LS1notFOUND
New member
Great little article I found while I searched for some background on the Sonic, found here: http://www.sae-cleveland.org/pdfs/SAE_2012_Feb_ Autoshow_Chevrolet_Sonic.pdf
Gives a nice glimpse into the people who ripped out, put in, and tinkered with the old Aveo chassis to make it into something so many with such different vehicle tastes, like for a daily driver.
I say that because we have people like myself coming from pick-ups (ok second to that is my firebird), and others coming from performance oriented vehicles, others AWD stuff like Subaru's.
Despite a couple hiccups in the month of July I still enjoy getting behind the wheel and turning the key, rowing the gears....and I only have the 1.8L.
Copy and pasted text:
Fuel Efficiency and Fun
with Turbo Performance
"The Sonic blends the practicality of a small car with the passion for driving that Chevrolet vehicles such as the Corvette are known for " said Joaquin Nuno-Whelan, Chief Engineer Sonic. "It's the combination of great design, exciting driving experience and the latest connectivity features that create a serious competitor with a fun spirit".
Our speakers John Buttermore and James Danahy along with Nuno-Whelan have been instrumental in conception and production of the 2012 Sonic - a small car with a large array of amenities, in two body styles, four-door sedan and a five-door hatch, each with distinctive design elements.
Motor Trend said "The Sonic charmed with its solid chassis, communicative steering and quick responses". The car also received a 5-star overall vehicle score for safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The presentation will focus on the engineering, manufacturing and safety of the Sonic and prove why this is the right car for right now.
John Buttermore. Lead Development Engineer was born to be automotive engineer. His dream of becoming a race car driver started at 16 at the Skip Barber Racing School at Road America, and continued at Waterford Hills Raceway. After getting his degree from Cornell and working full time, he joined the SCCA National Circuit in 2004 with a new Cadillac CTS-V in the Touring 2 class and broke the track record. In 2011, racing a Corvette, he won the gold medal at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
John’s professional engineering career began at GM in 2002, working in manufacturing on the full-size truck platform. He moved to product engineering in the Performance Division and the Race Vehicle Engineering group. His move to the Global Vehicle Dynamics Center in 2007 lead to his involvement with the Sonic.
John studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell. Following graduation, he earned a Masters in Engineering from Purdue University.
James A. Danahy, Vehicle Line Director, Vehicle Chief Engineer, North American Small Cars
Jim led the cross-functional global engineering team that developed General Motors’ new small SUV program, and has extensive experience working on the Corvette and the Cadillac XLR. Recently, he led the development of all Chevrolet Corvette models based on the C6 architecture. Prior to this, he was an executive technical assistant to Bob Lutz, General Motors vice chairman, where he assisted running Global Product Development.
He also launched the Cadillac XLR, and the Corvette coupe and convertible as the Program Engineering Manager. Jim's undergraduate mechanical engineering degree is from Lawrence Technological University and earned a Masters from Purdue University.
________________________________________
Looks like "peppering" all of the GM's vehicle line-ups with the closed down GM Performance Division engineers is working to improve all vehicles.
Before it was "disbanded" from its former self the The Performance Division was responsible for vehicles such as the Camaro SS, Cobalt SS, Colorado V8 Pick-up, TrailBlazer SS, Cadillac V-Series and more. The plan is do these in line which each vehicle now, so you wont have to look just for the "hot" version for it to be good.
http://www.gmperformancedivision.com/content/video/content/218/trailblazerSS_corvette.mov
GM Performance Division :: Performance Pulse :: Performance Articles
Gives a nice glimpse into the people who ripped out, put in, and tinkered with the old Aveo chassis to make it into something so many with such different vehicle tastes, like for a daily driver.
I say that because we have people like myself coming from pick-ups (ok second to that is my firebird), and others coming from performance oriented vehicles, others AWD stuff like Subaru's.
Despite a couple hiccups in the month of July I still enjoy getting behind the wheel and turning the key, rowing the gears....and I only have the 1.8L.
Copy and pasted text:
Fuel Efficiency and Fun
with Turbo Performance
"The Sonic blends the practicality of a small car with the passion for driving that Chevrolet vehicles such as the Corvette are known for " said Joaquin Nuno-Whelan, Chief Engineer Sonic. "It's the combination of great design, exciting driving experience and the latest connectivity features that create a serious competitor with a fun spirit".
Our speakers John Buttermore and James Danahy along with Nuno-Whelan have been instrumental in conception and production of the 2012 Sonic - a small car with a large array of amenities, in two body styles, four-door sedan and a five-door hatch, each with distinctive design elements.
Motor Trend said "The Sonic charmed with its solid chassis, communicative steering and quick responses". The car also received a 5-star overall vehicle score for safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The presentation will focus on the engineering, manufacturing and safety of the Sonic and prove why this is the right car for right now.
John Buttermore. Lead Development Engineer was born to be automotive engineer. His dream of becoming a race car driver started at 16 at the Skip Barber Racing School at Road America, and continued at Waterford Hills Raceway. After getting his degree from Cornell and working full time, he joined the SCCA National Circuit in 2004 with a new Cadillac CTS-V in the Touring 2 class and broke the track record. In 2011, racing a Corvette, he won the gold medal at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
John’s professional engineering career began at GM in 2002, working in manufacturing on the full-size truck platform. He moved to product engineering in the Performance Division and the Race Vehicle Engineering group. His move to the Global Vehicle Dynamics Center in 2007 lead to his involvement with the Sonic.
John studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell. Following graduation, he earned a Masters in Engineering from Purdue University.
James A. Danahy, Vehicle Line Director, Vehicle Chief Engineer, North American Small Cars
Jim led the cross-functional global engineering team that developed General Motors’ new small SUV program, and has extensive experience working on the Corvette and the Cadillac XLR. Recently, he led the development of all Chevrolet Corvette models based on the C6 architecture. Prior to this, he was an executive technical assistant to Bob Lutz, General Motors vice chairman, where he assisted running Global Product Development.
He also launched the Cadillac XLR, and the Corvette coupe and convertible as the Program Engineering Manager. Jim's undergraduate mechanical engineering degree is from Lawrence Technological University and earned a Masters from Purdue University.
________________________________________
Looks like "peppering" all of the GM's vehicle line-ups with the closed down GM Performance Division engineers is working to improve all vehicles.
Before it was "disbanded" from its former self the The Performance Division was responsible for vehicles such as the Camaro SS, Cobalt SS, Colorado V8 Pick-up, TrailBlazer SS, Cadillac V-Series and more. The plan is do these in line which each vehicle now, so you wont have to look just for the "hot" version for it to be good.
http://www.gmperformancedivision.com/content/video/content/218/trailblazerSS_corvette.mov
GM Performance Division :: Performance Pulse :: Performance Articles
