Anti-theft advances and 360 degrees of safety designed for owners’ peace of mind
DETROIT – Customers of the 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe will get a vehicle that offers a new level of security and one designed to deter thieves who target vehicle parts.
Thwarting theft was a design focus of Chevrolet’s full-size SUVs. New standard features include a steering column lock that deters push-away and tow-away theft – a significant portion of today’s stolen vehicle incidents; side cut keys that deter lock picking and more robust door lock cylinders and shields to prevent access with slim jims and other tools.
Also new for 2015: Creative and hidden storage, such as a compartment behind the available infotainment screen; and third-row seats that are bolted down, all but eliminating theft of third-row seats, which are removable in the current generation full-size SUVs. In 2015 models, the second and third rows fold flat to make storing cargo easier.
Available on the Tahoe’s LT and LTZ models is a Theft Protection Package, which features glass breakage sensors, interior motion sensors, and an inclination/tilt sensor – all of which sound an alarm if the vehicle is lifted off the ground, attempted to be broken into, or if motion is detected within the vehicle when the alarm is armed. Additional features reinforce key control systems to make it more difficult to start or move the vehicle without an authorized key.
“We have engineered a layered approach to vehicle security,” said Bill Biondo, General Motors’ Global Vehicle Security lead. “With new standard features and the available theft protection package, we are making the all-new 2015 Tahoe a less attractive target to thieves and more secure for our customers.”
If a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe is stolen, standard OnStar can help. Stolen Vehicle Assistance consisting of Stolen Vehicle Location, Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and Remote Ignition Block all can assist law enforcement in stolen vehicle location and recovery.
360 degrees of safety
Tahoe incorporates new technologies – including radar – that contributes to 360 degrees of crash avoidance and occupant protection. Standard and available features include forward collision alert, front park assist, lane departure warning, lane change assist, rear cross traffic alert and adaptive cruise control.
With lane change assist, the Tahoe’s warning aid helps drivers avoid crashes with vehicles in the next lane. Radar technology coverage is one lane over from both side mirrors and extends back approximately 70 meters from the side mirror. An orange vehicle symbol in side mirrors illuminates to alert the driver against changing lanes.
Chevrolet’s available Safety Alert Seat offers directional vibrations to alert the driver about potential crash threats. The GM-patented seat allows a driver to better grasp the direction of a potential crash threat than beeping that can compete with other noises in the vehicle.
The Tahoe also offers the segment’s only front-seat center air bag, in bucket-seat models. The front-seat center air bag is engineered to provide additional protection for drivers and front passengers in far-side impact crashes, where the affected occupant is on the opposite, non-struck side of the vehicle.
In addition, the all-new Tahoe has more high-strength steel in its frame, providing customers with greater protection in a crash.
“Safety and security are our customers top purchase considerations,” said Mark Clawson, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban marketing manager. “With all new standard and available safety and security features, we’re able to provide 360 degrees of crash avoidance, occupant protection and greater theft protection.”
The new 2015 Tahoe and Suburban will be built at GM’s Arlington, Texas assembly plant. Both vehicles are scheduled to arrive in dealerships in the first quarter of 2014.