Chevy Colorado: Big appeal for fans of little trucks
Chevy Colorado: Big appeal for fans of little trucks 1/8BC-AUTO-COLORADO:OS 3/8(PHOTOS)By Steven Cole SmithThe Orlando SentinelThe 2004 Chevrolet Colorado pickup, the S-10's long-awaited replacement, was, in a word, underwhelming. There was nothing specifically wrong with the truck, but given the lengthy stagnation in the compact-truck market then, it just didn't seem to advance the long-in-the-tooth S-10 it replaced.
But Chevrolet listens and has a very good recent track record of making little improvements to current products. It has done that with the 2007 Colorado, and though there is only one substantial improvement -- bigger, more powerful engines -- the little truck just seems, well, happier. It still lags behind what is probably the best small truck, the Nissan Frontier, but not as far back as before.
Pickup truck hit by bullet on I-96
BRIGHTON - Michigan State Police at the Brighton post are asking the public for help in identifying the person who fired a shot that hit a pickup truck traveling west on I-96 just east of US-23 Monday night.
Troopers said a 49-year-old Howell man heard a noise at 9:35 p.m. as he drove his 2004 Chevrolet Colorado, then his engine warning light came on.
He pulled over and found a bullet hole in his vehicle. Police found what they believe is a slug from a .45-caliber handgun lodged in a small electrical box in his engine compartment.
Sgt. Angela Hunt said police don't know whether the shooting was intentional or accidental, and did not receive any reports of shots fired in the surrounding area, which she described as wooded.
She said the driver did not report any road rage incident that might have led to the shooting, and said he was not injured.
Additions make Chevy Colorado better
The 2004 Chevrolet Colorado pickup, the S-10's long-awaited replacement, was, in a word, underwhelming. There was nothing specifically wrong with the truck, but given the lengthy stagnation in the compact-truck market then, it just didn't seem to advance the long-in-the-tooth S-10 it replaced.
But Chevrolet listens and has a very good recent track record of making little improvements to current products. It has done that with the 2007 Colorado, and though there is only one substantial improvement - bigger, more powerful engines - the little truck just seems, well, happier. It still lags behind what is probably the best small truck, the Nissan Frontier, but not as far back as before.
That said, I must alert you to my general prejudice against small trucks. Full-size trucks are more comfortable and more capable, and usually fuel mileage isn't that different.
Want a car? Go to class
CASPER, Wyo. - Sixteen-year-old Kaytie Christopherson was getting ready to do her homework on a Friday when she got a call that made a big improvement in her life.
She had won a brand-new pickup for near-perfect school attendance.
And not just any truck, but a $28,000 Chevrolet Colorado crew cab, in red, with an MP3 player.
"I take it everywhere. To work, school. I don't know, anything I do, I have it out with me," the high school junior said. "I pay attention to where I park it, though."
Public schools commonly reward excellent attendance with movie tickets, gas vouchers and iPods. But some diligent students like Kaytie are now hitting the ultimate teenage jackpot for going to school: They have won cars or trucks.
School districts in Hartford, Conn.; Pueblo, Colo.; South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; and Wickenburg and Yuma, Ariz., are also giving away vehicles this school year.
Local news briefs
A 54-year-old man is expected to recover after he was stabbed in the chest Christmas morning at the Deluxe Inn, 112 E. Main St., Lansing police said. Officers arrested an unidentified woman found hiding in brush near the Grand River a short time later. According to police, the victim apparently walked from his room to the hotel's main lobby where he asked a manager to call 911 at about 5:50 a.m. The knife wounds in his chest were not life-threatening, police said. The Deluxe Inn has come under fire from Lansing police and city officials, who have begun the process to shutter the city hotel. The hotel, site of a slaying earlier this year, has been the scene of multiple drug and prostitution arrests.
Highfields to provide family services
ONONDAGA - Highfields Inc.
Q-Post in deal to sell Qtel’s pre-paid cards
Qtel and Q-Post have reached an agreement under which the latter will sell Qtel's pre-paid cards through its branches.
Qtel chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Nasser Marafih and Q-post chairman and chief executive Ali Mohamed al-Ali were signatories to the agreement that formally came into effect from yesterday.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Q-Post head office, Marafi said the agreement was expected to be beneficial to both the parties.
“It is part of both diversification and extension of our services," said Ali. The Q-Post chairman said it would help Q-Post offer its customers yet another service that would be immensely beneficial. As per the agreement, cards would be available at all 30 branches of the Q-Post, besides the counters at the main office.
The Q-post chairman said the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the apex body of the postal corporations had instructed all its affiliated units to go in for the diversification of services as a measure to withstand the competition prevailing in the communication and logistics sector.
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Panamerican
Statistically speaking, the world's most dangerous road is a 40-mile-long gravel ledge hacked into a Bolivian mountainside in the 1930s by Paraguayan POWs. It descends 10,000 feet from La Paz down to Coroico in the Amazon basin. Each year, roughly 150 people and a couple dozen vehicles topple off this 10-foot-wide path, plunging some 1600 feet to their doom. Almost immediately upon our arrival in La Paz, photographer Brian Vance and I head out to preview the Camino de la Muerte in a Toyota Town Ace van. We don't want any surprises when we set off for Lima, Peru, in a few days on our 1000-mile leg of Ferrari's Panamerican 20,000--an epic P.R. stunt in which two 599 GTB Fioranos will spend three months driving from Brazil to New York City, via Canada.
BMW to Be the First to Offer HD Radio
BMW continues to expand its pioneering position in providing high-quality audio systems by offering a factory-installed digital HD Radio receiver with FM multicasting capability as an option in its innovative new 3 Series Hardtop Convertible. HD Radio technology is one of the most significant advances in radio broadcasting history, providing listeners with enhanced digital audio quality and clear, noise-free reception, as well as multicasting and on-screen text information. The HD Radio multicasting feature allows FM stations to broadcast multiple channels of digital programming simultaneously on a single frequency.
Of the more than 1,000 stations across the country broadcasting with HD Radio technology, more than 500 FM stations are offering a second (HD2) and, in many cases, a third (HD3) multicast channel.
Chrysler Firepower shot down by management
The Chrysler Group's less than stellar performance in 2006 has led to the official decision by management not to produce the Firepower Concept that debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. The Firepower was designed from the ground up, sharing only its 6.1L Hemi V8 with other vehicles in Chrysler's lineup. In order to make a production version that could even hope to return a profit, the automaker would have to build it alongside the Dodge Viper at its Conner Ave. assembly plant in Detroit and charge a price similar to the Viper's $80k+ MSRP. Apparently the business case for such a vehicle just isn't there.We love Chrysler concepts for the simple fact that each one is produced with just enough production intent to take it seriously should public reaction be favorable. Hell, even the ME412 supercar was on the table for a bit.
49 Cars Vandalized in Collierville in 5 Days
Collierville Police are working hard to catch up with vandals who are accused of smashing the windows of 49 cars and the window of one home.
The vandalism rampage started Sunday, December 3, 2006. Eight people reported the crimes that day, and one homeowner reported his or her window was shot. Then last night, December 6, 2006, 41 people reported their windows were shot mostly at a strip mall along Poplar Avenue, between Byhalia Road and Bray Station.
Collierville Police are offering a $500 reward for any information leading to the capture of the vandals.
Police also tell Eyewitness News the vandals are driving a dark gray or black, 4-door sedan. Possibly a Dodge Neon or Saturn with Tennessee tags.
Call Collierville Crime Stoppers at 457-CASH.
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