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 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]

To encourage engineers to push the internal combustion technology forward, Republican Congressman Dan Lungren has introduced a bill that will reward a handsome $1 billion in Federal prize money to the first U.S. automaker that can successfully sell 60,000 mid-size sedans that are capable of achieving 100 mpg on gasoline.

In 2007, the X Prize Foundation held a contest with a similar format called the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize. Participating teams were challenged to create a vehicle that was capable of reaching 100 mpg, travel safely in highway speeds, and emit less than 200 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The winner of the challenge would receive a $10 million reward that will be used to fund the project to become a mass-market vehicle. Unfortunately, none of the vehicles were deemed commercially viable for mass production.

But now that it has been 5 years since the Automotive X Prize, the technology may be closer to our reach if not already attained. However, unlike the Automotive X Prize, Congressman Lungren would only award the winner after 60,000 units of its landmark 100 mpg mid-size sedan have been successfully sold. Not only does the bill ban vehicles of radical shapes and sizes like the Aptera, but 60,000 units is a daunting number that’ll effectively discourage any startup automaker. Compounded with the restriction to U.S. automakers only, the bill suggests a three-way battle between GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

While the bill does not necessarily suggest that a hybrid system is off limits, the aim is to encourage technological advances in the internal combustion gasoline engine, which rules out diesel technology as well. Given the parameters, perhaps earning the prize is much more difficult than it seems.

How are you going to survive the end of the world on December 21? According to Chevrolet‘s new Super Bowl ad, the only way to make it is by driving a Chevy Silverado.

The 30-second Super Bowl commercial takes a look into the very near future to give us a glimpse of what’s going to happen once the Mayan apocalypse comes to pass. One lucky survivor emerges from the rubble in his Chevy Silverado to survey the damage (and it looks like we met our end at the hands of aliens and giant robots). He meets with his friends at a specified meeting point… well, except for Dave. He was driving a Ford and didn’t make it.

And it looks like the rumors are true – Twinkies can survive anything, as our fortunate heroes find out. However, it doesn’t look like any women survived the apocalypse. You can discuss amongst yourselves if this is a positive or negative consequence.

It’s a pretty funny ad, so watch it after the jump. Our only critique is that the ad could have used a few zombies to make it even more realistic. Yep, you can never have enough zombies in a car commercial.

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The Super Bowl only comes once and year, and it brings with it a heated advertising race between car companies to try and captivate the huge audience that watches the big game with eye catching commercials. These are AutoGuide’s picks for the 10 best commercials of this year’s Super Bowl in order from worst to best. And lucky you, there are so many this year we actually left the bad ones out.

You would think with all the damage control Chevrolet has to do after their share of bad press on the Volt that they would be able to come up with a better, more creative ad for this year’s Super Bowl.

Nonetheless, Chevy will be presenting your run-of-the-mill commercial featuring aliens from another planet, or galaxy far, far away that are interested in the technology behind the Chevy Volt. Unfortunately it doesn’t really say too much about what makes the Volt a great, but more importantly safe, vehicle – other than the fact that “it’s electric, and when I need to go farther it runs on gas.”

We have to admit that Chevy is going to have to really step up their game if they hope to change the general public’s perception of their Volt. Aliens just won’t cut it these days.

Check out the odd commercial after the break.

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Rick Hendrick, owner of four NASCAR teams under Hendrick Motorsports, picked up the first Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in person at GM’s Oshawa Assembly Plant yesterday as production of the 580-hp, 556 lb-ft of torque American sports car kicked off.

Hendrick is clearly a die-hard Camaro enthusiast, having purchased the first 2010 Camaro Coupe, the first 2011 Camaro Convertible and now the first Camaro ZL1 available for public sale all through Barrett-Jackson auctions. Even better, all three of his purchases had all proceeds benefiting local charities.

The first ZL1 to ever leave the production line features a black exterior with the optional Exposed Carbon Fiber Weaved Hood Insert and power Sunroof. The interior was packed with black leather with suede microfiber inserts on the seat and dash and also on the steering wheel and shift knob.

“Through a disciplined approach and a relentless focus on execution, the Oshawa team has worked efficiently to ensure a successful, high-quality launch of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1,” stated Dan Hermer, plant manager at the Oshawa Assembly Plant.

The Chevy Camaro ZL1 starts at $58,000.

GALLERY: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Chevrolet has been on a marketing spree with their new compact Sonic, pulling off antics left and right including having Rob Dyrdek kickflip a Sonic and taking one skydiving over the Arizona desert.

For this year’s Super Bowl ad, Chevrolet looks to share all of the Sonic stunts it pulled off the past year which ranges from skydiving to bungee jumping to kick flipping and performing with OK GO in creating a music a video. While clearly these stunts aren’t made to inspire you to do wild and crazy things with your Sonic, it does a great job in generating buzz surrounding the new GM compact as an exciting and exhilarating vehicle to own and drive.

Chevrolet will be one of 11 automakers running ads during the Super Bowl this year and is expected to have a total of seven commercials on Sunday. Three will be during the big game, two before and two after. Watch the ad after the break.

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Sales of the Chevy Volt are about to spike in California as GM prepares to introduce a new version of the green machine that will gain access to the state’s car pool lanes.

The current Volt does not meet the requirements to qualify for a high-occupancy-vehicle lane sticker, despite having a zero-emissions range of 25 to 40 miles. Beyond that range its gasoline engine kicks in, which the state says pollutes too much to gain access to the lanes, which have historically made exceptions for green machines like the Toyota Prius or fully electric cars. The new lower-emissions Volt will feature modifications to the catalytic converter to help burn exhaust gases more thoroughly.

Much of the success of the Prius in California is believed to come from that fact that it used to qualify for HOV lane status. Chevy is no doubt hoping achieving similar access will boost Volt sales in the state, which currently accounts for roughly a quarter of the 7,671 Volts sold last year. In particular, this convenience feature is expected to attract a new second-wave of buyers.

We first reported on this development back in November, and according to GM spokesman Rob Peterson the new lower-emissions Volts should be in California dealers by March.

[Source: AutoNews]

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? This custom classic Chevy Camaro combines vintage good looks with cutting-edge technology, allowing it to accelerate, turn and stop better than the majority of cars on the road today.

This frame-up built Camaro Pro Touring features an LS3 V8 powerplant under the hood and could be yours for the price of $129,900. It only sports 409-miles on the odometer, and its House of Kolor Galaxy Gray exterior is subtle yet classy.

The car originated from Pennsylvania, but was shipped over to The Installation Center out in Cleveland, Georgia where it began its impressive rebuild process. The majority of panels were replaced with high-quality restoration pieces before the vehicle made its way to Classic Cars Southeast in Lebanon, Tennessee where the body was fine-tuned to showroom fit and finish. The Galaxy Gray was then meticulously sprayed onto the vehicle while a set of House of Kolor Laser Red stripes contrasts the otherwise subtle exterior.

Under the hood however is a pristine 480-hp GM Performance Parts LS376/480 Hot Cam V8 powerplant. Cooling on the V8 has been upgraded with a Griffin polished aluminum radiator, an electric fan and fresh new hoses. Ceramic long-tube headers and a true  dual stainless steel exhaust system expels out all the fumes.

The suspension on this retro resale has been overhauled with products from Hotchkis, Chris Alston’s Chassisworks, and Varishock while the brakes are courtesy of G-street. On each of the four corners are 17-inch Foose Nitrous Chrome Legend wheels sporting Fuzion ZR1 rubber. The interior is traditional ’68 Camaro but has received some custom accents from M&M Hot Rod Interiors and Marquez Design. There is even some good ‘ol Kenwood speakers with Alpine amplifiers to give the Camaro a more sonorous cabin when you’re not enjoying the tone of the exhaust.

GALLERY: 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

[Source: RK Motors]