Traverse

GM's Lansing, Mich., plant meets Energy Star standards

General Motors isn't just interested in building energy-efficient vehicles; the company now says its Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant is the company's first U.S. facility to become Energy Star certified. This means the plant has met strict energy performance levels set by the EPA from 2010 to 2011.

The Michigan plant, which builds the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse, was designed to meet the optimum energy efficiency in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning without using steam, the company said in a press release.

The plant, which opened in 2006, has energy and water conservation features … Read more

GM invests $325 million in Warren, Mich. plant

General Motors' latest investment will provide tools and equipment to support production of future electric vehicle components. The company announced on Friday that it will invest $325 million in its Warren, Mich., plant and create or retain 418 jobs.

The plant's current 679 employees produce transmissions for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The 2.1-million-square-foot plant, equivalent to the area of 15 city blocks, produced more than 338,000 transmissions in 2010, the company said in a press release.

"This investment in the future recognizes the excellent work force … Read more

Web apps attacked every two minutes, study finds

The average Web-based application is hit by a cyberattack once every two minutes, says a report out today by security firm Imperva.

Detailing its findings in its "Web Application Attack Report" (PDF) for July, Imperva found that Web applications are attacked around 27 times per hour. Monitoring the Internet from December 2010 through May 2011, the security firm uncovered and categorized more than 10 million individual attacks targeting both business and government sites.

Automated cyberattacks accounted for a huge number of attempted breaches. The report discovered that attack traffic was characterized by quick spikes of high volumes followed … Read more

Natural bioplastic material could make cars biodegradable

From alternative fuels to soy-foam seats, carmakers are chipping away at the carbon trail their vehicles leave behind. To make their cars even more green, soon they could incorporate car parts that are compostable.

Solegear, a Canadian green chemistry start-up, has made the first 100-percent natural bioplastic that is derived from plants. Its completely biodegradable moldable Polysole product can be used to replace the hard plastic parts of a car's interior, such as knobs, steering wheels, and door panels. Until now, the bioplastic industry standard has been able to mix 40- to 60-percent biomaterial with petroleum- based plastic, but … Read more

Going low tech with the 2011 Chevrolet Traverse

Last week, we took a look at Hertz Rent-A-Car's NeverLost navigation system, but in order to do so we had to first rent a car, which is how we found ourselves behind the wheel of this 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. Now, we spend a good deal of time reviewing cars that are packed to the gills with cabin tech, but we've never turned down a chance to check out even a low-tech ride. With that in mind, we decided to check out what this seven-passenger SUV had to offer.

Fleet vehicles--which is what rental cars are--are often of low … Read more

General Motors recalls 1.5 million vehicles

General Motors today announced its recalling 1.5 million 2007-2009 model cars, trucks, and crossovers to disable a heated washer fluid system module that could pose a fire risk. Because the feature will be disabled, GM will make a voluntary payment of $100 to the owner or lessee of each vehicle.

There are no known injuries or crashes related to the condition, according to a GM news release.

"While our analysis shows the number of incidents is very small compared with the number of vehicles on the road, we want our customers to have complete peace of mind," … Read more

New Chevys offer fuel-saving, six-speed automatic transmissions

In an effort to increase fuel economy, General Motors announced that the Chevrolet Cruze will be available with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. With either choice, the Cruze will deliver impressive fuel economy and performance, the company said in a press release.

The Cruze Eco model is expected to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 10 seconds and deliver a class-leading 40 miles per gallon on the highway when equipped with the manual transmission (estimates for the Cruze Eco with an automatic transmission will be available closer to launch).

"Our advanced six-speed … Read more