Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Chevrolet Traverse

Watch your back, Honda Pilot — the 2013 Chevrolet Traverse has addressed previous shortcomings and covets the car-based SUV crown. Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder says the new Traverse makes great strides with its interior, particularly in the LTZ trim. A redesigned center control panel, classier looking controls and wood-look trim, soft-touch surfaces with contrast stitching and effective faux aluminum make us forget 2012's already-forgettable black-plastic backdrop. Where the Traverse loses us is its optional touch-screen navigation system that has an undersized screen and imprecise capacitive touch buttons; the ride also feels firmer than before. So is the Pilot getting grounded? Read Wiesenfelder's Traverse review below and decide.

2013 Chevrolet Traverse Review

2013 Chevrolet Traverse Video

When Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder says large-family-vehicle shoppers would be "nuts" not to consider the 2013 Chevrolet Traverse, he means the Traverse-averse literally should seek psychiatric help. Although we weren't crazy about the Traverse in a 2012 three-row crossover comparison, the 2013 model is strong, with improved exterior styling, upgraded interior materials and a comfortable ride in all three rows. Beware, however, of lackluster multimedia controls and a squeaky center console, he cautions. Check out the video above.

Related
2013 Chevrolet Traverse: Up Close
Cars.com’s $37,000 SUV Showdown
Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse

Chevrolet Spark EV to Debut at L.A. Auto Show

Chevrolet is hoping to spark some interest in its new minicar when an electric version of the Spark makes its debut later this month at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.

So far, Chevy's smallest car has been a sales success. "Building on that success, the plug-in electric version of the Spark EV will offer consumers the same package that has made the gasoline-powered model so popular while delivering the technology and performance of pure electric power," the automaker said in a statement.

In addition to the Spark EV, other Chevrolet vehicles expected to be on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, include the new Impala, Malibu Turbo midsize sedan, Sonic RS compact car, Traverse crossover and Camaro Hot Wheels Edition.

Related
Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Chevrolet Spark
2013 Chevrolet Spark EPA-Rated at 38 MPG
2013 Chevrolet Spark, Spark Electric at the 2011 L.A. Auto Show

Hurricane Sandy Recovery: Automakers Pitch In

Million-dollar donations to Hurricane Sandy-relief efforts from high-wattage celebrities like Lady Gaga are guaranteed to make headlines, but automakers are also making major contributions to help those impacted by the storm. Many automakers have made contributions of as much as $1 million, started payment-relief programs and donated vehicles for use in disaster areas. That's in addition to varied discounts, cash-back bonuses and other programs aimed at helping storm victims replace damaged and destroyed cars.

Car-Payment Relief
For the scores of disaster victims facing with massive personal-property losses, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota are offering some leeway with regard to car payments. 

2013 Chevrolet Traverse Video

The bow-tie brand's largest crossover gets an update for 2013. The three-row Chevrolet Traverse gets a more stylish-looking grille along with more exterior chrome trim for an overall polished look.

More 2012 New York Auto Show Coverage

Inside, a new center airbag joins the Traverse's list of standard safety features. Other cabin improvements include higher-quality materials throughout the interior. The center stack has also been updated, with touch-sensitive controls replacing traditional buttons.

GM Plant Closures Signal Product Shift

Now that it’s operating under bankruptcy protection, GM has ramped up the scheduled plant closures it had previously announced. Four assembly plants will be closed this year, impacting current products.

The least surprising closure is the Wilmington, Del., plant that produces the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters and coupes. It's also the most immediate, shutting down in July of this year. The 2010 Pontiac Solstice coupe just went into production at the plant, and company officials have said only 1,000 will be produced. One is already sold to GM executive Bob Lutz, meaning there are only 999 available.

The other three assembly plants and what they build are listed below.

Car Buyer Q&A: 2009 Chevy Traverse

A month ago, 33-year-old Vince Ferrari posted on his personal blog about a bad experience he had trying to buy a new Chevy Malibu. The tale caught fire among consumer blogs, reinforcing many people’s negative feelings toward car dealers. We contacted Vince via Twitter to see if he’d be interested in telling us how his car shopping went after that experience. The Bronx IT professional ended up purchasing a new 2009 Chevy Traverse — that's it pictured above — but from a different dealer.

KickingTires: Why did you decide to buy a new car in this economy?

Vince: Recently, my company merged with another company, and my daily commute doubled.  I wanted something I could depend on a little more than my eight-year-old 2001 Malibu LS (which was, for the most part, a very reliable car for me). The economy didn't really come into it, honestly. My company is stable and I knew I wasn't leaving my job. I've been at the same place for almost 13 years now, so it wasn't a real concern for me. Plus, the deals in general on new cars are pretty good right now. It isn't a fire sale like people exaggerate it to be, but it does seem like a good time to buy.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse

In a world that’s seemingly full of crossover vehicles, one wouldn’t think GM needed yet another when it already has three. But here it is: The Chevrolet Traverse, a crossover that has Malibu-inspired styling and all the pieces that make GM’s other crossovers (besides the Saturn Outlook) so popular. Does it stack up? Kelsey Mays answers that question and more in his review.

2009 Chevrolet Traverse Expert Review

Nuts and Bolts of the 2009 Chevy Traverse

It’s been nearly two years since the first of GM’s full-size crossovers, the Saturn Outlook, hit dealerships. Now comes the fourth model, Chevrolet’s 2009 Traverse. A new look isn’t the only thing the intervening years have produced; at a media event last week in suburban Chicago, vehicle line director Sue Wilson walked us through some of the Traverse’s subtler changes.

Feedback from focus groups, J.D. Power reports and owners of GM’s other crossovers resulted in a number of updates on the Traverse, Wilson said. Among them are overhead hanger hooks in the second and third rows, versus just the third row in the other models; an optional stand-alone backup camera that goes in the rearview mirror; and two-piece side mirrors that show more of the Traverse’s blind spot.

These are “little things” that GM learned along the way, Wilson said. Faced with climbing all the way to the third row, owners weren’t using the hooks to hang their dry cleaning; instead, they simply hung their clothes on the headrest.

GM Crossovers: Hybrids, Consolidation Off the Table For Now

With Chevrolet receiving the fourth of GM’s large crossovers — it’s called the Traverse, and it joins the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave in the lineup — GM has some options on the table. Is there room in the market for all four models? Could a version of the company’s two-mode hybrid system make its way over? With Toyota and Dodge now offering four-cylinder drivetrains in their competing crossovers, will GM follow suit?

We spoke with Sue Wilson, vehicle line director for all four crossovers, at a Chicago-area media event for the Traverse yesterday. Wilson said she’s unaware of any plans for a hybrid version of any of these crossovers, echoing reports last January and more recently that GM is still a ways off from a two-mode hybrid crossover of this size.

What about smaller engines?