While General Motors is shying away from social media and advertising, its competition is taking the chance to fill the gap and get attention.
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General Motors has started the expansion of its Wentzville, Missouri plant, essentially taking the first steps toward brining the new Chevrolet Colorado to the U.S. Continue Reading…
Tucked away behind the list of new cars in Cadillac’s lineup like the upcoming XTS seen above, the Omega platform that could underpin a new rear-wheel drive flagship for the American luxury marque seems to be gathering steam.
General Motors, one of the largest advertisers in the U.S., seems to be pulling out of big ad campaigns like it’s the new hot trend.
Straight from the other side of the world, Chevrolet announced its SS Performance sedan today: a rebadged next-generation Holden VF Commodore, as expected.
The latest rumblings from Down Under are suggesting that GM subsidiary Holden will soon announce its plan to export the V8 Commodore to the American market as the Chevrolet SS Performance sedan.
Warren Buffett must have been a wealthy lemming in a past life, because when he dives from a cliff others follow — often into a pit of money. His latest plunge involved acquiring 10 million shares of General Motors, which could signal future strength for the company.
General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, has confirmed its plan to pull $10 million worth of ads from social media behemoth, Facebook, just days before the site’s IPO.
After losing its crown as the world’s largest automaker in 2011, Toyota looks to regain its position at the top of the heap, out-selling rivals General Motors and Volkswagen through the first quarter of this year.
It’s common practice for regional auto journalist associations to gather, usually once a year, and vote on which cars they like most.
Every year the Fortune 500 rankings are announced, and it’s usually no surprise to see the big three on the list. This year, however, you’ll find only two of the domestic automakers, though both have moved up the list.
This year has been rough for Porsche designers. Last month Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the 911, passed away; and now Tony Lapine (second from left), former chief designer at Porsche passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday, April 29.
According to current GM CEO Dan Akerson, Mary Barra (pictured above), the global product development chief at GM may succeed him, and would become the first female CEO of General Motors.
Akerson was brought into the company as it was emerging from bankruptcy, and was charged with the difficult task of putting the numbers back in the black. Now that the forecast is looking less dismal at GM, it seems a new CEO may be looming. Another factor is surely that Dan Akerson is 63 years old, and may be considering retirement soon.
While there are quite a few females in the automotive industry, the top ranks have been historically male, but now GM is trying to change this. ”Four of 12 of our directors are women, one of our women runs Europe and some of our biggest plants are run by women,” Akerson said.
[Source: Automotive News]
Having renewed its long-term business relationship with GM, Walt Disney Land has renovated, or “re-imagined”, an older test track feature at Epcot for a more up-to-date experience.
With an atmosphere that combines Tron themes and the appearances of a development lab, the new ride incorporates a new design center concept that allows visitors to design and create their own GM vehicles. Guests use interactive design and styling workstations to come up with their own prototypes, and will later hop aboard to experience their thrilling creation first-hand on the twisting and turning Test Track. After the ride, participants can also make their own pretend commercial, or take a picture with the new car.
Sponsored by Chevrolet, the ride is intended to provide a fun learning experience, sharing a look inside the process of vehicle testing and development.
Expect the new Epcot Center Test Track to be revealed this fall. To car enthusiasts planning a fun trip to Orlando, don’t miss out!
A series of very public Li-ion defect related incidents have caused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) decision to hold a meeting with automakers and battery suppliers with regards to the safety of the new technology.
General Motors announced pricing for its bi-fuel Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 heavy-duty pickup trucks today, saying the vehicles will cost $11,000 above base price.
Customers may begin placing orders for the CNG trucks on March 19 and will be available in standard or longbox configurations with either two- or four-wheel drive.
“The announcement of the bi-fuel Silverado and Sierra has been well-received among customers, which sends a clear message that businesses are looking for alternative fuel options to meet their needs,” said Ed Peper, general manager, GM Fleet and Commercial Operations. “The addition of the full-size bi-fuel pickups to our product portfolio is part of our commitment to offer great products, innovative business solutions and an exceptional customer experience.”
Running on either compressed natural gas (CNG) or gasoline, the trucks are powered by a 6.0-liter V8 that can seamlessly transition between fuels. Doing so will allow for between $5,000 and $10,000 in savings annually, according to GM. Although the trucks are initially more expensive, over time the reduced fuel costs will save money for the businesses that use them.
“Businesses are looking for ways to control their costs while reducing vehicle emissions and becoming less dependent on fluctuating gas prices. The low cost of ownership makes these vehicles a realistic solution,” said Joyce Mattman, director, GM Commercial Product and Specialty Vehicles. “CNG has maintained a significantly lower retail price than either gasoline or diesel. The current average price of CNG is equivalent to $1.89 per gallon of gasoline.”
Yesterday, an explosion was reported at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan and early reports had one or two people injured. An official statement was released by GM that five people were injured, one seriously.
“We are aware of five employees being evaluated on scene by medical personal and only one employee is being further treated,” said GM.
The one employee who was injured seriously is expected to make a full recovery and no one suffered life-threatening injuries in the accident. According to GM, the explosion “was related to extreme testing on a prototype battery,” and of course the American automaker had to include that it was “unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle.”
It is being reported that the prototype lithium-ion battery that exploded was manufactured by A123 Systems, who recently had to deal with all the negative press surrounding the Fisker Karma and is already facing financial obstacles.
Watch the news report below.
Self-driving cars aren’t new, but if electric vehicles’ slow adoption rates among U.S. consumers are any measure of new technology acceptance then autonomous cars can’t be close at hand, or can they?
According to a speech given by Larry Burns, former General Motors research and development head, we can expect such technology by 2020. Unless you’ve been ignoring auto news, that sentence might seem strange. We already have cars that drive themselves, even to Taco Bell drive-through windows, courtesy of Google.
The Chevrolet Volt has had its fair share of teething problems. Soon after its birth, there were reports of some vehicles spontaneously combusting.
This obviously had an effect on the cars reputation, and sales fell. To save money and rid themselves of backed up inventory, General Motors decided to halt production of the Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant for five-weeks.
However, the Volt’s fortune quickly changed. March was its best sales month ever, as GM sold 2,289 examples of the plug-in range extended EV.
The 2013 Chevrolet Traverse officially debuted at the 2012 New York International Auto Show this morning as the as the brand’s latest full-size crossover.
“We have injected a stronger presence into the Traverse exterior by focusing on the details. The small but important changes give it a more vibrant personality that more closely reflects the lifestyles of the families who rely on the Traverse to get them through their busy lives,” said GM director of exterior design Phillip Zak.
GALLERY: 2013 Chevrolet Traverse
It wasn’t long ago when the best-selling General Motors models greedily guzzled gas, but times have changed due to a large part to rising gas prices.
Now, GM’s fuel-effiicient models rule the roads and in March they have reached a milestone. Last month, GM sold more than 100,000 vehicles that achieve 30 mpg or better.
“GM’s strategic investments in four-cylinder and turbocharged engines, advanced transmissions and vehicle electrification have been very well timed,” said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. “Three years ago, about 16 percent of the vehicles GM sold achieved at least 30 mpg on the highway. Today, that number is about 40 percent, and we have more new fuel-economy leaders on the way, including the Chevrolet Spark, Cadillac ATS and the Buick Encore.”
This is a huge shift and shows where the market is heading. The cars that make up this new sales record include the Chevrolet Sonic, Cruze, Volt, Malibu, Impala, Equinox and even the V6 Camaro.
Buick‘s Verano, Regal, LaCrosse, and GMC‘s Terrain round out the field.
In future, GM will be offering more fuel efficient models, like the new Cadillac ATS, which will also offer four-cylinder engines.
The Heartland Institute is well known for its skepticism on climate change, pushing to challenge accepted norms about global warming and their man-made causes.
General Motors on the other hand, is trying really hard to sell their Chevrolet Volt so any support for an association that spreads climate misinformation isn’t good for the American automaker. A recent leak exposed that GM was sending funding towards the Heartland Institute and climate advocacy group, Forecast the Facts, began a petition to ask GM to stop their support.
It didn’t take very long for the petition to get over 20,000 signatures from current GM vehicle owners. And without further ado, GM has announced that they are no longer supporting the Heartland Institute. The decision was reported to the Climate One organization and it said:
“General Motors has decided to discontinue funding of the Heartland Institute, an organization that downplays the risks of climate disruption, three weeks after GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson was asked about it during a Climate One radio interview. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss confirmed the move today.”
While this probably doesn’t have a huge impact on the Heartland Institute – it is believed that GM’s contributions weren’t significant – it proves that GM is willing to back off support for organizations that their car owners aren’t too keen of.
Now if only they could persuade those tens of thousands of customers to switch to a Volt.
[Source: Tree Hugger]
Time topples regimes, ends companies and kills men. A lot can happen in a century, yet that much has passed since the first GMC truck debuted in New York.
In light of that, the automaker decided to debut a commemorative package that includes the Yukon, Yukon XL and Sierra trucks and SUVs. Bearing commemorative exterior badges, these special edition vehicles will debut next week at the New York Auto Show.
Of course, nothing is changed mechanically for any of them, but a few premium interior features and an ebony and light tan interior add to aesthetic appeal.
Still, the vehicles themselves aren’t even radically different from a luxury perspective. The Heritage Edition package is an option for SLT trim Yukons ($1,970) and Sierras ($2,645).
For that money you get embroidered floor matts, headrests and 20-inch chrome wheels, though those cost extra on the pickup truck. Other items include a rear view camera for the Yukon and 10-way leather memory seats for the Sierra.
GALLERY: GMC Heritage Edition package
