According to a statement by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s monthly sales of passenger-vehicles suffered its steepest decline in more than seven years due to a Lunar New Year holiday season hiatus that deprived dealers of a week’s worth of sales. Figures indicated that sales fell to 1.16 million units in January, a 24 percent decrease from the year before. According to five analysts from Bloomberg News, sales were projected to drop 18 percent.

Great Wall Securities Co. analyst Ran Fei said, “Even though the actual holidays were five working days, some dealerships took the opportunity to close their stores for a longer time. The numbers are disappointing.” Compounding the auto sales slump in the Chinese market, the Chinese government also estimated that holiday sales at the nation’s main retailers and restaurants rose at their slowest pace since the 2009 financial crisis.

Are these signs an indication that the world’s largest and fastest growing automotive market is showing economic resistance? Despite these statistics, Ran Fei insists that “Car demand is stable. There’s no indication of any changes on that front.” China’s Passenger Car Association also believes that the Chinese economy is fundamentally sound and interprets the auto sales number as a mere holiday season distortion. The Passenger Car Association expects a 30 percent rise in sales for February.

Huatai Securities Co. analyst Chen Liang adds, “Demand is still there and consumers in the smaller, less developed cities will still have a growing need for cars. These numbers don’t change my outlook for the year.”

In January, GM reported an 8 percent decline in China sales, its first Chinese sales decline in six months. Chevrolet sales suffered a 20 percent hit to 54,399 units. According to Ford, its China sales fell a staggering 42 percent last month. Bucking the trend, Luxury German brands BMW and Audi both posted higher sales, enjoying a 30 percent and 23 percent gain respectively.

IHS Automotive Shanghai analyst Namrita Chow provided this explanation, “Prior to the Chinese New Year, Chinese consumers who are looking to enhance their prestige and status symbol have chosen high-end luxury brands.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Ever wondered what a Cruze would look like if it had some more trunk space? Today, Chevrolet has revealed its Cruze station wagon before its official appearance next month at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show.

These pictures show the wagon with the same clean looks that the Cruze sedan and hatchback have, and sporting a new set of alloy rims. Also new for the station wagon is the optional 1.7L diesel engine with start-stop technology.

Unsurprisingly, at 184.2-inches long, the Cruze station wagon is bigger than both the Cruze hatchback (177.5-inches long) and the Cruze sedan (180.9-inches long.)

Trunk space is what talks in the world of station wagons, and Chevrolet says if you pack the trunk up to the window, you’re looking at 17.6 cubic feet of trunk space. If you still need more space in the back, you can drop the back seats and enjoy a total space of 52.9 cubic feet of space.

The full reveal of the station wagon will take place at the Geneva Auto Show, where Chevrolet will show us updates to the Cruze’s front fascia, and interior. Also, hopefully Chevrolet will comment on the Cruze station wagon’s availability in other markets than Europe.

As of now there is no talk of bringing the stretched out Cruze to North America.

10. Chevy Impala: 14M units sold

The numbers are always changing and a new list of the Top 10 best-selling vehicles in history, compiled by 24/7 Wall St. has a new model on top.

There are some surprises on the list, but for the most part it all makes sense. Whether they’ve been in production for a long time or they’re reasonably priced worldwide, the top 10 best-selling cars of all time might not be the most exciting, but are clearly the most popular throughout history.

The Chevrolet Impala is the only GM vehicle on the list and has quite the history since hitting the market 54 years ago. Starting its life as a large two-door performance coupe, the Impala evolved into a versatile sedan. Or as we like to call it, a rental car. Ironically, it isn’t actually offered as a coupe anymore, which seems like a distant memory after 10 generations of upgrades.

The band OK Go is known for its funky music videos. This time around, OK Go has teamed up with Chevrolet for its newest viral video. But instead of using choreographed moves on a treadmill, the band is using a Chevy Sonic to play instruments.

In order for the Chevy Sonic to play instruments on the bands latest single, “Needing/Getting,” a few modifications had to be added. This included installing retractable pneumatic arms that would hit instruments as the Sonic drove by them. To make this video happen, it took four months of prep work, four days of filming, stunt driving lessons, two miles of track and 1000 instruments set up along the course.

It already looks like this video is a hit – over four million hits on YouTube and counting. Watch the video after the jump and let us know what you think.

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As if winning Super Bowl XLVI and becoming the MVP of the game wasn’t enough, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was also handed the keys to a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible Centennial Edition.

The MVP Award winner was chosen through a media panel and fan vote on www.superbowl.com during the game, and those that watched the events unfold during the big game probably knew the younger Manning would be MVP once the game was over and the Giants had won. Now he’ll get to enjoy the 6.2L V8 with 436-hp and 424 lb-ft of torque in a limited, black-on-black Centennial edition model to celebrate 100 years of Chevrolet history.

Those who watched the post-game ceremony probably got a good laugh at how Manning didn’t seem to really acknowledge that he had won a car. In fact, the announcer had to reiterate a couple of times just to get Manning’s attention to hand him over the keys. But we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt; considering he just won his second Super Bowl, proved he was an elite quarterback and, well, probably didn’t care too much about the Corvette.

GALLERY: Eli Manning / Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible

Despite the hype and sometimes controversy surrounding the Chevrolet Volt, one aspect that’s been decidedly overlooked, is the fact that from the outset it was designed to incorporate future upgrades.

During a three-day teardown by Munro & Associates at their Troy, Michigan based headquarters, representatives from the news agency Reuters were invited to witness the process and discovered some interesting facts about the Volt, specifically relating to its battery pack.

Examining the circuit boards, Munro’s CEO, Sandy Munro, remarked “this is, without doubt, the most advanced board I’ve seen General Motors put on and it’s got room to grow.”

John Scott-Thomas, an engineer with UMB TechInsights, also present during the teardown, said, in reference to a board containing 32-bit Freescale Semiconductor chips from the Volt’s battery inverter, ”there are places here where you can see that it looks as though you should be able to put an integrated circuit and there’s nothing there.”

Such commentary clearly indicates that down the road, GM plans to add additional circuits, with the goal of improving both range and performance, in fact, that was exactly what company engineer Doug Parks told Reuters during a recent interview.

However, Parks also said that despite the Volt employing double the number of Freescale chips found in a conventional internal combustion engined vehicle, GM deliberately played it safe when designing the car, with the view that future batteries would be considerably more efficient.

Although the Volt has come under recent criticism, following a NHTSA probe that showed coolant leaking from the battery pack could cause fires, GM is introducing a strengthened structure around the battery pack to prevent it from happening in the future.

It’s also likely, that given the amount of time and money invested in the Volt so far, it probably won’t be surprising if many of the features incorporated into the car’s battery pack show up in other GM electric and Hybrid vehicles, since not only will it make the technology more profitable, but having the ability to upgrade battery systems will also go a long way to addressing consumer concerns about EV/Hybrid longevity and practicality.

[Source: Auto News]

Did you think that every automaker’s secrets were revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit? Think again.

At least ten new models will debut at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which kicks-off this Wednesday, February 8th. Here’s a quick round up of what to expect:

Acura

The ILX Sports Sedan will debut, and replace the TSX. The new ILX will be based on Honda’s Civic platform, and share the powertrain choices. Additionally, the ILX will show off three engines, including a Hybrid. The ILX will be targeted towards a younger crowd, and is being called a “gateway” to the luxury brand lineup.

Joining the ILX will be a new RDX. The popular SUV will be redesigned and will show off a wider track, a longer wheelbase and a new V6 engine. The RDX will be showing off some new technologies as well, including Pandora Internet Radio, and a Text-to-Speech SMS voice texting.

See the rest of our Chicago Auto Show preview below:

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Despite Ford’s efforts to stop GM, the apocalypse-surviving Chevy Silverado commercial aired last night during the Super Bowl.

According to GM, the advertisement was intended as a “good-humored” spoof on the Mayan calendar predictions. Depicting a band of Silverado owners that are navigating across a “completely over-the-top, outrageous version of the devastation and destruction predicted to occur this year by the Mayan calendar,” the ad also features giant attack robots, meteors, and frogs that are falling from the sky. The punch line is when the gang of Silverado owners realized one of their friends did not survive because they drove a Ford rather than “the longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road.”

Ford took issue with the ad and we now know what the company said in a formal letter sent to GM requesting for the ad to be pulled. Representing lawyer Lynne M. Matuszak wrote, “Ford demands that Chevrolet immediately cease and desist from making any unsubstantiated and disparaging claims regarding Ford’s pickup trucks.” Matuszak’s letter further demanded that GM, “permanently remove the commercial from its website, its YouTube and Facebook pages and any other internet sites.”

Ford’s letter then warned, “If Chevrolet does not comply with the above terms prior to the start of the Super Bowl, then Ford will take all appropriate steps to enforce and protect its reputation.”

Taking it a step further, Ford called out the Silverado’s safety record, noting that the 2012 Ford F-150 earned an IIHS Top Safety pick while the Silverado received less than impressive side impact, rear crash, and rollover results.

GM’s global chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick and GM are committed to broadcasting the ad and sharing it on YouTube. Joel Ewanick said, ”We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road. The ad is a fun way of putting this claim in the context of the apocalypse. We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.”

Like Coca Cola versus Pepsi, the clash of Ford vs. GM will last for many years to come. We will be expecting a humorous and entertaining rebuttal ad from Ford soon.

[Source: Detroit News]

Why not watch the ad again below:

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Things just got mighty interesting with the Super Bowl ads, with Ford sending a cease-and-desist over to both General Motors and NBC in hopes that the Chevrolet Silverado apocalypse ad won’t air during the big game.

It’s probably too little, too late considering the commercial has already been seen several million times on the Internet, but the impact it could have being played during the big game clearly still worries Ford. The American automaker has asked NBC to pull the $7-million, one-minute ad from the Super Bowl but it appears that NBC will not be respecting that request. At the time of this writing, the ad will still be played and we can’t imagine NBC pulling it at this point in time.

GM Global Chief Marketing Officer, Joel Ewanick, is clearly finding the situation a little on the lighter side, releasing this in a statement: ”We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize,” Ewanick said. “In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.”

Ford spokesman Mike Levine has confirmed that Ford did send a letter to Chevy in regards to the ad and that Ford has a gripe with the durability claims that GM is putting out about their products.

In case you’ve missed the ad, check it out after the break.

[Source: Yahoo! Autos]

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Now this is a true gem: A 1975 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth with only 291 actual miles on the odometer and is one of just 2,061 produced for the 1975 model year. And it could now be yours for just $37,900.

This is quite possibly one of the lowest, if not the lowest, mile survivor Cosworth in existence and features all original, non-repaired condition body that is still mint thanks to immaculate care and maintenance that was given to it throughout its life. Under the hood is a 2.0L engine with 110-hp, which may not sound like much these days, but made the Vega Cosworth one of the hottest performing cars back in 1975. The classic motor is mated to an original Seginaw four-speed manual transmission.

For wheels, the ’75 Cosworth features 13-inch British-made, gold-painted rollers with Goodyear Custom Steelgard Radials. But what is really telling about the condition of the car is its immaculate interior, featuring an all-black shade with custom bucket seats that show little to no wear. The speedometer tops out at 120-mph while a Cosworth-exclusive 8,000-RPM tachometer can be seen in the dash. Everything inside the cabin of the Cosworth is as expected, given just how little use this vehicle got in its lifetime.

The lucky buyer of this classic will be getting more than just the car and its history, it’ll also come with the original build sheet, two original window stickers, the car’s original owner’s manuals and warranty information, a factory flier, a service and overhaul manual, and a print out of a tech article which discusses the Cosworth and its engine in detail.

GALLERY: 1975 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth

[Source: RK Motors]