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Eagle-eyed spy photographers have caught a prototype of the new Opel Astra three-door hatch wearing the camouflage that’s become the de-facto standard of unreleased models. The overall design of the diminutive hatch follows the trend of the last-gen Astra three door, with a swooping front windshield and curved roof differentiating the three- from the five-door.
The entire Astra line is underpinned by GM’s global Delta II platform shared with the Chevy Cruze and the three-door coupe will be no exception. The smallest Delta II car, however, will take advantage of a wider track to help with grip and stability. Engine choices for the three-door will most likely be carried over from its five-door brother, including a range of diesel and gas powerplants. Being the enthusiasts that we are at GM Authority, we’re looking forward to the GSi and VXR variants of the Astra 3 the most. The GSi will most likely be powered by GM’s 1.6-liter turbo Ecotec four producing 210 horsepower, competing with the Volkswagen GTI. The VXR, on the other hand, will use the 2.0-liter Ecotec turbo that’s game for 240 horses.
The Astra three door will make an official appearance at the 2010 Paris Motor Show in October with an on-sale date sometime in 2011. Since the Astra sedan is coming to the United States as a Buick (most likely wearing the Verano nameplate), will Americans see the three door version as well? We don’t know for sure, and GM is being extremely quiet on the topic. Stay tuned as we learn more and hit up the source for high-res spy pics of the Astra coupe.
[Source: Auto Express]
When there’s retirement, there tend to be retirement parties. This was the case for the legendary “Maximum” Bob Lutz, arguably GM’s most famous (if not notorious) executive since John Delorean – and definitely the favorite of the GM Authority crew.
Maximum Bob decided to leave the executive life behind for the pursuit of writing his still unnamed book and to tear up the sky in his L-39 Albatross and Dornier Alpha Jet A fighter planes. Golf and sailing just doesn’t cut it for the 78 year-old former U.S. Marine fighter pilot.
To reflect on the departure of one of its most hailed executives, General Motors hosted a gathering at its Warren Technical Center this past week. Bob was always a catalyst for change and a big proponent of transforming GM from a company with stodgy business practices and mediocre product offerings to a product-focused machine. Lutz is currently confident in the company’s leadership team, but still encourages workers to speak up on whatever they feel is a bad idea and to always suggest positive ideas (such as this one).
“Being an irritant and pointing out deficiencies in the company and the way it operates doesn’t always make you very popular in the short term, but I did it my whole career, and it worked for me.”
So join us in raising our proverbial glasses to the one and only “Maximum” Bob Lutz (and the statement above).
We have the press release after the jump!
Click the image to watch the video
As Chevrolet gets ready to begin mass production of the Chevy Volt, it’s going around the country and showing off the hotly anticipated plug-in electric vehicle. This time around, the Volt made a stop at the AT&T Park in San Francisco, where media members, former EV1 drivers, and electric vehicle advocates (including folks from Plug In America and the Sierra Club) had an opportunity to drive the car. Given that San Fran is often considered to be capital of opinion leaders and trend setters of America, what these people had to say about the Volt carries some importance. Check out the video to see what they thought of the Volt after the jump. (more…)
Right after announcing the Chevrolet Aveo CNG for the Indian market, General Motors has announced the availability of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas) variants of the GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express vans. Each of these introductions fuels GM’s reputation for offering alternative fuel vehicles that reduce dependence on gasoline.
The two vans come with fully warranted engines that are specifically designed for gaseous fuels and will carry GM’s standard new-vehicle limited warranty, including the 5-year/100,000 mile coverage on the powertrain. The vans will use GM’s proven 6.0L Vortec V8 that has been modified for use with gaseous fuels, including such features as hardened exhaust valves and intake and exhaust valve seats. Rounding out the changes is the way the vans handle storing fuel. The CPG and LPG versions will be EPA and CARB certified, meeting all requirements set by both organizations.
The vans will be assembled for the 2011 model year at GM’s Wentzville plant and then shipped to another location in order to install the specialized fuel system and related calibrations. From there, they will be shipped to the Special Vehicle Manufacturer (SVM), Fleet Customer, or GM Dealer.
Using the same engine, an LPG fuel system will be offered for 2011 cutaway vans. From there, the customer could confiture the LPG vans into cube, delivery, or shuttle bus vans – per the customer’s needs. Joyce Mattman, director of GM’s commercial products and specialty vehicles, explained that GM has “made choosing a CNG or LPG van easier for our customers. No other manufacturer offers a commercial CNG or LPG option that provides a solution with this level of support and availability.” (more…)
GM has just announced prices for the gorgeous Cadillac CTS coupe. The base (standard) coupe will start at $38,990 (with destination charge) and gets you GM’s excellent 3.6L Direct Injection V6 (good for 304 horsepower) mated to your chocie of GM’s six speed manual or automatic transmissions. Rear wheel drive is standard while all wheel drive is a $1,900 option.
Two tire packages are offered: Performance gets you 18-inch wheels and all-season tires while Summer Tire Performance gets you 19-inch wheels and summer tires. The CTS-V coupe starts at $62,990 (including the destination charge) and uses our favorite engine – the 6.2 liter LSA V8 – mated to either the six speed manual or automatic. Just like the CTS-V sedan, the V-Series coupe is equipped with Magnetic ride control and Brembo brakes.
The much-awaited CTS Coupe will go on sale in August of this year… and we can’t wait to get behind the wheel!
Check out the packages and GM’s press release right after the break: (more…)
The German government has decided that the financial health of General Motors is in too good of a standing to require loans for the restructuring of Opel. Most recently, GM has payed back government loans from the U.S. and Canada and has even announced the company’s first quarterly profit in years. Such financial triumphs have caused many within the German government to question GM’s need for Opel loans.
In particular, Michael Fuchs, a senior member of Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party, has been against Opel loans since the beginning. Initially, he pointed to The General’s U.S. finances and showed concern that European loans would support American operations. Now he appears to be concerned with the complete opposite – that GM’s U.S. division is profitable and that the European arm, therefore, does not need any loans. Whatever his reasons (read: excuses), he does not want to give Opel any money.
Opel, as well as its CEO Nick Reilly, is still waiting on word from the German government on the status of the €3 billion it requested for restructuring. It seems likely that GM will flex its muscle by showing Germany (and – consequently – Ms. Merkel and Mr. Fuchs) and other European countries how easy it is to make plants (and thousands of jobs) disappear. The tug of war has begun and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
[Source: Autoblog]
According the Wall Street Journal, General Motors is not seeing savings from union cutbacks it made three years ago. The deal, agreed by both GM and the UAW, included wage and benefit cuts for new workers – down to $25.65 an hour (from $60 an hour), shifting retiree healthcare payments to a union-run trust fund, and phasing out the job bank. The latter came with the understanding that GM will pay some wages and benefits to laid-off workers. Currently, 5,000 laid-off workers receive as much as 70 percent of their on-the-job pay for the first year and as much as 50 percent for the second year – depending on the worker’s position prior to layoffs.
The second part has a clause wherein laid-off workers have the first chance to any new job opening at The General within two years of being laid off. In fact, GM has been hiring back laid-off workers in this fashion before the agreement was made, but no new workers have been rehired at the lower rate. As such, General Motors is not sure when it will be able to hire new workers, but according to GM spokesperson Kim Carpenter, [When it does], “it will be a competitive advantage for us”.
As GM begins to turn a profit and works to improve supplier relationships, the question will eventually migrate to be something along the lines of “just how much of that profit will go the way of the union and laid-off workers?” And if you think about it – the clause in the agreement for the rehire of laid-off workers is a job bank in new clothing. So it would seem that The General is playing a waiting game when it comes to new workers that can be hired at a lower wage.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
The upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 12-13) will mark the 50th anniversary of the Corvette’s first participation in the world’s most prestigious sports car race.
To commemorate the event, the good folks at Corvette Racing kicked off the celebration this past Friday (May 21) by bringing together historic Corvette Le Mans race cars from the 1960s as well as their iconic drivers and championship-winning Corvette Racing team at the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. Enjoy the gallery below as you await the toughest race on earth!
Say hello to the Chevrolet Aveo CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), a bi-fuel vehicle with a full sized gas tank. According to Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India, the Aveo CNG has 54 percent lower running costs than a similar gasoline-powered car and 25 percent lower than one powered by diesel. It will have a range of approximately 180-200 kilometers (97-107 miles) under normal driving conditions and is compliant with India’s emission standards, named BS IV.
The Aveo CNG contains advanced natural gas technology to ensure quality, efficiency and reliability. Specifically, all CNG kit parts are fitted at the factory, including the CNG injectors, selector switch, and modified wiring and suspension. The body is also reinforced due to the extra weight of the cylinder. The Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) is also a fairly advanced piece of tech, calculating the opening times of each cylinder and acting separately on each gas injector.
Among the many benefits of CNG, a few stand out in the Indian-market Aveo. First is efficient CNG combustion due to the precise electronic fuel delivery. Second, the performance of the engine is very stable in CNG mode: since CNG is operated electronically, required service is minimal. Lastly, the Aveo CNG has reinforced and modified suspension to cope with the added mass.
The Chevy Aveo CNG will come with a 3 year, 100,000 kilometer warranty and has a service interval of 6 months or 5,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. GM India already sells the Aveo sedan and hatch (named UV-A). You can bet that we’ll be following the sales performance of this line extension, even though it’s not the all-new Aveo we’re so desperately waiting for.
We have GM’s presser after the break. (more…)
“Never say never”, states GM North America President Mark Reuss. The General is already looking into a plan to re-enter the medium-duty fray just nine months after discontinuing the Chevy Kodiak/GMC Topkick truck line, a move that left a few puzzled and a void to be filled. This time around, however, the game plan may offer ‘roided out Silverado and Sierra models (as if the latest offering wasn’t enough) to better compete in the class 4/5 truck segments in which the currently dormant Topkick and Kodiak models struggled.
Failing to make a sale of its class 5-7 truck line to either Isuzu or Navistar is what influenced GM to call it quits in the first place. On the other hand, dropping out of the medium-duty truck segment allowed General Motors to streamline their resources in the “core businesses.” Needless to say, this left the commercial line crippled. The General currently has no answer to models such as the Ford F-450 Super Duty or even the TerraStar Class 4/5 work truck, let alone larger models such as Frieghtliner’s Business Class M2 112. What’s more, there has been a significant demand from GM’s commercial fleet dealers for a 4500 Silverado/Sierra type model since the discontinuation of of the Kodiak and Topkick line. Sources further tell us that the chances of the possible 4500 pickup trucks surfacing in the future are “very good”.
Needless to say, this writer is very excited about the possibility of 4500 HD models or even a potential 5500. The Kodiak just couldn’t fill the position that these potential models are able to offer and a double offering of newer, bigger Kodiak/Topkick models and supersized Silverado/Sierra pickups sounds just like the perfect recipe for a successful commercial fleet.
[Source: Pickup Trucks]
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