GM Takes Three of Car and Driver's 10-Best Awards For 2017

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham

Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
11-21-2016

General Motors' Chevy division took three of the slots on this year's Car and Driver 10-Best awards list. The Bolt, Camaro, and Corvette Grand Sport all eanred thse positions by being among the best cars in the world, not just their own categories.

 

Car and Driver (CD) say that to win an entrant must "...cost less than $80,000 (anything pricier should be excellent by default), and they must be either a returning winner or all-new or significantly revised. Winning isn’t easy, however—in order to take home a trophy, a vehicle must offer good value, excel at its given mission, and, critically, deliver a pleasurable driving experience."

CD says that the Corvette Z06 may have won last year, but the car exceeded the price cap. Commenting on the win this year, CD said, "Enter the Grand Sport, which mates the regular Corvette powertrain to the chassis of the mighty Z06 while avoiding a major price increase. You can park a GS in your driveway for as little as $66,445, exactly $10,000 more than the base car and nearly $15,000 less than the Z06."

Read CD's explanation of why the Camaro made the list and you will be surprised to see that the magazing talks mostly about the Mercedes-Benx C63 S coupe. You see, CD says that Mercedes basically copied the Camaro's formula. One little detail is that the Camaro is less that half the money, has similar performance, and is arguably more reliable. They said "The almost identically sized Camaro nearly matches the Merc’s accelerative performance. The SS 1LE bawls to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and through the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 116 mph. It would be slightly quicker if it were equipped with the company’s eight-speed automatic, but the 1LE is available only with a six-speed manu­al. We aren’t complaining. The Camaro’s big 6.2-liter V-8 is down on horsepower to the boosted Mercedes V-8, but because the Camaro’s 3747-pound curb weight undercuts the C63’s by 355 pounds, the two have near-identical power-to-weight ratios. And bear in mind that these are effectively the same numbers that a standard Camaro SS can achieve for as little as $38,000."

The Bolt's win is perhaps the easiest to justify. This vehicle calls BS on the concept that EVs don't sell because they are (were) too high-priced and too short in range. Inabouty a week we find out if that was true, or if people simply don't want these cars. Interestingly, the Bolt was not a shoe-in for its win. CD wanted to compare the Bolt to the Tesla, but CD found out what most automotivbe media already know - Tesla is not a real car company. They can;t produce enough cars to use as loaners for press fleets, nor can they make enough to satisfy their ornder backlog. Perhaps a good problem to have - unless of course Tesla plans to make 500K Model 3 cars in about a year (...Sorry - had to stop for aminute due to uncontrobale laughter). CD put it this way, "The Bolt was also the only EV in this year’s test. We would love to tell you how it compared with the pricier and glitzier Tesla Model S, but despite our repeated requests, Tesla refused to supply us with a car and thereby failed to defend its 10Best berth."

 

Read the full CD report here, or buy the magazine. "The Bolt was also the only EV in this year’s test. We would love to tell you how it compared with the pricier and glitzier Tesla Model S, but despite our repeated requests, Tesla refused to supply us with a car and thereby failed to defend its 10Best berth."

[Daryl LBZ]

The Vette is the best looking Chevy on the road right now.

[Colossus]

Hmm not too bad. Still trying to learn to like the Bolt but hey did any other manufacturer win 3? Mazda won 2, way to go Mazda. I liked their remark about the acceleration in the Bolt: It’s certainly quick at 6.5 seconds to 60 mph. That’s not Tesla-fast, but it is more than enough poke to make the Nissan Leaf feel like a glorified golf cart. With the Bolt’s arrival, the Leaf pretty much is.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Hmm not too bad. Still trying to learn to like the Bolt but hey did any other manufacturer win 3? Mazda won 2, way to go Mazda. I liked their remark about the acceleration in the Bolt: Its certainly quick at 6.5 seconds to 60 mph. Thats not Tesla-fast, but it is more than enough poke to make the Nissan Leaf feel like a glorified golf cart. With the Bolts arrival, the Leaf pretty much is.

Way to go GM for coming back, but it still has to up(or prove) the long term quality on its modern stuff as we know.

 

 

Mazda is an amazing little company. For their size, the customer service and competitive nature is amazing, considering how many fields they lead or excel in. They aren't perfect, but the quirks kinda add to the character. I think of them as the new "old BMW". The whole business model is making the best automobile in its class for drivers, not the best automobile for all people. The CX5 isn't the most capable, the MX5 and 6 isn't the most powerful, the CX9 and 6 isn't the lowest priced, the 3 isn't the most versatile, but they all win in best to drive and are praised for being well rounded.

 

Yeah, I know, I bought an Accord this last time .

[Jsdirt]

So, the Bolt is a real model name? I thought someone was making fun of the o-so-flammable Volt ...

 

If it had that little Toyota emblem on the grille, I'd have said it was a Prius. Can't wait to see the recall list on that gem.

[RhinoGuy]

Didn't gm try to market the volt a few years ago? I'm not sure if I've ever seen one on the road before.

 

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[Jsdirt]

Only ones I've ever seen were on the net ... burning to the ground.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2012/05/09/chevy-volt-esque-fisker-karma-causes-fire/

['01LS1]

Didn't gm try to market the volt a few years ago? I'm not sure if I've ever seen one on the road before.

 

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Have seen a lot of them in the midwest around larger cities. Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis & St Louis.

It is a good thing if they sell them in terms of helping GM meet the gov required CAFE standards.

[RyanbabZ71]

I see a bunch of volts around here. Not as many as Prius models but still plenty.

 

The bolt will be interesting. If it takes off it will spin off for gm into other models

 

 

Ryan B.