Chevrolet makes Stop/Start standard on base 4-cylinder in 2015 Impala; 5% improvement in city fuel economy

Stop/start technology will be standard on the 2015 Impala base 2.5-liter ECOTEC engine, an addition that improves the vehicle’s city fuel economy by nearly 5%, or one mile per gallon. The Impala comes standard with a four-cylinder engine, which currently accounts for more than 30% of Impala retail sales.

For the 2015 model year, the Impala will be available with two powertrains, a standard 2.5L engine with stop/start, and a premium 3.6L six-cylinder engine. The Impala with the 3.6L V-6 engine will not include stop/start technology.

Stop/start shuts down the engine in certain driving conditions to reduce fuel consumption. The technology is becoming more prevalent worldwide. A recent report from Navigant Research predicted worldwide sales of vehicles with stop/start technology (SSVs) will grow from 8.8 million in 2013 to 55.4 million in 2022.

The 2.5L Impala with stop/start yields an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 22 mpg city (10.7 l/100 km), 31 mpg (7.6 l/100 km) for the highway and 25 mpg (9.4 l/100 km) combined.

The Impala becomes the second vehicle in Chevrolet’s US. lineup to feature stop/start technology, following the segment-first standard inclusion in the 2014 Malibu introduced late last year. The technology helps improve the Malibu’s city fuel economy by 14%.

Chevrolet engineers developed the stop/start in the Impala from extensive experience with GM’s eAssist system and the accompanying algorithms that allow engines to engage and disengage subtly.

Stop/start system customer research indicates they want the engine to start up as quickly and smoothly as possible after a stop.

—Mark Meyers, Chevrolet Global Vehicle Performance manager

During the development of this technology, a team of software engineers was created. The Center for Excellence focuses on advancing stop/start technology and making its operation seamless to the customer.

A big challenge for the team was overcoming “change-of-mind events,” instances in which the driver begins to stop, but then quickly accelerates. The algorithms adapt the system so the starter can fire even if the engine did not fully shut off.

The software also prevents the system from engaging if the car does not reach 6 mph (10 km/h) since its last start—a feature for stop-and-go-driving conditions. The system also considers cabin temperature, humidity, battery charge and other factors when deciding if the engine should come to a stop.

Hardware revisions also have been made. The noise and vibration team worked closely with drivetrain engineers to revise motor mounts to provide the greatest isolation possible from the cabin. Additionally, the team included a larger heavy-duty starter motor to assist with the additional ignition cycles.

The 2015 Impala goes on sale this summer with a suggested starting price of $27,735 for the 4-cylinder LS model, and $30,960 for the 6-cylinder LT model. These include an $825 destination charge, but exclude tax, title, license and dealer fees.

2016 Chevy Cruze Bows In Beijing

While GM has improved the connectivity of the Chevy Cruze with the 2015 model, the 2016 Chevy Cruze debuted with a whole new look at the Beijing Auto Show. In fact, the new Cruze will debut in China before coming to the U.S., and includes a new suite of small-displacement EcoTec engines for motivation.

The Chevy Cruze has proven popular all over the world, but it has become especially important to GM’s efforts in China, where it will launch as a 2015 model. Not only does the next-gen Cruze get a streamlined new look, it will also offer buyers their choice oftwo new EcoTec engines. The base motor is a 1.5 liter making 113 horsepower, while a 1.4 liter turbo boosts output to 148 ponies. GM is claimed a 14 to 21% improvement to fuel efficiency over previous models, but official ratings have yet to be released.

In addition to a six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will offer even more efficiency for interested buyers. We’re assuming the interior will also receive some kind of update before coming to the U.S., though it doesn’t seem like GM let journalists take a shot of the new Cruze’s interior. Wonder why?

It’s not a bad looking update, and may also indicate the new look of the next-generation Chevy Volt as well.

Source: GM

GM Reveals All New EcoTec Engine Lineup

GM revealed its new line of EcoTec small gas engines that includes 11 variants of three and four-cylinder engines that’ll service 27 different models. Ranging from 75 to 165 horsepower and designed to integrate alternative fuels and hybrid drivetrains, these new engines are among the most important projects in GM’s portfolio.

The first production application of the new EcoTec engines will be a 1.0 liter three-cylinder in the new Opel Adam, an engine that could also serve the next-generation Chevy Volt. GM also mentions a turbocharged 1.4 liter and a naturally-aspirated 1.5 liter tailored specifically to China. The new EcoTec engines are designed with a modular nature allows greater flexibility among the engine line, while making tooling a lot simpler as well.

Other enhancements include less noise and more fuel economy, with the new 1.4 liter turbo being 5% more efficient than the engine it replaces. That means in most cases an extra 2 MPG or so on the highway, and it’s hard to find anything to complain about that. At 148 horsepower the new 1.4 liter engine makes as much power as the outgoing motor, but is rated at a much-better 173 ft-lbs of torque…at least in China.

Ultimately GM plans to fit EcoTec engines into 27 models across 5 different brands, including the next-generation Chevy Cruze, which should also debut sometime in the next few months. I’m most excited to see the improvement in MPG and all-electric range a new engine gives the next-generation Volt.

It’s a competitive lineup of motors that helps GM keep pace with other automakers, but nothing really jumped out and grabbed me either. What’re your thoughts on GM’s new line of little engines?

Source: Gas 2.

GM Releases First Details On Next-Gen Ecotec Engine Family

General Motors is stepping up its engine game.

Today it released first details of a new range of three- and four-cylinder Ecotec engines from 1.0 to 1.5 liters that replace no fewer than three separate engine families globally.

GM had already shown one variant, a new turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that will appear in the Opel Adam minicar in Europe.

ALSO SEE: 2016 Chevrolet Volt To Launch Next Year: What We Know So Far

2013 Opel Adam

Now we have more details on the range of engines, which General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] is targeting at both Ford’s downsized EcoBoost range and Volkswagen’s range of three- and four-cylinder EA211 engines.

The goal is to gain high volumes on a single family of small engines that is more fuel-efficient and more refined than the engines it replaces.

By the 2017 model year, GM says, fully 2.5 million of the new Ecotec engines will be built each year--one-quarter of the company's entire global engine production that year.

There will be 11 difference engines in total, both turbocharged and naturally aspirated, with power outputs ranging from 75 to 165 horsepower and torque from 70 to 184 pound-feet.

Development took place at five GM centers around the world, with roughly 1,600 prototype units built and more than 2 million miles driven during testing.

One of the units, most likely the 1.0-liter three-cylinder version, is expected to be utilized for the redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Volt.

GM also confirmed that the engine architecture is designed to support a hybrid version, though it didn't release any details. If we had to guess, we'd suggest it would be a next-generation version of the eAssist mild-hybrid system now used on the larger 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine.

There will also be versions designed to handle ethanol up to E100, in markets like Brazil, and bifuel versions capable of running on both gasoline and either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for markets like Korea.

The engines will appear not only in the European Opel Adam but also in the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze, which will be launched this year in China with both a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated and 1.4-liter turbo versions of the four-cylinder engine.

And the redesigned Cruze for the U.S. market?

Stay tuned for more, GM says.

Source: Green Car Reports

500 Mile Test Drive: 2014 Chevy Sonic Turbo

For those of you curious to find out how the 2014 Chevy Sonic turbo + manual transmission stacks up who don’t want to read a long, rambling review, let me tell you this: the Chevy Sonic is good. Like, really good. Those of you who are hoping for a little more context and clarity regarding the little Chevy are invited to read on.

A Little Context

Back in November, I took a Chevy Cruze diesel on a 1000-mile trip across three states and got nearly 44 MPG from the peppy turbo diesel engine. It was a strange review, in that I genuinely wanted to like the car (indeed, I named it “One of the 14 Best Fuel-efficient Cars You Can Buy” and said it passed the crucial “I’d recommend it to the in-laws” test), but my final review was pretty scathing. In the end, I blasted both the Cruze diesel’s hefty $28,000 price tag and its horribly un-intuitive MyLink infotainment system. I lamented that Chevy had, finally, “built a car that’s capable of going toe-to-toe with a premium competitor, but they’ve stuck the wrong badge on the nose. The truth is that this engine placed in Buick’s baby Verano (which is based on the same platform as the Cruze) could demand a $30K OTD price without anyone batting an eyelash.”

Almost immediately, then, I reached out to GM’s PR department and asked them for a Buick Verano to test. “Let me give that car the 5-star review it probably deserves,” I thought. “I won’t even care if it comes in at more than $30K.”

GM, however, had another idea: they sent me a Chevy Sonic turbo.

Sending me a Chevy Sonic, after my bipolar review of the Cruze was a brave move, but there was, apparently, enough material in my Cruze review to give Fred Ligouri (one of GM’s media handlers) a complete and clinical understanding of my psyche. I say that because, within minutes of the Sonic arriving at my Oak Park home, I was positively smitten.

The Chevy Sonic turbo squatted in the street like a rally car, and didn’t look totally dissimilar to my old Lancia, in profile. The sound, too, was great- thanks in large part to the unrestrictive sport exhaust my tester was equipped with. As I made a dramatic, handbrake-assisted turn across 3 lanes of Ogden RD’s midday traffic sideways and with the engine bouncing off the redline in 2nd gear a few minutes later, I had two clear and distinct thoughts cross my mind.

1. Don’t buy press cars.
2. I am going to get ALL the tickets.

Like the Mitsubishi Mirage I drove in October, the Sonic feels like it’s going fast all the time, and allows to feel the thrill of driving at eight or nine tenths without feeling like you’re in real danger. Unlike the little Mirage, however, the Sonic has more than enough juice to get you into Serious trouble in Chicago’s urban traffic. In addition to the excellent driving dynamics, though, the Sonic offers a few neat features that help set it apart from the rest of the subcompact market.

Chevy Sonic Super-fun Feature: Mirrors

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The Chevy Sonic I drove was equipped with the same sort of “fisheye” mirrors normally reserved for heavy trucks and tow vehicles. These give Sonic drivers a wide-angle look at adjoining lanes, and make ill-advised, high-speed lane change moves seem less ill-advised.

Chevy Sonic Super-fun Feature: Trunk-in-a-trunk

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I have no idea what I’d ever put in the Chevy Sonic’s trunk-within-a-trunk. I also wondered if said feature would make it illegal for me to drive the 2014 Chevy Sonic in the State of Ohio. Still, my 10-year-old thought it was awesome, and immediately began filling my Sonic tester’s “secret compartment” with Nerf guns. So, I guess “guns” is what I’d put in there? I’ll leave that one to Chevy’s PR dept., I think.

Chevy Sonic Super-fun Feature: Chevy MyLink

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The touchscreen + button Chevy MyLink system fitted to the Chevy Cruze diesel I drove back in November was full of hate and rage, and it spit frustration-laced laughter at any poor sap crazy enough to sit in the passenger seat and play DJ after I’d given up on it. I said that there was “simply no reason for GM (or Ford, or any other car-maker) to be in the OS/GUI space, and MyLink is a vivid example of why that’s a fact.”

In the Cruze, that was true- in the Sonic? The MyLink infotainment system that showed up on my Sonic turbo was totally touchscreen, easy to read, simple to use, and totally intuitive. Heck, even the sound visualizations looked good! This is a major win for GM, and they should get the Sonic’s MyLink GUI into all their MyLink-equipped cars immediately.

So, that’s a lot of praise for Chevy’s little Sonic turbo- which, perhaps, should not have surprised me. The last time a Gas 2 staffer drove a Sonic was back in 2012 when Chris Demorro went and bought one with his own money. He apparently didn’t need much more than five minutes behind the wheel to be convinced to buy one of the first Sonics off of the assembly line. Much as I loved it, though, the little car was far from perfect.

For starters, I never saw more than 30.8 MPG on the Chevy Sonic’s trip computer. That’s after I re-set everything and got with the “high MPG compact” program, setting the cruise control to 68 MPH for most of a Chicago-to-Springfield run down a traffic-free I-55. I re-set everything once I got to Springfield and tried it again on the way back up, and didn’t even get 30. That’s a far, far cry from the 29/40 MPG the Chevy Sonic is supposed to deliver, and not tangibly better than the 26-27 MPG I usually get from the wife’s Hyundai Tucson on the same drive. For a car that most people will buy for its small footprint and economical fuel numbers, that’s terribad.

The second problem with the Sonic was that the car continuously reminded me that it didn’t think much of my driving. To do so, it used the Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Alert systems- part of Chevy’s “Advanced Safety Package”. In addition to freaking out whenever another driver drifted into my lane, the Lane Departure Warning system went off whenever I was forced to change lanes in construction zones, which significantly added to the stress of driving through those sections of I-55.

I’m all for safety, and I applaud Chevy’s efforts to increase the safety of their subcompact Sonic line. But, seriously, it went off all the time …

… and every single instance was either a “false alarm” or a distraction in a situation where I didn’t need it.

So, is the 2014 Chevy Sonic turbo perfect? No. That said, if you’re in the market for a small, fun-to-drive city car with plenty of interior room, touchscreen connectivity, the safety of OnStar, a strong engine, and a willing chassis, the Chevy Sonic should make for an excellent playmate. Have fun together!

Source: Gas 2.0

Chevy Sonic Turbo now available with six-speed automatic

The Chevrolet Sonic’s Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine will now be available with either manual or automatic transmission. The 2012 Chevy Sonic Ecotec 1.4L turbo six-speed automatic delivers an EPA-estimated 37 mpg highway and 27 mpg in the city (6.36 and 8.7 L/100 km), while the manual gets 40 mpg on the highway and 29 mpg in the city (5.88 and 8.1 L/100 km).

The Hydra-Matic 6T40. Click to enlarge.

The Hydra-Matic 6T40 automatic transmission is part of GM’s family of six-speed automatic transmissions. The 6T40’s wide overall gear ratio spread provides everything from strong first gear acceleration to fifth and sixth gear overdrive gears for strong highway fuel economy.

Traditionally, turbocharging was used to enhance the performance of engines, but today it is as much about fuel economy as a 0-to-60 time. The turbocharger provides high-pressure airflow for high torque to boost the vehicle and give the driver a fun driving experience with improved fuel efficiency.

—Bob Benedict, assistant chief engineer for the Ecotec 1.4L engine

Sonic’s Ecotec 1.4L turbocharged engine and six-speed manual transmission achieved a 0-to-60 mph time of 7.8 seconds, according to independent AMCI testing; the Sonic with the turbo-automatic combination went from 0 to 60 in about eight seconds.

New 4-cylinder 2.5L Ecotec for Malibu marks debut of new Ecotec engine family; enhanced power, efficiency and refinement

New 4-cylinder, 2.5L Ecotec. Click to enlarge.

Chevrolet revealed more details about the new Ecotec 2.5L four-cylinder engine that will be the standard engine in the 2013 Malibu. The new 2.5L—which GM says is more efficient, refined and powerful than its 2.4L predecessor—will be available next summer, marking the debut of the all-new Ecotec engine family.

GM expects the 2.5L to deliver an estimated 190 horsepower (140 kW) and 180 lb-ft of torque (250 N·m)—about 12% more horsepower and 16% more torque than the current Ecotec 2.4L, while offering estimated highway fuel economy of more than 30 mpg (7.84 L/100km) (final fuel economy numbers are pending). The current MY2012 Malibu with 2.4L engine carries an EPA rating of 33 mpg (7.13 L/100km) highway.

Increased efficiency was the top development priority, achieved in part through lower engine friction. It was reduced by an average of 16% across the entire speed range, using new technologies such as a variable-displacement oil pump and an actively controlled thermostat. GM proprietary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis techniques were used to develop an all-new combustion system with a higher compression ratio, which also helped boost efficiency.

The new combustion system features improved knock resistance and higher-flowing intake and exhaust ports in the cylinder head, which help increase efficiency, power and torque. The new Ecotec also has increased-authority cam phasing to minimize any compromise between efficiency, performance, emissions and driveability.

Like the current generation of Ecotec engines, the new 2.5L also features a high-pressure, direct-injection fuel system, dual overhead camshafts with continuously variable valve timing, electronic throttle control and pistons with jet-spray oil cooling.

GM also expects the new engine to be one of the quietest and most refined engines in the segment. Specifically, the engine’s noise frequency signature was targeted, with the aim of pushing radiated noises into a higher frequency range well above 2,000 hertz, which is more pleasing to the ear—particularly in the high-load operating ranges where engine sound is the most intensive.

The noise intensity is 40 percent less than our 2.4L direct-injected engine, which was named one of Ward’s 10 Best Engines. Engineers also tuned the 2.5L to deliver more of its torque at lower rpm, giving the Malibu a stronger feel at launch and during on-demand maneuvers, such as passing or accelerating on a freeway entrance ramp.

—Mike Anderson, global chief engineer

GM engineers implemented 10 key elements fundamental to giving the 2.5L its refinement, ranging from major items such as rotating and reciprocating components within the engine to items as minor as the front cover bolts:

1. Relocated Balance Shafts. The 2.5L’s balance shafts— which are commonly used in four-cylinder engines to reduce vibration—are located in a cassette in the oil pan. It’s a move from previous Ecotec engines’ cylinder block-mounted shafts, which helps reduce noise through three key design features: a shorter, quieter drive chain, precision shaft-to-shaft reversing gears and light drag torque from driving the oil pump.

   The short drive chain eliminates the previous long, winding “bushed” chain that included driving the water pump. It uses a premium inverted tooth chain design instead of a conventional roller-type chain, for quieter performance. The shaft-to-shaft reversing gear set allows the drive gears of the shafts to mesh directly, eliminating the need for a chain to “back drive” the second shaft, which must rotate in the opposite direction of the first shaft. The second shaft also drives the oil pump, providing a light drag torque to pre-load the reversing gear teeth for smooth, rattle-free and quiet operation.

2. In-Pan Oil Pump Assembly. Another significant change from previous Ecotec engines is the relocation of the oil pump assembly from the front of the crankshaft to within the oil pan, where it is driven by the second balance shaft. This reduces noise from the front cover area—an aluminum-intensive area that radiates noise—and provides a small drag torque to ensure quiet balance shaft gear operation. Also, the oil-sump location minimizes the potential for pump cavitation noise.

3. Chain drive. Click to enlarge.

   Camshaft Drive with Inverted-Tooth Chain. Like the drive chain for the balance shafts, the camshaft drive chain uses a premium, inverted-tooth design that is significantly quieter than a roller-type chain. As its name implies, an inverted-tooth chain has teeth on its links—two-pin rolling pivot joints—that essentially wrap around the gear sprocket to take up virtually all the tension. This allows for smoother meshing of the chain links to the sprocket teeth, the cause of most noise in chain drive systems. The chain-to-sprocket tooth impact is greatly reduced with the inverted-tooth design (also known as a silent chain drive), which virtually eliminates noise and enhances durability.

4. Two-Piece Oil Pan. When it came to the oil pan, engineers faced a conundrum: Aluminum provides stiffening structure to an engine, but it radiates noise. Stamped steel, on the other hand, radiates less noise, but doesn’t offer the structural benefits needed for a stiff powertrain assembly. Their solution was to combine the materials to create a unique, two-piece oil pan that features a stiff aluminum upper section to support the engine’s structure—maintaining the Ecotec engine’s signature full-perimeter transmission mounting surface—and a stamped steel lower section to provide greater overall sound performance.

5. Structural Camshaft Cover. As a cast-aluminum part mounted on the very top of the engine assembly, the camshaft cover can be a significant source of noise. That’s not the case with the 2.5L, due to a new, structural cover design that is stiffer and mounts more rigidly to the engine. It features increased ribbing and additional attachment bolts down the center, all of which increase the cover’s stiffness to help push the engine’s sound frequency above 2,000 hertz. It also enables excellent oil sealing for valvetrain oil control passages integrated within the cover.

6. Acoustic Intake Manifold Cover. Like many engines in the segment, the 2.5L uses a composite plastic lightweight intake manifold. But plastic conducts noise, so engineers wrapped the intake with a clamshell-like isolating cover. It has a sound-absorbing “blanket” on the inside that snugs against the intake to provide isolation, plus the cover has a visually clean outer layer, which works as a noise barrier.

7. Forged Steel Crankshaft. Engineers selected a forged steel crankshaft for the 2.5L because, along with its strength and durability, it is stiffer than a conventional cast iron crankshaft. That reduces noise and vibration at mid- and high-rpm levels, enhancing the engine’s smoothness.

8. Iron Main Bearing Cap Inserts. Iron inserts are cast into the 2.5L’s aluminum cylinder block bedplate, enhancing the structure at the main bearings, for greater smoothness and quietness. The bedplate provides stiffness to the bottom of the cylinder block and incorporates the main bearing caps—components used to secure the crankshaft within the block. The iron insert material ensures close main bearing tolerances over a wide range of engine operating temperatures, for quieter engine lower-end noise.

9. Isolated Fuel Rail. Although not new to the 2.5L, its isolated fuel rail nonetheless helps achieve overall quietness. Like the Ecotec 2.4L and Ecotec 2.0L turbo, the 2.5L features direct injection, which employs a very-high pressure fuel system, including an engine-mounted fuel pump and complementing fuel injectors that “fire” with very high pressures directly into the combustion chambers. This can be a source of noise. The fuel rail is a tube-like component that supplies gasoline to the injectors. To reduce the noise associated with this efficiency-enhancing system, the injectors are suspended and the fuel rail is attached to the cylinder head with rubber-isolated, compression-limiting mounting provisions.

10. Structural Front Cover. Similar to the structural camshaft cover described above, the 2.5L’s front cover, which covers both the camshaft drive system and balancer drive systems, was designed with extra ribbing and secured with extra fasteners—including a new row of attachments down the middle of the cover. Like the camshaft cover, the result is a stiffer, more rigid, quieter cover that contributes to lower engine noise.

The new Malibu will be sold in nearly 100 countries on six continents and will be built in multiple locations around the globe, including the Fairfax, Kan., and Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plants in the United States. Pricing will be announced later this year.

Source: Green Car Congress

Fisker May Use Dedicated 3-Cylinder Engine as Range Extender

SoCal start-up Fisker has just completed its first production car (in Finland), but already they are talking about future cars. One idea; use of a dedicated, 3-cylinder range extender rather than the 4-cylinder EcoTec car engine currently under the hood.

The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid with a GM-sourced turbocharged 4-cylinder engine operating as the range extender. Using an already-built production engine has saved Fisker countless millions that would come with designing their own engine. But since this gas engine is optimized for driving a car, rather than operating as a generator, it isn’t the perfect system. Perhaps the biggest issue is weight; the GM EcoTec engine weighs in at 360 pounds, not exactly a featherweight.

Fisker seems to think that a dedicated 3-cylinder range extender could shave at least 100 pounds off of that number, and any weight savings for the hefty Fisker would be a boon for both performance and range. Lotus has developed a dedicated, 1.2 liter 3-cylinder range extender that could be just what Fisker is looking for, and it weights just 124 pounds. There’s money to be made in the range-extending engine business it would appear.

Source: Gas2.0

GM to Reveal 2012 Buick Verano at NAIAS in Detroit

GM will reveal the new 2012 Buick Verano compact luxury sedan, the brand’s third new model in the past two years and first in the compact luxury segment, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) next week in Detroit. Verano goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The 2012 Verano. Click to enlarge.

An Ecotec 2.4L engine with dual-overhead camshafts, variable valve timing and E85 capability coupled with a Hydra-Matic 6T45 six-speed automatic powertrain combination is standard. It delivers an estimated 177 hp (132 kW) and 170 lb-ft torque (230 N·m), 0-60 mph performance of 8.0 seconds and an estimated 31 mpg (7.6 L/100km) on the highway, 22 mpg city (10.7 L/100km). A 2.0L turbo engine will be offered in the future.

Direct injection technology helps it produce more power with less fuel and lower emissions, including up to 25-percent reduced hydrocarbon emissions when compared with a multi-point fuel injection engine. Electric power steering and a more efficient transmission design help optimize fuel economy.

The front suspension uses decoupled MacPherson struts for better isolation, providing greater separation of extreme road conditions—large potholes, for example—from everyday driving conditions. At the rear, a technically advanced Watts Z-link design helps center the rear axle during cornering, which helps keep the Verano’s handling responses symmetrical on both left-hand and right-hand turns. The linkage’s capability to center the axle during cornering delivers a more-balanced driving experience because the rear suspension better follows the lead of the front suspension.

The Z-link design is also lighter and requires less space than a typical fully independent rear suspension. The lower weight contributes to Verano’s fuel economy, while the compact design enables more trunk space.

Steering inputs are executed by a fuel-saving electric power steering system, featuring a dual-pinion rack. Engineers tuned the speed-sensitive system to provide quick, direct reaction to steering actions and a strong on-center feel. The system has a ratio of 15.5:1 and requires only slightly more than two turns, lock to lock.

Source: GM via Green Car Congress