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It’s summer time! And while it may be all fun and games for some, it means only one thing for GM’s engineering team: time for some hot weather testing. And there’s no better place to bake a Volt (or any other vehicle, for that matter) than at GM’s Desert Proving Grounds in Arizona.
While the Volt was designed to operate in all weather and temperature conditions, GM engineers ran the hotly-anticipated (pun intended) PHEV through a desert test they call Hot Soak Evaluation. The test involves baking the Volt under the sun for several hours, at which point cabin temperatures can exceed 175 degrees F (80 degrees Celsius). Then, GM engineers open everything in the car, cycle all electric accessories, and take the car down to the track to check for squeaks or rattles. The expansion (during heating) and contraction (during cooling) of parts and components makes this a perfect method to test the quality of materials and the way they’re put together.
Engineers also check to make sure the door seals continue to close off the cabin from hot outside air as the Volt’s air conditioning system cools the cabin.
“The car performed well,” said senior durability test engineer Steve Pratt. “The air conditioner cooled things off from our interior temperature of 138 degrees down to a nice comfortable temperature for driving.”
Given the amount of testing the Volt has been through at the mercy of GM engineers, we’d be surprised if it’s anything but a top-notch vehicle when it goes on sale later this year.
[Source: GM]
In a move to fine tune international operations , General Motors is creating a separate sales region for South America. The head of the new unit – headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil – will report directly to CEO Ed Whitacre. Before this decision, South America was part of GM’s International Operations that included all countries outside of North American and Europe.
The move makes South America GM’s fourth biggest global region (by volume). In the first five months of 2010, GM’s sales in South America have increased 17 percent to 394,000 vehicles. This represents nearly 12 percent of our favorite automaker’s global sales volume.
“With the rapidly growing markets in Asia, the Middle East and Russia, we need the GMIO team focused exclusively on those countries that are critical to our growth,” Whitacre said in a statement.
Currently, the United States is GM’s largest national market, followed by China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy.
GM South America will be headed by Jaime Ardila, who leaves his post as President of GM Mercosur (that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Starting July 1, Denise Johnson will report to Ardila as President of GM Brazil. Johnson is currently Vice President of labor relations and will be succeeded by Catherine Clegg, who will vacate her post as Manufacturing Manager of GM North America. GM said it would announce Clegg’s successor soon.
This is another much-welcomed move that furthers GM’s global restructuring efforts. GM’s decision to make South America a separate sales region increases focus on the multitude of South America’s emerging markets and places more responsibility on Ardila and his team, allowing GM to compete more effectively in the region. After all the investments GM has been making in South America (especially Brazil), this reorganization was to be expected. I hope that GM does the same for other important regions that are currently part of GM International, including China, Russia/Middle East, and maybe India.
[Source: Automotive News]
Behold these spy shots of what we think is the upcoming Cadillac ATS. Posing as a CTS sedan in these spy pics, Caddy’s first-ever dedicated BMW 3 Series fighter is expected to bow in 2013 as a 2014 model and will ride on GM’s all-new Alpha platform that will also be used by the next CTS and Chevrolet Camaro.
The ATS mule wearing the body of a CTS sedan has had its wheelbase shortened, with all four wheels being far too close to the passenger compartment to make any sense. And if you look closely, you’ll see that the ATS mule has two places to insert fuel. And that’s where it almost got us: we though the second fuel meant we were looking at the Cadillac XTS and its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. But after discussing it with the GM Authority crew, we think the second fuel cap is a by-product of the shortened ATS chassis (the first one is your standard fuel orifice in the current CTS sedan).
For those still thinking this to be an XTS prototype, consider that GM will be placing PHEV plugs on the driver’s side for the sake of convenience. And while we haven’t heard anything about an ATS PHEV, a hybrid version of the ATS has been rumored.
Hit up the source for more of these peculiar spy pictures.
[Source: Autoblog]
When General Motors filed for bankruptcy about a year ago, it announced that it would cut 2,000 dealers as part of its turnaround program. GM sent shutdown notices to dealers earmarked for closure, but pushback from the dealer community caused our favorite automaker to reconsider. What ended up happening was that all dealers that received such a notice were given a second chance to make a case for themselves in arbitration.
1,160 dealers took GM up on the offer. Out of those 1,160, 661 were reinstated and the rest were given the ability to discuss compensation or reinstatement with GM in private. Fast forward to today: Mark Reuss, President of GM North America, said that GM will have nearly 5,000 dealers in the U.S. by the end of July. A GM spokesperson however, said that a final tally of GM dealers will not be announced until the arbitration process comes to a close.
This is 900 dealers more than GM originally planned for as part of its restructuring – something that may come back to haunt The General in the long run. Afterall, Toyota makes do with nearly 1,000 dealers less than GM’s post-bankruptcy dealer count but sells nearly as many vehicles.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
For years, now-retired Bob Lutz kept the media in a frenzy. Whether he was making outlandish statements or revealing secret company plans, Bob always knew how to get people excited. Unfortunately, he was usually called out by name within GM for doing so and subsequently corrected.
These days however, Bob has the privilege of remaining anonymous. A recent situation in the airspace above Michigan revealed that a “retired gentleman” was flying his aircraft in the area. Locals reported a small jet flying unusually low and and though that the craft was going down. The plane ended up landing perfectly safely and no one can confirm the identity of the pilot or the jet. It’s difficult to believe that many other people could have been the pilot, but without PR folks to save Lutz, we’ll let him have his anonymity.
[Source: Autoblog]
The cost of making vehicles has decreased significantly for General Motors and the proof is in the pudding financial results. Our favorite automaker posted its first profit in recent memory for the first quarter of 2010. GM reported an $865 million profit despite losing $5 million in its European arm, Opel/Vauxhall. The fact that GM has $1.75 billion in cash doesn’t hurt its financial position either.
But the real changes at GM are less obvious than Equinoxes and LaCrosses on public roads They are, however, more obvious on the balance sheet. Plant closings, employee buyouts, and lower incentive spending have made a huge difference in GM’s fixed costs per vehicle. (more…)
Speculation is rampant about GM’s anticipated initial public stock offering (IPO). The consensus seems to be that Ed Whitacre wants it to be – for lack of a better word – big. This makes the most sense, as his reputation and personal pay package are riding on the value of the IPO. He has set important goals for the introductory sale of GM stock and has the government to answer to if the sale does not go well.
Although GM North America reported a profit for Q1 2010, GM’s European operations are still losing money. Bonds that convert to GM shares also fell last week to the lowest price since February 26, 2010. And here’s the latest fact that may be hard to swallow: Whitacre wants to establish a GM lending division (similar to GMAC) before launching the IPO. He also needs to balance the interests of GM as a company with the need to satisfy the government. Whitacre will need to assure the treasury that it will – at the very least – break even.
In addition to GM’s own troubles, the IPO market isn’t in the best shape either, as 32 companies have delayed or withdrawn Initial Public Offerings since April of this year.
That said, every financial institution wants a piece of the IPO action, and five investment banks competed to lead GM’s IPO. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase won what could be a $12 billion sale. This would be the nation’s second largest IPO in a decade: since 1999, four IPOs have exceeded $5 billion. Visa’s went for $19.7 billion, AT&T Wireless for $10.65 billion, Kraft Food for $8.68 billion, and UPS came out with an IPO of $5.47 billion.
Currently, GM’s equity is about $70 billion and financial firms are expecting a $.47 return on the dollar for bonds issued by the former General Motors Corporation. These bonds will be converted to shares of the current (new) GM Company. For the US Treasury to break even, GM’s value will need to rise to $80 billion. As you can imagine, these circumstances weigh heavily on the timing of The General’s IPO. The company’s profitability, health of the economy, and state of capital markets will also be important factors in its timing.
General Motors repaid the government $6.7 billion in loans plus $600 million in interest and dividends two months ago. Uncle Sam continues to own $42.2 billion of GM plus $2.2 billion in preferred shares.
Would you buy GM’s stock when it becomes available? Talk to us in the comments!
[Source: Automotive News]
In an effort to meet buyer demand and help 661 reinstated dealers build up their stock of vehicles, General Motors will be skipping its summer vacation for nine of its eleven plants. The plants that will run during the summer shutdown include Arlington, TX; Bowling Green, KY; Detroit Hamtramck, MI; Fairfax, KS; Flint, MI; Fort Wayne, IN; Lansing Delta Township, MI; Lansing Grand River, MI; and Wentzville, MO.
Mark Reuss, President of GM North America, said in a press release that “This move will help buyers waiting for high-demand products such as the Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia. Our manufacturing teams are taking creative approaches to increase production and reduce the wait times for our dealers and customers.”
In case you’re wondering exactly what creative manufacturing approaches Mr. Reuss is referring to, here’s how The General will meet demand for the highly-coveted Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain by utilizing multiple plants. The decision to skip the summer shutdown will result in an additional 56,000 vehicles.
Hop the break for GM’s press release. (more…)
Why is GM's Ed Whitacre smiling?
Welly well well… not too long after the government hired a New York firm to prepare General Motors’ post-bankruptcy IPO, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that the company’s highest ranking officers and executives received over 100,000 total shares of stock estimated to be somewhere in the ballpark of $13 million. Those who have been disclosed that received shares include:
While it’s been a widely-publicized goal of General Motors to go public as soon as possible, Ed Whitacre has cautioned that an IPO will not happen until he believes its maximum value can be attained. According to some analysts, this could take as long as another year or two. Considering Whitacre now has 24,547 reasons for a successful IPO, it’s easy to understand why.
I understand the logic behind providing GM’s senior management team with this amount of yet-unsold stock. Instead of being awarded bonuses or salary raises, stock is used to compensate for salary cuts and certain lack of benefits. It also provides a huge incentive to make the overall organization a success. But GM’s senior management team isn’t the only one within GM to have taken a cut – there are thousands of other GM employees that were forced to see salary and benefit cuts as well. In all fairness, all of those hard working men and women should also receive the spoils of free shares of the company they have worked so hard to bring out of its darkest period in history. Wouldn’t you agree?
[Source: The Detroit Bureau]
If you didn’t catch even five short minutes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans because you died (there really isn’t any other reasonable explanation, it’s a 24-hour race and DVRs are widely available) and could only follow up by reading dull posts on the internet, you have no idea what you really missed. Keep reading…
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