Recently, we posted a blog about a Chevy Silverado hitting a million miles. Soon after this went live we received a phone call from a gentleman named Frank. Frank had an amazing story to tell about his Chevy Silverado nearing 1,300,000 miles! We were honored to hear his story and repost it for everyone to read.

This is a Chevrolet Million Mile (plus) story… told by Frank.

“Frank, I think I found the truck for you! ” Jim Thornton told me over the phone. Nobody could have known the significance of those words uttered by Jim, in June of 1996. I was, (and still am) an independent seafood and steak distributor in need of a newer truck at the time. I had over a quarter million miles on my then current truck. Jim being retired could take time to search out a suitable truck for me. He located it at Scaffiddi Motors in Steven’s Point; Wi. The Service Manager had used it as his personal truck when I purchased it with 41,000 miles on the clock. The original owner bought it new and when he passed away – his widow traded it in. All of the maintenance records were included when I bought the truck. I got a loan for 3 years and at the end of 3 years I had way over 300,000 miles on the truck. Now, I hate debt, and here I had just made my last payment on a truck with way over 300,000 miles and I didn’t know anybody with that many miles on anything, ever!

So, I had to make it last. To that end, I developed a plan. First off I’m a consistent driver, easy on the gas and easy off of the gas. I’m easy while braking and warm up my engine thoroughly before starting out. I’m also very consistent with my preventive maintenance and always go to the same facility for my truck’s service. I believe all of these things are important to extracting all of the value out of my truck. My truck is powered by one of the Truly Legendary Engines of all time, the Small-Block Chevy engine. When it’s 350 engine was built at the Van Slyke Road Plant inFlint, Mi. (since torn down) it was assembled with great care and attention to detail. I drive fromMinn. through the U.P. ofMichigan, Northern Indiana,Illinois, as well as most ofWisconsin. I’ve towed a trailer for a good part of my truck’s operational life, and never give it a second thought that my Chevy might let me down.

When I finally realized that this truck was in for the long haul, I made sure to get lifetime replacement parts when things wore out. Things like exhaust systems, alternators, starters. Some have said that since parts have been replaced that the truck is no longer original, and therefore it’s no big deal. What IS a big deal is that my truck’s engine has never been overhauled! It has its, original bearings, rings, pistons, valves, guides, gaskets and seals and cam. It also has its original timing chain! This was confirmed by GM Engineers in July 2008, as well as June, 2011.

My truck still drives smoothly, idles smoothly and still turns heads. I have retained all of my records, receipts and logs. I use an engine additive with PTFE and an oil system cleaner as part of my regular maintenance protocol without fail. I drove 1400 miles in June 2011 to take part in a film project for General Motors celebrating 100 years of Chevrolet. I told the interviewer there was no way to fit my story into a 45 second commercial. I added, I have such confidence in my Chevy that I just spent over $ 1,100.00 on new tires, wheel bearings, bushings, brakes etc. on the front end because I plan on driving it and relying on it … 1,289, 882 miles, and counting!

The 2013 Chevrolet Volt will be able to drive 8.6 percent further solely on electric power, but recharging the battery will take slightly longer, General Motors said today.

The 2013 model will be able to travel 38 miles on a single charge — three miles more than the 2012 model. Coupled with its extended-range gasoline engine, the Volt’s total range will be about 380 miles, GM said. When the battery is exhausted, the gasoline engine will power the car for about 340 more miles..

The automaker also said that the miles-per-gallon equivalent will increase from 94 mpg to 98 mpg.

GM slightly altered the composition of the Volt’s battery, allowing to it store 16.5 kilowatt hours of energy, up from 16 in the 2012 model.

Bill Wallace, GM’s director of global battery systems engineering, said the increase was achieved by minor modifications to the battery’s composition.

“The best way to explain what we’ve done at the cell level is to compare it to a cake batter recipe,” Wallace said in a statement. “Sometimes if you use more sugar and less vanilla you get a better tasting cake. We’ve done some work at the cell level to modify the ‘ingredients’ to make a better end result.”

But the battery will take longer to charge. Using a 240-volt outlet, the 2013 model can be fully recharged in 4 hours and 15 minutes — about a15 minute increase from the current model. It will take 10 hours to charge the vehicle from a 120-volt outlet, a half-hour increase. The battery cells are manufactured by supplier LG Chem, and the batteries are assembled by GM at a plant in suburban Detroit.

GM sold 7,057 Volts during the first five months of 2012. It sold 2,184 during the same time period last year.

The 2013 Volt goes on sale in August, GM says.

Media Source:

gm.com

chevy.com

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco is the first and only all-new 2013 midsize car to receive double honors for safety including a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a 2012 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Both are the highest ratings possible.

The IIHS tests vehicles to determine how well they protect occupants in front and side crash tests, in rollovers via a roof strength test, and simulated rear impacts to evaluate seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries. The Malibu Eco achieved a “good” score in all four types of tests performed and has standard electronic stability control, which the IIHS requires for Top Safety Pick designation.

In achieving the 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score, the Malibu Eco was tested under NHTSA’s revised New Car Assessment Program. The overall score is based on frontal and side crash tests in addition to evaluation for rollover resistance. Under the rating system, performances in three test segments are combined mathematically into an “Overall Vehicle Score.”

“With the Malibu Eco, Chevrolet has earned seven 2012 TOP SAFETY PICK  awards,” said IIHS President Adrian Lund. “The IIHS and NHTSA results demonstrate GM’s commitment to state-of-the-art crash protection.”

Media Source:

chevy.com

gm.com

What a way to spend a Saturday morning; watching North Columbus Sports play baseball. There were kids just starting to learn the game and others that looked like all-star players. Seeing the Clinic Leagues (ages 6-8) was so much fun! The expressions on their faces when hitting the ball and taking off to first base was priceless. The Boys’ Clinic League was just starting to slide into bases, and both boys and girls were shouting chants and cheers the entire game. The Junior Boys’ and Girls’ League was a great age that really showed the progression of the hard work the coaches and parents put in. The kids had a great grasp on the game and their increasing competitiveness was apparent. Senior leagues and up (ages 12-18), were bursting with major talent! Everyone looked to be on their “A Game” talking strategy and approach. You were easily drawn into the seriousness of the baseball game with this group of kids.

Jim Johnson, the Clinic Boys’ League Commissioner, gave us the grand tour of the baseball fields and showed us the plans to makeover “Field 6”. With the opportunity Jack Maxton and Chevy Youth Baseball have provided them, they have the chance to raise up to $10,000 to give the field a major face lift. They were very grateful for everything Jack Maxton and Chevrolet has been able to do for them! Also, after meeting with the President of North Columbus Sports, Gerry Deluca, we learned the leagues are heavily invested in raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation ®. They have already raised thousands of dollars for the organization and plan to do more. Jack Maxton Chevrolet will be out volunteering with North Columbus Sports for the fundraising events for Make a Wish Foundation ®, and hope to see you there for a great day of baseball! Stay tuned for dates and times…

www.jackmaxton.com

Behind the scenes, in wind tunnels, design studios, labs and on the test track, General Motors Co. engineers have been working the past few years to develop the all-new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which hits the streets this year.

To get the vehicle just right, GM tapped four of its female engineers — and moms, too — to help redesign the Malibu. The popular family car will be sold not just here in the U.S., but around the world in nearly 100 countries.

Women buy slightly more than half of cars in the U.S. and participate in 80 percent of family car-buying decisions, according to industry statistics provided by GM.

It’s not uncommon for automakers to turn to women engineers to help design vehicles, auto industry experts say.

The new Malibu, GM’s first global midsize sedan, has special touches from women engineers who ensured the gamut of child safety seats work in the vehicle, helped boost fuel economy and made it quieter so moms — and dads — can hear their children in the backseat.

And these engineers aren’t who you might expect.

Single mom and aerodynamics development engineer Suzanne “Suzy” Cody and a colleague spent more than 400 hours in the wind tunnel at the Warren Tech Center to reduce drag on the car.

Cody, who sports blue hair and in her spare time laces up roller skates to compete as “Shovey Camaro” with the Bath City Roller Girls, led efforts to make the car more slippery through the wind, which helped gain 2.5 mpg in highway driving over the Malibu’s predecessor.

As a mother of two young boys, Cody said fuel economy is important to her and she knows how important it is to families.

“You’re worried about money, and when you can do small things to a car like shape the exterior, it doesn’t cost the program any money to have the right exterior shape because you do it far enough in advance,” she said. “You can affect the car in a way that doesn’t cost the company any money, but saves the consumer money in the long run.”

Quiet ride

The new Malibu also uses new materials to help it earn the Malibu’s quietest title to date.

Materials were placed behind the instrument panels, in panels, doors and in carpet to absorb noise. The Malibu also uses acoustic laminated glass to cut noise from big semis that zip by and interrupt conversations with kids, said Kara Gordon, a vehicle performance engineer for noise and vibration acoustics.

“We’ve got voice-recognition technologies, we’ve got all this stuff we’ve loaded into the car and if it’s not quiet enough, it won’t work,” said Gordon, who spent hours in a lab listening to Malibu noise recordings.

The 2013 Malibu Eco, which features eAssist technology to boost fuel economy to 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway, is already on sale, with a starting price tag of $25,995. In April, it sold 1,600 units. Additional Malibu models will be on sale later this year.

‘Very safe vehicle’

Child safety engineer Julie Kleinert, a 27-year engineering veteran who tests child safety seats and works to improve interior designs to more easily accommodate them, also tested the air bags in the new Malibu.

The mother and grandmother also volunteers with Safe Kids USA’s Buckle Up to teach people about proper child seat installation.

“Three out of four car seats are not installed correctly,” she noted.

The Malibu’s Vehicle Line Manager, Tracy L. Mack-Askew, has already logged nearly 40,000 air miles in the past year flying back and forth to Kansas to GM’s Fairfax plant to ensure Malibu production happens on time. The Malibu also will be built beginning this summer at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

“It’s a very safe vehicle,” said Mack-Askew, a mother of two. “We have 10 standard air bags, the latest and greatest in safety technology.”

Media Source:
chevy.com
www.jackmaxton.com
gm.com

Picture Credit http://wot.motortrend.com/women-at-work-2013-chevrolet-malibu-design-influenced-by-female-engineers-201399.html

Jack Maxton Chevrolet will salute the nation’s active duty and retired service members in May by providing an exclusive “Honor” badge to customers who buy an eligible vehicle through the General Motors Military Discount program.

“It’s so good to see companies like and Chevrolet step up to celebrate our service members,” said Mel Otte, a disabled Air Force veteran who spent 13 years in the service.  “Every time I look at my Chevrolet honor badge, I pause to remember my brethren, many of whom have sacrificed their lives in service to our country.”

“The men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces have given so much for so many,” said Alan Batey, vice president, Chevrolet sales and service. “This is one small way Chevrolet can say ‘Thank you.’”

During Military Appreciation Month, Jack Maxton will install, free upon request, the exclusive “Honor” badge – consisting of a yellow ribbon and “Honor” script – as a subtle recognition of military service to customers who buy an eligible Chevrolet through the GM Military Discount program.

The GM Military Discount is available to active, reserve and retired members and spouses of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, National Guard and Coast Guard. The discount, ranging from $400 to $4,000, is available on most Chevrolet cars, trucks and crossovers, depending on the model and options selected. The discount can be combined with most current incentives.

Since 2010, Jack Maxton and Chevrolet  have collected more than 103,000 lightly used devices for Cell Phones for Soldiers, and converted them to 6.2 million minutes of free talk time for troops serving overseas. Jack Maxton will be collecting for Cell Phones for Soldiers once again, through the end of July. Please call 1-877-331-1628 to get more information on how you can donate your old phones.

Media Source:

http://www.jackmaxton.com

http://www.jackmaxton.com/content.cfm?contentId=793

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Apr/0425_military 

Ladies, let’s explain sexuality to the world (so they hear us).

Beauty has been defined for us as women, of all races and ethnicities.  Here are some voices contributing to reclaiming sexuality and beauty.  Raise your voices, friends.

Take me to BIG TOUCH. 

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