General Motors
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General Motors has revealed that it will unveil the Volt plug-in hybrid in near-production form to employees in a special sneak preview this September. Celebrating 100 years in the car business on September 16th, GM is reportedly nearly finished with the car's basic design, and is now working on laying the foundations for its production. The first hurdle to overcome will be the construction of the plant where the company will build the 1.4L engine that will power the Volt in naturally-aspirated form and the upcoming Cruze in turbo form. The Cruze itself will also be built in the plant, which...
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2010 Chevrolet Camaro officially unveiled
Updated with new video. Since 2006, General Motors has been teasing the automotive world with the Camaro Concept, and now the production car is officially revealed to the world. Due to start production February 16th, 2009, the car is being marketed as a high-tech and efficient high-performance car...
Nelson Ireson -
Update: Progressive gets detailed on use-based insurance
Update: Progressive has announced a more fine-grained approach to use-based insurance pricing. Cars can be fitted with a ‘black box’-type device that records acceleration patterns, brake usage and other important data the insurance company believes contributes to a driver’s risk...
Nelson Ireson -
Update: GM paying Hummer dealers early bonuses, preparing to buyout stores
Update: With General Motors publicly announcing its doubts about Hummer's viability and plans to sell the brand, many dealers were upset about the carmaker’s seeming lack of care for the predicament they had been placed in by the comments and the potential loss of the multi-million dollar...
Nelson Ireson -
GM to cut pickup production, shorten Saab warranties
Part of the company's continuing reorganization plan, General Motors has taken several actions today to lighten its load in the face of reduced demand. Cutting back truck production, much like rival Ford recently announced, has been expected for some time. But reducing the warranty terms on U.S...
Nelson Ireson -
GM to cut powertrain development time and costs with new Detroit lab
General Motors has opened an advanced engine testing facility in Detroit, Michigan, which the carmaker claims will allow it to speed up powertrain development times and save more than $200 million per year. According to GM, the new facility is the largest of its kind in the world and it will...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Detroit's carmakers announced their expected tough profit and loss statements this week, and now they're announcing another round of incentives in an effort to help push the bottom line back toward black. General Motors and Chrysler have both released word of their extended incentive programs today, with Chrysler adding some new offers into the mix, and announcing they will no longer be underwriting leases beginning August 1. An extension of the existing employee discount program to friends and extended family of employees will run through July 31 at GM dealerships. The decision was a late...
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GM in talks with China's Zhongxing
General Motors may be looking to expand its links with even more international carmakers, with latest reports indicating the U.S. auto giant is talks with Chinese carmakers Hebei Zhongxing and First Automobiles Works (FAW) Group. Zhongxing is one of the biggest pickup truck manufacturers in China...
Siddarth Raja -
GM testing Saturn Vue plug-in hybrids
While all eyes may be turned towards Chevrolet's upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid, other brands under the General Motors umbrella are also set to offer plug-in hybrids to help improve the carmaker’s fleet average fuel economy levels and become more competitive in a world of record high fuel...
Ralph Hanson -
First half results are in: industry is down, but not out
While the automotive universe has certainly been shaken at its foundations with a confluence of unfortunate events this year, all is not lost. Cloudy second-quarter and first-half results appear to have a few silver linings as the industry begins to adjust to the new face of the market. General...
Nelson Ireson -
GM & EPRI join forces to develop electric infrastructure
General Motors' roll-out of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is set to have a large impact on the United States power industry. In a bid to anticipate this impact, General Motors will likely team up with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) - an institute that conducts research for several...
James Martinez -
GM windshield uses lasers to highlight road markings
As the proportion of older drivers in the world’s leading nations grows, carmakers are finding new avenues for the technological advancement of safe driving. Taking a new angle on the head-up display (HUD) concept, General Motors is working on a prototype windshield system that enhances the...
Nelson Ireson -
Turning away from niche vehicles and small-market cars, GM is looking to build nothing but high-volume cars for the near future. That means significantly cutting back truck output and focusing its energy on cars and crossovers. The company has had some recent success with high-volume products in the target areas, including the Chevy Malibu, Cadillac CTS, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. Bob Lutz, GM's pithy vice chairman phrased the strategy in simple terms. “We can’t afford to hit singles and bunts. We need triples and home runs,” he said. A new range of smaller, more...
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GM reveals latest North American strategy
General Motors today announced further steps to adapt to the changing conditions of the U.S. market, which has been affected of late by a weak economy, record high fuel prices, shifts in consumer vehicle preferences, and the lowest vehicle sales volumes in a decade. Speaking at the presentation...
James Martinez -
Carmakers expand fuel-saving tires to mainstream models
Cars like Honda's Civic Hybrid and Toyota's Prius have long been known to use harder-than-normal tires as part of the overall package to improve fuel efficiency. Now U.S. carmakers, especially those in Detroit, are looking to the simple technology to improve fuel economy performance of a wide range...
Nelson Ireson -
Update: Left-hand-drive only Cadillac CTS-V planned for Europe
Update: Despite reports from Top Gear claiming the CTS's brawny force-fed brother - the CTS-V - won't be sold in Europe, a rival publication has word from a senior GM official that the high-performance saloon will make it to Europe in left-hand-only drive and will even be sold in the UK. Autocar...
Nelson Ireson -
Russia bumps Germany as Europe's biggest market, Chevy tops charts
Troubles at home aside, General Motors' Chevrolet brand has blazed a path to the top of Europe's biggest market - and it's not Germany. Russia's 2008 first-half sales surpassed Germany's, rising 41% to a total volume of 1.65 million cars. The incredible increase is driven directly by consumer...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler and GM deny bankruptcy rumors
The U.S. auto industry may be in turmoil, but both Chrysler and General Motors have denied any possibility of bankruptcy and have dismissed recent rumors to that effect as inaccurate. Both companies have been plagued by falling sales as consumer demand shifts towards smaller and more fuel-efficient...
Ralph Hanson -
The upcoming CAFE standards are making carmakers nervous, with most of the major players speaking out about the huge cost and difficult technical challenges they face. High-tech plug-in hybrids like GM's Volt and Toyota's recently confirmed car have been the central hope for getting fleet averages down before the 2015 deadline, but GM isn't so sure thinks will work out in time. Unfortunately, the same technology that makes them efficient makes them expensive and difficult to built in large numbers, and for that reason, GM has told the government not to count on the Volt for huge fuel savings...
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GM likely to drop overlapping models instead of brands
General Motors has widely been reported to be considering dropping several brands as it struggles in a climate of falling demand, rising fuel prices and material costs and increased competition, but the carmaker insists that the only brand under review is Hummer. Reports emerged earlier this week...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: GM considering Volt unveiling to distract from economic troubles
Whether it's 'Monica Missiles' or 'Economic Stimulus Packages' the political misdirection is a tried and true method of shifting the media's attention from something undesirable and toward another issue that's easier to deal with. General Motors is reported to be considering just such an action in...
Nelson Ireson -
Update: GM denies considering more brand and salary job cuts
Update: General Motors today issued a statement denying the Wall Street Journal's reports of more possible brand and salaried job cuts. The troubled automaker has seen sales plummet over the past several months as oil prices reach record highs, its large SUV and pickup-heavy lineup unsuited to the...
Ralph Hanson -
GM reveals Corvette S-Limited for 100th anniversary
Japanese buyers are being treated to a special limited edition of Corvette, the S-Limited, in honor of General Motors' 100th anniversary. There will only be 30 of the cars made, half in Arctic White and half in black. Most oddly, the cars appear to be left-hand drive, like their American...
Nelson Ireson -
GM considering more XFE efficiency models
Following a trend started by a number of European carmakers, GM recently revealed a new ‘XFE’ (E)Xtra Fuel Economy labeling system which debuted on the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt and soon followed onto the Pontiac G5. The cars feature a number of modifications to their drivetrains and...
Ralph Hanson