, claimed the crown and the 29th Drivers’ Championship for Chevrolet. In addition, Austin Dillon secured the Drivers’ Championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

One Championship in IndyCar
After returning to the series in 2012, Chevrolet won the IndyCar Manufacturers Championship for the second year in a row. Chevrolet led the series with 10 victories out of 19 races, including the prestigious Indianapolis 500. 

Two Championships in GRAND-AM
For the second consecutive year, Chevrolet secured the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype, or DP, Engine Manufacturers’ Championship. Drivers Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor shared the Drivers’ Championship.

Three Championships in World Challenge
Competing with the Camaro, Chevrolet secured the GTS Manufacturers’ Championship in World Challenge racing. Lawson Aschenbach won the GTS Drivers’ Championship, while Blackdog Racing secured the GTS Team Championship.

Five Championships in ALMS
In the American Le Mans Series, Chevrolet claimed its 10th Manufacturers’ Championship, while Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen secured the Drivers’ Championship. Chevrolet also clinched the ALMS GT Team championship for Corvette Racing – its 10th in the ALMS and most in the series’ history. Chevrolet won the ALMS’ Green Challenge GT Championship, which goes to the manufacturer that records the fastest races while being the most efficient in petroleum use and emissions. The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R won the Michelin Green X Challenge – an award that goes to the leading GT and prototype teams using the same criteria.

Chevrolet Racing will kick off the 2014 season in January with the all-new Corvette C7.R.

The C7.R will make its public debut alongside the new 2015 Corvette Z06 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The two cars were co-developed, representing the closest connection between the racing and road-going Corvettes in modern times.

The C7.R will make its competition debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Jan. 25, 2014. When the C7.R takes to the track, it will sport an all-new Jake logo, which has become the unofficial mascot of Corvette Racing.

The history of Jake
Jake first appeared in the early 2000s, when the Corvette Racing team was gaining momentum and winning multiple ALMS championships and the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. The team began uniting behind a rally cry of “Take No Prisoners,” and a flaming skull logo that represented its unrelenting drive for victories. 

It wasn’t until after the C5.R completed the final 24 Hours of Le Mans that the unofficial logo was born. Originally, just a sketch on a napkin, the logo was drawn as a skull with crossed flags for the eyes and was named after Jake, the infamous character from The Blues Brothers.

The new Jake, with the seventh-generation Crossed Flag logo for eyes, is more modern and more aggressive – just like the C7.R.

“The best thing about Jake is that the logo transcends age and gender, uniting the Corvette Racing team and enthusiasts alike,” said Tom Peters, director of design, Performance Vehicles. “The new Jake logo reinforces the brand’s success on the track and signals the transition from the C6.R to the C7.R.”

From GM News….

Chevrolet Powers Way to Pair of Engine Honors

WardsAuto recognizes Corvette and Cruze engines among 10 Best in industry

2013-12-12

 DETROIT – The all-new, high-tech Small Block 6.2L V8 powering the 2014 Corvette Stingray and the 2.0L turbo diesel for the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze are among Ward’s 10 Best Engines.

WardsAuto reviewed 44 engines from 16 automakers in this year’s competition, which looked at power, fuel efficiency, new technology, refinement and compared it with data for similar engines.

“At GM – our goal is to design, build and sell the world’s best powertrains – this recognition from the experts at WardsAuto provides two additional proof points that we are on the right track,” said Steve Kiefer, vice president, Global Powertrain.

“The fifth generation Small Block V-8 in the new Stingray, is an iconic brand in itself, and our new 2.0L Turbo Diesel engine in the Chevy Cruze is redefining the market with outstanding performance, strong low end torque, low emissions and segment-leading highway fuel economy – a real winner.”

LT1 6.2L V8 Small Block technology, power, efficiency

“The arrival of a completely re-engineered Small Block engine family is truly momentous,” says Tom Murphy, executive editor of WardsAuto World magazine. “The critics can say what they want about the relevance of pushrod engines, but how can more than a hundred million buyers of small-block engines since 1955 be wrong? The new Corvette couldn’t exist without this magnificent V-8.”

The all-new LT1 Small Block technologies contribute to making the new Corvette the quickest, most powerful and most fuel-efficient standard Corvette ever. The engine delivers an SAE-certified 460 horsepower helping propel the car to a 0-60 time in 3.8 seconds while offering 29 EPA estimated mpg highway.

The all-new engine is the most significant redesign in the Small Block’s nearly 60-year history. The LT1, part of the new Gen 5 family of Small Block engines, combines several advanced technologies – direct injection, Active Fuel Management, or cylinder deactivation, and continuously variable valve timing – to support an advanced combustion system.

Direct injection is new to the engine architecture and is a primary contributor to greater combustion efficiency by ensuring a more complete burn of the fuel in the air-fuel mixture. This is achieved by precisely controlling the mixture motion and fuel injection spray pattern. Direct injection also keeps the combustion chamber cooler, which allows for a higher compression ratio.

Increased power and efficiency result from more than 10 million hours of computational analysis including computational fluid dynamics, to make the most of the combustion system, the direct injection fuel system, active fuel management and variable valve timing systems that support it. The combustion system itself benefited from 6 million hours of dedicated CPU analysis time.

Other variants of the Gen 5 Small Block include the 4.3L V6, 5.3L and 6.2L V8 truck engines offered in the all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. The LT1 is manufactured in Tonawanda, N.Y., which is also home to last year’s WardsAuto 10 Best engine winner – the 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine used in the Cadillac ATS.

2.0L Turbo Diesel winning design, global expertise

“The Chevy Cruze diesel is everything you want it to be: astonishingly efficient, whisper-quiet on the highway and shockingly fun to drive,” says Drew Winter, editor-in-chief of WardsAuto World magazine.

The 2.0L turbo-diesel delivers an SAE-certified 151 horsepower (113 kW) and 264 lb-ft of torque (358 Nm). Notable is the engine’s high torque level of 250 lb-ft (339Nm) from 1750 – 3000 rpm. The rich torque provides for a sustained feeling of power on demand at almost all speeds – particularly when passing or entering a freeway onramp.

The 2014 Cruze Turbo Diesel engine delivers a segment leading EPA-estimated 46 MPG on the highway and range of 717 highway miles on one tank of fuel, based on fuel tank capacity and EPA estimates – your range may be less. That is better than any non-hybrid passenger car in America. The engine has an overboost feature capable of increasing torque to an estimated 280 lb-ft (380 Nm), for stronger acceleration periods of about 10 seconds.

Cruze’s 2.0L turbo-diesel is based on a proven architecture used in European models. Collaborating with Italian and German engineering groups, GM’s diesel experts in the United States adapted the engine to accommodate more stringent diesel emission standards, diagnostics and a wider range of driving conditions – including colder and hotter climates and higher altitudes – for the United States and Canada. The engine is manufactured in Kaiserslautern, Germany and also used in the Opel Astra, Cascada, Insignia and Zafira Tourer.

 

From GM News….

GM Invests Nearly $1.3 Billion for Five U.S. Plant Upgrades

Brings to $2.8 billion in U.S. facility investments announced this year

2013-12-16

FLINT, Mich. – General Motors will invest nearly $1.3 billion in five manufacturing sites in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana to produce new fuel-efficient engines and transmissions, enhance vehicle quality and streamline logistics. The investments combined will create or retain about 1,000 jobs.

The investments – announced today at GM plants in Detroit, Flint and Romulus, Mich.; Toledo, Ohio and Bedford, Ind. – will support production of a new V6 engine, new 10-speed transmission and an existing 6-speed transmission. They will also fund assembly plant upgrades, including a new paint shop and logistics optimization center.

Since 2009, GM has announced investments of about $10.1 billion in its U.S. operations – $2.8 billion in 2013 alone – creating or retaining more than 26,500 jobs.

“GM is committed to a strong American manufacturing base and creating jobs in dozens of communities throughout the country. Today’s announced plant upgrades continue the momentum of a resurgent auto industry,” said GM Executive Vice President and North America President Mark Reuss. “More importantly, these investments add up to higher quality and more fuel-efficient vehicles for our customers.”

Said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union’s GM Department:

“Today’s announcement is a win for American workers. The UAW is proud to be a part of this successful collaboration with GM that has helped rebuild the nation’s economy, created good paying, union jobs in communities across the country, and brought manufacturing that was moved overseas back to the U.S. This is further proof that collective bargaining works.”

GM’s nearly $1.3 billion investment includes:

• $600 million in Flint Assembly for facility upgrades, including a new paint shop
• $493.4 million in Romulus Powertrain Operations, which includes $343.4 million for equipment to produce an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission and $150 million to increase capacity of a previously announced new V6 engine
• $121 million in Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly for a logistics optimization center
• $30.6 million in Toledo Transmission Operations for increased capacity for an existing 6-speed transmission and tooling for a new variant
• $29.2 million in Bedford Castings, which includes $22.6 million to produce components for the 10-speed transmission and $6.6 million to produce components for an existing 6-speed transmission

The 10-speed automatic transmission will contribute to improved fuel economy and performance. Details about this program and the new V6 engine will be announced later.

From GM News….

2014 Silverado 1500 Named Fleet Truck of the Year

2013-12-12

DETROIT – The 2014 Silverado 1500 is Automotive and Business Fleet magazines’ 2013 Fleet Truck of the Year, an award determined by qualified fleet managers reflecting all industry segments and fleet sizes.

“We are proud to recognize the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the 2013 Fleet Truck of the Year award,” said Sherb Brown, vice president and group publisher for Bobit Business Media’s FleetGroup. “The Truck of the Year award is voted on every year by fleet managers, making this a real honor for vehicle manufacturers that serve this professional segment.”

The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is all-new from hood to hitch, and fleets took notice. The pickup received the most votes among 36 trucks evaluated in this year’s competition.

The Silverado 1500 provides work-ready features throughout the vehicle making it ideal for varied job sites. A standard CornerStep bumper coupled with handholds built into the box rail, upper tie-down hooks, under-rail light-emitting diode, or LED, lighting and an EZ Lift and Lower tailgate also make the box more user-friendly for hauling tools and cargo.

“The Silverado 1500 continues the Chevy tradition of offering the most dependable and longest lasting truck in the marketplace,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, GM Fleet and Commercial Sales. “Not only does the 2014 Silverado offer the most torque and highest towing rating of any standard V-6, its fuel efficiency is important to fleet customers’ bottom line.”

The Silverado 1500 offers best-in-class towing with a rating of 7,600 pounds, highest for any V-6 pickup. The standard 4.3L EcoTec3 V-6 has the highest available payload rating of 2,108 pounds.

Available alongside the V-6 engine is the 5.3L EcoTec3 V-8, which has EPA–estimated fuel economy of up to 23 mpg highway for 2WD models, the best of any V-8 pickup, and better than Ford EcoBoost V-6.

2015 Chevrolet Colorado Show Truck Revealed!

The all-new 2015 Chevrolet Colorado was unveiled this week in Los Angeles. When the Colorado returns to the Chevrolet lineup, it is expected to be the most capable and versatile midsize truck on the market.  Designed with adventure in mind, the Colorado is easily equipped for the mountains or the beach.   Inspired by the west coast, this show truck demonstrates one of the many ways the new Colorado can be accessorized.  To see more go to: media.chevrolet.com

 

Congratulations to our Employee of the Year!

 

Congratulations to Henry Grondin on being voted 2013 Employee of the Year at Wheeler Motors!

Henry was voted by his peers as the hardest working one of the bunch this year.  The picture above depicts Henry in his natural habitat, unable even to smile for the camera due to his commitment to the job.

Henry came to Wheelers in August of 1994.  He has earned his title of Senior Master Service Technician through his countless hours on the job both with us and before.  After living in 4 other states, he decided on coming home to Brutus and working steadily in Cheboygan.

Thank you for your service and dedication, Henry!

 

Wheeler Motors is your Toys for Tots Headquarters!

Wheeler Motors is Cheboygan County’s Toys for Tots headquarters!  All the donations we receive go directly to children in our community who are in need of some assistance to have a wonderful holiday.

Here is some more information about Toys for Tots:

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program

MISSION:
The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

GOAL:
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.

OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.

ACTIVITIES:
The principal Toys for Tots activity which takes place each year is the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located. In communities without a Reserve Unit, the campaign can be conducted by a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign. Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toys and monetary donations. 

 

Learn More at the Toys for Tots website……