TRENDING NOW:
Since GM’s decision to keep Opel, GM’s German arm has gone through similar planning and restructuring as GM did before its bankruptcy. Long term viability and cost cutting have been top priority.
At the end of last week, Opel and Vauxhall announced some of the most significant steps in reducing costs and downsizing since GM’s decision to keep the subsidiaries. Negotiations in Spain concluded with an agreement that is yet to be ratified, but it calls for the elimination of 900 jobs at the Zaragoza (Spain) manufacturing facility. Both management and unions in the area have worked hard to negotiate mutually acceptable terms and this represents a true milestone and turning point for Opel in that region. This news comes after GM’s announcement that it will provide Opel/Vauxhall €1.9 billion to fund the automakers’ restructuring efforts.
What’s more, the government of the United Kingdom has announced its approval of a €300 million loan guarantee for Opel. This comes after months of discussion with the UK and signifies important steps in negations with European governments. Political negotiations for loans with other countries continue, with GM hoping that they will result in similar progress. More as it happens.
We have GM’s full presser after the jump!
Coinciding with the launch of the Chevy Cruze AT, GM India inaugurated its third dealership – M/s. Trident Automobiles Pvt. Ltd.
Located in Bangalore (State of Karnataka), the establishment provides a wide range of Chevrolet vehicles, accessories and service. The facility also contains a service area equipped “with the latest garage tools and tackles, and diagnostic equipment” as well as an “ultra modern” body repair shop and “computerized facilities,” all in an effort “to attend to every need of the GM customers in the region.”
The Trident Automobiles store brings the tally of GM (read: Chevrolet) showrooms in the state of Karnataka to 11 dealerships and 12 service centers. Overall, GM has 206 sales points and 200 authorized service outlets across India and plans to have 300 of each by the end of 2010.
On a somewhat related note, GM India has set up four parts distribution centers in Talegaon, Halol, Chennai, and Delhi to improve logistics and ensure timely and easy availability of parts.
[Source: GM]
The truck wars are never over. For as long as we can remember, Ford and GM have been battling neck-in-neck to be king of the truck hill. 2010 got off to an interesting start, as GM was first to reveal its offerings in the updated Chevy Silverado HD at the Chicago Auto Show. It looked as if Ford was about to drop to a TKO, but instead rebuttled with updates of its own. GM then countered with unrivaled numbers of its new 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel engine with B20 biodiesel capability, capable of a herculean 765 lb.-ft. of torque and 397 horsepower. While GM managed to slap Ford around in the numbers of torque and horsepower, Ford managed to overpower GM’s trucks in payload capacity and towing. We’ve learned that GM isn’t satisfied with being second and is planning a counter-attack, as The General’s mission after exiting bankruptcy isn’t to just compete, but to dominate.
According to PickupTrucks.com, GM’s HD playcaller Jeff Luke recognizes that Ford has the top spot in at least two categories (payload, towing), and is planning on taking steps to improve the towing and payload capacity of GM’s Heavy-Duty trucks “as early as next year.” While that’s great, our own sources tell us that the improvements can happen before next year. While we don’t know yet just how significant or exactly how soon the revised HDs will be re-revised, this bodes as something to look forward to for fans and potential buyers of the GM’s Heavy Duty trucks.
“It’s not difficult (to raise towing and payload). The trucks are extremely capable, and we’re looking at a number of options. Any increase would probably come from both better confidence in the trucks and engineering changes. Whatever we do, we’ll be completely transparent,” explains Luke.
Whatever it is, the GM Authority Team is looking forward to it.
[Source:Pickuptrucks.com]
Podcast: Download
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
For March 13, 2010
The General has been served!
Last week’s webchat with Mark Reuss revealed a few interesting tidbits for GM’s immediate and long-term future. Filtering through some of the folks who just can’t seem to cope with Pontiac being canned, we have laid out some of the highlights. For those who want to read the chat in its entirety click here.
Q: Is there any advertising in the works for the core brands that is exciting, colorful and in-your-face that highlights performance, safety features, etc.? Whereas the advertising now, especially Chevrolet, seems to just feature silver Chevys comparing them to competitors and value.
Mark Reuss: Chevrolet re vamp in ads is well under way with Susan Docherty–you will like it a lot–shows the car, and uses “excellence for everyone”….you will really like it.
Q: How long do you see the latest incentives by GM and competitiors lasting? Seemed like there was a big emphasis on reducing incentives and now a lot of competition to gain market share.
Mark Reuss: The incent landscape is complex so i cannot answer for competitors–but we have decreased our incent spend by a huge amount and still grown share–that is what we will continue to do….profitable growth only….
Q: Can you give us a sense of what the market is looking like to you and how does GM take advantage of the problems faced by certain competitors while also overcoming its own consumer resistance?
Mark Reuss: market ran at about 10.5M in Feb which we all said was weather and strange conditions. SO, I think we all will have a good March, and some economic indicators are somewhat positive. I think GM is in a good place these days with our products, safety, FE, and performance–and our customers are asking for more. And, our dealers and network work we are doing are going to obviously add a lot of positive things for our customers as well…….
Q: Will there be a 2 door cruze?
Mark Reuss: 2 door cruze is a nice idea, and it may show up in the global market. As we have 2 door Cobalts currently, NA would naturally look at a Cruze 2 door, but I believe our small car portfolio will be WAY beyond what it is now, so a 2 door something still is needed.
These are all “good” news to say the least. We can’t wait for Chevy’s new marketing initiative - Excellence For Everyone sounds great – and we’ve been long supporters of a two-door Cruze (as well as a coupe variant of the Malibu). But GM should first focus on bringing the Cruze sedan to market in the U.S. – and doing so as quickly as possible.
Isn’t it interesting how some of the most awesome products never get released and only only the most practical items make it to production? Take, for example, GM’s recent decision to cancel the development and production of the Cadillac Converj for not being able to build a business case for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Yet if GM powers-that-be would have applied their minds, there could’ve been light at the end of the tunnel – even for the Eflex/Voltec-based Caddy. (more…)
Seen during the introductory May The Best Car Win commercial, this may be the first glimpse of the Cadillac ATS in sheetmetal form
Since its private unveiling last August, speculation has been rampant about what the Cadillac ATS will bring to the table. We’ve heard that it most likely will be available in a few much-needed variants and that GM is hard at work on hybrid power trains for the smallest-ever Caddy. We’ve even seen spy shots of the ATS in the beginning of the year. And now, GM Authority has reason to believe that Cadillac will show the compact ATS at the upcoming New York International Auto Show.
To start things off, we’ve received more than the usual amount of tips from industry insiders to the tune of “Cadillac is getting ready to unveil something completely new at New York.” We didn’t immediately publish these because – well – we usually don’t publish every tip we receive. But the latest (and most concrete) hint came just a few days ago from GM’s own spokesperson, Nick Twork. In a Bloomberg interview regarding Cadillac’s increased independence, Mr. Twork stated that Cadillac’s new ad campaign will come before a model introduction at the New York International Auto Show on March 31.
So if we put the increased amount of ATS-related tips we’ve received together with Mr. Twork’s pre-announcement, it’s safe to say that we can expect some kind of ATS goodness at New York. Whether what we see will come in concept or production-ready form is anyone’s guess at this point.
As Cadillac distances its surface communication, marketing, and sales activities from parent GM, do you think the ATS will help it become the status symbol it once was? We sure hope so, but we want to know what you think. Let us know in the comments!
General Motors is retroactively reinstating 661 of more than 2,000 dealers that it planned to drop.
“This is emotional. It is part of the rebirth as we try and start a company from a clean slate,” said Mark Reuss, President of GM North America.
Of the 1,350 dealers originally marked for shut down, 1,160 took the opportunity to argue their case in binding arbitration. Out of these, 661 will resume selling new vehicles within the next few weeks. The development is in stark contrast to GM’s plans to consolidate its dealer body and eliminate weaker, unprofitable stores, choosing to rather move forward with fewer stronger dealers.
The General’s goal was to trim approximately 40 percent of its 6,246 stores. Some of these are made up of brands that GM is either in the process of selling (Hummer), having sold (Saab), or phasing out (Saturn and Pontiac). GM now expects to be left with 5,000 showrooms made up of its remaining four core brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac.
Dealers that were sent shutdown notices ceased to receive new product from GM, a move that could have contributed to slower January and February sales for The General. In fact, rival Ford outsold General Motors in February for the first time in nearly 50 years. “We would have beaten Ford,” if not for the move, Mr. Reuss said. Click past the break for the mighty GM Authority Take! (more…)
In a move that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows among North American citizens, Opel/Vauxhall has announced that it will receive a €1.9 billion funding package from its parent company, General Motors. The sum, part of the Opel/Vauxhall viability plan, is triple GM’s previous investment pledge of €600 million and will come in the form of both equity and loans.
Under its viability plan, Opel/Vauxhall estimated that it would require of €3.3 billion in funding. Most recently, certain European governments have requested an additional €415 million be added to the initial amount to hedge against the possible impact of unfavorable market developments. This brings the tally of total Opel/Vauxhall investments to €3.7 billion, more than half of which will be funded by The General.
Nick Reilly, CEO of Opel Vauxhall and President of GM Europe had the following to say about the development: (more…)
Click the image to watch the video
In what may be the cutest car ad ever, Maggie and Howie tear out a seat from the 7-passenger Toyota Highlander and then proceed to the 8-passenger Chevy Traverse, which “offers more room” and gets an EPA estimated 24 mpg on the highway. Maggie is a “big girl” and the Traverse is the car for her! Watch the ad by clicking the read more button! (more…)
Future Product Guide: GMC Vehicles For 2012, 2013, 2014 Model Years 
The 2014 C7 Corvette: What We Know 
Rumormill: All-New Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra To Resemble Cheyenne Concept 
Spied: The All-New 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Rumormill: 2014 Cadillac ATS-V To Come With 470 Horsepower? 
Rumormill: Next-Gen Lexus ES Will Make Buick LaCrosse "Laughable" 
C7 Corvette ZR1 Illustrated, Reportedly Dead Accurate 
Syclone478 on If You Think The Chevy Sonic Sedan Looks Funny Now, You Should Have Seen It Before I would buy the sedan over the hatch, primarily based on looks. Kind of confused by the article titl...
danny on Community Question: What Kind Of Interior Combinations Would You Like To See In The Cadillac ATS?I would love to see a rich, textured fabric with leaher-trimmed bolsters..probably in wheat color a...
VetteGryl on Burnout Contest: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe VS Corvette Z06 Centennial Editionomg, I NEED one of those vettes!! need need neeeeeed...
Đụ má on Justin Bieber Drives A Cadillac CTS-V CoupeĐụ má ko làm từ thiện mà ăn chơi sa đoạ! Mẹ nó!...
carstuff on Dealer Orders Down For Chevy Volt And that would add $3000 to the price of the Volt and add hardly save any more money in fuel cost si...Alex Luft on If You Think The Chevy Sonic Sedan Looks Funny Now, You Should Have Seen It Before Well, Subaru has never been known for its styling prowess... But have seen the Volvo C30, Audi A3, o...Alex Luft on If You Think The Chevy Sonic Sedan Looks Funny Now, You Should Have Seen It Before Personally, I love the styling of the Sonic. Especially of one considers the price and the segment/c...
by 
by 
by 
