General Motors
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Lighter, smaller, quicker and more responsive to customer needs - that's how the new General Motors Company is comparing itself to the now-defunct General Motors Corporation it replaces. Today's emergence from bankruptcy - just 40 days after it went in - marks the start of what the new GM hopes will be a very different way of doing business. The core points of the new GM plan were released in an announcement this morning, with more details to follow shortly in a media call with CEO Fritz Henderson. Central to the new GM manifesto is an openness to customer input, a new buying structure that...
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Walkinshaw Releases New WP190 Supercharger Kit For GM LS3 V-8As if the massive V8s from GM were short of power to start with, Aussie-based Walkinshaw Performance has made a new supercharger kit that’ll pump an LS3 V8 up to 566hp (422kW) and 727Nm (537lb-ft) of torque. The kit is also available for the 6.0L L98 V8. Either one will run you somewhere...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM plug-in hybrid crossover on track for 2011 debutWhen General Motors sells Saturn later this year, it will lose more than a quarter of its sales of hybrid vehicles. Saturn, with no V8 models, fullsize SUVs or pickups, is GM’s most fuel-efficient brand and is second only to Chevrolet for overall hybrid sales with its Vue and Aura mild-hybrid...
Ralph Hanson -
Future Buicks: small cars, front-drivers, and four-cylinders aheadWith GM sailing off into the future minus a handful of brands--Saturn, HUMMER, Saab and Pontiac among them--Buick counts itself as one of the lucky nameplates in the new GM. What's next? A compact Buick lineup of four or five vehicles, with more compact dimensions and smaller engines than fans of...
Martin Padgett -
Car Czar Rattner Wants Cadillac Free, And SoonWith General Motors setting a land-speed record in clearing bankruptcy court, the White House and de facto car czar Steven Rattner want out of General Motors, and quick. GM could exit bankruptcy as soon as tomorrow, now that a federal court has okayed the Section 363 sale of the "new GM" assets to...
Martin Padgett -
Hennessey working on 705hp ‘Z700’ Corvette ZR1 for 2010The world's fastest and most powerful production Corvette, the 638hp (476kW) ZR1 has become the pinnacle of American sports cars. After all, for most ZR1 owners, having a car capable of Nurburgring times of 7m 26s is more than enough to satisfy performance to satisfy their need for speed. However...
James Martinez -
Small, economical cars may be all the buzz in Europe right now but that doesn’t mean automakers are neglecting the big cube performance market. One of America’s heavy hitters will soon be tearing up the tarmac across the pond according to information revealed by Chevrolet’s general manager in Europe. Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport, GM executive Jurgen Keller that the rejuvenated Chevrolet Camaro muscle car will find its way to Europe through official channels, most likely sometime next year. Keller wasn’t willing to reveal any other details and so far no other...
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Bankruptcy court approves GM asset saleGeneral Motors is one step closer to emerging from bankruptcy, with a judge on Sunday approving an asset sale to allow the most profitable assets to exit bankruptcy protection under government ownership. Judge Robert Gerber of the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan said the sale would "prevent the...
James Martinez -
Report: Buick LaCrosse hybrid in the worksThe new 2010 Buick Lacrosse has made waves with its attractive design and overall build quality since its unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Soon after that General Motors increased the appeal of the car by announcing that it will be available with not only a 3.0L and 3.6L V6, but also...
James Martinez -
Transformers 2 movie pushes Camaro sales over the topJust last week we profiled the Camaro's rise to above-sticker sales prices due to huge enthusiast demand, including 14,000 pre-orders placed before the car even entered production. But now the new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie is helping to push the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro fan base out...
Kenneth Hall -
HSV boosting power and economy for E-Series 2 lineupEven V8 performance groups like Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) cannot afford to ignore the new spate of environmental consciousness that’s sweeping the globe. Whether it’s a case of consumers griping about how much they have to pay for fuel, or a genuine desire for greener performance...
Jeremy Weber -
GM ends 25-year NUMMI partnership with ToyotaGeneral Motors has confirmed that it will dump its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) joint venture that it established with Toyota more than 25 years ago. Located in Fremont, California, the NUMMI plant was last responsible for versions of the Toyota Corolla and...
Ralph Hanson -
GM’s next-generation Opel Meriva compact MPV has been caught undergoing testing once gain. Though it remains in full camouflage, many details are still discernible, including the overall shape, which remains close to the original Meriva concept from last year's Geneva Motor Show. A very carefully placed extra segment of cladding appears to be hiding one of the most controversial lements of the concept’s design: the rear-window ‘kink’. The front door’s handle and the general construction of the doors and rubber strips indicate the rear-opening rear doors of the...
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Germans, luxury marques lead diesel's U.S. comebackIt's easy to blame the economy or the consequent poor car market for the delay of diesels from Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, but that hasn't kept the Germans at BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen from turning up the wick on oil-burners. In fact, it's quite the...
Nelson Ireson -
GM pitching Volt as sporty, green alternative to Prius, InsightAt first glance, there's very little to differentiate the main contenders for your hybrid sedan dollar - the new Insight looks remarkably like the Prius. For that matter, so does the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. Aerodynamic necessity is a harsh master. But General Motors is planning to set the Volt...
Ralph Hanson -
Dealers say Camaro sales hot, average price $500 over stickerFans of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro have already placed orders for over 25,000 vehicles, only half of which have been filled since the car went on sale. Demand hasn't let up even a little bit despite the overall downturn in the economy and market, with the average Camaro leaving the lot in a new...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Hummer deal on the rocks, China doesn't want gas guzzlersGeneral Motors' deal with China's Tengzhong to buy Hummer was thought to be as good as done in early June, but today reports of chatter on China's state radio casts the sale in a different light. The gas-guzzling SUVs just don't fit with the conservation plans in place in Beijing. So now the AP is...
Ralph Hanson -
First pre-production Chevrolet Volt prototypes hit the roadYou may think you've already seen the 2011 Chevrolet Volt inside and out (online at least) but in truth you've only seen mock-ups. The first real, complete pre-production Volts are currently testing on the streets around GM’s Warren test center in Michigan and these are the first images of...
Alex Kaufmann -
As a side effect of the current industry downturn and the subsequent realignment of capacity at America's major domestic car manufacturers, the once-Big Three could be outstripped in North American production by a combination of foreign companies by 2012, including BMW and Porsche-owned Volkswagen, according to a study released today by Grant Thornton LLP. Readers with acute memories will recall a series of articles we've run over the past several months documenting the rise of many carmakers to production levels that exceed Chrysler and General Motors individually. Ford, though it too will...
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New Opel Astra Cabrio in the worksWith Opel’s new Astra now out in the open, attention can turn to variants other than the regular five-door Hatchback that’s been plastered all over the web in recent months. While a new Wagon and sporty Coupe are almost certain, latest reports indicate that a stylish Cabrio model will...
Kenneth Hall -
Lexus tops J.D. Power Initial Quality study, Porsche and Cadillac close behindWhen it comes to luxury-car quality, taste often plays as big a role as fact, but J.D. Power tries to boil the issue down to a simple metric: problems per 100 cars. The resulting ranks are dubbed the Initial Quality Study, and used to guide consumer decisions. As usual, Lexus rates at the very top...
Alex Kaufmann -
Saab 9-4X crossover on track for early 2010 launchSaab’s split from General Motors and pending sale to supercar company Koenigsegg will apparently have no major affect on the Swedish automaker’s future model launches, such as that of the upcoming 9-4X crossover. The new crossover will share much in common with the recently-revealed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chevrolet releases full specs and pricing for 2010 Corvette Z06The 638hp (476kW) ZR1 and brand new Grand Sport models may be getting all the limelight but the race-bred Corvette Z06 supercar is still tearing up pavements around the country and like the rest of the Corvette range has been updated for the 2010 model year. The 505hp (377kW) Z06 remains one of the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM sees possibility for early exit from Chapter 11Much talk over the messiness of so-called 'surgical' bankruptcies has spun about the web, and before Chrysler and General Motors went into the process, there was a lot of doubt that they'd be out within the planned 60 days. But Chrysler is already working with Fiat and now GM sees itself possibly...
Nelson Ireson