Sharing Significant Automotive News On Historically Significant Date

Today's date, Jan. 2, is a significant date in American history. Many events happened on this date over the years that have had much social and societal impact.

It seems fitting that we take today to tell you about significant news regarding General Motors and Hendrick Durham Auto Mall and the vehicles they build and sell. Perhaps the information will have a positive impact on you as you enter 2015 with your transportation needs in mind.

First, a look back:

Jan. 2, 1945 - The University of Kentucky men's basketball team started an incredible 130-game home-game winning streak that stretched all the way into 1955.

Jan. 2, 1960 - John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Presidency.

Jan. 2, 1965 - The New York Jets of the National Football League signed Joe Namath out of the University of Alabama to be their quarterback. He later famously guaranteed victory in his first Super Bowl appearance and delivered on the promise.

Jan. 2, 1974 - President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, setting a new national maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour. The act was intended to force Americans to drive at a fuel-efficient speed and curb the U.S. appetite for foreign oil. But people showed they preferred driving fast to conserving fuel, and Congress repealed the act in November of 1985.

Jan. 2, 1990 - Alan Hale, Sr., who played "Skipper" on the popular sitcom "Gilligan's Island," died of cancer at the age of 71.

That brings us to today, when we share with you the announcement of several significant GM awards in the realm of safety and value.

Spark, Volt, Equinox Top Safety Picks

The 2015 Chevrolet Spark, Volt, Malibu and Equinox have been named 2015 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Picks.

The designation goes to models that achieve an acceptable rating in the challenging small overlap front test – introduced in 2012 – and a good rating in each of the Institute’s four other crashworthiness evaluations: moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints.

IIHS is a nonprofit organization wholly supported by auto insurers. For 2015, the number of models earning the Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ awards rose from 39 to 71 compared to a year ago.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world's largest car brands, selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year.

The Hendrick Durham Auto Mall sold an average of about 52 Chevrolets a month in 2014, with the Equinox leading the way. Sales of the Equinox continue to grow year over year becauuse of its value and safety.

Canyon Named Top Truck For 2015

GMC Canyon has been named Autoweek’s best truck for 2015. Editors praised the all-new premium midsize truck for its design, utility, features and "perfect size."

Autoweek’s annual Best of the Best awards are based on the evaluations of eight vehicle finalists selected for their performance, design, build quality, value and significance. A three-day test session at Michigan International Speedway by the editors determined the awards, which include one car and one truck.

"Of the hundreds of vehicles Autoweek tests each year, only a relative few truly stand out from the rest," said Autoweek editor Wes Raynal. "The GMC Canyon is not only one of the best new vehicles on the market, it’s one of the most important, signaling an exciting return to the mid-sized truck segment."

Canyon, on sale now at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, starts at $21,880. It comes in three trim levels, Base, SLE and SLT, with extended cab and crew cab body styles.

GMC has manufactured trucks since 1902. The brand has evolved to offer more fuel-efficient trucks and crossovers, including the Terrain small SUV and Acadia crossover

Barra Named Forbes' 'Crisis Manager Of Year'

Fortune Magazine has named GM CEO Mary Barra "Crisis Manager of the Year."

Barra took over GM in January of 2013 with celebrity-like media coverage, ranging from lifestyle magazines to auto tabloids.

"Over the past year Barra has presided over perhaps the most challenging time in the automaker's 106-year history," Fortune’s Ben Geier wrote about why Barra is Crisis Manager of the Year.

Barra was announced as Dan Akerson’s successor last December. She started as CEO on Jan. 15. Prior to leading the company, she was executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain, and held several other executive, engineering and staff positions.

On Birthday Of America's 1st Freeway, HDAM Helps Ease Stress Of Traffic Gridlock

Next time you’re stuck in traffic, excessively burning fuel as you idle on the freeway during your morning commute, you can thank Dwight Eisenhower.

You also can thank General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall for manufacturing and selling a multitude of highway-friendly vehicles that can add to your comfort and decrease your fuel expense as you experience the world’s second-longest interstate highway system behind China.

The United States Interstate Highway System runs a total length of 47,714 miles. About one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country are on interstates. The cost of construction for all those miles of roadway has been estimated at upwards of $425 billion.

North Carolina has the largest state maintained highway network in the United States.

Today marks the 74th birthday of America’s first freeway - the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which opened Dec. 30, 1940, in California. At the time, it was considered an engineering marvel, reducing travel time between Los Angeles and Pasadena from 27 to 12 minutes.

The six-lane, six-mile long highway was designed for 27,000 automobiles a day. These days, it carries more than 122,000 cars daily.

Although the concept of an interstate highway system was proposed in Congress in 1939, it wasn't until Eisenhower became President in 1953 that he made the revitalization of national highways a goal for his first term. Having spent time on the Autobahn during his military service in Germany, Eisenhower believed the U.S. also could benefit from an equally effective roadway system.

Well, turns out the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System gave way to the creation of a phenomenon known as Gridlock – a traffic jam in which no vehicular movement is possible.

Gridlock, in turn, led to depleted gas tanks as cars and trucks idled their way to empty, a chaion of events that continues to this day.

Fortunately, General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall have teamed up to offer some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in history to help ease the anxiety and expense of traffic jams and Gridlock.

General Motors builds 24 models of vehicle that can achieve an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway. All of those vehicles can be purchased at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, including the car with the best highway mileage of any gas engine in America - the 42 mpg Chevrolet Cruze Eco.

Furthermore, GM and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall are offering incentives on the Cruze that can knock 20 percent off the sticker price.

Other vehicles in the GM arsenal against highway congestion and aggravating commutes are the Chevy Volt, an electric car that can achieve the equivalent of 98 miles per gallon, the Buick Lacrosse with eAssist technology, and the Chevy Spark. The eAssist Lacrosse and Spark both can surpass 40 mpg on the highway.

Although exceeding the speed limit is a factor in fuel efficiency, people may not be aware that automobiles can burn more than half a gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. That is where the GM eAssist technology, which also can be found on the Chevy Malibu, makes such a difference.

On the open road, once they get moving again after the latest round of Gridlock, drivers want to make up for lost time with speed. But, according to the U.S. EPA, every five miles over the 60 mph level is equivalent to paying 20 extra cents per gallon for gas. GM has designed vehicles that help in that circumstance, as well, equipping many of its vehicles with Active Fuel Management that will shut off half the cylinders in the vehicles’ engines once ideal cruising speed is reached.

Because highways and the accompanying Gridlock will not go away, GM has plans to introduce a Cadillac model in two years that can travel on the highway without the driver holding the steering wheel or putting a foot on a pedal. The 2017 Cadillac model will feature "Super Cruise" technology that takes control of steering, acceleration and braking at highway speeds of 70 miles per hour or in stop-and-go congested traffic.

"With Super Cruise, when there’s a congestion alert on roads like California’s Santa Monica Freeway, you can let the car take over and drive hands-free and feet-free through the worst stop-and-go traffic around," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a 2014 speech at the Cobo Center in Detroit. "If the mood strikes you on the high-speed road from Barstow, California, to Las Vegas, you can take a break from the wheel and pedals, and let the car do the work. Having it done for you -- that’s true luxury."

So, as we say "Happy Birthday" today to the Arroyo Seco Parkway and "Thank You" to Dwight Eisenhower for the Interestate Highway System, let us celebrate the evolution of motor-vehicle travel the best way possible – in a vehicle from General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.