2024 Corvette Shines With “Season’s Speedings” on Car and Driver's 10Best List

The Chevy Corvette has graded the prominent Car and Driver's “10Best” list 25 times, while holding the “season’s greetings” bragging rights of the second all-time leading recipient of the coveted award. It has done so for many thrilling reasons here at Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis, with one of them being its ability to play incredibly hard at the track on weekends, and then cruise it casually into work all week. The 670-horsepower wild child in the form of the Z06 model supplied plenty of inspiration for the hybrid-powered, all-wheel drive E-Ray. 

The Car and Driver team made a very educated claim when they realized that the E-Ray’s electrified front axle and mid-mounted 6.2-liter V8 powertrain aren’t really as much about the premise of green energy as some diehards think. It operates in electric-only mode for very short bursts at lower speeds, and only if the driver has manually chosen to do so pre-ignition. Once the battery has run down or you are driving at more than 45 mph, EV mode is left “completely behind in the rearview.”

The 0-60 mph blast all goes down in just 2.5 seconds, rendering it the fastest Corvette that the Car and Driver team had ever tested. The entry-level Stingray is still notorious for turning heads, and you get the choice of a targa or convertible with the Z51 package’s performance upgrade. It offers bona fide All-American pavement-pounding enjoyment courtesy of summer tires, 5-hp increase, brake and suspension upgrades, and 60 mph sprinting capability at just under 3.0 seconds. Even at higher costs, there isn’t a production car in existence that achieves these stats. 

Opting for the Magnetorheological dampers offers up an unparalleled ride quality, which proved to be useful for this testing crew on Michigan’s heavily scarred and weathered roads. Time after highly exciting time, the Corvette’s appetite and value proposition bring so many drivers back for seconds. While still originating in the Bowling Green, Kentucky assembly plant, we are now quite positive that the first hybrid Corvette will completely slay the festive duty of warming public perception to the idea of a fully electric supercar. 

The E-Ray’s unique personality comes from the mix of a standard Stingray chassis and engine along with the Z06’s wider bodywork and smokin’ tire offerings. The very sweet Z06’s Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes also come standard, along with Chevy’s latest generation of magnetic ride control. Instead of using an electric motor to cut down on fuel use as traditional hybrids do, the E-Ray employs its motor to drastically increase performance. The 6.2-liter V8 Is still the “Ace in the hole” as far as most of the propulsion, and the car is not a plug-in. 

Stealth mode does allow for the car to drive on battery power alone at speeds up to 45 mph, along with the gas engine engaging when you demand more torque than the electric motor can dish out on demand. The Motor Trend testing crew excitedly headed out to Pike’s Peak International Raceway with the E-Ray, where they eagerly spent time on the track’s infield road course. With the straight-line speed being downright amazing, cornering duty is where the E-ray really gets a chance to shine. After spending two days and hundreds of miles behind the wheel, they determined that this may be “the perfect real-world Corvette”, courtesy of grand-touring manners and blistering track performance. 

The Chevrolet Colorado's Everyday Appeal Shines in MotorTrend's 2024 Truck of the Year Victory

A stellar build, ideal size, and already established reputation can do wonders for a truck in today’s incredibly competitive landscape. We can attest here at Jim Butler Chevy of Saint Louis that timing is everything, and the recent reintroduction of the Chevy Colorado exists as one of these precise and rewarding moments. For the 2015 model year, this midsize marvel outshined its aging competition so well that it immediately took home the Motor Trend “Golden Calipers” honor. 

Recently the Motor Trend “Truck of the Year” competition was moved to Michigan, where there is now a greatly improved location to put trucks to the extreme off-road test. This paved the way for the ZR2 and Colorado to use their collective and burly skills to shine brightly against their sworn rivals. There is a longer-wheelbase frame sourced from the Silverado, along with a 2.7-liter turbo 4-cylinder and smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic. The suspension roars menacingly at the first berm as beefier and more off-road capable, and you’ll also be taking on a ridge-lined challenge near you with thoroughly updated safety gear.

Numerous experts have thoroughly approved of the overall design that has been toughened up both inside and outside, and the pickup box’s utility is greatly improved with standard gear such as corner bed steps and corner tie-downs. You’ll be the well-equipped life of the tailgating party or job site with a 400-Watt 120 Volt power outlet, along with the convenience of the 45-inch wide, 4-inch deep StowFlex stowage box in the tailgate. It provides optimum security for your goods when the gate is locked and is an excellent place to store tie-down ropes, tools, and other odds and ends that boost your ability to get the job done.

Things get a bit more astringent and detailed to evaluate with 1000 lbs situated in the bed, and the motor train crew also stuffed enough passengers on board to reach the official vehicle weight limit. The Colorado managed to tow a 7500 LB trailer during his runs amazingly well, displaying what an ideal model this is for spur-of-the-moment lake runs or entry-level site survey. Off-road mastery is a difficult challenge, as ruts, rocks, and ravines can wreak havoc on the frame and other valuables. 

The knobby tires and locking front and rear differentials make for a finished package that is truly ready to take on the far corners of the earth, as well as the cool forestry roads that wind through Mark Twain Forest here in Missouri. There is so much useful traction and jounce absorption here that it takes getting into another pickup and doubling back on the same demanding terrain to fully realize how hardcore and well-equipped the new Colorado is. There’s even a new Off-Road performance app that displays valuable details such as overlanding guidance and altitude, along with transfer-case status and crucial wheel slip.

There are up to 10 available camera views to gauge how the ascending or traversing potential fares, which is more than you’ll find on any competing model. Here the Motor Trend crew admits that incoming models such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro have an incredibly tall mountain to conquer if they're going to come close to topping the ZR2. Posting a thrilling existence as a “climb it on the first try” truck, the Colorado also benefits from the presence of the very precise and capable traction/stability control and hill descent control. 

The screens onboard make the task of trailer attachment easier, and there are handy safety checklists to keep all the vitals organized and ready to go. The Multimatic spool-valve shocks “deliver off-road compliance second to none”, and the search functionality of Google Built-In on all models is a huge value. Its stellar capability across the range and range of offerings make the Colorado stand out enough to render the other available options drastically far behind and lacking!

The 2025 Chevy Suburban’s Exterior Upgrade Redefines High-Value Luxury

We have enjoyed numerous customers telling us here at Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis over the years what we have done right: when it comes to the best-selling large SUVs in the mix, sometimes “tweaking the ideal holiday recipe” just a bit helps things to remain appealing and fresh. The 2025 Suburban now brings updated looks, a brand-new cabin design, and an optional engine boasting more power. The new 3.0-liter turbo-diesel Duramax engine cranks out 305 horsepower and 495 lb-ft of torque, which is a formidable upgrade from the outgoing powertrain.

The new Suburban should go on sale in the US late next year, with its sworn rivals in the form of the Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon, along with the Jeep Wagoneer. The exterior makeover starts off with bolder signature lighting but holds onto the same C-shaped elements that are signature traits of the entire lineup. The more modern grille makes for an aggressive stance, and the Z71 models now have distinctive skid plates and a high-approach end, with the High Country’s finish offering luxury and athletic touches. 

The Premier and High-Country models now have joined the club of family haulers with super cool animations: there are very cool cartoonish additives now for the swipe turn signals along with the welcome and walk-away intervals. There are new 24-inch wheel designs available for the RST and High-Country trims, with base-model Suburban's equipped with 18-inch items. Cypress Gray and Lakeshore Blue Metallic join the lineup as new exterior paint colors, and the Suburban’s official curb weight has been confirmed at 5,680 pounds for the 5.3-liter model with rear-wheel drive and will increase up to 6,053 lbs when equipped with all-wheel drive and the diesel powertrain. 

The larger V8 is now an available option on the Z71, RST, and Premier models, and the Z71 model comes fully prepped for any type of terrain as 4WD only. The second-generation 3.0-liter turbo-diesel Duramax is the same as you’ll find aptly powering the Silverado 1500, and cranks out 10% more horsepower and 7.6% increase in torque over the outgoing model. The improvements in output were made possibly by a completely retuned turbo compressor and reworked temperature control features. Many amazing advancements have been made in sound absorption for the ride, and an updated air induction system provides the ultimate balance of a hushed ride along with segment-leading performance.

Air Ride Adaptive Suspension is now available on the High Country and Z71, along with the RST trim for the first time. This handles the full-time and very precise job of automatically lowering ride height when optimally cruising, boosting vehicle efficiency. Magnetic ride control is now standard on the Premier and High Country, enjoying its boost of holiday merriment and helping with reducing unwanted vibration in the cabin. Now standard across the range is an 11-inch digital driver information display, and an XXL 17.7-inch infotainment screen. 

The cabin is now much more spacious and sweeping lines up front create an open sense where things had resulted in being a bit crowded in the outgoing model. Inside you’ll now find Piano Blac and Galvano chrome, while the upper-level trims boast an abundance of soft-touch materials. The Suburban also now comes with a connected camera network of monitoring devices, allowing you to record events such as police stops or sudden road mishaps.

There’s also a new interior Motion Detection feature available, along with an Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist, which is bound to help in any tight retail holiday shopping scenario. SuperCruise hands-free driving will also be available on the Suburban, and the Premier trim comes with a new Jet Black/Sky Cool Gray theme. The Max Trailering Package has very cool new and load-setup-worthy features such as Forward Path Indication, Boat Ramp Assist, and the very useful Mobile Trailering App Load Rating info.