Chevy not to reveal race car until later in the year: While Ford unveiled the Fusion in January — and its prototype actually made laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and Dodge had its coming-out party for the Charger in Las Vegas, it could be awhile before the public sees the final Chevrolet reveal, said Jim Campbell, the company's US vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports. "We're determining that right now, but it will be a number of months yet before we reveal the car," Campbell said. "It will be much, much later this year." On Thursday, Chevrolet announced that its new Cup car will be branded under the Chevrolet SS nameplate and that a limited production version will be available in showrooms at the end of next year. The manufacturer also released a photo of the Cup prototype.(FoxSports)(5-20-2012)

Holden to export of the Commodore to U.S. as Chevy SS UPDATE to NASCAR - image: Holden will announce tomorrow an export program for the Commodore, which will see the Adelaide [Australia] made car become a race and showroom star in the United States. Though sales of the Elizabeth-produced sedan continue to slide in Australia, a Commodore V8 will be exported to America where it will be sold with the Chevy SS Performance badge. In that guise, it would also star for the heartland brand in the NASCAR stock car racing series, which runs second only to Formula One in global popularity. Holden has been testing left-hand drive cars on public roads in Victoria in recent weeks and running it head-to-head with one of its strongest potential rivals, the Dodge Charger, as it finalises its end of the important new deal. Motorsport sources in the USA hint that an announcement of the Chevy SS program is imminent, including the Holden connection. The coming VF Commodore as the donor car for the program ticks the boxes for American muscle car fans, and NASCAR stock car racing as well, thanks to its V8 engine, large body and rear-wheel drive. Former GM Holden president Mark Reuss, now the head of GM operations in the US and a known fan and supporter of the Commodore, dodged Carsguide's questions on a link between the SS program and the Commodore. Holden chairman Mike Devereux also refused to comment on the strengthening rumours in the US, which were triggered by the announcement. Full-scale testing of the racer is expected to begin soon, and the bodywork expected to be revealed at the same time.()(5-16-2012)
UPDATE: Holden has announced a new export program, confirming that Commodore will return to North America in late 2013 as the new Chevrolet SS performance sedan. The limited production derivative of the yet to be launched VF Commodore will arrive in North American showrooms late next year. It will be the first time in 17 years that Chevrolet will offer a rear-wheel-drive sedan for sale in the US. The SS will also become Chevrolet’s next NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar debuting next year in its race configuration at the world renowned Daytona 500. Based on the much anticipated Australian-built car, the Chevrolet SS will benefit from significant technology advances including innovations in light weighting and fuel efficiency. Mark Reuss, GM President of North America said as a passionate race fan and performance enthusiast he was thrilled with today’s announcement. “I am delighted to say that Chevrolet will deliver a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR racecar in the SS that very closely links the performance sedan that will be available for sale,” Reuss said. “The Chevrolet SS is a great example of how GM is able to leverage its global product portfolio to deliver a unique performance experience that extends well beyond the track and I am personally looking forward to driving it.”(Holden/General Motors)
AND Chevrolet announced the return of a V-8 powered, rear-wheel-drive performance sedan to the U.S. lineup, the Chevrolet SS. The SS will also be Chevrolet’s next NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar and will debut in its race configuration at the 2013 Daytona 500. The limited production version of the Chevrolet SS will be a 2014 model and will arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2013. It is the first time in 17 years that Chevrolet will offer a rear-wheel-drive sedan for sale in the United States.(Team Chevy PR)(5-17-2012)

Will Chevy's new car be the SS? From Autoblog: Count us eager to get behind the wheel of whatever a "2014 Chevrolet SS Performance" turns out to be. Hopefully the appearance of [a] reference on the OnStar website is more than just a digital placeholder. Chevy SS rumors have been swirling lately, with General Motors registering the "SS" trademark earlier this month, just days after … spy shooters caught what looked like a hotted-up Impala. Then there's the NASCAR situation: Chevrolet has said its new entry in the racing series will be both a new vehicle and a new nameplate. We're guessing that car isn't going to be the Spark. So this new OnStar "leak," if it is such a thing, would point to the Chevy SS being a separate model. If we are reading our tea leaves correctly, the model will be derived from the rear-drive Holden Commodore (the same Zeta architecture that underpins Chevrolet's law-enforcement-only Caprice PPV), while the brand's front-drive Impala will get a new, sportier variant. We'd also assume that the long-wheelbase version of the Commodore used for the Caprice cop car would donate its top-level powertrain, the 355-horsepower, 6.0-liter V8.(Autoblog)(4-25-2012)

Could the Commodore be the new Chevy model in 2013? The blogosphere has gone into overdrive with speculation that Holden's Commodore may race in the 2013 US-based NASCAR racing series [Holden is one of only seven fully-integrated global General Motors operations that designs, builds and sells vehicles for Australia and the world.]. Rumours are flying on social media sites and web forums following a news release from Chevrolet in the US that it would drop its Impala mid-size sedan in favour of a new car "based on a new nameplate to the brand's lineup". General Motors enthusiast blog GM Inside News says it has received new information suggesting the Commodore is returning to the US, both as a racer and as a production model. "The latest information we've gotten suggests Chevrolet will bring the Commodore back to North America as a high-performance Chevrolet sedan," the site claims. "The car will be very low volume and likely V8 only." Holden spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale was quick to pour water on the rumours, telling Drive that the reports are purely speculative. "It's been speculated widely that the Commodore will return to the US," she says. "It's all based on a Chevrolet announcement, but we have nothing to confirm at this stage."(Sydney Morning Herald)(3-25-2012)

Chevy to replace Impala in 2013 with another Chevy brand: Chevrolet is developing a new car with a new name for its 2013 NASCAR entry, replacing the Impala used by Team Chevy, and plans to eventually market and sell the new model to consumers. The dealership and racing versions of the car will be unveiled this year, after the New York auto show in April, spokesman Monte Doran said. The new car will use a nameplate not currently in Chevy’s lineup. Neither the car nor its name will be a derivative of an existing one, such as the new Malibu or the upcoming redesigned Impala, Doran said. General Motors wouldn’t reveal details. “We are keeping the wraps on the new car for now and will continue to prepare for next season by testing camouflaged vehicles,” Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet performance vehicles and motorsports, said in a statement. “We know that Chevrolet fans are eager to see the new race car, and we hope that the prospect of being able to own one just like it will make the wait a little more bearable.”
The new car may be a version of the Chevy Caprice currently imported from Australia for U.S. police forces. Inside GM, a plan to develop a Chevy performance sedan like the Caprice for consumers was on-and-off in recent years because of concerns that it wasn’t a high-profit vehicle, people familiar with the situation said. Australia’s Holden brand currently offers consumers a variation on the U.S. Caprice. Along with developing the new performance sedan, GM is redesigning the current Impala, which will be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant and is expected to hit showrooms by spring 2013. The automaker is also rolling out a redesigned Malibu.(Detroit Free Press, more at MotorTrend and a past post at AutoWeek)(3-13-2013)

2013 cars to be tested at Homestead: UPDATES: All four 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car models are scheduled to be tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway February 1st…in a test that will apparently be closed. That may be the first time crewmen get to see all four models. Why is NASCAR, and its big marketing operation, taking such seemingly a low-keyed approach? Apparently because the sanctioning body has not yet 'aero-matched' the four models in the wind tunnel. Ford is billing its new model as a Fusion (not Mustang, as once planned), and when the car maker officially unveiled its 2013 street version, it was then free to take the wraps off the NASCAR version – which is decidedly different from the current Sprint Cup model, the still controversial and not greatly liked by many car-of-tomorrow. Chevrolet, for example, still hasn't officially named its model for its 2013 NASCAR Cup racer.(MikeMulhern.net)(1-25-2012)
UPDATE: #5-Kasey Kahne tweeted that he will be participating in the test. No other drivers have been announced.(2-1-2012)
UPDATE 2: #18-Kyle Busch (Toyota), #17-Matt Kenseth (Ford), and Sam Hornish, Jr. (Dodge) are also participating.(PRN Garage Pass)(2-1-2012)

2013 cars to be tested at Homestead: All four 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car models are scheduled to be tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway February 1st…in a test that will apparently be closed. That may be the first time crewmen get to see all four models. Why is NASCAR, and its big marketing operation, taking such seemingly a low-keyed approach? Apparently because the sanctioning body has not yet 'aero-matched' the four models in the wind tunnel. Ford is billing its new model as a Fusion (not Mustang, as once planned), and when the car maker officially unveiled its 2013 street version, it was then free to take the wraps off the NASCAR version – which is decidedly different from the current Sprint Cup model, the still controversial and not greatly liked by many car-of-tomorrow. Chevrolet, for example, still hasn't officially named its model for its 2013 NASCAR Cup racer.(MikeMulhern.net)(1-25-2012)

NASCAR moving forward with 2013 cars: The 2012 season hasn't even started, but the move toward new car models in 2013 is well under way. Manufacturers that compete in NASCAR's premier series have targeted next year to roll out new vehicles that will provide the carmakers with more brand identity on the race track. That process will gain speed during the next month or so, beginning with wind-tunnel tests and eventually an on-track session sometime later in 2012, according to the sanctioning body. "We'll be in the wind tunnel over the next 30, 45 days with the new prototypes as we do our evaluations on the submission cars, parts and pieces," Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, said Friday at Preseason Thunder. "Everybody seems to be pretty far along, and the changes that will come out of those will be based on parity due to the wind-tunnel numbers. We're optimistic that there will be some real race cars on race tracks probably in the second quarter this year doing some evaluation runs, if not before then. NASCAR president Mike Helton praised the cooperation between the carmakers, which decided with the sanctioning body's blessing to redesign the cars for next season.(NASCAR.com)(1-14-2012)

Chevy Teams Add Pink Numbers and Bowties for Dover Race: Several Chevy teams will showcase pink numbers and Chevy Bowties in their paint schemes during this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway in support of Chevrolet’s ongoing efforts to help the American Cancer Society in raising awareness during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The participating teams will have pink car numbers on the roof and doors, pink Chevrolet Bowtie on the hood and rear bumper, and pink Impala nameplate on the front bumper.
“October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Chevrolet is extremely proud to help support the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays,” said Jeff Chew, Chevy Racing Marketing Manager. “Several Team Chevy Impalas are carrying the pink awareness message, which will be seen by countless race fans, and hopefully will help to serve as a reminder that we can all do our part in helping in the fight against cancer.” Chevrolet dealers across the country will be working in their communities to support the fight against breast cancer through the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.
In September, Chevrolet donated $29,800 to the American Cancer Society as a result of a combined 149 caution laps during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. Chevrolet had pledged to donate $200 for each caution lap that a specially-themed “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” pink 2011 Camaro SS pace car led the field during those two races.(Team Chevy), see some of the cars are posted: #14, #27, #29, #31, #42 & #78.(9-30-2011)

Chevy Donates $17,000 to American Cancer Society: Eighty-five caution laps in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway means a donation of $17,000 to the American Cancer Society, courtesy of Chevrolet. Chevy pledged to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in the amount of $200 for each caution lap that the specially-themed “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” pink Camaro SS pace car leads the field during Saturday night’s race at RIR. “We are very proud to partner with the American Cancer Society, and carry the ACS logo on the pace car,” said Jeff Chew, Chevy Racing Marketing Manager. “Hopefully, the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” pink Camaro SS helped serve to remind race fans of all of the upcoming events in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that we all can do our part in helping in the fight against cancer.” A track record-tying 15 cautions produced the 85 laps. Chevrolet has donated a total $29,800 to the American Cancer Society in the last two weeks. Chevy also provided a specially-themed pink Camaro SS pace car last week at Atlanta. That race produced 64 caution laps that resulted in a donation of $12,800 from Chevrolet to ACS.(Team Chevy)(9-11-2011)

Chevrolet Donates $12,800 to American Cancer Society: Sixty-four caution laps in Tuesday's rain-postponed AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway means a donation of $12,800 to the American Cancer Society, courtesy of Chevrolet. Chevrolet pledged to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in the amount of $200 for each caution lap that a specially-themed pink Camaro SS pace car ran in Tuesday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "We're very proud to partner with the American Cancer Society, and carry the ACS logo on the pace car, which hopefully helps to remind race fans of the upcoming events during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; and that we all can do our part in helping in the fight against cancer," said Jeff Chew, Chevy Racing Marketing Manager. Chevrolet will also provide a specially-themed pink Camaro SS pace car for next week's event and again make a donation to the American Cancer Society in the amount of $200 for each caution lap that the pace car runs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.(Team Chevy)(9-7-2011)

Dodge considering engine changes: UPDATE: With the Roush Fenway Racing Fords showing greatly increased pace this year, rival manufacturers are starting to make noise about horsepower. Ford's purpose-built FR9 NASCAR Sprint Cup engine was designed with a lower center of gravity and greatly improved cooling, the latter of which allows Ford teams to run more tape on the nose of their cars. The more tape added, the more front downforce, although too much tape can block the radiator and cause overheating. Sources at Dodge confirmed to SPEED.com that the automaker is looking at revisions to its existing - and still relatively new - P6 engine. NASCAR would need to approve any engine mods, and a Dodge official said they automaker "could have something toward end of season." As for now, the source said, "All talk now is premature."(SPEED)(6-4-2011)
UPDATE: Tony Stewart may believe everyone is "bringing a knife to a gun fight right now" when it comes to competing with Ford engines, but that is not necessarily the view of Chevy officials. "I have seen the (chassis) dyno numbers and we are pleased with them," said Alba Colon, the GM Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup series program manager. "We have seen the numbers. We have discussed the numbers with our teams. I am pleased so far; we just have to keep working on it."(Charlotte Observer)(6-5-2011)

NASCAR meets with manufacturers: NASCAR held a "town hall" style meeting with its manufacturers - Chevy, Dodge, Ford and Toyota - in Detroit on Tuesday. The five-hour summit, which was described by both sides as "very productive" with "an open exchange," is expected to be the first of many where marketing and competition ideas are shared between the sanctioning body and its automotive partners. NASCAR Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell and Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton offered a brief update on the 2013 Sprint Cup car models and the decision behind restructuring points. In addition, computer-aided design photos of one of the 2013 cars were compared to the 2012 street car for the same manufacturer, highlighting an effort to return to the showroom influence. But the focus was geared more toward the current state of the sport and building NASCAR through its new integrated marketing and communications department.(Fox Sports)(5-5-2011)

NASCAR, manufacturers schedule meeting: NASCAR officials and representatives of the four participating manufacturers plan to meet next week in Detroit. It's all informal, of course. NASCAR President Mike Helton likened the meeting with representatives from Dodge, Ford, General Motors and Toyota to the many town hall sessions with teams and drivers over the last few years. "The idea was for us to be better communicators with the stakeholders — the broadcast partners, the tracks, the teams, the drivers," Helton said.(Associated Press)(5-1-2011)

2013 Sprint Cup designs moving forward: Development of the proposed new 2013 Sprint Cup Series body styles is progressing on schedule, as the sanctioning body works hand-in-hand with automakers to increase brand identity on the race track. Multiple sources say Chevy, Ford, Dodge and Toyota are expected to submit their final roof and rear deck lid designs in the near future, allowing NASCAR to move forward with the process of creating a unique body for each brand, while maintaining a similar aerodynamic footprint. The current Sprint Cup Series bodies are virtually identical, with the exception of a vinyl graphics package applied to the headlight, grille and rear taillight areas of each car. Beginning in 2013, however, the sanctioning body hopes to have each model be easily identifiable from the front, rear and sides. In an effort to allow manufacturers more design leeway, NASCAR will reportedly cease to distinguish between steel and lexan, allowing manufacturers to contour their NASCAR windshields and side windows identically to those found on their stock, production models. The change would allow teams to do away with the bulky, steel B-pillars required under current NASCAR rules, replacing them with thin "support strips" anchored to larger, lexan side windows. The move will greatly enhance brand identity, something automakers have lobbied hard for in recent years. It could also remove the main stumbling block cited by General Motors executives for not keeping their popular Chevy Camaro out of NASCAR competition. GM has staunchly refused to modify what it calls the "iconic body line" of the Camaro for NASCAR competition. But with new rules in place for the 2013 season, there is a chance the Detroit automaker could reconsider that decision.(Sirius Speedway)(4-6-2011)

Chevy quiet about 2013 model: Mark Kent, manager of GM Racing, said Sunday that a Chevy has a model selected for the new 2013 Sprint Cup entry, but he wouldn't reveal what it is. "We have a car we're working on," Kent said at Phoenix International Raceway. "It's a model that will be in the 2013 production lineup. I can't disclose the exact model today, but we hope it will have tremendous similarity between the street car and the race car." Ford plans to switch from the Fusion to the Mustang for Cup's new car design in 2013. But it appears Chevy is headed in a different direction than the Camaro. "It's up to each manufacturer to decide what's the best fit for them,'' Kent said. "There are a lot of other opportunities for us to market the Camaro."(ESPN.com)
AND: One choice might be the next-generation Chevy Malibu, which will be redesigned for the 2013 model year, at least in production-car versions. The next-generation Impala won't debut until 2014.(SPEED)(2-28-2011)

Chevy says IndyCar project won’t impact NASCAR program: Chevrolet announced earlier this month that it would get back into the IndyCar Series, supplying engines to a handful of teams beginning in 2012. That move, company executives say, will not impact its NASCAR program, which includes Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Although those who oversee Chevrolet’s motorsports programs will have the IndyCar program as an additional part of their responsibilities, the money and personnel to run the program will not be taken from its NASCAR budget. “Obviously we are going to add people to support the IndyCar Series,” said Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports Jim Campbell. “It does not affect us for NASCAR.” Chevrolet, like the other NASCAR manufacturers, is working on the design for the second version of the NASCAR new car targeted for 2013. That design is expected to give manufacturers more brand identity to go along with the safety features and common template aspect of the original design rolled out in 2007. “As we go forward with the 2013 Cup car, we are working to push that envelope even further,” GM Racing Director Mark Kent said. “Each of the manufacturers wants more identity into the car. NASCAR, based one what they learned for 2011, they’re a lot more open to helping us work collaboratively for 2013 to meet all of our objectives. As for what brand of Chevrolet it will use – it currently markets the Impala in NASCAR – remains to be seen.(in part from SceneDaily)(12-1-2010)

Why no Chevy Camaro in NASCAR? It’s been a good week for General Motors, whose stock returned to Wall Street on Thursday via a highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO). And at the close of business Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Team Chevy was celebrating its 27th NASCAR driver’s championship courtesy of Jimmie Johnson’s record-setting fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series title. Terry Dolan, manager of Chevrolet Racing, recently addressed a variety of topics during an interview at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Q: With the change in Nationwide Series bodies fulltime in 2011 to the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, why isn’t Chevrolet going with the Camaro?
TD: “As we launched Camaro, we brought back an iconic production car to our portfolio. Part of what makes Camaro is the styling and the look of that vehicle. When we introduced it at the (various) auto shows, consumers originally were able to look at the brand and say that it replicates what they know Camaro to be. As we look at NASCAR, we wanted to maintain the integrity of the iconic brand and the brands that we race with. We just didn’t feel we could accomplish that vision by adapting the car to the common template format that we have here in this sport. We’ll always look in the future and see what opportunities exist, but within today’s boundaries, it just didn’t feel like it was the right business decision for us to make.”
Q: That said, both Mustang and Challenger represent reincarnations of the Muscle Car Wars, going back to the popular SCCA Trans-Am Series of the late 1960s. Seems Camaro is missing an opportunity for exposure before the biggest domestic audience.
TD: “But our core business is manufacturing iconic cars and trucks that connect to the consumer bases. We use racing as a way to define the vehicles from a public persona standpoint. We felt it was critical that we didn’t disturb the iconic design of a key volume car for us by changing it to a different style format for what we put on the racetrack. So, longer-term, if we can get to the point where we can make the cars look more similar to the showroom counterparts, then there’s probably room for Camaro going forward. Our short-term vision now is to stay with Impala, because it represents the car that’s on the track and the car that’s in the showroom. Long-term, we want to look at tightening that up. If you look at our program with our Corvette Racing and the American Le Mans Series, we’re very proud of the continuity and the connectivity between the ZR1, the showroom counterpart, and the C6-R (for racing), which looks like that vehicle when it’s on the racetrack.”
Q: How radical of a difference would the Nationwide Camaro be from the showroom version? What would be the key design turnoff?
TD: “Well, part of the iconic design of that car is the overall lines of the roof of the greenhouse and the sale-panel area. And for all the right reasons, as NASCAR has evolved the Car of Tomorrow to provide a safer zone for the driver, trying to adapt our smaller-roof coupe car to the larger roof sedan design just didn’t keep the integrity of the exterior design of the vehicle. We looked at it and we modeled it and we stepped back and we evaluated it, and felt for now it wasn’t the right decision for us to make.”
Q: How much heat have you caught for not running Camaro in the Nationwide Series, other than media criticism?
TD: “Honestly, the questions we receive are from the media, and we’ve received our fair share of questions on that. We’re not receiving any strong push-back publicly from the consumers. The teams are happy running the cars we have, as long as we have a competitive entry that can win races and championships.”
(in part from RacinToday, see full Q&A there)(11-24-2010)

Chevy back in Indy Car UPDATE 2: General Motors Co. and its motorsports entity - GM Racing - has committed to fielding a Chevrolet-branded Twin-Turbo V6 racing engine to compete against Honda in the IndyCar Series beginning with the 2012 season. The announcement will be made this Friday, November 12, at a venue yet to be determined. Chip Ganassi, after an intense flirtation with Ford where he considered joining their NASCAR program, is instead committing to a relationship with GM Racing and Chevrolet in NASCAR starting in 2011 and in IndyCar beginning in 2012. Ganassi had apparently been leaning toward going with Ford over the last several weeks but once Ganassi learned that GM was going "all-in" for a new IndyCar racing engine program, his decision to go with GM was a fait accompli. Two details that could not be confirmed at post time are whether or not Ganassi would have an exclusive with the new Chevrolet-branded Indy V6 for the first season (in part from Autoextremist.com)
AND "This is pure speculation," IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard told SPEED.com. "We continue to be in talks with various manufacturers regarding involvement in our future engine and chassis program but we do not have any signed contracts other than Honda for 2012."(SPEED)(11-8-2010)
UPDATE: On Friday 12th November, GM will announce its return to the IndyCar Series with the Chevrolet brand spearheading the challenge. This will be announced at a press conference in the Museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The engine will be a pure race unit of 134 CID (2.2L) V6, with twin turbos, 4 cams, 4 valves per cylinder. GM will confirm that Ilmor Engineering will be their partner in this program which begins with the new car / engine rules package for 2012. Ilmor's US engine shop is in Plymouth MI close to all the GM engineering facilities. Penske Racing will be one of the teams to commit to using Chevrolet engines for 2012. It was Penske who gave Chevrolet their last Indy 500 win in 2002 using an Ilmor built engine. Chevrolet and Honda will compete for teams in 2011 and then race each other on track in 2012.(11-12-2010)
UPDATE 2: Chevrolet will compete in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series with a new twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V-6 racing engine powered by renewable E85 ethanol fuel. The new purpose-built Chevy IndyCar engine will be developed jointly by General Motors and Ilmor Engineering. Team Penske is the first IndyCar team to commit to Chevrolet power in 2012. The Chevrolet IndyCar engine will be available to all entrants in accordance with the series' regulations.(Team Chevy)(11-12-2010)

GM to drop Goodwrench brand in the United States: General Motors Co. is dropping the GM Goodwrench car mechanic brand in the United States as the company moves to redirect the marketing emphasis around its four core vehicle brands, the company announced. The long-standing Goodwrench brand--used by GM dealers to promote vehicle repair and maintenance services--will be replaced by Chevrolet Certified Service, Cadillac Certified Service, Buick Certified Service and GMC Certified Service, GM said in a statement released Monday evening. GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick wants the vehicle brands, not corporate, to be the stars of GM, and that includes service and repairs, said one source familiar with the new campaign. The phase-out is effective Feb. 1 in the United States, the statement said. The brand will remain in Canada where it still holds some cachet, the source said. The brand, launched as Mr. Goodwrench in 1974, was once a household name when GM was a much bigger automaker. The name, which GM changed from Mr. Goodwrench to Goodwrench Service Plus in the '90s, also was a major sponsor of NASCAR racing--including Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s #3 car--for several years until it dropped its involvement in 2007. Goodwrench was promoted to customers as the assurance that trained technicians would service and repair any GM vehicle brought to a GM dealership using GM factory-made replacement parts. But in recent years, many of GM's 4,500 dealers failed to use the Goodwrench signs at their stores or put the logo in advertising, the source said.(AutoWeek)(11-9-2010)

NASCAR could run 'pony cars' in Sprint Cup: Next year will bring a host of important changes to the Sprint Cup Series, including a significantly revised schedule, new front ends for the race cars, the introduction of Sunoco Green E15 ethanol fuel and, at some point, fuel injection. But what lies further beyond next year is even more intriguing. With the next-generation Sprint Cup cars tentatively scheduled to roll out in 2013, there’s a strong chance that Ford will move its Mustang up from the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the possibility that Chevrolet could dump its four-door Impala Sedan for the hot-selling Camaro. And a Mustang-Camaro rivalry could be just the thing to rev up NASCAR fan interest anew. Today, the automakers and NASCAR are working closer than ever in trying to bring the audiences back to the tracks and the television sets. Brand identity, something the automakers felt was largely lost when the current Sprint Cup car was introduced in 2007, is a hot-button issue these days. And it’s one reason NASCAR has gone back to traditional blade spoilers on the Cup cars and next year will eliminate ungainly cow-catcher front splitters in favor of a more aesthetically pleasing design. The automakers want even more brand identity, because they are trying to recapture the old “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” marketing focus that was predominant in prior generations. In the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the newly introduced Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, which were raced four times this season and will be raced full-time next year, already have proven hugely popular.
“The dealers are really excited about the Challenger running in NASCAR because it’s something that (Dodge) sells,” said NASCAR team owner Roger Penske, who also owns more than 300 automobile dealerships in 19 states. “These are high gross margin vehicles that they love to sell. When you start to look at Camaro and Mustang and Challenger, these are icons in the business.”
Jamie Allison, director, Ford North American Motorsports, said point blank that the automaker wants to move the Mustang up to the Sprint Cup level, with one caveat: It has to look more like the production Mustang than the current Nationwide car does. “We like to see our iconic brand in all forms of motorsports,” Allison said of the Mustang. “ ... Any further consideration of the Mustang would have to be complemented and linked to more brand identity to the car that’s raced. It can’t just be the current car of tomorrow. It has to be a progression beyond what’s in Nationwide.”
Chevrolet’s racing boss also wants more brand identity. “Chevrolet, in any series that we race in, we’re looking for three things,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s general manager and the man who oversees the automaker’s NASCAR operations. “First, we want to see technologies in the race cars that are applicable to what we do on the production side without driving a tremendous amount of cost. Secondly, we’re (wanting) race series to use biofuels, because that’s what we need to do going forward. Many of our (production) cars are ethanol-capable. And third, we want to see the cars that we race look like the cars that we sell, as close as we can.” Campbell would not specifically comment on whether Chevrolet will return the Camaro to the NASCAR ranks, as Ford has with the Mustang in the Nationwide Series. “That’s a ways off,” Campbell said. “So any speculation about what’s going to happen out there — I don’t really have a lot to say on that today. ... We’ll see what happens.” Campbell did make it clear however, that he wanted NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevrolets to look a lot more like production-model Chevrolets.(is part from SPEED)(10-19-2010)

Chevy wins 2011 Manufacturers' Cup: #14-Tony Stewart's win of the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway secured the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Cup for Chevrolet for the 34th time since the inception of the award in 1950. Chevrolet won its first Manufacturers’ Cup honor in 1958; and this year's win marks the eighth consecutive season that Team Chevy has captured the title (2003-'10). "Chevrolet is very proud of everyone who helped in achieving this championship - drivers and crew members and team owners, engineers and development teams, and all of the hard-working professionals who support and contribute to what we do," said Jim Campbell, GM Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "Every year this series gets more and more competitive, and that only helps make this championship even more satisfying."(Team Chevy), see my 2010 Manufacturers Stats page for more info and rules.(10-11-2010)