Chevrolet Reviews

The Chevrolet Silverado is an American legend, but does this giant have what it takes to create a similar status in Australia?

This Corvette with the works is perfect to celebrate the birthday of a sportscar star. If you like fast cars, then 2013 has a feast of anniversaries. It's 100 not out for Aston Martin and, against the odds, it looks likelier to notch up another ton than at any time in its past. It's also the centenary of Italian styling house Bertone, the talent behind scores of landmark designs, while former tractor maker Lamborghini turns 50 as does British supercar specialist McLaren.More remarkably, the post-war blossoming of consumption in the 1950s threw up some individual models we still laud today. Two sports cars that between them represent the twin poles of European and American approaches to performance are both celebrating significant numbers: from Germany, the Porsche 911 turns 50; while the Chevrolet Corvette, after six decades, is one of the oldest nameplates still in production.HISTORYIt took a few years for Corvette to establish its identity -- early examples were underpowered and heavy -- but the seventh generation unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January cements its place as the performance star in General Motors' constellation. The C7, as it's known, revives the famous Stingray badge and endorses the formula of front engine, rear-drive.If success is measured by sales, then Corvette wins. With a total of 1.4 million buyers against 820,000 for the 911, it's about 30 per cent more popular. Price has something to do with it: in the US the new Corvette starts at $US52,000 against more than $US85,000 for a 911.RHD CONVERSIONSIn Australia, we are forced to look on in envy. Not just at the price differentials -- 911s begin well over $200,000 here -- but in the case of the Corvette, simple availability. America's finest is built only in left-hand drive. Some right-hand drive markets, notably Britain and Japan, tolerate cars with a wheel on the wrong side but Australia frowns.If you want a Corvette, you must get one converted. Luckily, there are a few operations that do just that. One of the newest is Trofeo Motorsport, based in Victoria. Principal Jim Manolios made his money in blood diagnostics and turned his passion for motorsport into a business. Trofeo runs drive days, a race team and is the national distributor for Pirelli motorsport tyres. For about a year it has been importing and converting Corvettes at its workshop in Hallam, near Dandenong.Trofeo aims to do start-to-finish conversions, Manolios says, sourcing cars from the US and specialising in the notoriously difficult-to-switch Corvette. Components that need to be changed -- about 100 -- are scanned into a computer, flipped, then generated in a 3-D printer. Some low-volume parts can be made directly this way or the 3-D print can be the basis for production tooling.The steering wheel, pedal box and windscreen wipers must swap, but also dozens of unseen bits such as airbags and wiring. In addition, Trofeo offers a range of options, from carbon fibre body kits to upgraded exhausts, suspension and brakes, to superchargers.PRICES AND MODELSPrices start at about $150,000 for the Grand Sport, which is powered by a 321kW 6.2-litre V8. Conversions of the high-performance Z06 model with 376kW 7.0-litre V8 cost more, with options capable of bumping the price to $260,000.Manolios says a Corvette delivers Ferrari performance for a fraction of the price and believes there is plenty of demand. We're after the person who has the money in their pocket for a Porsche and is after a real sports car,'' he says.US production of this outgoing Corvette, the C6, stopped in February to make way for the C7. Trofeo has converted seven C6s so far and will have the new version by the end of the year to work out the process afresh. In the meantime, Manolios says he can still get some Z06s. The eventual goal is to deliver 20 cars a year.TEST CARI drove a Z06 with the works: upgraded suspension, carbon fibre front spoiler and side skirts, special exhaust and -- best of all -- a Harrop supercharger. This V8, called LS7 in General Motors code and displacing 427 cubic inches in old money, is being replaced by a new generation engine in the C7. Manolios believes the LS7 will have sentimental appeal and it's impossible to disagree.Based on the alloy block engine in racing Corvettes, it features dry sump lubrication and lightweight titanium connecting rods and intake valves. It rumbles and rocks the car at idle, roaring under throttle and crackling on overrun, with the whine from the supercharger in perfect counterpoint.The supercharger requires a re-profiled bonnet with a bigger bulge. It's made in carbon fibre, offsetting the modest weight of the supercharger itself. The chassis also comes from motorsport and is constructed in aluminium while many of the body panels, such as the roof, are carbon fibre. So the Z06 weighs only a fraction more than a Porsche 911 at 1450kg, despite being slightly longer and quite a bit wider.So with power boosted to 527kW and torque to a whopping 925Nm, a supercharged Z06 has performance to burn. Manolios believes sub-3.0 second zero-to-100km/h times are possible and it's not difficult to spin the monster Pirellis in more than one gear. Once on the move acceleration is unrelenting and if anything gets more impressive the quicker you go. Few powerplants I've sampled have been this intoxicating.DRIVINGTo drive, the Z06 is like a Lotus that has spent months at Venice Beach. It feels similar, only more muscular. Like a Lotus, the suspension is firm and body rigid, so you constantly get a sense of how the car was constructed from little creaks and groans. Weight is distributed evenly front-rear.The result is a car that feels balanced and nuanced in its movements, with dynamics that can handle the immense power. The controls help. It steers sweetly and precisely, despite a wheel that's slightly on the large side, while the throttle offers millimetre control and brake feel is comparable with the best.The six-speed manual transmission shifts well, although the slightly offset second gate meant I fluffed a few upshifts. With all this ability, a Z06 would be best sampled at a racetrack and I couldn't help wondering what top speed you'd see on the Phillip Island straight.Happily, you would not have to glance down to find out; the Z06 has a head-up display like the one in the latest Holden Commodore Redline, although a previous generation. That's true for all the electronics, which are a measure of the outgoing Corvette's age. It's also true of the interior, which is classic pre-reformation GM.The seats are OK, the cargo area is spacious (but would benefit from tie-down hooks) and there are some delightful ingredients, such as the electronic door release. However, the overall ambience is cheap plastic and lacklustre build. That's no fault of the conversion, which is all but undetectable from the driver's seat. The handbrake stays in its original location, and you need the insurance of first gear when parked, but it doesn't get in the way.The exterior also betrays its GM origins in poor panel fit while the bonnet colour-match in this early Trofeo conversion could be improved. But you don't buy a Corvette for its interior and especially not a Z06. Aside from the engine and the way it drives, there's the gorgeous domed rear glass and round tail-lights to admire. It's a rare sight and gathers admirers everywhere I go.Despite the enormous power of the example I drove, it would be a very easy car to live with -- docile unless you press it and with a ride quality better than expected. For me, it's been a long wait to sample a Corvette but it was worth it. Now I'm impatient for the C7. Happily, Trofeo Motorsport is impatient for it too.VERDICTOld school GM, sorted Aussie-style.Chevrolet Corvette Z06(Trofeo conversion with optional supercharger)Price: from $260,000Vehicle: SportscarEngine: 7.0-litre supercharged V8 petrolOutputs: 527kW at 6300rpm and 952Nm at 4800rpmTransmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive

Faith based on fear is never complete faith.So fear not this Chevrolet beast. Have faith that it will go, turn and stop with all the balance and road etiquette needed for a six-metre long, two-metre wide, five-seater ute with huge tub out back.TECHNOLOGYA 6.6 litre, turbocharged V8 diesel — with better than 1000Nm of torque plus 296kW of power — is a good start for the 2011 Silverado. A six-speed Allison transmission to help deliver all this is just right. And, once sitting high at the wheel and on down the road a bit, the steering feels right. Initially it seems a touch light at the straight ahead but it's understood this 2.6 tonne ute — what we'd call a full-size, big-boned pick-up — will not be thrown around quite like a Holden Colorado.There's four-wheel disc brakes with ABS (plus exhaust brake), stability control and switchable four-wheel drive to keep the Silverado safe and sure.PRICE AND FIT-OUTIt needs to be big and tough for this is a $115,000, four-wheel drive, dual cab machine able to carry three tonne and tow close on ten tonne.It is an American utility vehicle, converted to right-hand drive by Queensland-based Performax International; a long-established crowd adept at swapping steering wheels on Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, Chev and GMC trucks — with others soon on the menu. Customers for big utes range from intrepid travellers to mining executives to equine lovers.The Silverado here was the 2500HD in LTZ trim, leather and lashings of wood grain panelling, dual control air conditioning, trip computer plus big stereo, Blue Tooth and USB plugs. Of pluses in this huge cabin is the excellent fit and finish of the Queensland-made, right-hand drive dashboard which, of course, retains driver and passenger airbags. On the downside, the dial for the lights could be confused with the nearby dial for four-wheel drive high and low.DRIVINGThe Duramax diesel V8 fires with a low growl. (It can be started with the key fob from up to 50 metres, allowing the engine to warm up and air conditioning to kick in.) Snick the steering column-mounted gear shift into D and move off in a gentle, don't-argue manner.Down the highway there is faith in this big Chev to sit sweet and secure on its optional 20-inch wheels. It has the ride comfort and power (unladen here) to more than match it with highway traffic, has the bulk to see further on up the road and the road manners, plus ever-smooth transmission, to slot into traffic gaps (often helped here by others allowing respectable amounts of space).There's a 135 litre fuel tank which would get a bloke a fair way when consumption is running around a claimed 12 litres per 100km mark for light use; that runs up to early 20s when towing. Some dramas arrive when trying to find a park in the local shopping centre; the cabin may fit but then there's that 1.9m x 1.5m tray to accommodate; rear parking sensors are a boon.Yet for the most part this is an easy, comfortable machine to drive. Off the bitumen some of that ride comfort may disappear. It is fine on a good dirt or gravel road but the suspension becomes a bit lumpy and jumpy when the track deteriorates.Best here to slow the show down and, in some cases, engage four-wheel drive high for a little less skittishness. (There is an optional off-road kit though here the Chev's bulk could become an issue, driver and truck will prefer the wide open spaces.) And really it's the towing and the carrying that is the Silverado's forte; the extra differential is a handy piece of kit for muddy paddocks, sandy tracts and the like. The Chevrolet Silverado is a high, wide and handsome piece of kit best approached as a big tough workhorse, an American light truck with a tidy conversion to right-hand drive.CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500HDPrice: $115,000Engine: turbocharged 6.6 litre V8 dieselPower/torque: 296kW/1037NmTransmission: Six-speed auto + four-wheel driveBody: Four-door uteDimensions: 6090mm (l) 2032mm (w)1905mm (h)Payload: 3010kgTowing: 9843kgWarranty: 4 year/120,000km, 4 year roadside assist

This car is a Commodore, but not as we know it. The Aussie family hauler has been tweaked, teased and tizzied into something both retro and futuristic. It's a Camaro.The great looking two-door muscle car is a Chevrolet showroom star at home in the USA, where sales are expected to top 80,000 cars a year, but Americans have no idea that all the hard work on their hero was done down under."The vision for the Camaro was always easy. We had lots of debates about how to achieve it, but the vision was always clear," says Brett Vivian, Holden's vehicle line director and one of the key team members."It's all based on the VE. It's not like it had to be re-engineered, we just adjusted it," says Gene Stefanyshyn, the global vehicle line executive for global rear-wheel drive and performance vehicles.The Camaro was born out of a General Motors' global program that made GM Holden the home base for large rear-wheel drive cars. The idea was to create a homegrown Commodore for Australia, then to use the mechanical platform and cost-effective engineering experience as the basis for other spin-off cars.No-one at Fishermans Bend will talk about the whole program — which many people expected to result in the return of a compact car which could have been called Torana — but the VE is running strongly, there was a successful Pontiac export program, and the Camaro.To get things straight from the start, the Camaro is a terrific car. It looks right and it drives right. There is mean muscle in the bodywork and the car is both fast and quick, but surprisingly easy and relaxed to drive.Hundreds of people worked on the Camaro program on both sides of the Pacific, from the design centre at Fishermans Bend to the Canadian factory in Ontario where the car is built, but it was honed to a sharp edge at the Lang Lang proving ground on the road from Melbourne to Phillip Island.That is where I have come for an exclusive drive in a pair of Camaro coupes as part of the judging process for the World Car of the Year award. Holden has rolled out a regular red V6 and a hot black SS, as well as ace test driver Rob Trubiani and a range of Camaro specialists.They have a story that could easily fill a book but the touch points are easy. The Camaro was born as part of the global rear-drive program, shares its mechanical package with the VE Commodore but is totally tied to a Camaro concept car that was a massive hit at the Detroit Motor Show in 2006. Since then there has also been a Camaro convertible show car, but that's another story ..."We started this project in early 2005. May of '05. By October we had a lot of the proportions locked in. They built the show car and in Febuary of '06 we started on the project here in Australia," says Stefanyshyn, before getting into the heart of the car."We took the rear wheel and moved it forward by something like 150mm. Then we took the front wheel and moved it forward by 75mm. And we took the wheel size up from 679mm to 729mm. Part of the reason we moved the front wheel was to get the bigger wheel size. We also took the A pillar and moved it back 67mm. And the Camaro has a shorter rear overhang than the Commodore."The touchstone for the whole project was the Camaro concept and one of the two cars was shipped to Melbourne while the body was prepared for production. "Any time we had a question we would just go back to the concept car," says Peter Hughes, design manager. "We have an architecture from VE, and then we got to skin it. The architecture is brilliant underneath, proportionally it was spot-on. And we also took the roof down by about 75 millimetres."The key to the car, Hughes says, is the giant rear haunches. The huge side panel includes a sharply-radiused guard which runs all the way from the window line out to cover the wheel. It took more than 100 trial runs on the stamping press to get it right — and ready for production.There are many, many more stories but the end result is a car with an ideal 50:50 weight distribution, a choice of V6 and V8 engines, a cabin with retro-inspired dials, and driving dynamics which are only beaten in the USA by the race-bred Chevrolet Corvette. Best of all, the car looks just right from every angle. That includes the broad channel through the centre of the roof, the raised bonnet, the semi-hooded headlamps and the shape and location of the tail lamps and exhaust.It is clearly inspired by the late-1960s Camaro muscle car, but with a modern twist that brings the design right up to date. "It looks pretty tough on the road. It could sit a bit lower, but that's a personal thing," says Hughes. The Camaro is so absolutely fine that it was chosen to star in a Hollywood blockbuster, the Transformers movie. Twice.DrivingWe already know the VE Commodore drives well. And the HSV Holdens spun from the basic package drives better, and faster. But the Camaro trumps them all thanks to some key changes which impact heavily on the seat-of-the-pants response of the American muscle machine.The Camaro has a bigger footprint and bigger tyres, as well as a rear axle that is set closer behind the driver. The combination means there is more grip and better feel. Lapping the ride-and-handling course at the Lang Lang proving ground, the Camaro is significantly quicker and - far more important - easier to drive. It feels more relaxed, grippier and more responsive.With GM Holden's ace test driver Rob Trubiani at the wheel it is just plain fast. In fact, it is scary quick as he punches up to 140km/h through a series of fast swerves. But the Camaro is also giggle-me sideways in a slow corner.I have done many laps of the Lang Lang course and I remember the slowest left-hander — copied from a corner in Fishermans Bend - where Peter Brock used to pitch his original HDT Commodores sideways to show what they could do. And the high-speed swerves where Peter Hanenberger once lost control and spun backwards into the shrubbery - in a Falcon.A Commodore copes easily with the course and an HSV monster gobbles the straight bits and has you handing on as it thunders through the curves. The Camaro is different. The SS V8 feels like it is riding on big balloons instead of its Pirelli P-Zero rubber. That's because the larger rolling footprint of the bigger 19-inch wheels and tyres gives a better grip with a bigger contact patch. Look for the same package on a future Holden, although it will take significant suspension tweaking - all done for the Camaro - to make it happen.The Camaro is only the second American car I have driven with genuine steering feel, and the other is the Corvette. It comes from the same retro garage as the born-again Dodge Challenger and the latest Ford Mustang, but I just know it drives way better than them.The six-speed shift is pretty slick and it's easy to get the 318 kilowatts from the 6.2-litre V8 into action. Inside the cabin, I notice the dashboard is set further back than the Commodore, with dials which could only be Chevrolet. And Camaro retro.There are very few signs of Holden inside, apart from minor switches, which proves - again - how much work went into getting the Camaro right. Headroom is crimped and the view over the bonnet is a little restricted, thanks to the styling demands, but it's all part of the Camaro experience. And it's a great experience. It is way more than I expected when I rolled into Lang Lang and easily good enough to have me on the phone to World COTY judges to encourage them to get some time with the car.The only question now is if the Camaro can come home to Australia. Everyone on the team is keen, and there are left-hand drive cars on the road in Melbourne almost every day for evaluation work, but it comes down to dollars and sense. Sadly, passion and the quality of the Camaro is not quite enough this time.

And that's something 1970 Corvette owner Glen Jackson knows very well. Whether it's the glaring eyes looking on in admiration and envy, the heart-trembling grunt of the engine, feeling special on the road or the embarrassment of breaking down in peak-hour traffic on one of Sydney's busiest motorways.For Jackson, taking the bad with the good has left him stranded and almost regretting his purchase. “When I first got it, when I first picked it up, it broke down in the M5 tunnel,” he says. “It was an over-heating problem. I was stuck in the M5 traffic, it caused chaos."“I was in a panic, in that tunnel there's nowhere to pull over and the thing was over-heated. I just got it through the other side and out of the way of traffic. I wasn't happy about it at all.”A new radiator and other work totalling $6000 had the Corvette reliable enough to drive, so Jackson could then enjoy his $34,000 purchase.“I have been playing around with cars since I left high school,” he says. “With this car you drive it and people look. It's about showing off your piece of art. I go in traffic and I get people, usually kids taking photos.”But Jackson's piece of art isn't quite finished. He plans to spend another $6000 to $10,000 fixing and improving the bodywork, which he anticipates could take another 12 months.Jackson says the 1968 to 1973 Corvette models are the most desired, as they have a more powerful 350hp engine.The succeeding models have a lower power output because of pollution regulations.And while his engine is not the original, it is a 350 Chev engine, delivering the same 350hp.When Jackson bought his very first old car just over a year ago, it had already been in Australia for at least 14 years.“It was sitting in a garage,” he says. “When I picked it up, it had been neglected and I had to get it running again.”While Jackson was and still is an avid Holden fan, sharing the passion with his family, he branched out, developing an interest in American muscle about three years ago.It took a few years searching to find this one.“I just like the style, the look of it and the shape,” he says. “There were about 17,000 built in America, so they would have been all imports here.”Jackson says his Corvette has the T-top roof and the back window comes out.“It's not quite a convertible, but it still has that feeling to it,” he says.Jackson's car started its life as a left-hand drive but was converted to right-hand drive for Australia. He says despite its age, it still drives and handles 'pretty well' when he takes it out once or twice a month.The Corvette was named after a type of British Navy ship known for its wicked speed.They were first introduced in the US in 1953 and by 1970, featured a longer, more pinched nose, shark-like gill vents on the side front fenders and chrome bumpers.Jackson's model also has some modern touches, including power steering and a CD player, which were added to the car.He considered selling his Corvette several months ago for $50,000, but as its beauty glistened in the driveway, he quickly had a change of heart.“I had advertised it, but changed my mind after a couple of weeks. I decided I liked it too much. So I won't sell it now,” the 27-year-old says. While it didn't get his mother's tick of approval when she saw the photos, Jackson says she loved it once she saw the real thing.On the road, the red Corvette sits very low to the ground. Jackson says it's a little snug on the inside, probably not the most practical car for someone standing two meters tall.But that won't stop him driving it. And with just two seats, he finds the added disadvantage of not being able to drive friends around.His friends will just have to walk or find their own rides, as Jackson is strongly attached to the red beauty for the time being.Although, it won't be red for much longer, as Jackson plans to give it a bit more life and take it back to the days when it rolled off the factory floor 37 years ago.He says he likes the red, “because red ones go faster,” but back in its day, the Corvette was originally blue. And by taking it back to its original appearance, Jackson is confident of boosting the car's value. Snapshot 1970 Chevrolet CorvetteValue when new: from $US5469Value now: $A34,000 for an average model, around $A60,000 for a top modelVerdict: The 1970s sports car may leave you stranded, but at least it does so in style. The Corvette has all the old-school 'coolness' that makes it just like a piece of art.