2013 Chicago Auto Show: What to Expect

The Windy City is considered one of the fan-friendliest destinations during auto-show season, and to that end the 2013 Chicago Auto Show is unlikely to disappoint. This show will give visitors a first glimpse of a few new vehicles along with a closer look at a host of exciting cars that made flashy debuts at the Detroit auto show.

The 2013 Chicago show — the 105th time the event has been held since 1901, according to organizers — will be open to the public 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 9-17 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 18, with media and charity previews Feb. 7-8, at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive. Organizers promote the Chicago show as the largest in terms of exhibit space used, as it occupies 1 million square feet of floor space and hosts about 1,000 vehicles.

For those most interested in the latest thing, the Chicago show will host the world debuts of the redesigned 2014 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck and the Kia Cross GT Concept. That's in addition to the North American reveal of the new Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. The 2014 Ram ProMaster van and the custom Superman-inspired Kia Optima Hybrid also are expected to be unveiled.

Cars.com Family Reviews the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze Eco

The 2013 Chevy Cruze Eco lived up to its fuel-economy numbers during Cars.com Family reviewer Carrie Kim’s test drive. She achieved the “hybrid-worthy number” of 42 mpg during a weekend driving around Los Angeles. But that’s not the only thing she liked about this high-mileage trim. Carrie found the turbo 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine to be plenty powerful, the trunk to be roomy and the interior to be nicely appointed — all for around $23,000.

2013 Chevrolet Cruze Eco Review

Black Friday: Best Cars for Serious Shoppers

A successful Black Friday shopping trip is all in the planning. Bargain hunters study store ads and websites as though they're cramming for a test, and now they have less time to do so as several major chains — Sears, Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us — will open their doors on Thanksgiving evening instead of 4 or 5 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving.

There's one thing that Black Friday shoppers can plan before the deal-laden store circulars arrive: which car to take.

Black Friday shoppers might think bigger is better — big SUVs, minivans — when it comes to picking a car for hauling all their bargains. They're not wrong, especially if they're hoping to bag a gigantic flat-screen TV at a low price. But nimble, small cars in busy parking lots shouldn't be left out of the Black Friday fun. Here are our top picks for Black Friday haulers.

Recall Alert: 2012 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic

GM is recalling 2,949 model-year 2012 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Sonic vehicles because the airbags could fail, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall involves the driver-side front airbag, which contains a shorting bar that could intermittently contact the airbag terminals, NHTSA reported. If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash, the airbag may not deploy. This increases the risk of injury.

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering-wheel airbag coil for free. The automaker has not yet announced an owner notification schedule, but affected owners can contact GM at 800-521-7300 or NHTSA's vehicle-safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more information.

Related
Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Buick Verano
413,418 2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze Vehicles Recalled
Recall Alert: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic

2013 Nissan Sentra Priced at $16,770

When the 2013 Nissan Sentra goes on sale later this month, it will carry a $16,770 starting price, including a $780 destination fee. That’s $260 less expensive than the 2012 Sentra. Pricing is on par with the 2013 Ford Focus ($16,996), 2013 Chevrolet Cruze ($17,925), 2013 Toyota Corolla ($17,025) and 2012 Honda Civic ($16,545).

The new Sentra will be available in base S, FE+ S, SV, FE+ SV, SR and SL trim levels.

The base S trim comes standard with air conditioning, six airbags, halogen headlights with LED accent lighting, power windows, keyless entry and a six-speed manual transmission. A continuously variable automatic transmission costs $1,270 on the S ($18,040). All other Sentra trims come with a CVT standard.

A breakdown of the rest of the trims and prices is below.

GM Halts Sale of Some 2013 Vehicles to Fix OnStar Glitch

A glitch in the OnStar system has caused GM to halt the sale of several 2013 vehicles, Automotive News reports.

A software problem is preventing OnStar's crash notification system from working in accidents that do not trigger airbag deployment. As a result, the OnStar call center isn't being alerted in certain types of accidents, like rear-end collisions.

The airbag system and the OnStar emergency button aren’t affected by the glitch. 

About 60,000 vehicles require a manual software update to fix the bug; most of them are on dealer lots. The nameplates affected include the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox and Volt; the 2013 Cadillac XTS and ATS; the 2013 Buick Verano; and the 2013 GMC Terrain. Some 2012 Cadillac SRXs also are affected. 

GM notified dealers of the glitch last week and asked them to stop delivery until the issue was fixed, according to Automotive News. A GM spokesman told the trade paper that the fix should be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks.

Related
GM Halts Deliveries of Certain 2012-13 Vehicles to Fix Software Glitch (Automotive News)
OnStar Revamps Buttons for 2013
OnStar Coming to More Cars

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: August 2012

New-car sales in August continued a trend that dates to May: massive gains for Toyota and Honda relative to an earthquake-stymied 2011, with solid — albeit smaller — gains among other major automakers. Both Japanese automakers led the march toward higher auto sales as the industry's seven biggest automakers gained 20.4% in August sales. By day's end, we could see the best annualized sales rate since spring as higher incentives and more credit availability sent shoppers to showrooms. It comes despite rising transaction prices, which are up $2,338 or nearly 8% on the average car versus August 2011, according to CNW Marketing Research.

The highest gains among big sellers came from the Honda Accord and Civic, whose combined sales nearly doubled, even though a new Accord is just around the corner and the redesigned Civic received lukewarm reviews. Toyota Corolla and Matrix sales increased nearly 50%, and Japan's three biggest automakers gained 37.9% in August sales. That's more than three times the percentage gain for their Detroit Three rivals.

Next-Gen Chevy Cruze to be Built in Ohio

Ohio manufacturing plants in Lordstown and Parma will get a $220 million investment from GM for the production of the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze.

An actual production date for the second-generation Cruze has yet to be determined, but nearly 5,000 employees have been assured jobs at the Lordstown Complex and Parma Metal Center to build the new Cruze. Chevrolet's best-selling compact sedan has been built in Ohio since 2010, with more than 500,000 made so far. GM's investment will bring new tooling, equipment and facilities to both plants.

2013 Chevrolet Spark EPA-Rated at 38 MPG

The 2013 Chevrolet Spark gets an EPA-estimated 32/38 mpg city/highway when equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, according to the automaker. When equipped with a four-speed automatic transmission, the Spark gets 28/37 mpg.

At first glance, these numbers look disappointing compared to a Chevrolet Cruze Eco (42 mpg highway) or the Chevrolet Sonic (40-37 mpg), but the Spark competes in a strange category of small city cars. Let's see how it does compared to those tiny cars.

413,418 2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze Vehicles Recalled

GM announced two voluntary recalls today for its popular Chevrolet Cruze. The first recall affects all U.S.-produced manual- and automatic-transmission Cruzes built between September 2010 and May 2012.

On those vehicles, the engine shield under the vehicle could cause an engine fire, according to the automaker. An improper oil change could result in oil dripping onto the engine shield, which may ignite and burn, possibly causing an engine compartment fire.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already opened a preliminary investigation in April for this issue as a result of two engine compartment fires in 2011 Cruzes and later added the 2012 model year, GM says.