GM and Segway's Project PUMA

Recently unveiled at the 2009 New York auto show, PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility and is the result of the collaboration between GM and Segway.

The PUMA has a maximum speed of 35 mph and can go up to 35 miles on a full charge.

New Vauxhall Insignia

Have been seeing ads about the new Vauxhall Insignia everywhere on the net. In continental Europe, it is sold as the Opel Insignia. It was unveiled at the British motor show in 2008.



Recently voted as Car of the Year 2009, it has also achieved a five-star adult occupant rating and four stars for child protection and two stars for pedestrian protection (the highest so far in it's category) from Euro NCAP.

The Insignia is available in Hatch and Saloon variants and come in a choice of 5 engines - Two 2 litre diesel engines and three petrol engines (1.8, 2.0 and 2.8 V6 engines).

Prices start from £15600.74 (OTR) for the base model - Insignia Exclusiv 1.8i 16v VVT (140PS) Manual.

The 5 passenger Isuzu Ascender

The Japanese company auto company Isuzu, is mostly known for trucks of all sizes. It had been quiet for sometime now.

One of the best selling Isuzu models has been the Isuzu Ascender. The design was derived from General Motors' Envoy. And if you look closely, it does look similar to the Chevy TrailBlazer as well. The 7-passenger Ascender which was launched in 2003, replaced the Isuzu Trooper. The 5-passenger model was introduced later in 2004. The production of the 7-passenger model was stopped in 2007.

Even though the Ascender looks like the models produced by General Motor's, it's much cheaper than either than them.

The 6-cylinder 4.2 litre V8 engine pumps out 291 hp @ 6,000 rpm. The transmission features a 4-speed automatic with lockup torque converter (in 3rd or 4th gears) and overdrive. This Isuzu SUV is ideal for everyday commuting as well as the occasional road trips. Go over to their site to get a quote. They are now offering an unbelievable 7 years and 75,000 mile power train limited warranty.

Supermini concepts from Chevrolet

Three concept cars that debuted at the New York Auto Show, namely the Beat, Groove and the Trax. Check out link here.

Created by GM's design studio in Incheon, South Korea, these cars are clearly targeted at countries outside the US with a demand for small cars.

I feel that they would do quite good in the UK, that is, if the price is right. Right now, I guess the Ford Ka is the leader in the small car market.

Coming back to the three concepts, my favourite is the Trax, which is powered by a 1 litre petrol engine, 16 inch rims and a rugged look.

Latest GM models on Jay's site

I wrote about Jay Leno's garage a few days back. As you might be aware, most of the cars which have been featured on the show so far are the classic models. However, there's a feature on GM’s latest 2007 models, ranging from the ’07 Chevy Silverado to the ’07 Saturn Sky. check it out here.



Thanks for the info Shankar.

Chevrolet Camaro

The 2006 Camaro Concept

The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors on 29 September 1966 as a competitor to the Ford Mustang. So far, four distinct generations of the car have come out of production lines before production ended in 2002.

The Camaro is designated as a pony car (similar to the Ford Mustang). However, it may also be classified as an intermediate touring car, a sports car, or a muscle car.

Searching for info on the Camaro, I came across a forum, which lists a number of camaro for sale. Even if you are not looking to buy one, it may be a great place to discuss the car with people that already have one. It might be the ideal place to search for spare parts too.
You don't need to be a member to read the posts but in order to reply to the ads or to post anything, you have to register first.

I would suggest you read ThirdGen.org's message board rules before posting anything. Just to warn you, no Ebay ad's are permitted! in the forum.

One of the ads that caught my eye was a rare 1991 Camero z28 350 1LE. According to the owner, it is one out of 175 cars with only 350 engines made. Now that's rare.

Now for some trivia:
The 2006 Camaro Concept from General Motors debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, making it the fifth generation Camaro. The concept is powered by the 400 hp LS2 V8 and equipped with the T-56 six-speed manual transmission. GM also showed off a convertible concept at the same event. Other than the convertible top, Hugger Orange pearl tri-coat paint job, and a pair of dark gray racing stripes, the convertible concept is exactly the same as the coupe concept. It is expected that the new Camaro based on the concept, will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009. I am just wondering how much they are going to price this new car.

In the upcoming movie, Transformers, the Autobots character Bumblebee will be be disguised as a bright yellow 1970s Camaro and will later be modified into the 2009 preproduction version of the car.

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Tags: Camaro Chevrolet General Motors

The Global Car

Updated: 23 October 2010

Going through old articles which I had printed out and had accumulated over the years, I came across this great one by Paul Si on the Chevrolet Optra.

Front-side shot of a first generation Chevrolet Optra (localised variant), in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Source: Two hundred percent.

Also known as the Lacetti, this is a car that defies convenient labeling.

Before I talk about the particular model itself, I would like to talk a little bit about Chevrolet brand. It was named after Louis Chevrolet a famous racer and pioneer of automotive innovations from Switzerland.

I remember that some Muslims in Malaysia were turned off by the brand symbol because they thought it was a cross. Stupid! They did't know that it represents a 'Bowtie'. I was surprised to find that many people still have that perception and I am not sure why GM or their representatives in Malaysia are not doing anything to dispel this notion.

Ok about the Chevrolet Optra. Regarding its history, work on it was first started by the engineers of Korean company Daewoo. It was ultimately completed jointly with General Motors experts after the company was taken over and re-named GM Daewoo. The design and styling of the Optra/Lacetti was done by Pininfarina of Italy and suspension developed by Malaysian-owned British firm Lotus.

A 1.8l engine was sourced from GM’s Australian subsidiary, GM Holden, while, German transmission specialists, ZF, supplied the four-speed automatic gearboxes.

The 1.6l engine came from South Korea, which also supplied the five-speed manual box.

The car is built at the GM plant in Rayong, Thailand. One of the vendors is Hicom Automotive Plastics (Thailand) Ltd, wholly owned by DRB-Hicom of Malaysia.

The Optra 1.8l automatic is available from Hicomobil Sdn Bhd and its dealers.

This is a car that has been touched by American, British, French, Italian, Korean, German, Australian and even Malaysian influences.

Truly a Global car.

Trivia: This car was the new reasonably-priced car in Top Gear's "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment for season 8.

Also read The Optra option.