It took five long days, hundreds of miles, and more caffeine than anyone wants to admit to, but after days of watching a commercial photo shoot from afar, our photographer finally got a chance to photograph the all-new '07 Chevrolet Silverado as it sprinted out of a car carrier and ran through a car wash. The camera-ready Crew Cab was decked out in the Z71 off-road package and wearing brochure-red paint.
Riding on the GMT900 platform, the Silverado's introduction comes after that of the fullsize SUVs, and up until this moment, has been very well hidden behind miles of black vinyl. Although this was originally scheduled to arrive as an '08 model, Chevrolet has been working at a fast pace, and the Silverado will likely debut this fall, with production starting as early as October. And, as one can clearly see, this is no Tahoe clone but a unique look, including stacked headlamps, which separate the trucks from the SUVs.
We're a bit surprised that the Silverado doesn't have some of the signature styling from the '03 Cheyenne Concept, such as the wraparound glass at the back of the cab, yet we think consumers will be pleasantly surprised with both the styling and car-like refinement that the Silverado is said to have. And, equipment-wise, this Silverado is equipped with a roof-rack and back-up sensors.
Can't Afford That SUV? Burn It and It Might Cost You Even More
The fallout from a weak economy and ever-increasing gas prices continues to strike the heart of the automotive buying public. The latest casualty has been SUV owners who may have bought more vehicles than they could afford, and once gas prices spiked, looked for an easy way out of the payment. One of the ways out has been having the vehicles burned and reported stolen. Committing arson or setting fire to your own vehicle is not illegal, but reporting it as an accidental fire or theft to your insurance company is fraud. These criminal reports have been on the rise at the same pace as gas prices.
According to an Edmunds.com report, nearly 20 percent of all reported arson cases occur within automobiles. The report also cites that from 1998 to 2002, the vehicle arson rate in San Diego County, California, jumped up 34 percent. The report also included information obtained from Robert Rowe, an arson investigator with the City of Downey, California. Rowe had this to say:
"Because of the way the economy has gone, the gas prices skyrocketing the way they have, we started to see a peak (in arsons)," Rowe said. "People who had the gas-guzzlers that got 8 miles per gallon, they started to get hit hard. They didn't want those cars anymore."
The torching of vehicles has spawned criminal rings who specialize in disposing of vehicles via fire. Edmunds reported that a recent police sting operation exposed the level of corruption when an undercover officer posed as an SUV owner who owed more on his loan than what his vehicle was worth and wanted out. The would-be arsonist was caught red-handed after instructing the officer to leave the vehicle at a specific location with the keys and 300 dollars inside. A dashboard-mounted camera caught the transaction on tape.
The loser in all this is the driving public. "You and I pay for it in our premiums," said Robert Rowe, arson investigator for the City of Downey and a member of the task force. "Insurance premiums for everyone increase when crimes [like this] are committed."
Win a Sweet Garage Makeover From Marvel Mystery Oil
Marvel Mystery Oil, the legendary engine additive brand owned by Turtle Wax, announced it's going to unveil a national sweepstakes that will award one lucky consumer a $10,000 dream garage makeover. The sweepstakes starts June 1 and will be promoted at automotive retail stores across the U.S. through in-store shelf hangers and posters. Marvel is launching www.marvelmakeover.com to gather entries and consumer data for the sweepstakes-the new site also features product information, consumer testimonials, and celebrity endorsements.