The newly announced editorial award will go to an innovative artist that achieved a notable chart milestone over the past year. The six finalists for the 2013 Milestone Award presented by Chevrolet were announced today on Billboard.com — they are: Justin Bieber, The Band Perry, Miguel, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Pitbull.

Voting is now open on Billboard.com/milestone. The six finalists will be narrowed down to three finalists, who will be unveiled on the website in mid-April. Voting will then continue all the way through the live Billboard Music Awards broadcast, culminating with the announcement of the award winner toward the end of the show.

“The addition of the Milestone Award gives us the opportunity to recognize truly creative artists that are breaking boundaries with their contribution to today’s musical landscape,” said Bill Werde, editorial director, Billboard. “These awards are for artists who have created music and accomplishments that are part of history. It’s an honor to work with a historic brand like Chevrolet to bring them into focus as part of this year’s Billboard Music Awards.”

“This is a perfect opportunity for Chevrolet to bring together two important pieces of its history, ingenuity and music,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. “The innovation in music today is represented by the nominees for this year’s Milestone Award.”

The 2013 Billboard Music Awards will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 19 at 8/7c on ABC.

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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As reported in Autoweek this month, General Motors said the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel will deliver an estimated 46 miles per gallon on the highway.  This is 4 mpg more than the original target.

The estimate is also good enough to top a rival the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta diesel, which achieves 42 mpg on the highway.

The Cruze’s 2-liter turbo diesel engine produces 148 horsepower. The Cruze diesel, featuring a six-speed automatic transmission, has an estimated range of 700 highway miles. It emits 90 percent less nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions than earlier diesel models, according to GM.

“We were still testing at the time, but wanted to be clear that we would be at or better than Jetta,” a GM spokeswoman said. “The engineering team did a lot of incremental changes to the Cruze diesel from the Eco model to gain efficiency.”

The Washington Post suggests, “The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel will be something of a highway star when it goes on sale, with an EPA-estimated rating of 46 mpg highway.”

The engine also has an overboost feature capable of increasing torque to an estimated 280 lb-ft for short bursts of faster acceleration when needed, such as entering fast-moving highway traffic.

Chris Perry, Chevrolet vice president of marketing, “Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel fills an important role in Chevrolet’s diverse four-cylinder lineup, and is primed to win over diesel devotees and compact car buyers with its performance, torque and fuel economy. We leveraged engineering expertise from around the globe to develop a world-class, low-emissions engine to give U.S. and Canadian customers a car that’s both fun to drive and practical at the pump.”

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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The team had five goals when they began work on the 2014 Corvette Stingray. He says working on developing a Corvette is a “special deal … and we work on it as much as we can and as hard as we can.” Delve more into Kirk’s passion by checking out the video.

We think the team met those goals.  We hope you do too….

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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Chevrolet introduced the restyled 2014 Camaro line at the New York Auto Show, including the return of the Z/28, the most iconic model in Camaro history.  A refreshed Camaro for the 2014 model year. Most importantly, with the new Camaro comes the resurrection of the Z/28 moniker, which will be powered by the amazing 7.0L LS7 V8 engine mated to a six-speed Tremec TR6060 manual transmission. This puts the output of the Z/28 at 500 howling horsepower, and 470 pounds-feet of torque, fitting perfectly between the 426 horsepower Camaro SS, and the 580 horsepower Camaro ZL1. In many track-oriented circles, the 2014 Camaro Z/28 is perhaps the most capable Camaro ever.

Chevy claims that the 2014 Camaro Z/28 is an average of three seconds faster per lap than the more powerful ZL1. This is thanks to chassis revisions that allow the Z/28 to grip at up to 1.05 lateral G forces. Then there are the Brembo brakes, which provide 1.5G of stopping force. And last, but certainly not least, is the fact that the Z/28 is 300 pounds lighter than the mighty ZL1, thanks to several incremental tweaks, ranging from thinner rear window glass, to lighter wheels. And it still has its second row of seats.

Inside, the Z/28 is treated with Recaro racing seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and seat cut outs that seem ready for five-point harnesses.

To keep the Z/28 stable on the track, it features a full aerodynamic package consisting of a front splitter, underbody panel, fender flares, extended rocker panels, and a rear spoiler and functional diffuser. The 20-inch wheels used on the SS and ZL1 were swapped for 19-inch wheels, which reduce total unsprung weight by a total of 42 lb and lower the car’s center of gravity 33 millimeters. Rather than utilizing different-sized wheels and tires front to rear, all four corners of the Z/28 are shod with 305/30ZR-19 Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires — the ultra-high-performance tire’s production debut — that are believed to be the widest front tires on any production car.

“As the ultimate track-capable Camaro, this car restores the mission of the original Z/28, and serves as a testament to the expertise of Chevrolet as the best-selling brand of performance cars,” said Mark Reuss, president, GM North America. “The build sheet is the wish list of any racer: lightweight, high-revving, dry-sump LS7 engine; carbon-ceramic brakes; integrated coolers for track use; true aerodynamic downforce, and a significant reduction in curb weight. This car could only come from Chevrolet, and could only be called the Z/28.”

It’s a beauty!

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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The concept of structured alpha and beta testing of software has its origins with IBM. Back in the 1950s, the computing pioneer defined alpha testing as the internal product verification before a public announcement. Beta testing was the verification of the product by users before it got released to production.

Until Google went all-in on publicly releasing software that was labeled as beta in the past decade, beta releases were mostly restricted to select groups of testers who committed to providing regular feedback about problems in the product. Google’s GMail was the stereotypical example of an open beta, retaining that status for more than five years from its initial release in April 2004 until July 2009.

In the automotive realm, with a few notable exceptions, manufacturers have generally kept their equivalent of beta testing strictly in-house, using engineers and test drivers to evaluate new vehicles and systems. Even the final stage of evaluation before vehicles go on sale to the general public has been restricted to employees. For example, at General Motors, anywhere from several dozen to several hundred production-representative examples are distributed to managers and other employees in the final months before the on-sale date in what is known as the captured test fleet.

Public beta testing in the auto industry

Perhaps the best-known early example of a public beta test in the car industry was the Chrysler Turbine car program. Between 1963 and 1965, Chrysler built 55 turbine-powered coupes and loaned them to more than 200 drivers around the United States for three months at a time to gather real-world data and driving impressions.

When automakers make it clear that they are running a test program like Project Driveway or BMW’s EV evaluations, customers can go in with their eyes open and know that they might experience some problems. Even if customers pay for the privilege of participating, they probably won’t mind, and the engineers can learn a lot.

On the other hand, when paying tens of thousands of dollars for a regular production vehicle, mass-market customers expect it to work from the start, whether they are buying from startups like Tesla and Fisker or century-old stalwarts like Ford, GM, or BMW. Every one of these companies regularly market their new technologies as features that will make customers’ lives better, but sometimes they don’t.

Perhaps the solution is for auto manufacturers to develop ways to do more real-world beta testing of new technologies so they can find out what doesn’t work before they commit to production, making sure everyone involved knows exactly what to expect.

———-

The source for this blog is from an article in Motor Trend.  If you wish to read the full article go to this link:

http://blogs.motortrend.com/should-automakers-be-selling-beta-cars-28191.html#axzz2MrwudjZg

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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Not only is this Danica Patrick’s first NASCAR pole win, but it is the first time in 64-years that a woman will lead the field to the start of the Great American Race.

“We are so proud of Danica Patrick, Tony Gibson and the entire Stewart-Haas team on putting the No. 10 Chevrolet SS on the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Danica was focused and drove a great line to secure the pole. She gave tremendous credit to her entire #10 team for this accomplishment. She is a determined racer, a team player and we’re proud to have her on Team Chevy.”

“With the all-new Chevrolet SS race car, Danica and her team have put hours in testing, driving and living and breathing with this new car. Her determination both on and off the track put her in the leadership position for this weekend.”

The rear wheel drive Chevrolet SS has an Iron Block/Aluminum Head V8 engine, 850 horse power, and 550 pounds of torque. And with a curb weight of 3,400 pounds, it packs a punch on the racetrack.

After Patrick’s lap of 45.817 seconds – 196.434 – she earned the top qualifying spot.

“All I have to do is think about going out there, being smooth, not letting the car bind up, running on that yellow line,” said Danica Patrick about the Daytona 500 race this coming weekend. “Outside of that, I think it shows how well prepared Tony and everybody was, how strong the Hendrick engines are, how good the new Chevy SS is. We’ve been fast since practice in January.”

In addition to Patrick and Gordon, Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS (fourth), Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS (fifth) and Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS (sixth) will round out the additional 5 Chevrolet drivers in the top 6 spots. Not a bad debut for the new Chevrolet SS.

“I saw Jim Campbell sneak in over there,” said Tony Stewart. “He should be proud. Chevy has done an awesome job. It’s easy today to talk about the engine builder, talk about the chassis builders, the people at the shop. Today we actually get to thank our manufacturers for building us a car that is a fast race car; it’s not just a car with stickers on it. We actually have an SS, a production car, that’s fast. That was proven today.”

General Motors Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports Jim Campbell introduces the new 2014 Chevrolet SS performance sedan (right) during its world debut press conference at the Daytona International Speedway

Tune in this Sunday at 1pm EST on your local Fox Sports station to cheer on Team Chevy at the 55th Daytona 500. To stay up-to-date on all things Team Chevy visit http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/category/chevy-racing.html

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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The 2013 Consumers Digest Automotive “Best Buy” picks are out, and three Chevy vehicles – Camaro, Sonic, and Equinox – made the list.

Consumers Digest chooses its “Best Buys” based on which cars in each segment provide the most value for the price. Vehicles are driven under a variety of conditions and evaluated based on the standards of an average car buyer. Experts then assess each model on both design (including styling, ergonomics, seating and cargo space) and performance (including shifting, steering, braking, acceleration, ride quality and fuel economy).

“Value, as we see it, is based on purchase price and ownership costs relative to quality, performance and subjective factors, such as comfort and design,” says Randy Weber, publisher of Consumers Digest.

Weber and his colleagues saw plenty of value in the Chevy fleet.

The Equinox was honored with a Compact SUV “Best Buy” title for its fourth year in a row, owing to its stylish appointments, class-leading legroom, versatile MyFlex^® rear seating, meticulous craftsmanship and money-saving 32 MPG highway.

Camaro zoomed ahead of the pack in the Sporty Cars category, and picked up its fourth consecutive “Best Buy” award. The legendary Camaro is known for its sexy exterior, powerful engine, and for taking drivers on an exhilarating ride.

In the Subcompact category, the Chevrolet Sonic made quite an impression on the Consumers Digest judges, picking up its very first “Best Buy” title. It’s no surprise why, either. The Sonic is the first and only car in its class to come with 10 standard air bags.  It’s also the only car in its class to receive a 5-star Overall Vehicle Score for safety from NHTSA. Not only that, but the Sonic is the only small car that’s built right here in America and the only car in its class with an available turbocharged engine – offering up to 40 MPG highway.That’s a lot of ‘only’-s!

So whether you want to head up to the cottage with kids, dog and skis in tow; zoom down the highway in high style; or just zip across town in comfort and safety – it’s good to know there’s a tested and approved Chevy for every driver, at every price point.

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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Chevrolet.com has a count down clock, along with four videos, which will unlock as we get closer to the January 13, 2013 launch date.

Intro Video:

First Unlocked Video: Conception

Second Unlocked Video: Calibration

Chevrolet also released an all-new Crossed Flags emblem. The new flags reflect the sweeping redesign of the Next Generation Corvette. GM Vice President of Global Design Ed Welburn describes the emblem as “much more modern, more technical, and more detailed than before.”

“We set out to build a world-challenging sports car with refinement, efficiency and driver engagement that is second to none,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette Chief Engineer. “The result is a truly all-new Corvette.”

For now, vehicle specs and features remain shrouded in mystery. But we’ll be watching and waiting!

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
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Consumer Reports has based their fuel economy calculations for the Volt being operated by electricity 70 percent of the time and gasoline 30 percent of the time. However, as they have learned from owners in their forums, some drivers are saving even more fuel by operating almost exclusively on electricity.

Here are a few quotes from Volt drivers bragging on the forums:

• User carriegordo reports driving 7,000 miles on just 7.3 gallons of gas. That’s less than a single tankful in the Volt’s already small 9.3-gallon tank.
• User marclee reported that 2800 of the 3200 miles he’s driven his Volt have been on electricity. That leaves just 400 on gas. (These numbers are easily retrieved from the efficiency screen on the Volt’s central display.)
• User themajor1975 reported driving 11,000 miles on 62 gallons of gas.
• Two other forum users reported driving more than 2500 miles on 10.7 gallons of gas, and 500 miles on just one gallon.

Want to hear it from a Volt owner yourself? Check out this customer testimonial from Kory Levoy. He’s driven 3,400 miles & spent $38 in gas – in two months!

While we can’t say with certainty that this is the case with all Volt owners, it does prove that the Volt has a tremendous amount of potential when it comes to saving on fuel.  Stop by Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air, we have the Volt on the lot, we’ll give you something to brag about!

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
1230 Belair Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
(888) 844-0314

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The Safe Kids Buckle Up program began with a focus on child safety seat checks at GM dealers. Over the past 15 years, it has grown into a multifaceted program that addresses child safety in and around vehicles. To date, certified experts at nearly 80,000 car seat checks have inspected more than 1.5 million car seats for proper installation. Additionally, more than 550,000 car seats have gone to at-risk families, many at no cost through the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza; and more than 22 million people have been exposed to the program’s events and outreach activities.

The Buckle Up program also includes:

• 118 mobile child safety vans, completely equipped to conduct child passenger safety events;
• 500 permanent child safety seat inspection stations, including at GM dealerships;
• Spot the Tot and Never Leave Your Child Alone, programs aimed at preventing fatalities and injuries to children in and around vehicles;
• Safest Generation (for kids 11 and 12) and Countdown2Drive (ages 13 and 14) to address the needs of older children and their families; and
• Activities that advocate for stronger state child passenger safety laws.

“The safety initiatives created through our partnership help ensure that our nation’s youth are protected from the time they are infants to teenagers getting behind the wheel for the first time,” said GM Foundation President Vivian Pickard. “These initial lessons instill good safety habits that last a lifetime.”

For parents who want assistance, Safe Kids hosts car seat inspection events across the country throughout the year. Parents are invited to bring their car, child safety seat and child to an event in their area where certified child passenger safety technicians provide one-on-one “hands-on” help with installation. Parents and caregivers can locate an event in their community by visiting the Safe Kids website.

Bob Bell Chevrolet of Bel Air
1230 Belair Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
(888) 844-0314

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