GM
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When 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 models. Saturn also planned to launch a new Two-Mode hybrid version of the Vue by the middle of the year, as well as an advanced plug-in hybrid version next year. While reports emerged earlier this year claiming all these vehicles had been canceled, GM’s vice chairman of global product...
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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 -
Report: Chevrolet Camaro heading to EuropeSmall, 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...
Alex Kaufmann -
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 -
The 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 a new Ecotec 2.4L direct-injection four-cylinder. According to a new report, a hybrid model is also expected in the near future. Speaking with Ward’s Auto, GM's global vehicle line executive James Frederico appeared to confirm the hybrid LaCrosse but did not disclose exact timing. "We are...
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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 -
Spy shots: 2010 Opel Meriva MPVGM’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...
Ralph Hanson -
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 -
Fans 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 owner's hands in a matter of days. Prices are staying high due to the demand, too, reports Bloomberg. While most of the cars on the market have some sort of financing or cash-back incentive on them - both from American and import carmakers - the Camaro has none. And it's actually selling for about $500...
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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 -
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 -
Much 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 setting up the New GM shop by July 15. There are still several technical hurdles to clear in the mean time, however. And much of the process is out of GM's hands, reports the Wall Street Journal. Much of the remaining work rests on the shoulders of the bankruptcy judge, which will have to clear the...
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GM denies any plans to license Toyota's hybrid Synergy Drive systemEarlier this week news broke that General Motors would in fact be discontinuing the Pontiac Vibe, built alongside the Toyota Matrix at the California New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) the two carmakers share. Since then, speculation as to what sort of joint GM-Toyota project might emerge...
Nelson Ireson -
Hennessey drops new photos of 562hp HPE550 Chevrolet CamaroTexas-based tuning firm Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) has already announced plans for a highly modified 705hp (526kW) version of the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, which it plans to launch early next year, but if over 700 horses under your hood seems a bit extreme Hennessey also sells a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fornasari announces 610hp Racing Buggy for series productionIt's hard to pin down the qualities of the 'ultimate' vehicle, but the new Racing Buggy from Fornasari looks to be a fair attempt. Its design, however, is as extreme as its capabilities so it's sure to polarize. With 610hp on tap, routed through an AWD system with 60% rear bias and built around a...
Ralph Hanson -
GM bumps price of 2010 Corvette ZR1 up $2,910 to $107,830Supercar performance from a 638hp supercharged V8 engine, carbon fiber bodywork and sharp styling should all add up to a price tag in the $200,000+ range if you look to the competition, but the Corvette ZR1's unmatched value put its sticker price at just $104,920 for 2009. That price will be going...
Ralph Hanson -
Report: Buick to get two-mode hybrid for new crossoverIf the rumors are true, General Motors may be in the process of developing a new Buick crossover - with a new two-mode plug-in hybrid engine that should take the alternative fuels fight to its competitors. GM, Daimler, Chrysler and BMW have been jointly developing the two-mode hybrid for some time...
Alex Kaufmann