Photo: Chevrolet
General Motors is almost ditching passenger cars altogether in America. There's nothing from Buick and GMC; Chevrolet just killed off another nameplate, and Cadillac probably won't cope for long fighting the trend alone.
No matter how many times GM fans scoff at the company's lack of respect for historical passenger car nameplates that have been sent with a boot instead of gold into retirement, the inevitable death of the sector is looming on the horizon. There's nothing at Buick, and there's nothing at GMC either. Also, Chevrolet just killed the Malibu mid-size sedan as they announced the company would not renew the model for the 2025 model year. This news comes swiftly after the death of the sixth-generation Camaro in December 2023, by the way.
Alone, the C8 Corvette soldiers on with the Stingray, E-Ray, and Z06 models – and the ZR1 is coming later this year during the summer season. Over at Cadillac, the CT4's fate is probably sealed as only the CT5, CT5-V, and Blacking got refreshed for the 2025 model year. But no one knows how long they will survive, either. After all, Caddy prepares an all-out, all-electric assault on the market with the 2025 Optiq from China, the already on-sale Lyriq, the family-oriented Vistiq three-row EV, plus the Escalade IQ and Celestiq flagships in tow.
Speaking of electrics, the semi-good news is that, after years of waiting, Chevrolet finally has an entire family of battery-powered models ready for primetime – at least in the coming months. An all-new Bolt EV is also coming, but most likely, we are not going to meet it until later during the fall season, and with GM's recent Tesla-style tardiness, only the EV gods know when they will launch it as the most affordable option on the market. Meanwhile, we finally have the promised Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Silverado EV roster. Notice how none of them are passenger cars? Of course, you do. Well, get used to it because, in this colder climate for EV sales, I bet that GM will think 100 times before pushing through with previous rumors of turning the Camaro nameplate into a veritable sub-brand with electrified powertrains and sedan, coupe, and cabriolet, plus crossover models.
So, as it turns out, the choice is set in stone for 2024 – after the not-so-interesting Silverado WT, the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST First Edition is almost ready for prime time. The good news is that it has finally entered production, with pricing starting at $94,500. It might sound like much, but it's almost on par with the Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast, and it's also $10k lower than initially announced. Even better, boasting up to 754 horsepower in its range-topping configuration, the Silverado EV will shame the spaceship rival with a higher-than-initially-announced range of up to 440 miles on a single charge compared to 340 miles on the Cybertruck AWD. So, it has almost as much power as the Cyberbeast but a lot more range than the AWD version. Not bad at all.
Secondly, the Blazer EV is already up for build and pricing on the company's online portal. It naturally faces off with the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the best-selling Tesla Model Y, but early adopters reported horrendous issues with the software package. Hopefully, with OTA fixes, those are behind Chevrolet already – and it's not Blazer's fault; loads of problems also plagued the Cadillac Lyriq. Again, Chevy delivers a slap in the face of Tesla's Model Y because the Long Range AWD has 310 miles of range and the RWD has 320. In comparison, a Chevrolet Blazer EV RS RWD is tagged with 324 miles. OK, so that's a very subtle slap in the face, indeed. Hopefully, Chevrolet will continue to update the Blazer EV to make it competitive against Tesla and the rest of the EV mid-size crossover SUV pack. Right now, I call it a draw between Chevy and Tesla in this segment.
Last but not least, there's also the compact Chevrolet Equinox EV that's coming for just $35k. It's coming in the future, indeed, as the version currently up for grabs is the 2LT, which kicks off at $41,900 – or $43,295 with the destination fee. Meanwhile, the base Equinox EV 1LT will be available for ordering later in the year. The compact CUV is offered with front-wheel drive or eAWD, by the way, so it doesn't necessarily have a corresponding foe in Tesla's camp – the refreshed Model 3 is a larger sedan with RWD and AWD that can travel between 272 and 341 miles on a single charge. Meanwhile, the Equinox EV 2LT can go for up to 319 miles on a single charge with FWD. It's not the best-case scenario, for sure, especially since Chevrolet won't kick off sales from around $30k as they initially intended with the Equinox EV. However, it's a step in the right direction to have an EV family of three waiting for the fourth, right?
Alone, the C8 Corvette soldiers on with the Stingray, E-Ray, and Z06 models – and the ZR1 is coming later this year during the summer season. Over at Cadillac, the CT4's fate is probably sealed as only the CT5, CT5-V, and Blacking got refreshed for the 2025 model year. But no one knows how long they will survive, either. After all, Caddy prepares an all-out, all-electric assault on the market with the 2025 Optiq from China, the already on-sale Lyriq, the family-oriented Vistiq three-row EV, plus the Escalade IQ and Celestiq flagships in tow.
Speaking of electrics, the semi-good news is that, after years of waiting, Chevrolet finally has an entire family of battery-powered models ready for primetime – at least in the coming months. An all-new Bolt EV is also coming, but most likely, we are not going to meet it until later during the fall season, and with GM's recent Tesla-style tardiness, only the EV gods know when they will launch it as the most affordable option on the market. Meanwhile, we finally have the promised Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Silverado EV roster. Notice how none of them are passenger cars? Of course, you do. Well, get used to it because, in this colder climate for EV sales, I bet that GM will think 100 times before pushing through with previous rumors of turning the Camaro nameplate into a veritable sub-brand with electrified powertrains and sedan, coupe, and cabriolet, plus crossover models.
So, as it turns out, the choice is set in stone for 2024 – after the not-so-interesting Silverado WT, the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST First Edition is almost ready for prime time. The good news is that it has finally entered production, with pricing starting at $94,500. It might sound like much, but it's almost on par with the Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast, and it's also $10k lower than initially announced. Even better, boasting up to 754 horsepower in its range-topping configuration, the Silverado EV will shame the spaceship rival with a higher-than-initially-announced range of up to 440 miles on a single charge compared to 340 miles on the Cybertruck AWD. So, it has almost as much power as the Cyberbeast but a lot more range than the AWD version. Not bad at all.
Secondly, the Blazer EV is already up for build and pricing on the company's online portal. It naturally faces off with the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the best-selling Tesla Model Y, but early adopters reported horrendous issues with the software package. Hopefully, with OTA fixes, those are behind Chevrolet already – and it's not Blazer's fault; loads of problems also plagued the Cadillac Lyriq. Again, Chevy delivers a slap in the face of Tesla's Model Y because the Long Range AWD has 310 miles of range and the RWD has 320. In comparison, a Chevrolet Blazer EV RS RWD is tagged with 324 miles. OK, so that's a very subtle slap in the face, indeed. Hopefully, Chevrolet will continue to update the Blazer EV to make it competitive against Tesla and the rest of the EV mid-size crossover SUV pack. Right now, I call it a draw between Chevy and Tesla in this segment.
Last but not least, there's also the compact Chevrolet Equinox EV that's coming for just $35k. It's coming in the future, indeed, as the version currently up for grabs is the 2LT, which kicks off at $41,900 – or $43,295 with the destination fee. Meanwhile, the base Equinox EV 1LT will be available for ordering later in the year. The compact CUV is offered with front-wheel drive or eAWD, by the way, so it doesn't necessarily have a corresponding foe in Tesla's camp – the refreshed Model 3 is a larger sedan with RWD and AWD that can travel between 272 and 341 miles on a single charge. Meanwhile, the Equinox EV 2LT can go for up to 319 miles on a single charge with FWD. It's not the best-case scenario, for sure, especially since Chevrolet won't kick off sales from around $30k as they initially intended with the Equinox EV. However, it's a step in the right direction to have an EV family of three waiting for the fourth, right?
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