Chevrolet wants its customers to see red, but instead of eliciting grumbles the General Motors brand hopes its new line of special-edition vehicles draws oohs and aahs.
Chevy later today will unveil at the Chicago auto show a Redline special-edition series of cars, pickups and CUVs in what the brand calls the broadest cross-portfolio special-edition line it’s ever offered.
Redline series vehicles first bowed as concept cars at the 2015 SEMA show in Las Vegas with black wheels featuring red hash marks, black nameplates with a red outline, blacked-out grilles and black Chevy bowties. Those elements will carry over to the factory cars, which roll out throughout the year.
“Redline is another example of Chevrolet bringing SEMA concepts to showrooms,” Brian Sweeney, vice president-U.S. Sales Operations, says in a statement ahead of the unveiling.
“The SEMA show has proven to be a great way to identify customization trends in the industry and quickly apply those trends to our most popular Chevrolet models. Based on the strong interest Redline attracted at the (SEMA) show, we believe they will be very popular with customers looking for standout cars, trucks and crossovers.”
GM has been applying special-edition treatments across its brands, especially trucks, to keep fresh-looking product on the showroom floor. Demand has been strong, the automaker says, so it chose to apply the idea more broadly.
Sweeney hinted to WardsAuto at last month’s North American International Auto Show of plans for the Redline products, as well as other upcoming unique treatments he chose not to disclose, because it creates consistency across the brand at a time when rebuilding Chevy in the eyes of consumers is Job 1 at GM.
“We have to build consistency,” he said in Detroit. “Consistency in the marketing campaign, our go-to-market discipline, our stores, the customer experience, that’s what’s building this brand.”
Chevy lost market share in the U.S. last year, falling to 12.0% of the market from 12.2% in 2015, according to WardsAuto data. But its focus was on improving profitable retail sales at the expense of volume by trimming deliveries to rental companies. Retail demand rose to 11.2% from 10.7% in 2015. As a result, important residual values jumped, too.
Redline treatments will be available for the Cruze LT-trim compact sedan and hatchback; Malibu LT midsize sedan; Camaro LT/SS sports coupe and convertible; Trax LT compact CUV; Equinox LT 5-passenger CUV; Traverse Premier large CUV; Colorado LT midsize pickup; and Silverado Double Cab LT Z71 and Crew Cab LTZ Z71 large pickups.
Additional Redline design elements are specifics to each vehicle, such as red tow hooks on the Silverado and Colorado and black hash marks above the wheels on the Camaro taken from Chevy motorsports history.
“Our special-edition lineup has been popular with customers and dealers, alike,” Sweeney adds. “Since the introduction of special editions on vehicles like the Silverado and Camaro, vehicle average transaction prices have increased, time-to-turn has decreased and conquest rates have risen, which has contributed to making Chevrolet the fastest-growing brand in the industry two years in a row.”
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