CHEVROLET RED LINE EDITIONS REV UP CHICAGO AUTO SHOW

SEMA concepts hit the streets in hopes of redlining sales

Frank Markus 

At the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Chevrolet dressed up five of its most popular vehicles in Red Line costumes—silver paint accented with various shades of black, charcoal, and graphite trim all set off with bright red details in the grille, wheels, brakes, and intakes. Some of the bits and pieces designed for the 2016 Camaro were made available as accessory parts upon launch of Motor Trend’s 2016 Car of the Year, but apparently the lineup so impressed the gathered aftermarketeers that Chevy will be moving the concept onto the factory order sheets for eight of its model lines between now and the end of 2017. The cars made their official debut at the 2017 Chicago Auto Show.

For the production versions, all Red Line vehicles will come equipped with black wheels adorned with red hash marks, black nameplates with a red outline, blacked-out grilles, and the increasingly ubiquitous black Chevrolet Bow Tie logos. From there, the treatments are individually tailored to suit the model. The first to go on sale will be the Silverado Red Line, which is already orderable in dealerships on Double Cab LT Z71 or Crew Cab LTZ Z71 trim-grade trucks. Red tow hooks are part of the Silverado Red Line package and will be standard on the Colorado LT Red Line.

Chevy’s crossover line will get the Red Line treatment on Trax LT, Equinox LT, and Traverse Premier offerings, with the latter featuring black wheel-lip moldings, as well. On the car side, Red Line will be available on Cruze LT sedans and hatchbacks, Malibu LT, and Camaro LT and SS trim grades. The Camaro Red Line package features black hash marks above the wheels, harking back to a design cue from Chevy’s motorsports heritage.

Clearly Chevy is attempting to bolster interest primarily in the lower and middle grades of most of its Red Line offerings—only the Traverse Red Line is offered on a top trim grade. Chevy claims that offering such trim packages tends to increase average transaction prices, reduce the time a vehicle sits on the lot before being snapped up, and boost the brand’s conquest-sales rate. Package pricing, paint color availability—if any—besides silver, and specific roll-out plans for Red Line vehicles arriving after the Silverado were not published as of press time, so look for these packages to be priced aggressively.