Car WTFs
GM’s Desperate Attempt to Hype Up 2016 Chevy Volt Cannot Be Camouflaged

Yes, I know. I swore that I would leave the Volt alone after sounding the smug alert on the Chevy Volt Owners Facebook page, but after seeing the latest press release from General Motors, that promise must be broken. I refuse to sit idly by as GM calls the styling of the next-generation 2016 Chevy Volt “one of the automotive world’s best-kept secrets.” Doing so would make me a coward.
Before I begin, it’s worth noting that if GM casually mentioned that the upcoming new Volt has one of the most confidential designs in the auto world (SPOILER ALERT: It doesn’t.) in a press release sentence buried between a couple of other, more truthful sentences, I probably wouldn’t have taken the time to call them out. However, their claim was far from discreet.
Instead, the shameless reference to the Volt’s top secret new look was published as the opening sentence in the aforementioned press release, which, mind you, was exclusively dedicated to informing the masses about the Volt’s top secret new look.
You know, because top secret.
“We are like a dress maker, and the car is our model.” – GM Camouflage Engineer Lionel Perkins
“Each car is unique. We are like a dress maker, and the car is our model,” said GM Camouflage Engineer Lionel Perkins. “No two models are the same. We need to make the right dress that fits the body we are dealing with.”
By layering camouflage, altering the design of the black and white swirls and affixing bubble wrap to the exterior, the dress makers claim that they are able to better “confuse prying eyes.” Don’t flatter yourselves, GM. It’s the Chevy Volt for Christ’s sake.
When most new vehicles that are actually deserving of ever-changing camouflage hit the streets for road tests, keeping them from the automotive paparazzi is nearly impossible. The veteran photographers are aware of the most common testing tracks and will stake out the locations, going as far as to hide in trees to get the shots that are worthy of pleasing online enthusiasts.
I have a hard time believing that anyone out there is willing to climb trees to snap a picture of the Volt, and the fact that GM had to go out of their way to distribute a press release highlighting its new design is further evidence of that. It’s clear that the 2016 Chevy Volt is not getting the press that GM wanted it to, so now they are unveiling their not-so-secret camouflage methods in a depressing effort to bring attention to the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
If you’re interested in laying those “prying eyes” of yours on the most mindlessly-kept secret in the automotive world, you’ll have to wait until the Detroit Auto Show in January, which is when GM plans to publicly peel the dress of the 2016 Chevy Volt off for the first time.
However, based on the automaker’s desperate, attention-seeking press release, I would imagine that we will be getting a couple of upskirt shots before then.
Car WTFs
The Most Interesting Aspects of the Dodge Demon

Many of us thought that the Dodge Challenger Hellcat was about as intimidating as a car could get. After all, people couldn’t hardly get them off the lot without crashing them when they first came out. Then Dodge upped the ante with the new Demon. But aside from the raw power, there are some other interesting aspects of the new Demon.
Check out the video below for a full rundown of just how unique this car is.
Car WTFs
Mercedes Names May Be Getting More Confusing

Think you finally have your Mercedes names mastered? Well, a new challenge appears to be coming, friend.
How to now identify Mercedes models by name
Some moves in the northwoods of Canada by the brand appear to signal a change in the naming conventions that will be used for Mercedes and AMG models. Candian trademarks have been filed for A 40, CLA 40, SLC 40, SLC 50 and GLE 50 in addition to CLA 53, G73 and S73.
If this proves true in the states, it would signal an end to the rule of two digits for Mercedes, three-digits for AMG counterparts. The new world would be two digits, ending in a “0” for Mercedes, and two digits ending in a “3” for AMG. This supports rumors of an AMG ‘73’ model with a hybrid powertrain.
While this change isn’t terribly difficult to comprehend, it certainly makes things interesting when comparing legacy and upcoming Mercedes models. There are a lot of numbers to keep straight, and a lot of explaining to do. And the letter and number combos leave something to be desired in terms of cachet.
It makes one appreciate the simplicity of giving each vehicle an actual name, like the domestic manufacturers do. Sure, that’s how we ended up with the Chevy Nova, but what are you going to do? There are only so many names, surely one for an automobile would end up meaning “no go” in some language, right?…
Car WTFs
What’s with Toyota’s weird shifter pattern?

I like my car. It’s a 2011 Toyota toaster, I mean Camry. If you made a list of everything a car has to do, the Camry would check all the boxes. It gets me from point A to point B with the consistency a learning golfer would envy. It’s a toaster. You put in the bread, choose your level of toastiness, push down the thingy and then wait for it to pop up. But there is one interesting thing about my car. The shifter. That’s it up there. That is definitely not conventional at all. So, what’s with Toyota’s weird shifter pattern? (more…)
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