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For Tuesday, December 8, 2009
- By The Numbers: GM India For November, 2009
- Top GM executives share opinions about new CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre
- The recipe: how GM will deal with shuttered dealers’ complaints and prevent legislation
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For Tuesday, December 15, 2009
- Chevrolet Picks Publicis Groupe And Campbell-Ewald For Advertising Work
- India’s ZigWheels Gets Hand-On With Chevy Spark
- Chevy Volt And Me: The Dance
When it comes to Saab, the clock is ticking – and it’s doing so with tempestuous speed. After plenty of rumors and potential takers for the Swedish brand, GM has decided that enough is enough and that by the end of December, it will either divest itself of Saab by selling it or kill it by sending it to the automotive graveyard, where it would join Saturn, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. As it stands today, there is only one company left bidding for the Swedish automaker – Spyker – which, ironically, hasn’t yet turned a profit.
GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre told reporters at GM’s Detroit headquarters that Spyker is the only company left bidding for Saab and that reaching a deal is “possible,” but later reiterated that the brand would be shut down if an agreement isn’t reached by the end of 2009. In essence, there are only two and a half weeks remaining for GM and Spyker to successfully complete negotiations.
This development comes after news that China’s BAIC (Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company) has reached a deal with GM to purchase tooling for certain Saab models, specifically the old 9-5 and pre-2006 9-3.
Spyker CEO Victor Muller has confirmed that GM’s deal with BAIC is for “old equipment” and thinks that the deal is “Good news.” That much would make sense – Saab is ready to launch its all-new 9-5 sedan and if Spyker were to buy the automaker, it wouldn’t care for the old 9-5 or the pre-2006 9-3 anyway. The BAIC deal may even work to shave some zeros from GM’s sticker price for Saab.
Whatever way you look at it, Saab’s future is still up in the air. It would be very sad to see the company die on the vine, being so close to launching its all new 9-5 sedan, 9-4, and possibly a 9-5 SportCombi (wagon). On the other hand, it’s good to see GM moving in the right direction: it needs to focus on more pressing issues (such as its own products) and get rid of old baggage. Let’s hope that GM will be a responsible corporate citizen and give the Saab sales process due diligence.
Some quick trivia coming your way: the Spyker that’s in the bidding for Saab is not related to the (original) Dutch Spyker company of the late 1800s. Today, Spyker is owned by Russian banker Alexander Antonov. The only ties the modern Spyker has to its original Dutch predecessor is the name.
Click me to watch the dance!
A few days ago we brought you the official Chevy Volt And Me song and lyrics. Today we’ve dug up the Chevy Volt dance. Apparently, The General commissioned an official dance routine to accompany the song. In fact, we’ve been getting reports that those attending the LA Auto Show could have seen a glimpse or two of the dance in person.
While there are some that detest the Chevy Volt And Me song, this humble blogger likes the jingle and thinks that (even though it may border on being “cheesy”) it will turn out to be an effective marketing tool over time. I’m of the same opinion about the dance, which apparently hasn’t been received all that well on the interwebs. To those who dislike either the song, the dance, or both – have your really become that jaded to disregard creativity? At the very least, the song and dance are creative. If you don’t think so, guess what? You’re watching this now and you’re most likely posting it on Facebook or Twitter, or emailing it to friends, thus informing others about it. In turn, everyone has thought of the Chevy Volt and perhaps Googled the vehicle. If this isn’t buzz marketing, tell me what is! But I digress.
Be sure to click past the break to watch the video as it was recorded live.
For what it’s worth, I can’t even begin to dream of doing any of those moves in the video, so keep that in mind when commenting. (more…)
While we can’t for the day the Chevrolet Spark is available in showrooms across the U.S., certain countries around the world already have the pleasure of being able to buy the fun city car. Most recently, India’z ZigWheels got some quality time behind the wheel of a Spark and came away with a very positive review – commending the design and handling of the city car, but somewhat downplaying the engine’s performance.
As you may know, the Indian car market puts much more emphasis on price compared to U.S. and European car buyers. In the end, this translates to different standards upon which to evaluate vehicles (read: soft-touch materials a not a priority).
The all-new Spark has begun production at the Halol Plant in India. GM India hopes that this all-new mini car will boost sales and lead to a significant increase in market share, given the division’s recent sales numbers in the country. When the all-new Spark goes on sale in India, the current-generation spark will move downmarket (read: price reduction) to become the Spark Classic. The two vehicles are not related. Click past the break for ZigWheels video of the all-new 2010 Chevy Spark adorned in a blue hue. (more…)
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For Monday, December 14, 2009
- Chevrolet To Add Synergy Green To Camaro Color Palette For MY2011
- Tiger Woods’ Escalade Actually Owned By GM, Will Be Sold… Eventually (With Pics)
- Good Moves: CEO And Chairman Ed Whitacre Visits Flint Assembly Plant
A recent conference call with Mark Reuss (newly-appointed president of GM North America) and Susan Susan Dochery (vice president of Sales, Support and Marketing) – our coverage here – provided some more information about chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre – particularly his management style, personality, and goals for the company. Whitacre, who retired as chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T in 2007, was appointed chairman of the “new GM” on June 9 (2009). On December 1st, after the sudden resignation of Fritz Henderson, Whitacre also added CEO to his title. Since not much information was provided about Henderson’s departure, it has been speculated that Whitacre and Henderson bumped heads on many issues and that Fritz was ultimately shown the door. As such, many wondered whether Whitacre was going on a plain-old power grab – hoarding as much power to himself as possible. Reuss’ and Docherty’s comments during the conference call have revealed that the “power grab” rumor couldn’t be further from the truth.
Both executives spoke highly of Whitacre and said that he is very goal-oriented, genuine, and has high expectations for everyone at GM. Instead of a summary, here is the transcribed text from Mark and Susan: (more…)
GM India sold 7,118 units in November 2009 compared to 4,307 units in the same time period last year. This represents a 65 percent year-over-year increase in sales and marks an historic point for GM’s Indian division, since the figures represent its highest-ever sales achieved in the month of November. This news, of course, comes in light of the U.S. division reporting a two percent decline in the same time period.
Not to be a killjoy, but these sales results pale when compared to the Indian auto industry as a whole. For example, Tata Motors sold 54,108 units during the same time period (a 65.5 percent year-over-year increase) while Maruti Suzuki (the country’s leader in four-wheeled vehicles and a partnership between the Indian government and Suzuki), sold 76,359 vehicles.
The November 2009 sales are made up of (our comments): (more…)
Back in November, Chevrolet initiated a search for advertising firms by requesting creative proposals from multiple agencies. Chevy solicited creative proposals for four key models as well as work to support its involvement in the Winter Olympics. Today, the bow-tie brand announced that it has selected two agency partners to develop advertising creative for the first half of 2010.
Publicis Groupe will develop creative for the Chevrolet Malibu, Equinox, and Traverse. Campbell-Ewald will develop and execute creative for Silverado and Silverado HD as well as Chevrolet brand work for the Winter Olympics. Campbell-Ewald will also remain the agency of record for Chevrolet and continue to handle Chevrolet’s retail business.
Campbell-Ewald, regarded as one of the top 25 American advertising agencies, is behind such Chevrolet campaigns as The Heartbeat of America, Like a Rock, and And American Revolution. Publicis is a French multinational advertising and communications firm that’s part of the big four global advertising holding companies.
The new body of work is set to debut February 12, during the 2010 Winter Olympics. We look forward to any new campaigns representing GM’s bread-and-butter brand, especially those that highlight Chevy’s superior products compared to the competition.
Chevrolet informed us that the new vehicle-specific creative will run through the second quarter of 2010, with work for other Chevy vehicles to be announced at a later date.
We’ve got Chevy’s press release after the break.
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