H General Motors ανακοίνωσε ότι θα επενδύσει στο εργοστάσιο του St. Louis στο Μιζούρι 380 εκατ. δολάρια έτσι ώστε να κατασκευάσει εκεί ένα νέο μεσαίο pickup και ένα νέο van. H GM θα προσλάβει επιπλέον 1.850 άτομα οι οποίοι θα δημιουργήσουν μια νέα δεύτερη βάρδια που εκτός από τα Chevrolet Express και τα GMC Savana θα κατασκευάζουν εκεί τη νέα γενιά του Chevrolet Colorado αλλά και του GMC Canyon για την αγορά της Αμερικής.
Το Colorado παρουσιάστηκε μέχρι στιγμής σε δύο πρωτότυπα, Chevrolet Colorado concept και Chevrolet Colorado Rally Concept και η GM πρόσφατα έκανε δοκιμές εξέλιξης στη Μπανγκόκ της Ταϊλάνδης. Οι πωλήσεις του αναμένεται να ξεκινήσουν μέσα στο 2011 και στην περιοχή της Ασίας-Ειρηνικού το αυτοκίνητο θα φορά 2.5-λιτρους και 2.8-λίτρων turbo πετρελαιοκινητήρες που θα κατασκευάζονται το εργοστάσιο της GM στη Ταϊλάνδη. Τα αυτοκίνητα που θα προορίζονται για την αγορά της Ασίας και του Ειρηνικού θα κατασκευάζονται στο εργοστάσιο της πόλης Rayong της Ταϊλάνδης.
[Πηγή: General Motors, Autonews]
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All-New Chevrolet Colorado Prepares for Launch
BANGKOK – Chevrolet‘s highly anticipated new-generation Colorado has been put through final testing in Thailand as General Motors prepares to produce the midsize pickup in its Rayong assembly plant.
Engineers have been running final shakedown work on pre-production vehicles in a range of conditions. The new Colorado will be sold in markets across Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and South America.
Thailand will be the first country to introduce the new Colorado. The model lineup will feature crew-cab and extended-cab variants powered by GM’s new fuel-efficient, four-cylinder Duramax diesel engines.
Chevrolet Colorado Chief Engineer Roberto Rempel said his team finessed GM’s successful truck formula to ensure the new Colorado meets local market needs in Southeast Asia and abroad. Rempel and his team lived in Thailand during the Colorado’s development, immersing themselves in the highly competitive truck market and observing how Thais use their vehicles and the driving conditions they experience.
“The hard work for this program has been done, and we are incredibly pleased with the results,” Rempel said. “This is a world-class truck that will appeal to buyers not just in the heavily concentrated truck markets of Southeast Asia, but around the world.
“We know customers of this type of vehicle want a workhorse and a daily-use vehicle all in one, so our product has to deliver. We have benchmarked the toughest, most flexible vehicles around the world,” Rempel said. “When you combine that approach with our detailed consideration of global expectations, we are confident the new Colorado will be a winner.”
The new Colorado has already generated significant worldwide attention, having been showcased in concept form at global auto shows in Thailand, Argentina, Australia and Germany.
In advance of the start of production, GM Thailand’s Rayong manufacturing facility has undergone a $300 million upgrade, including a retooling of the entire vehicle assembly line.
GM’s powertrain plant next door will build the new Colorado’s newly developed 2.5-liter and 2.8-liter diesel engines, which feature overhead cams, turbocharging and durable aluminum cylinder heads for high levels of refinement and durability.
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