Year-End Deal Reality Check: Chevrolet

As the year comes to an end, Chevrolet is offering some unique deals on select models, including no-money-down leases or financing that defers the first monthly payment for a few months.

Special deals are available to shoppers of the 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, Traverse and Impala (LS trim only). All three have attractive 0% financing with the option of having no monthly payments until the spring, according to Chevy.

Well-qualified shoppers can get 0% to 3.9% financing for 60 months, depending on the model. The new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and popular Cruze have 2.9% financing deals for 60 months. The soon-to-be-defunct Impala has $3,000 cash on the hood; so does the 2012 Chevy Avalanche. You can take off $2,000 on a new 2012 Traverse, while the hot-selling 2012 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban have only $1,500 on the hood.

The deals are even more attractive for those looking to lease a new Chevy. Under the Sign & Drive program, you can lease a new 2012 Cruze ($199 a month), Malibu ($229 a month), Traverse ($299 a month) or Silverado ($381 a month for All Star Edition trims) for no money down with 39-month and 39,000-mile terms.

All current Chevy deals end Jan. 3. For more information, go here.

Most Popular Car Seat Checks

Parents, grandparents and caretakers know what a pain it can be to install child-safety seats into a car. Imagine doing it over and over and over again. That's what our Car Seat Check team does nearly every week as it tests new cars to find out how easy it is to use the Latch system.

Car Seat Checks are performed by Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays, Cars.com photographer Ian Merritt and Cars.com editor and certified car-seat technician Jennifer Newman.

2012 Chevrolet Traverse: Car Seat Check

This Car Seat Check was originally published in September 2011 on MotherProof.com.

With seating for seven or eight passengers, the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse can easily handle a large family in its three rows. For our Car Seat Check, we tested a Traverse with eight seats.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.

2012 Chevrolet Traverse: Car Seat Check

This Car Seat Check was originally published in September 2011 on MotherProof.com.

With seating for seven or eight passengers, the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse can easily handle a large family in its three rows. For our Car Seat Check, we tested a Traverse with eight seats.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.

Cars.com's $37,000 SUV Shootout

Cars.com's editors continue to dissect some of the most popular car segments in the country. We've tackled midsize sedans, compacts and small crossovers, but what about the vehicles of choice for people needing three rows of seats? The three-row crossover/SUV segment is booming with the entry of the redesigned Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango. However, tried-and-true picks like the Mazda CX-9, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Chevy Traverse held their own in our competition. We even threw in the smaller Kia Sorento. Oh, and they all had to be priced under $37,000 as-tested.

See which one wowed our editors and our real-life test family.

Cars.com $37,000 SUV Shootout

Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse

The top five large crossovers on the market today outsell the top five minivans despite having 20% less space on average, says Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays.  Clearly the market has spoken, but if you’re looking for the best of both worlds, the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse is where it’s at, says Mays, who calls the Traverse the minivan of crossovers.

2012 Chevrolet Traverse Review

GM Introduces Industry-First Front Center Airbag

GM will add a front center airbag to its 2013 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave vehicles. This industry-first airbag deploys from the right side of the driver’s seat and creates a barrier between the two seats in the front row.

Why create a barrier between the two seats? When far-side collisions — a front occupant is involved in a crash on opposite side of where they’re seated — occur, head, chest and spinal injuries can be severe. This happens because far-side occupants are either flung into the other seat or a passenger, if present, causing harm to both occupants, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly 29% of fatalities for belted front occupants in side-impact non-rollover crashes are caused by these incidents, according to NHTSA.

The front center airbag is designed to restrain the driver and front occupant from colliding with each other or other objects in the cabin, and it acts as an energy-absorbing cushion to absorb the colliding vehicle’s reciprocal force.

The airbags will be standard on the 2013 Buick Enclave and standard on GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse when equipped with power seats. The added airbag would give the large crossovers seven airbags, when equipped. All three crossovers already have top safety accolades from NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The center airbag will also help improve roll-over safety, says GM.

Toyota said it’s also working on a center airbag, but it hasn’t released the safety system on a model yet.

Update: GM has cofirmed that the 2013 crossovers will debut a year from now, in the fall of 2012. 

2012 Chevrolet Traverse Video

The 2012 Chevrolet Traverse was a late comer to GM’s quartet of large crossovers — including siblings like the Buick Enclave and defunct Saturn Outlook — but the Bowtie edition has been the most successful with large families. That’s because the Traverse augments a large footprint with a supple ride and strong powertrain, according to Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays.

MotherProof.com Car Seat Check Recap

The 2012 Chevrolet Traverse is a large seven- or eight-seat crossover with easy access to all three rows. But easy access doesn’t guarantee that child-safety seats will fit easily, as MotherProof.com found out in the latest Car Seat Check. The second row in the Traverse can fit only two child-safety seats, and getting to the Latch connectors is somewhat difficult. The third row’s seat belts are a mixed bag, too. Otherwise, you can fit two car seats in the way back. Continue reading more about the Traverse, and the other vehicles tested in the series, at MotherProof.com:

2012 Chevrolet Traverse: Car Seat Check
2011 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab: Car Seat Check
2011 Dodge Challenger: Car Seat Check
2012 Volkswagen Passat: Car Seat Check

Few Big Incentives from Chevy in April

This month, Chevrolet continues to offer a few healthy cash-back offers, but some 0% financing on some of the brand’s large SUVs has been taken away.

Chevy’s slow sellers, such as the Avalanche and HHR, continue to offer 0% financing throughout April. The Tahoe and Suburban switch from 0% financing to a still-attractive 2.9% for 60 months, though both models maintain a $2,000 cash-back deal from last month. No Chevy models increase their cash-back offerings.

Chevy’s popular sellers, like the Cruze and Equinox, don’t offer much in terms of incentives, but both models have somewhat attractive lease deals.

Most incentives expire May 2. Continue reading below for more detailed offerings: