General Motors will recall 2,000 laid off workers by September according to a Detroit News report, allowing the company to start hiring new workers for its American plants.

While G.M. representatives would not confirm any timeline, Joe Ashton, UAW VP in charge of GM, confirmed that the workers would be back, stating “We will have full employment in September for the first time in a long time,”

Many of the workers are situated in Southeast Michigan, an area devastated by the decline of the auto industry. GM is adding a third shift of 750 employees to its Flint truck plant, a second shift of 600 workers to its Lansing plant to build the Cadillac ATS and recalling 1,550 workers to its Lake Orion small car plant.

New workers will have to contend with a wage of $14-$16 an hour, roughly half of what recalled and current employees will make. The two-tier wage system is a point of contention among union members, but the contract under which is was implemented is scheduled to expire this year and will be re-negotiated by the union and the Big Three this summer.

[Source: Detroit News]

The latest Harris poll results are out and Ford has taken the top spot in the “Full line automotive” sector, while Mercedes-Benz takes the win in the “Luxury” sector. The winners scored the highest in terms of customer connection, commitment, equity and trust.

Ford beat out rivals such as Chevrolet and Honda, while previous category winner Toyota had slipped to the number four spot.

On the luxury front, Mercedes-Benz beat out Lexus, which previously held the top spot but now is in second place. BMW took third spot.

A total of 25,099 random people, aged 15 and up participated in this survey, and were asked about 60 brands. Each brand was given a total of 1000 responses and the ranking was based on a calculation of familiarity, quality and purchase consideration.

You can read the full press release after the jump.

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Volkswagen is recalling 71,403 2011 Jetta models due to a problem with the vehicle’s wiring. The issue affects the vehicle’s horn and anti-theft system, and Volkswagen said no injuries have been reported.

Owners can check their vehicles build date to see if it falls within the specified range (March 2010 to March 2011) by checking the sticker on the driver’s side doorjamb. Jetta owners can call VW at 800-822-8987 or NHTSA at 888-327-4236. No timeframe has been announced for the recall.

[Source: KickingTires]

There’s risks when you take your vehicle to tackle land speed records at the Texas Mile. Hinson Motorsports’ Chevrolet Corvette Z06 experienced everyone’s biggest fear when the vehicle flipped going an astonishing 230-mph. Luckily the driver didn’t sustain any major injuries, a huge testament to Hinson Motorsports in focusing on safety as much as performance.

Unfortunately, cars speeding beyond 200-mph is a little commonplace out at the Texas Mile, so not a lot of cameras were shining on the Corvette when the incident happened. One video did surface, and is available after the break, that shows the Corvette Z06 zooming along before it rolls over and landing back on its four wheels. We’ll just keep to our boring, mundane commuter cars after watching this video, thanks.

[Source: Autoblog]

GALLERY: Hinson Motorsports’ 230-mph Corvette Crash

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At any given ALMS race, you’re guaranteed to see a field of Porsches on the track at any given minute. These are mostly 997 variants, but now there’s the possibility of catching a glimpse of Porsche’s Panamera and Cayenne at any ALMS race. Ideally, we hope not to see these on the track, given that they’re support vehicles, but it’s nice to see Porsche’s lineup being properly represented at one of the world’s most prestigious race series.

The Panamera Turbo is the official safety car for ALMS; essentially a stock model that has a dome light and paint scheme on it, similar to the well-known Mercedes AMG safety cars. The larger Cayenne SUV will be pulling duties as the medic’s emergency response vehicle, and we really hope that the Cayenne makes a limited number of appearances for that reason alone.

[Source: Autoblog]

GALLERY: Porsche Panamera and Cayenne ALMS Support Vehicles

Taking shots at your competitors is nothing new in the advertising world, but North Americans generally see the kind of gentle ribbing that comes from restrictive libel laws and the preference for subtlety over braggadocio.

Not so in Brazil, where Nissan ran a campaign for their Tiida small car (aka the Versa on our shores) that featured actors imitating rappers and dancing with bikini-clad video girls in front of a Ford Focus. The message of the ad was that Ford was overcharging customers (due to the $1,800 delta in price between the Focus and Tiida) and their lavish lifestyles were funded by the extra cash.

Ford took issue with the gratuitous nature of the commercial and has decided to sue. We don’t know whether their argument will hold up in a Brazilian court of law, but we sure appreciate the video!

[Source: Reuters]

Hit the jump to see the video

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Last year, BMW gave China the M3 Tiger Edition, and it looks like the limited edition M3 was well received in the Chinese market. BMW is following up the Tiger Edition with a Matte Edition M3, another limited offering strictly to the Chinese Market.

Performance won’t be changing with the Matte Edition M3, but the aesthetics will. Two unique finishes will be offered, Gunmetal Grey or Black, both of which will be finished with a matte clear coat. Underneath the matte clear coat will be metallic paint, giving the finished product a very neat sheen.

Accessories will include black chrome side air intakes, exhaust tips, red brake calipers and lightweight 19-inch wheels. In the interior, carbon fiber trim can be seen with matching black carbon fiber leather seats. Contrasting the sleek black shade will be red stitching.

No pricing or quantity was announced.

[Source: Carscoop]

GALLERY: China BMW M3 Limited Matte Edition

German car magazine AutoBild Allrad recently invited readers to participate in a poll, to judge which was their favorite AWD car of the year.

Out of field of some impressive hardware, including the Alfa Romeo Brera Q4; Bentley Continental GT; Lamborghini Gallardo and Nissan GT-R; the readers selected the Cadillac CTS AWD coupe as the overall winner.

Not surprisingly, the folks at Cadillac’s European operations were delighted. “I am very happy to see that the new presence of Cadillac on the European marketplace has been noticed and appreciated,” declared Wolfgang Schubert; Managing Director of Cadillac Europe.

The Cadillac CTS Coupe has been on sale in European markets since the fall of 2010; though around 40 percent of all European buyers so far have chosen AWD models. In some markets, notably Switzerland and Austria, AWD variants account for more than 70 percent of all CTS sales volume.

[Source: General Motors]

BMW is planning to expand its range yet again, with reports of an upcoming 4-Series lineup that would compete against the Audi A5 Sportback in the burgeoning sporty hatchback segment.

Rumors have been flying about a possible 3-Series GT, a complement to the crossover-like 5-Series GT (shown above), but this may in fact be part of the supposed 4-Series models, which would include a coupe, sedan and even a convertible.

For now, the rumors are merely conjecture, and any vehicle wouldn’t arrive until 2013 at the earliest, but with the German marques making such a push to fill every possible niche market, count this one as more likely to happen than not.

[Source: BMWBlog]

Having left Japan just one day before the tsunami-inducing earthquake wreaked havoc, a large shipment of Nissan LEAF Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) has just arrived in Long Beach, Calif.

Nissan’s Luna Spirit vehicle-carrying transport ship was safely on the open ocean when a 500 MPH wave passed under it, at about 3-inches high.

About a week after the tsunami, Nissan announced more than 1,500 LEAFs were either in transit or in a U.S. port.

With the estimated 1,500 new BEVs now in the U.S., this will be make possible the first substantial delivery of LEAFs to the U.S. which at this juncture have had less than stellar sales.

Short supply has been said to be the primary reason why a waiting list of about 2,000 U.S. pre-orders remains unfilled.

In January, Nissan reported 87 LEAFS delivered, and in the 10-percent shorter month of February, just 67 LEAFS were sold. In all, just 173 LEAFS have been delivered to the U.S. according to the Japan Auto Dealers Association (JADA).

This U.S. allotment plus 3,657 LEAF sales primarily in Japan will mean over 5,000 LEAFs will have been produced. This makes it one of the highest production BEVs yet produced. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has previously stated that plug-in vehicles will account for a quarter of Nissan’s sales by 2020, and the LEAF represents the first step towards that goal.

[Source: Plugincars.com]