The San Antonio International Auto and Truck Show is an annual event taking place in San Antonio, Texas wherein national and international automobile manufacturers and dealers gather to showcase their latest offerings.

The 41st San Antonio International Auto and Truck Show is scheduled for the period between Thursday, November 19 2009 through to Sunday, November 22, 2009. The venue is the renowned Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center – the preferred destination for most conferences and similar gatherings in San Antonio, located on the city’s famous Riverwalk.

Finishing touches to the Chevy podium before the arrival of your fave Chevy on it

Organized by the San Antonio Automobile Dealers Association (SAADA), the show will showcase all of the major cars and trucks that are to hit the city (and the country as a whole!) in 2010. Established 91 years back in 1918, the SAADA represents seventy one franchised new car and truck dealers in San Antonio and the surrounding area. The SAADA endeavors to build public awareness and knowledge relating to the business of selling new motor vehicles. Its goal is to participate in any productive activity that will strengthen positive relationships between its members and customers, and enhance the SAADA image, increasing productivity as well as profitability.

The schedule of the show is 2 pm to 10 pm, on the first two days of the show, viz. Thursday, November 19th and Friday, November 20th. The next day, i.e. Saturday, November 21st, the show will be on from 10 am to 10 pm. On the final day, viz. Sunday, November 22nd, the show will be open from 12 pm to 7 pm.

Visitors Thronging the Chevy counter

Tickets for the show can be purchased directly at the venue. Tickets cost $8 for adults and children over the age of 11. Children 10 and under are admitted free. Senior citizens as well as active/retired military personnel can get the ticket at $6 only. To avail of special discounts on tickets, log on to the website of the show, on this page. Herein, you can print discount coupons – one for a dollar off the admission price and another for free parking at Alamodome Lot B. There are no other discounts. Tickets would be sold till 9:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while on Sunday, no tickets will be sold after 6:30 pm.

The contact person for the show is Courtney DeLee who can be reached on courtneydelee@saautodealers.com. By post or personally, you could reach out at 4414 Centerview Drive Suite 140, San Antonio, Texas 78228 while to contact over the phone, dial the Office on (210) 732-9647 or by Fax on (210) 732-3923.

Chevy lovers – to easily and quickly know where your fave Chevys would be located at the show, refer to the floor plan of the show on this page.

Not many know that the man behind the ubiquitous Chevy range of machines – a range, a brand as well as an icon that we all recognize as distinctly American, was in fact a Swiss native of French descent.

Born on December 25, 1878 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Neuchâtel Canton of Switzerland, Louis-Joseph Chevrolet emigrated to Montreal, Quebec in Canada in 1900 to work as a chauffeur/mechanic. Prior to that, even as a young man, Chevrolet had been honing his mechanical skills and alongside developing a passion for automotive racing, while working for the Roblin mechanics shop.

Watch rare footage of Chevrolet winning the Harkness Trophy in 1917, in the following video:

After moving to North America, it was more of a ‘rolling stone’ existence for Chevrolet, wherein he kept moving jobs and places – first to New York City where he worked briefly for a fellow Swiss immigrant’s engineering company and then to Brooklyn, where he took up a job at the local operations of the French car manufacturer de Dion-Bouton. From thereon, he again moved, this time to FIAT, as a race car driver and then once again, this time to a Philadelphia company which was developing something revolutionary at that time – a front-wheel drive racing car. It was there that he started driving the Buick for racing, and also became friendly with Billy Durant.

Eventually, he started designing his own engine for a new Buick car in 1909, and Durant, obviously impressed with the results, agreed to partner with Chevrolet to start the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, in Detroit. But the friendship did not last long, and eventually, after having sold his share of the company to Durant, got his company incorporated within the fold of Durant’s parent company, General Motors.

June 1, 1918. Louis Chevrolet and his mechanic in their Frontenac at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway in Brooklyn, racing in the Harkness Handicap.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet’s passion for racing never subsided. He competed in the Indianapolis 500, as many as four times, and finished best at seventh position in 1919. His younger brother Gaston also took part in the same competition next year in 1920, and in fact won it, driving a car that Loius himself had built. Both Loius and Gaston had been betting on car racing big time, even starting their own company by the name, Frontenac Motor Corporation, which was essentially into the design and production of racing cars, with their Fronty-Ford racers being the most popular and well-known.

Louis Chevrolet in a Buick racer in Crown Point, Indiana, during the Cobe Cup Race in 1909

In spite of his prior achievements, Chevrolet died in 1941, practically penniless and was given a quiet burial at the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Louis Chevrolet Memorial, Indianapolis Speedway

Miscellaneous recognition for Chevrolet the person, came long after his death. In 1992, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame while in 1995, Chevrolet was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995.

To get a lowdown on American Automotive history, and  Chevrolet specifically, click here.

OnStar is a GM-owned proprietary in-vehicle security and communications system that is available in all GM vehicles, your favorite Chevy included.

So, what exactly does it consist of and how does it work? Read on…

Firstly, in simple terms, it is a system that allows the vehicle to communicate. Using the system, you could actually avail of hands free calling, turn-by-turn navigation, as well as remote diagnostics, across the United States and Canada, 24 x 7 x 365. The only initial requirement for availing OnStar services is to have the necessary OnStar hardware factory-installed…and you’re ready to go!

Although OnStar is available on all GM vehicles, it has become so profoundly associated with Chevy vehicles that in the Latin American markets, the service is referred to as ChevyStar. As of 2009, the service has more than five million subscribers. Get to know specific numerical stats on various ways in which OnStar has added value to GM vehicle owners, in the following video:

In order to function, the OnStar service uses CDMA mobile phone voice and data communications technology, essentially via Verizon Wireless in the United States and Bell Mobility in Canada, along with location information using GPS technology. Both drivers and passengers can use its audio interface to contact OnStar representatives for emergency services, vehicle diagnostics and directions. OnStar equipped vehicles with an active subscription end up contacting representatives, who are based either out of Pontiac, Michigan; Charlotte, North Carolina; Makati, Philippines; and Oshawa, Ontario in case there is a collision where the airbags were actually deployed.

Newer models on the other hand will contact OnStar, irrespective of whether airbags were deployed or not. Whenever a driver presses the Red OnStar Emergency button or Blue OnStar button, current vehicle data and the user’s GPS location are immediately gathered. This information is then sent to OnStar. OnStar Emergency calls are routed to the OnStar Center with highest priority. The three centers that receive emergency calls are: Pontiac, Michigan; Charlotte, North Carolina and Ontario Canada; and all of these centers are open 24 hours a day.

The Proprietary OnStar Buttons

This year, i.e. 2009 onwards, GM also started incorporating a Stolen Vehicle Slowdown feature inside new vehicles which allows police to remotely slow down the vehicle, and also reduce the chances of damage to property, injuries or even fatalities as a result of high-speed chases of stolen vehicles. Just last month, in October 2009, the service bore fruit when a stolen Chevy Tahoe was successfully recovered and the thief promptly apprehended, using the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown feature. In this video, the owner describes exactly what happened and how he got his Tahoe back:

Other plans also exist as a part of the entire portfolio of OnStar services including Safe & Sound Plan (at $18.95/month or $199/year), and Directions & Connections Plan ($28.90/month or $299/year).

Considering all the benefits that OnStar has on offer, it is a feature you would certainly not like to miss out, on your favorite Chevy!

With its ability to go 40 miles at a stretch, completely gas-free, the Chevy Volt has the potential to completely change and revolutionize the way America travels. And with nearly 75% of American daily commuters usually traveling less than 40 miles in a day, the Volt could very well change America’s energy dynamics completely.

It is thanks to the Volt’s Extended-Range Electric technology that it is able to go that much distance on a single, full charge, without having to switch over to gasoline. Additionally, the Propulsion System of the Volt is revolutionary and unique to the extent that it is able to take the consumer, way beyond just the power of the battery.

Get an Overview of the Chevy Volt, in the Video below:

Once the Volt launches next year in 2010, it will be seen using a lithium-ion battery, along with a gasoline-powered, range-extending engine that will propel the generator to provide electric power, even after you drive beyond the 40-mile range of the battery.

Cutaway of the Chevrolet Volt

So far, not much is known about the Volt we will actually get to see in the showrooms, with the vehicle still in its final development stages, and the ones that have been showcased in auto shows or reviewed by auto experts being in fact ‘mules’, i.e. the Volt packaged in another vehicle, in this case the Cruze, which is similar in its overall shape, size and design to the Volt. Yet, it remains certain that in terms of its looks, its power, its noise-isolation and of course its ability to run on electricity for at least the specified distance, the Volt will not disappoint at all.

Last year’s Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008 saw General Motors showcase its concept vehicle – the Chevrolet Tahoe ‘Boss’, which has the distinction of being able to drive itself, completely on its own.

The technology of the vehicle is certainly very promising, considering the fact that majority of accidents take place due to one single factor – human error.

The vehicle draws its name from the nickname of GM’s R&D founder, Charles F. Kettering, who was also referred to as the ‘Boss’. This version of the Tahoe has been developed through a partnership between General Motors, Carnegie Mellon University and numerous other partner companies.

Charles F. Kettering - Whose Nickname gave this Tahoe its Nickname - 'Boss'!

Regarding the technology of the vehicle, it essentially uses a combination of LIDAR, radar, vision and mapping / GPS systems, by which it is able to see the world around it. The Tahoe ‘Boss’ is actually smart enough to not only recognize road geometry but also accurately perceive traffic as well as other obstacles on the street. It achieves this feat using a complex combination of algorithms as well as various computer software.

Full Frontal with the 'Boss' - She sure means Business!

The ‘Boss’ was put to test wherein it was made to navigate its way through 60 miles of urban traffic, busy intersections and stoppage signs in a time of less than 6 hours, and it came up trumps to actually win the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 2007 Urban Challenge competition.

Watch the ‘Boss’ make its moves, with inputs from its developers, in the Video below:

This feat is definitely an eye-opener as well as a clear demonstration of the possibilities that electricity can be put to use for; not only can vehicles of the future be made to run on electricity, they can even be driven by it! The day does not seem far when we would simply back in our cars and either watch TV or have breakfast while being driven to work – by the car itself!

Already, there is immense technological assistance available to drivers in present-generation vehicles, with features such as GPS, reverse-sensing ability, satellite navigation, etc. But this feat takes matters to a whole new dimension wherein the vehicle is able to fully drive itself on its own.

And GM is at the forefront of all such technological developments. Numerous driver-assist features already available on GM vehicles include StabiliTtrak; GM’s GPS-enabled OnStar safety and security system; pre-crash sensors; side blind zone assist; and lane departure warning systems. GM is working on similar initiatives with Carnegie Mellon University with regard to autonomous driving technologies through its collaborative research laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh.

Understand GM’s StabiliTrak technology, in the video below:

Knight Rider may no longer remain just a Television series we used to view in the yesteryears; it may very well become a part of everyday life!

In early 2008, Chevrolet launched a test fleet of Equinox fuel cell vehicles that were hydrogen-powered, across the streets of New York City, Washington D.C. and Southern California.

Known as ‘Project Driveway’, the aim of this initiative was to garner feedback from everyday people about the usability and feasibility of fuel cell vehicles – vehicles that have zero emissions other than water vapor and are completely gasoline independent, thus reducing our over dependence on foreign fuel.

Know more about the program and the experience that people are having, using this vehicle, in this video.

Side View of the Chevy Equinox FCV

As an electric vehicle, the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell uses GM’s fourth-generation fuel cell system, which is the most advanced fuel cell propulsion system that GM has produced till date. Combined with the vehicle’s electric motor traction system, it will produce quickfire torque, instant and smooth acceleration as well as noiseless performance.

GM is not yet bringing the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell out for general purchase by customers. Rather, this initiative is a way to garner feedback from select users, regarding both the positives and the negatives of the vehicle. In case you are wondering what the negatives are, well they are practically nothing to do with the vehicle itself, and more with the limited availability of hydrogen fuel pumps. So considering the limited distance that the vehicle can go on one fill of hydrogen fuel, combined with the limited availability of hydrogen fuel pumps, it will take a while for the vehicle as well as the technology to actually gain prominence as well as wide acceptance.

Rear View of the Chevy Equinox FCV - in all its Elements!

In terms of acceptance and recognition from external entities, the vehicle is receiving rave accolades. Already, the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell has been awarded with the Green Car Vision Award from the Green Car Journal, which is a big achievement, since it is the first time that the magazine has actually recognized a limited production vehicle for its futuristic technologies and thinking.

Only time can tell about the future of this project, though the prospects seem really bright. Additionally, considering our country’s dependence on foreign oil from essentially hostile regimes, the need of the hour is such an initiative which can do away with such a dependency.

To know more about the program as well as to get a close look at the vehicle itself, watch this video.