If you own a new GMC or Chevrolet van, there’s a chance the airbags might not be safe.

The notice comes after General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that airbags in 1,798 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans manufactured between June 2, 2011 and October 17, 2011 have faulty airbag systems that fail in their second stage during a severe frontal crash.

This isn’t the first time this year that GM issued recalls related to their airbag systems. Earlier this month we reported on an airbag recall for the Pontiac G8 after it came to light that many of the vehicles had issues with late deployment.

Owners can expect a call later this month when the recall begins if they own a qualifying vehicle.

[Source: Left Lane News]

The Pontiac G8, the brand’s last hurrah before GM completely discontinued its operations, is now subject to recall due too concerns regarding the front passenger air bag module.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the air bags may suffer from a possible delay in airbag deployment at the moment of a collision, causing it to fail compliance with federal standards for head injury protection.

GM aims to reprogram the sensing and diagnostic controls of the airbag. To date, no injuries have been reported as a result to the delay and malfunction.

Yesterday we urged GM CEO Fritz Henderson to sit down with his new Vice Chairman Bob Lutz to get their stories about the future of the Pontiac G8 straight. Now they have, and the news isn’t good.

Bob Lutz posted on GM’s corporate Fastlane Blog that the G8 will not live on as the Chevrolet Caprice. In fact, it won’t live on at all. “The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste,” wrote Lutz, who continued; “But I have to say that, with my new ‘marketing’ hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.”

Lutz then expressed his personal disappointment, but said there was just no way to make the car happen and that the company’s resources had to be placed elsewhere.

He then tried to reassure rear-wheel drive, performance enthusiasts saying that, “in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive.” He applauded the Holden team in Australia and said that he would like to look to their products to bring another RWD vehicle over in the future, but not now.

Sadly, the G8 will bow out after a short stay in the North American marketplace, an emotional product that fell victim to “further review and careful study.”

How about an apology for getting our hopes up Bob?

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Hurst Performance Vehicles is looking to send the Pontiac brand out with a bang as it prepares to launch a high output version of the G8 sedan. In collaboration with automotive legend “Doc” Watson, Hurst will build 52 G8 models  complete with superchargers, suspension modifications, custom interior, wheels, a Hurst shifter and, of course, the company’s iconic white/gold and black/gold colors.

The Hurst/Pontiac G8 H.O. will be a modern day version of George Hurst’s “Executive Hot Rod.”

Along with those G8 models, Hurst will also build 10 G6 Convertibles.

“Doc started all of this with George back in 1960 with Hurst Performance Research.  His Hurst H.O. Pontiacs have stormed drag strips and main streets across the country for 50 years,” said Hurst Chairman, Nate Shelton. “There could not be a better time to honor Doc and the legendary Pontiac marque.”

Over those 50 years Watson is responsible for bringing over 80 different performance vehicles (both for the street and the track) to life.

Specifics like power output and price are not yet available but will be made public on August 1st on the Hurst website:

www.hurst-performance.com

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

The 2010 model lineup for the soon-to-be-terminated Pontiac brand will consist of just one model – the Vibe.

Recently GM interim CEO Fritz Henderson reiterated the company’s position that the G8 would not carry on as either a Buick, Chevy or Cadillac. The G3 and G5 will also cease production this year, while the G6 will only be made available to government, corporate and rental car fleets.

There has been no word lately on the Solstice model. GM had made it known that it would consider offers for the Solstice (as well as the Saturn Sky and Opel GT) as a separate entity, but with the sale of Saturn to Penske, that now seems unlikely.

In an effort to spice up sales of the final run of the Vibe, Pontiac will offer the car with air conditioning standard, and make it available in a new color – Ignition Orange.

GM’s official line is that it wants to work with Toyota on a new vehicle to build at the joint GM-Toyota NUMI plant in California where sister cars the Vibe and Martix are produced, but our sources have indicated that GM wants out.

While the Vibe is a great car, we hope the sad irony of a vehicle built for utilitarian purposes being the last one offered by the company’s performance brand is not lost on the folks at GM.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

GM’s interim CEO Fritz Henderson is starting to open up on some of the company’s fuel-efficiency plans and the future involves a pair of turbocharged four-cylinders.

The first turbo-four will be offered in the new Buick LaCrosse but won’t be available immediately. Currently the LaCrosse is slated to get a standard 3.0-liter V6 that makes 255hp thanks to direct injection. The larger optional engine is a direct-injection 3.6-liter V6 which makes 280hp.

It’s not clear what size or output the new turbo engine will provide but if the Envicta concept on which the LaCrosse is based it could be a 2.0-liter engine with 250hp and 220 ft-lbs of torque. It could, however, a a version of the Ecotec 2.4 or even a direct-injection version of the turbo 2.0-liter currently offered in the Cobalt SS.

This would fit in between the two V6 options, although it’s not clear that the 3.0-liter six would continue on past the introduction of the turbo-four.

Little more is known about the second turbocharged four-cylinder, which will sit as the base engine in the upcoming Chevy Cruz. It will be just a 1.4-liter four-banger and while actual output figures are not available they will likely be in the 150hp range.

Henderson also confirmed that the Corvette will live on in a V8 rear-wheel drive package. He did, however, reiterate the company’s position that the Pontiac G8 will not survive past 2010

[Source: MotorTrend]

There is hope, be it ever so slight, that the Pontiac G8 may live on even though the brand it’s attached to is most certainly slated for elimination.

“I know there’s still discussions on it,” GM’s product boss Tom Stephens told Automotive News, giving some hope to the legions of G8 fans that haven’t had anything to get excited about since the fourth generation Firebird came out in 1993.

Stephens did add, however, that as Chevrolet already has several sedans, another one wasn’t really necessary.

The G8 could work as a high-performance SS version of the Impala, or even as the basis of a Buick vehicle – although that seems highly unlikely. And unfortunately for G8 fans, GM already has an excellent rear wheel drive platform that underpins the Cadillac CTS.

Still, the sun hasn’t quite set on the G8 and there’s plenty that can happen between now and the end of 2010 when Pontiac is scheduled to be scuttled.

GM has continued to insist that the Pontiac brand isn’t for sale and that it will be eliminated as a part of its Viability Plan. While the brand as a whole has struggled significantly in recent years, the G8 has been a success, with high sales and rave reviews from journalists. This has prompted some to speculate that the closing of Pontiac (a brand known for performance) may be more of a political decision than an economic one.

[Source: AutoWeek]