TRENDING NOW:
Let’s face it: General Motors was a long-time leader in the field of stagnant (read: old) technology. But over the last few years, The General has developed a slew of new technologies that have gained a lot of ground. Take – for example – the second generation CTS, which brought the luxury car buyer TiVo-style radio. This revolutionary in-car radio technology permitted vehicle occupants to pause and play live radio. Whether the user wanted to remember a phone number during a commercial or a song for later downloading, the system has many benefits that can enhance the experience of owning a luxury vehicle.
This sort of convenient feature is just the style of innovation General Motors needs to continue into the future. But before introducing new features, GM is rolling its existing technology into more models.
The General announced that pause and play live radio will be expanded to two new models including the Chevy Cruze and Buick Regal. This is one additional feature that will not add to the bottom line of either car’s sticker price, as it is included as standard equipment across a wide range of models including the Buick LaCrosse and aforementioned CTS.
Pause and play radio is an important, groundbreaking technology and will no doubt be expanded further into other GM models. This means that yet another luxury car feature is making the move into mainstream – benefiting the experience of new-car buyers. Way to go GM!
We have GM’s full presser after the jump!
Over the last few months, Saab’s future has been more uncertain than Britney’s mental status. But, like Britney, Saab appears to be on the upswing. A potential sale seems to be mere days away and production of two new models supports this hopeful and likely assumption. Media sources are reporting that production of the new 9-5 continues alongside 49 units of the new 9-4X crossovers. Wait, what’s that? More new models for a brand that is supposedly being shuttered seems a little unlikely.
Although the addition of any new models to the Saab lineup is shocking (the only truly new model for the brand since GM took over is the 9-3), the fact that production is continuing and growing point to a successful sale in the near future.
It was slightly surprising that CEO Whitacre did not announce a sale last morning at his press conference, maintaining the ambiguity surrounding the Saab sales saga. Barring another 11th hour pull-out, Saab will most likely go to Spyker, and will hopefully close in the next week.
After seeing the Aveo RS Concept at this year’s NAIAS, GM fans anxiously await the launch of the next-generation production Aveo. Lucky for them, new spy shots of Chevy’s new subcompact hatch hit the web this morning, and it looks like the production-intent version will be staying true to its concept form. Overhangs and the shape of the headlights appear identical to those of the concept while the grill looks like it may be downsized due to a higher front fascia.
The new interior styling that first appeared in the much-awaited (in the U.S.) Cruze also appears to be making it to the production Aveo. The quality-laden, stylish interior is in stark contrast to the current Aveo, and is a welcome change to the subcompact segment. Chevrolet will face some tough competition in such hot new vehicles as the Ford Fiesta. The Aveo can use its well-designed, classy, and functional interiors to help differentiate its offerings in the segment. The novel instrument panel from the concept appears to have made it to the production model and is classy without looking like a toy (as so many class competitors do).
Let us know what you think of the new Aveo’s styling in the comments and stay tuned for more information, along with the production reveal (hopefully) in the near future.
Check out the full spy shot gallery at Autoblog’s page here.
It’s always interesting when the game changes.
If any readers follow the political arena (we don’t), then they’ll know that Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat this week. This is only important to the country because his vote in the Senate is expected to have a huge influence on the pending health care bill.
But back to more important topics: Scott Brown drives a GMC Canyon and he promises to continue using the Canyon as his daily driver while in office.
Yours truly wonders why anyone would want to drive a Canyon, let alone daily. However, the pledge to keep the truck as a daily driver is admirable and respectable, as Brown emulates the common man – first by having a pick-up and second – having a humble vehicle makes him easy to relate to.
Although I find it difficult to relate to anyone who drives a Canyon, it is a great marketing ploy as a political candidate. Now the Canyon needs a truck replacement the equivalent of Scott Brown. Wait, what?
Barrett-Jackson is known for auctioning off cars and raising bagfulls of money for noble causes. During the past weekend at Scottsdale, none was perhaps more noble than GM’s donation to the American Red Cross (ARC) to raise funds for efforts in Haiti.
GM donated the 427 Limited Edition Z06 Corvette, valued at over $80,000, to ARC. Thanks to a generous buyer, the gavel slammed at the $200,000 mark – enabling the ARC to help the people of Haiti that much more. But the 505 horsepower LS7 supercar was not the only car donated by GM for a good cause.
The other donation came in the form of the first-ever production CTS Coupe, donated to Michigan’s College for Creative Studies (CSS). The model sold for a handsome $95,700, including buyers commission. CCS will get to keep the entire sum minus the market price of the car, which is pegged at roughly $35,000.
Despite GM’s financial woes of last year and all that came along with them, coupled with the fact that The General could currently use every penny to see that taxpayers are reimbursed (and so that the Tea Party may possibly shut up) – it’s still good to see the company’s sense of corporate responsibility has not left the building with several former executives. I’m glad they are keeping on with good causes and hope to see many more in the future.
Cadillac recently lowered the price of the new-for-2010 CTS Sport Wagon. Prior to this change, the price of the base CTS Sport Wagon with the 3 liter V6 and rear-wheel drive was $40,485. Note all prices referenced here include destination. John Howell, vice president of Cadillac products worldwide explained the move, citing concerns that prospective Sport Wagon buyers would walk into Cadillac showrooms, “see the price of the SRX and lose interest in the wagon.” General Motors knocked just more than $1,300 off the cost of admission to the CTS D-pillar club, bringing the price down to $39,150. The price of the base SRX with front-wheel drive is $34,155. The hope is that reducing the price premium of the Sport Wagon over the SRX from $6,330 to $4,995 will keep just enough potential Sport Wagon buyers interested. By contrast, the base price of the CTS Sedan is $35,990.
Thus far, most commentators have been skeptical. And for good reason: as of late, Americans have avoided wagons at all cost. Indeed, the SUV rose to prominence in part because of America’s anti-wagon prejudice. Mainstream buyers prefer SUVs over similarly capable and similarly priced wagons. Looking at the offerings from Cadillac, they will see that compared to the CTS Sport Wagon, the SRX is just as powerful, has more ground clearance and a more commanding view of the road, greater towing capacity, and more room (61 v 58 cubes, maximum cargo capacity). Moreover, the SRX comes with nearly a five thousand dollar discount compared to its stablemate. For most buyers, there is no contest.
But such comparative thinking misses the 3,500 pound boat the CTS cannot tow. The Sport Wagon’s raison d’être is to lend Cadillac credibility in the European market where the serious luxury automakers, Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW, all market performance wagons, with quite some success. Cadillac does not expect the car to be a volume seller on this side of the pond. Back in August, Motor Trend wrote:
During this morning’s press conference, GM CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre announced plans to repay the company’s U.S. and Canadian government loans as early as June 2010. The General received $6.7 billion from the U.S. federal government last year.
Whitacre was very optimistic about The General’s future, citing a stabilized market share even after cutting its brand portfolio in half last summer. He also told reporters that GM is “well ahead of metrics outlined in our viability plan,” something that “makes all of us happy.”
After announcing his permanent appointment to the position of CEO, Whitacre gave a very succinct update on Saab, saying that talks with Spyker Cars are ongoing, but the two companies have no deal to announce as of this morning. Whitacre added that “as of today, we have not changed the direction on the wind-down of the operation.”
In a press conference earlier this morning, Ed Whitacre announced that he has been permanently appointed CEO at General Motors, taking “interim” out of his title.
The GM board of directors asked Whitacre whether he would be interested in the position a few weeks ago. Whitacre said that he was extremely honored and accepted, adding “I’m gonna do it for a while.”
Whitacre, who also serves as Chairman of the board, said that this will mark the end of GM’s search for CEO. The permanently-appointed chief said that he will continue to commute from his home in Texas, but will stay in Detroit for longer periods of time.
Whitacre will stay on as CEO for an “…adequate amount of time to get done what we need to get done.” No salary details were given at this time.
Surprise, surprise! General Motors will hold a press conference today at 11:30am EST starring Ed Whitacre. The email we received from GM’s PR wires indicates that the topic at hand will be “updates on GM business activities.”
So what’s on GM’s agenda today? The possibilities are endless, but if you ask us, we’d say they’re related to either the hot Saab-Spyker deal or the (permanent) CEO position at The General.
Come on back at 11:30 to watch the press conference live (after the break) or pay us a visit immediately after the conference for a report.
Update: The Detroit News is reporting that Ed Whitacre’s title will be changed from interim CEO to permanent CEO.
Update 2: We also just received a tip that the ongoing Saab negotiations will not be discussed at this time.
by 
by 
by