General Motors

The Detroit Free Press published an article July 23rd, "An Informal Club: Retirees, coffee and GM," in which several people voiced their opinion about GM's current state of affairs. One sidebar focused on "5 Things They Want CEO Rick Wagoner to Know." To read the entire story, click here.

General Motors' too General Website A Critique January 12th, 2011 Paul Guastella - Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com Almost anyone looking to make a major purchase these days will at least do a bit of research online. With so many things to consider when purchasing a new vehicle, a website is a vital source of information to a consumer. A positive web experience will definitely make an impression on the visitor. Conversely, so will a negative experience. This is a chance a manufacturer has to lure a consumer towards their product and hopefully into their showroom. GM knows this and has their websites packed with information. However, if a customer is shopping…

Fresh off the GM Yahoo Financial page. Jerry also addresses many of the points you've been discussing here. http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/23/gm-chrysl...artner=yahootix

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061111/1033803.asp

http://www.yahoo.com/s/268025 DETROIT - General Motors Corp. expects to save about $4 billion this year as it implements its North American turnaround plan, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said Friday. But he declined to give earnings guidance, saying there are too many outstanding issues facing the struggling automaker. Wagoner also refused to speculate on whether the board of the world's biggest automaker will consider cutting dividends to shareholders. Earlier this week, Jerome York, an aide to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, said GM should consider halving its annual $2 per share dividend, which he estimated would save $566 million a year. "We have a lot of top…

GM's New Full-sized SUVs: So Far, So Good By JAMIE LAREAU | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek | Published 02/06/06, 12:03 pm et DETROIT -- Initial indicators show that General Motors' high-stakes gamble to pull forward the launch of its new full-sized SUVs amid unstable gasoline prices might pay off. January sales of the first SUVs on the GMT900 architecture -- the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade -- were strong. Dealers say the redesigned SUVs are selling at or near sticker price. GM executives have acknowledged that the high-margin SUVs are critical to GM's financial success this year. Dealers sold 3,000 new 2007 model Tahoes in January, says Paul…

I have read part way though the new Book Why GM Matters. I must say in this age of misinformation and down right lies it is goods to see someone in the media have a fair look at GM. THe book cover where GM started, evolved under Sloan and failed to change as Sloans concpet of GM no longer worked. It explains and shows how GM was so large it failed to funtion sfficently when it needed to. It also addresses things on how some of the managment fail to understand how Toyota was working and how efficent they were in production when GM staffers visited with Toyota and brought back info that could have helped change their path. It also addressed how GM failed to focus on d…

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 10, 2013 Its nice whenever spy shots show a group vehicles undergoing some testing. Its even better when the group has the all the different models in one group. Case in point, Automobile Magazine has some new spy shots featuring the new 2015 GM full-size SUV lineup. The test mules in the pictures look to be wearing the production-ready bodies. The differences between the mules are dependent on the headlights and grilles. The Escalade is wearing a set of vertical LED running lights both in the lower front fascia and headlights and a an exposed “waterfall” mesh grille. The Yukon has a set of LEDs in the headlig…

GM's Been on the Brink Before—Many Times This isn't GM's first brush with death. Since 1910 the company has nearly disappeared three times—and come back stronger every time By Ed Wallace The executives at General Motors (GM) knew they were in trouble: Their negative cash flow had become intolerable, and their lending institutions had locked up. Bankers refused to lend the corporation any more money, fearing that they'd never see GM's current loans repaid, much less any new funds they might advance. New car divisions that had opened only a few years earlier were now huge money pits. And even those divisions whose sales had once shown incredible potential now had vi…

Link to original article @ GM Media Online FOR RELEASE: 2006-06-13 General Motors to Build Chevrolet Cars in St. Petersburg *Russian President Vladimir Putin and GM CEO Rick Wagoner seal $115 million investment *Capacity for 25,000 Chevrolet Captiva SUVs and a new compact vehicle range *Start of production in 2008 *Facility is General Motors' third assembly source in Russia General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner (left), and St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko react to the applause after officially breaking ground at GM's new greenfield manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg, Russia on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at the plant site in the Shushary …

Link to Article Link to Photo Gallery

Small GM Cars go Global Gamma platform to be produced in low-cost countries By ALYSHA WEBB | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek | Published 11/13/06, 8:25 am et Sketch by C&G member Bearrunner44 Link to Original Article @ Autoweek SHANGHAI -- General Motors is a global company, but so far it has had trouble creating truly global platforms that use huge volumes to cut costs. That's starting to change. Supplier and GM sources say GM is planning a new platform for small cars with worldwide annual volume of 1.4 million cars. The platform, called Gamma inside GM, will provide mechanicals for the next Opel Corsa and Chevrolet Aveo starting in 2009. Final decisions h…

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration plans to give General Motors Corp. enough government aid to restructure over the next 60 days, while Chrysler LLC will get up to $6 billion and 30 days to complete an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Two people familiar with the plan said Sunday it will demand further sacrifices from the automakers and bankruptcy would still be possible if the automakers failed to restructure. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make details public. President Barack Obama was announcing his plan on Monday. It includes government backing of warranties for GM and Chrysler vehicles to give consum…

Yes, it may be hard to believe, however I feel a golden opportunity by the General to flex their muscles in the hydrogen market is upon themselves and in a very mainstream way. On the popular show featured on "The Discovery Channel" Jesse James went out of his way on "The Tonight Show" (dated 10/06) to make mention he had thought of an idea to have his hit show invent a vehicle that runs on hydrogen....and only hydrogen yet still beat BMW's land record for top speed. General Motors would be a fool to pass up such an opportunity. Flex your muscles, share some (but very limited) knowledge that we know on hydrogen with the show and start paving the…

The Detroit News this afternoon contacted Rick Wagoner after it was announced that automakers must return to Washington by December 2nd with a restructuring plan. To read the story with Wagoner's comments, click here.

Switch your GM Card to the GM extended family card and guess what, Saturn accepts it's points. If you have a GM card, contact them and tell them you want to switch it to the GM extended family card. https://www.gmextendedfamily.com/GMExtended...icles/index.jsp

http://www.autoextremist.com/ December 3, 2008 America speaks, and Washington is forced to listen. By Peter M. De Lorenzo Washington. The battle drums are beating along the Potomac, and the message ringing unmistakably loud and clear in the ears of Senators and congressional representatives is this: The U.S automobile industry doesn’t begin and end with Detroit, southeast Michigan and the Midwest – a city, a state and a region that have apparently become expendable to the powers that be in Washington – but rather its tentacles spread out across the union in a powerful network of small and large businesses alike, from the local auto dealer franchise in small-town A…

LORDSTOWN, Ohio -- They were the bad boys General Motors Corp. could hardly handle -- a United Auto Workers local where members had little sympathy for the automaker during recessions and industry downturns and no use for rules foisted on them from Detroit. Workers sparred with management from the moment GM opened the sprawling Lordstown manufacturing complex in 1966. In 1972, as GM was preparing to speed up production of the Chevrolet Vega, workers sabotaged the small cars and eventually walked out. But the wildcatters of decades past are slowly and reluctantly becoming less contrary as GM copes with its worst financial crisis in at least a decade. They've ag…

GM's press push continues, with Rick Wagoner answering questions from Paul Solman, Economics Correspondent for PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. To view a transcript of the interview, dated April 20, 2006, click here.

The GM/DCX/BMW Hybrid System Unveiled The American (GM), German (BMW) and bi (DCX) automakers have joined forces on a hybrid project that aims to compete with the likes of Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive. The two-mode hybrid system promises increased fuel economy and overall performance compared to conventional single-mode hybrids. Check out the full story on this latest evolution in hybrid technology. Read "GM, DaimlerChrysler, BMW Premiere Unprecedented Hybrid Technology" @ The Auto Channel

I guess we don't really care about GMDAT here... http://www.autoincar.com/2008-gm-daewoo-ge...badge-in-korea/ Essentially Daewoo's own version of the new Aveo5. For the first time I actually think Daewoo's car look better than the Chevy version.

SOMERSET, Pa. – The head of the nation's largest automaker took perhaps the most important car ride of his life Wednesday, traveling 500 miles, mostly over highway through four states, to Washington, D.C., where he will ask Congress for a second time to save his slumping company. Two weeks ago Rick Wagoner flew to Washington on a corporate jet. This time the chief executive of General Motors Corp. made the trip in one of his company's black hybrid Chevrolet Malibu, driving part of the way. He periodically made calls on his cell phone while in the passenger seat and wore sunglasses to protect from the glare of a sunny day. Wagoner will be back in the spotlight Thursday…

The current Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are getting shown up by Ford’s F-Series and Ram truck lineup with their improved interiors, ride, and powertrains. But GM is busy at work on the next generation pickup to steal back some of the spotlight. This week, Inside Line got some spy shots of the new Sliverado/Sierra undergoing some testing. The biggest difference between the current trucks and the one featured in the pictures is a new greenhouse. Also, the truck looks to sporting more cues from the current GM HD trucks with it’s larger front end and less rounded shape. Also, the new trucks are expected to be 500 lbs less than the current Siverado/Sierra. Source: In…

N othing like a war of words to show the general public and the restructuring-weary at GM's RenCen and Ford Motor Co.'s Glass House that a few of them can still muster enough passion to play offense. In General Motors Corp.'s corner stands Mark LaNeve, 46, a former linebacker from the University of Virginia with roots in Pennsylvania's hardscrabble steel country, who helped revive Cadillac and now is the automaker's North American vice president for sales, service and marketing. In Ford's corner there's Mark Fields, 44, a Harvard biz school grad who, despite tours as president of Mazda Motor Corp. and Ford's premium brands in Europe, still carries the faint swagger of N…

Will Minicars come to the U.S.? They might if the General gets its way Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek Remember those cool little cars—Trax, Beat and Groove—General Motors showed at the New York show? Michael Grimaldi, president and CEO of GM’s South Korean-based Daewoo Automotive Technology subsidiary, thinks one of those cars, or at least a car like that, will be coming to the United States fairly soon. Speaking to the Society of Automotive Analysts in Detroit, Grimaldi, a GM vice president, said, “GM doesn’t sell a minicar here in North America because there is no market. If there appears to have been a shift and if we can make those vehicles economically, we …

The Department of Justice is currently evaluating whether or not to charge General Motors with criminal wire fraud due to the company's failure to recall vehicles with faulty ignition switches. The Wall Street Journal has learned from sources federal prosecutors in New York are zoning in the wire-fraud charge due after it was determined that GM made misleading statements and concealed information about the faulty switch. Sources go on to say the DOJ hopes to reach a settlement by late summer or early, though that could change. Prosecutors are also looking into other kinds of possible criminal charges. When asked about the report, CEO Mary Barra said, “It is th…

[source: Wall Street Journal] Exit Package for Wagoner in Works Pension Plan for GM's Ousted CEO Remains Delicate Issue Amid U.S. Rescue By SHARON TERLEP Rick Wagoner, who is still employed by General Motors Corp. almost four months after his ouster as chief executive, will learn "very soon" when he'll be cut loose from the company and what he'll receive as an exit package, an Obama administration official said Wednesday. Mr. Wagoner, forced out of his job by President Barack Obama amid a federal rescue, remains on GM's payroll making $1 a year and receiving the same benefits afforded to him during his tenure as chief executive. …

Philip Nussel Automotive News September 26, 2007 - 5:19 am EST UPDATED: 9/26/07 4:23 p.m. EDT Here is the situation at General Motors in North America: * Talks: GM and the UAW announced a tentative contract settlement at 4 a.m. EDT. * Employees: About 73,000 hourly workers represented by the UAW are expected to return to work today by the afternoon shift. * Approvals: Any agreement must be ratified by the UAW rank-and-file. UAW local leaders could meet as early as Friday morning to discuss the tentative pact. If ratification is completed, the deal would then be subject to court approval and GM must get regulators to approve how it accounts for the contrac…

Updated: Sun Sep. 07 2008 4:08:05 PM ctvtoronto.ca The former president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union is unimpressed by a new deal struck by the federal government with General Motors of Canada Limited that will see the company invest $290 million in the struggling Ontario auto industry. Buzz Hargrove said the timing of the deal's announcement, which came just days before Sunday's election call, is "designed simply to buy votes of our members." "I think they will reject this type of politics," Hargrove said Sunday during an interview on CTV Newsnet. The new deal is seen as a win-win situation for both the Conservatives and GM. Two days before the Harper …

GM's performance wows Wall Street Associated Press Jul. 27, 2006 12:00 AM General Motors Corp. lost $3.2 billion in the second quarter because of heavy charges for layoffs and early retirements, part of its massive restructuring program. But without those charges, the world's largest automaker scored a profit that blew Wall Street away and bolstered management's claim that the turnaround is working. GM shares rose $1.34, or 4.4 percent, to close at $32 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $18.33 to $37.57. The loss of $5.62 per share in the April-June period compared with a loss of $987 million, or $1.75 per share, for the same peri…

Toyota is working hard to sell themselves as a American company and making claims of 10 American plants. Well GM posted this billboard with their responce to Toyota's claim. Not sure where it was but the photo was on a GM blog site. To bad they don't take the lead and be more proactive in their advertising more often. It is time to not be Mr nice guy anymore.

from Reuters So who's got it right? Will the administration force a bankruptcy or will they just give them enough cash to become Obama's problem?

http://www.autonet.ca/News/story.cfm?story...06/2253409.html

Link to Article

I thought about posting this article on the Ford forum but since GM is also mentioned prominently in the article I decided to post it in the GM forum. Much of the stuff said in the article I think we already know about http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/news/compa...rce=yahoo_quote Why Ford is in worse shape than GM General Motors' turnaround is now in motion, but don't count on Ford having made the same progress this time next year. By Alex Taylor III, Fortune senior editor September 15 2006: 10:10 AM EDT NEW YORK (Fortune) -- As he finishes his first full week as CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally may be wondering what he got himself into. The rumble of bad news never seem…

Despite the dark cloud that diesel has gotten due to the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, General Motors sees a bright future for it. “The outlook for diesel in the U.S.A. is actually promising. We definitely see certain segments reaching 10 percent penetration and yes, an upside potential of 10 percent overall,” said Dan Nicholson, GM’s vice president of global propulsion systems to The Detroit News. Case in point, nine percent of Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks sold are equipped with a diesel. General Motors already has six vehicles available with a diesel (Silverado and Sierra HD: Colorado, Canyon, Express, and Savana). But they are planning …

GM board meeting The General Motors Board of Directors is meeting today. As the company copes with a low stock price and eight impending plant closings, the board is meeting in an atmosphere of tension. Automotive News will report on the outcome of this meeting when details become available.

In another sign that the auto industry is pulling away from lease deals, General Motors Corp. is cutting back incentives on new GMC, Buick and Pontiac vehicles. Dealers learned Monday that the only lease deal they'll have to offer for those brands through GM's partially owned financial arm GMAC will be on the Pontiac G6, said Russ Shelton, owner of Shelton Pontiac Buick GMC in Rochester Hills. The narrowed leasing incentives start Wednesday. It is unclear what kind of leasing deals GM will support for other brands, including Chevrolet, Saturn and Hummer. GM spokesman John McDonald said he couldn't comment on specific deals. GM expects to announce today details of …

i FOUND THIS ON A GERMAN OPEL SITE,CUOLD THIS BE A HARD TOP VERT FOR SATURN? B)

more uncle bob. http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/busin...5071127,00.html gotta love that optimism.

AP source: GM to build small car in Michigan Yahoo! Story Link By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher, Ap Auto Writer – 27 mins ago DETROIT – Michigan has won the high-stakes competition with two other states to build General Motors Corp.'s next-generation subcompact car, a person briefed on the decision said Thursday. The announcement that the car will be built at a retooled midsize car factory in Orion Township near Pontiac will come Friday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public. It will save about 1,200 jobs at the factory, which had been slated to shut down later this year. GM spokeswoman Sherrie …

Well today, I was inquiring about an 07 Z06 for a friend of mine... because 06's were sold out he wasnt able to get one... 07's are sold out as well but... i asked about how much profit the 06's had, and if the 07's were the same... while, not sure about the exact price, it was a good comission... but apparently the price on the 07 is going up, but likewise, the invoice is going up more then the msrp... and this sparked an interesting discussion... while "total value promise" sounds good to the customer, sounds good to GM, it sounds horrible to the salesperson... Every model had a reduction in base MSRP for the year 2006... and now i've started looking over our sale…

Lack of '05 inventory expected to take toll on GM sales By Greg Migliore Automotive News / August 25, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=13151 DETROIT -- A summer of offering employee discounts to the public has cleared out plenty of 2005 models for the Big 3 -- a fact that will likely dent General Motors' sales for August, analysts say. Analysts expect Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler group to post sales gains for August, as both automakers kept their employee discount programs for a second month. But August was the third month of the sales program for GM, which the automaker applied to most of its 2005 models. And with the number of &#…

General Motors is now facing two new lawsuits with a total of $10 billion in compensation on the line. The two suits allege that GM's ignition switch recall has cause the values of their vehicles to drop. The first and largest suit is seeking to represent owners who bought or leased a recalled car from July 2009 to July 2014 and either still owns it, traded it in after the recall was announced back in February, or got into an accident. Steve Berman, one of the attorneys involved, tells Bloomberg that more than 20 million customers could join in the suit. “New GM repeatedly proclaimed that it was a company committed to innovation, safety and maintaining a strong brand. T…

[source: Wall Street Journal] Car Crazy Bankrupt companies making 39 mpg autos. Are we nuts? At the end of his Rose Garden explanation yesterday of the new U.S. fuel-efficiency standards, President Obama remarked on the good that can be accomplished when we are "working together." The President may be getting ahead of himself. Watching the unlikely coalition arrayed behind him as Mr. Obama committed the U.S. to an astonishing passenger-car mileage average of 39 miles per gallon by 2016, it looks truer to say we are merely standing together in this adventure, for better or worse. Mr. Obama's fleet-mileage partners yesterday incl…

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=120505 DETROIT — In this latest chapter of the saga of the Chevrolet Volt, the project is still alive and well. Speaking to the Society of Automotive Engineers earlier this week, GM engineering chief Jim Queen said the automaker is planning to build its Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car in the future. "We will get this into production," Queen said. "We are very, very serious about this." However, Queen admitted that GM is still trying to figure out how to make the Volt provide "profit for the enterprise." GM execs are making a considerable effort to reassure the public that the Volt is not being shelved. In a pos…

I'm not sure how much these sketches really reveal about the design of Suzuki's upcoming midsize sedan. Looking at these sketches is still not the same as viewing actual photos. A link to the Motor Authority website is provided below so you can see for yourself. undefined

GM to launch Red Tag year-end sale Saturday By JAMIE LAREAU | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek | Published 11/16/06, 3:57 pm et Link to Original Article @ Autoweek DETROIT -- General Motors will start its year-end clearance sale, called the Red Tag Event, on Saturday, Nov. 18. The sale will run through Jan. 2 and include all brands except Cadillac, Hummer and Saab. The Chevrolet Corvette and Pontiac Solstice also are not included, GM says. The sale is similar to the promotion GM ran last year at this time, spokesman John McDonald said today. "What a consumer will see is a Red Tag hanging from the mirrors," McDonald said. "It will list the MSRP and then the price the…

Sure, the Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse are not the most exciting models in GM's lineup, but the Oshawa, Ontario plant that's been cranking out well-assembled W-platform vehicles for years has won a rare honor from J.D. Power and Associates. Power's Founder's Award is reserved for people or corporations that J.D and friends feel are uncommonly dedicated to continual improvement for customers. Oshawa has racked up plenty of Gold and Silver plant awards, and J.D. Power's senior VP for US automotive practice, Gary Dilts, was on hand to present the award to plant manager Dan Hermer and Chris Buckley, president of CAW local 222. It's a scarce bit of positive news about a…

As General Motors begins to close the sale of Opel and Vauxhall to PSA Group, there are questions as to what GM will do in the European market afterwards. According to Automotive News, GM is planning to become a niche brand with selling Cadillac models, along with the Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette. “That is the plan at this time, to continue with those models and brands in Europe. We continue to grow the Cadillac brand. We’ll continue to do that in a very disciplined fashion,” said GM CEO Mary Barra on a conference call this morning. Cadillac has been trying to make end roads into Europe for a decade with middling success. Last year, Cadillac's 45 dealers in Eur…

General Motors today announced another set of recalls that covers over 500,000 vehicles, The first and largest recall is for the Chevrolet Camaro from the 2010-2014 model year due to the key fob being accidentally hit by a driver's knee and causing the key to move out of the move position. GM says this isn't a problem with the ignition switch, but with the key fob itself. GM also said that it is aware of three accidents where the key fob was the problem. A total of 511,508 Camaros worldwide will get a separate ignition key and fob to fix this problem. Dealers have been told to stop selling Camaros for the timebeing. The other recalls issued by GM include: 28,789 Saab…

I'm supposed to be doing the move in October. Things are on schedule I think, but you know timetables. I can't wait, my drive will no longer be an hour to work and back, the place is absolutely massive when you drive by it!! http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/062...070626169.shtml

FOR RELEASE: 2005-12-06 "Baby Buick" Lucerne Golf Carts to Star on Tonight's "The Amazing Race" on CBS Tonight’s winning team to take home new Lucerne Week-long sweepstakes for new Lucerne AND a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, at www.cbs.com/buick Detroit – As part of the launch of the all-new 2006 Buick Lucerne and following activities including a new tagline (“Beyond Precision”), new advertising and appearances on “The Apprentice Martha Stewart” and the daytime “Martha Stewart Living,” Buick will take a lead role on tonight's “The Amazing Race” on CBS at 9 p.m. EST. This time, Buick is leveraging its role as one of the leading sponsors of golf and provides e…

GM To Invest $332 Million In Toledo Transmission Plant New fuel-efficient, front-wheel-drive, six-speed transmissions added to line-up Approximately 600 hourly jobs retained Nearly $1 Billion invested in Ohio in one year TOLEDO , OHIO – General Motors Corp. will invest $332 million in its Toledo, Ohio transmission plant to produce a new six-speed, front-wheel-drive automatic transmission that will deliver an excellent balance of performance and fuel economy in GM’s mid-size vehicle segment. The investment includes facility renovation, new machinery, equipment and special tooling to support the production of the new Hydra-Matic 6T40/45 six-speed transmission…

I've read a report today that GM plans to cut the number of platforms and engines for its vehicles by like half in the next several years. Pretty much what a lot of us here have been harping on for a good while here at C&G... FEWER PLATFORMS, MORE VARIANTS PER PLATFORM leads to BETTER QUALITY and MORE PROFITS. How should this shake out? Post your general overview of what you think GMNA should consist of circa 2016.

Neato. Video showing many of the sights you guys may have already seen but here it is again. Inside the Solstice factory. Look for Willie Wonka about 8 minutes in. (ha, ha) http://www.fastlanedaily.com/episode/fld_20090408

IL Exclusive: OnStar To Help Customers Find Ethanol Date posted: 04-08-2006 DETROIT — OnStar President Chet Huber said his company will unveil a new service in June to let customers know if their vehicle is E85 compatible and help them find ethanol filling stations. Customers will receive an e-mail telling them where ethanol filling stations are in their area — or they can press the OnStar button in their vehicle and get help from a representative. Huber said OnStar is also working on another new service that would alert customers when their tires are underinflated. "Even minor underinflation has an impact on fuel economy," Huber said. He would not say when that serv…

It seems all we have heard lately is doom and gloom with a bit of spice from the new Camaro but that is certainly about it. Well GM Canada (I know I live in Iowa) launched Pontiac Pulse, a very cool site that you can share stories, photographs and information of the Pontiac's of the past. What I am most excited about it the selection of old brochures in PDF's that you can download. Many are list at the buttom under the vehicle but if you change the year around in the new window when your opening the PDF you can get other years. I am going like crazy downloading them and I can get the info on the 1998-1999 Bonneville SSE I plan to get! It is very cool so play around with t…

Automotive News reported today that Steve Girsky, who was hired last August as a special adviser to Rick Wagoner and Vice Chairman John Devine, will be leaving GM. When Girsky joined them, Wagoner said, "His deep knowledge and experience in the global auto industry will enable Steve to contribute significantly in support of our key business strategies, including the turn-around of GM North America." What exactly did Girsky do in that short amount of time? Did he make a difference?

Jamie LaReau Automotive News August 25, 2008 - 12:01 am ET DETROIT — General Motors' product lineup will be dramatically different next decade. "It's clear that the size of the American vehicle is going to shift radically, for all kinds of reasons — fuel economy; legislation; the gasoline price, which may or may not come down and may go up over time," Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman of product development, told Automotive News. "So the U.S. fleet is going to be downsized, and I think the U.S. consumer is no longer going to associate size with luxury and price." GM's small cars will be developed on two global platforms: the Gamma and the slightly larger Delta c…

Can Jerry York Save GM? Ace cost-cutter ratchets up pressure for major changes Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News DETROIT -- In the 1980s, it was a feisty Texan named Ross Perot who rattled the board of General Motors Corp. by calling his fellow directors "pet rocks" in the pocket of management. A decade later, retired Procter & Gamble Co. Chairman John Smale led a board-room coup that toppled a GM chairman and set a new standard for corporate governance. But no outsider ever joined the GM board with the expectations attached to Jerry York. The appointment to the board last week of York, the ace cost-cutter employed by billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, is a pivot…

History Up in Smoke Fleetwood body works buildings destroyed By TERRY SCOTT REED AutoWeek | Published 01/23/06, 2:54 pm et A factory referred to as the birthplace of car body building, the Fleetwood Metal Body Works in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, was destroyed by fire Dec. 24. In its heyday Fleetwood installed up to 80 percent of its bodies on Packard chassis, with only 10 percent for Cadillacs, but it is Cadillac with which Fleetwood is perhaps most strongly associated. General Motors obtained the Fleetwood name when it acquired the company as part of the purchase of Fisher Body Co. Fleetwood had achieved worldwide fame as a coachbuilder before Fisher acquire…

Workers at General Motors' CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario are reeling from the news this morning that 625 workers will be laid off. This unexpected move comes as the plant will solely focus on production of the new Chevrolet Equinox. Production of the GMC Terrain which had been part of CAMI will move down to Mexico for the 2018 model. Not surprising, officials at Unifor are none too pleased with this. “I’m shocked, it’s an absolute embarrassment on behalf of GM as far as I’m concerned,” said Mike Van Boekel, chairperson of Unifor Local 88 to London radio station AM980. "It was previously announced with employees that the next generation GMC Terrain will be pro…

* Azia Avto will assemble and distribute Chevrolet Captiva, Epica and Lacetti * First Chevrolets on display at Astana Motor Show this week * Strong market growth expected in next five years Astana — The first Chevrolets assembled by General Motors' partner, Azia Avto, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, go on show in the Kazakh capital, Astana, today. The Chevrolet Captiva SUV, Epica sedan and Lacetti compact models are assembled from kits supplied from General Motors' South Korean manufacturing facilities (GM DAT). The assembly of 1500 units this year and more than 3000 in 2008 will put Chevrolet in a strong position in a market with significant growth potential. Kazakhstan,…

GM's Baltimore Transmission Facility Achieves Landfill Free Status Plant's manufacturing process wastes are completely reused or recycled Baltimore, Md – General Motors Corp.’s Baltimore transmission plant, which will build the industry’s first two-mode hybrid transmission for GM’s full-size SUVs and pickups, announced today that it has officially achieved “landfill free” status – meaning it will no longer send any waste from its production operations to landfills. Changes at the plant – the new landfill-free manufacturing process and a new hybrid drivetrain – will provide significant environmental benefits. “Our Baltimore facility is a great example of how GM is work…

Lindsay Chappell Automotive News August 5, 2009 - 2:00 pm ET Suppliers and workers at General Motors' assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., thought they had the inside track this summer when GM had to decide quickly where to build a new family of subcompact cars. The plant boasts a recent renovation, a history of good labor relations and the sort of innovative supplier-automaker partnership that automakers profess to seek. It wasn't enough. A plant in Orion Township, Mich., got the nod. "A lot of us are still wondering how they made this decision," says Mike Herron, chairman of Spring Hill's UAW Local 1853. "Obviously, we're all hoping the best for Orion…

Edmunds: Spy photos: 2007 Suzuki XL-7

Auto news Wagoner eager to get GM on track Foreign sales growing, but his focus is the U.S. market November 25, 2005 Email this Print this BY TOM WALSH FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER For the first time in its history, General Motors Corp. is now selling more cars and trucks in other countries than it does in the United States, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner told the Free Press. This historic shift reflects both GM's dwindling share of the mature U.S. market and its promising position in China and other fast-growing Asian economies. But despite strong sales growth overseas, Wagoner stressed that GM's future still depends largely on whether…

About 65 percent there: General Motors making progress Posted 12/11/2006 1:00:00 AM by Todd Lassa Link to Full Article @ Motor Trend Community Even on its own, GM looks much better now than it did last year, when it lost $10.6 billion. The automaker drove home its reasons for cautious optimism at a media event I attended last Thursday night. Product chief Bob Lutz talked of how the company is returning to a culture of great cars and trucks in order to survive, even thrive. But first, CEO Rick Wagoner (pictured speaking at the recent L.A. auto show) spoke of impending financial results. This time last year, GM was $2.3 billion in the hole. Much of the remaining …

During its all-brand meeting February 10, 2008, GM said that it would share the technology used in the Chevrolet Volt with its other brands. To view the entire story, as reported by Automotive News, click here. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to call a new Buick "Electra"!

January 6, 2006 11:03 AM PST LAS VEGAS--Customers who subscribe to GM's OnStar service mostly call when they need help unlocking a car or after an accident--but some call when they are lonely, said Chet Huber, president of the company. "They call and ask them (the OnStar phone consultants) to contact their wife," he said. The social calls, however, have been dropping since the company integrated Verizon's cellular service with hands-free driving. During Hurricane Katrina, OnStar gave customers in Louisiana free cellular service. In some places, it was the only phone. The company will come out with a new upgrade of its hardware in a month. On…

General Motors has announced new investments for two of their plants today. The Spring Hill manufacturing complex in Tennesse will see the largest of these two investments. A total of $788.7 million will go towards a new high-efficiency engine program and modernizing vehicle production. The investment will bring forth 792 new jobs and retaining 16. The Detroit News reports that GM is keeping quiet on what on the new engine program. “This investment will help GM and our workforce continue to put the customer at the center of everything we do, providing them with powertrain solutions to meet their changing needs. Today’s announcement reinforces our absolute faith in…

Source GM Bondholders Shun Offer, Setting Stage for Bankruptcy General Motors unveiled a tentative labor agreement with the United Auto Workers, though bondholders shunned a proposed debt-to-equity offering, setting the stage for a bankruptcy filing by the troubled auto maker. For GM to stay out of bankruptcy protection, holders of 90 percent of its bonds must agree to exchange $27 billion in debt for a 10 percent stake in the company. But as a midnight deadline for the deal approached, it appeared that the swap was likely to fail. Analysts have said bondholders will not want to exchange their massive debt for such a small stake. GM has said in a regulatory filing…

Posted by Fbodfather elsewhere: For those of you who are qualified.....here's a great opportunity ..make sure you register......... By Terry Kosdrosky April 12, 2007 DETROIT -- General Motors Corp., looking to ramp up its expertise in emerging technology amid mounting pressure to boost fuel economy, will use a job fair to try and fill 400 new engineering and technical positions. While the auto maker has been shedding tens of thousands of jobs via buyouts and early retirements, there are growth areas the company has been beefing up, spokeswoman Brenda Rios said Thursday. Wanted are engineers to fill positions in powertrain engineering, product development, f…

Imagine GM getting 113% utilization of their plants. 2006 Habour Report

as seen on FT.com today.. GM prepares for 'realignment' By Bernard Simon in Toronto Monday Jul 14 2008 16:00 General Motors (NYSE:GM) will unveil further measures on Tuesday to cope with the dramatic downturn in the north American vehicle market. The world's biggest carmaker said that the steps, to be outlined at a press conference, are designed "to align the business to current market conditions". The conference will be attended by Rick Wagoner, chief executive, as well as Fritz Henderson, chief operating officer, and Ray Young, chief financial officer. Bookmark and Share GM announced last month that it would close four north American light-truck plants i…

The Other day I was at a Bar called Victory on Van Dyke in Warren, MI. I over heard some GM bums at the bar talking of how everything is done by contractors. Then they started saying somthing about protesting contractors. Also they brought up the layed off poeple. Could things get ugly with GM Corprate and GM Employees? Just a thought.

GM in talks with Romanian govt on investment Last Update: 8:27 AM ET Oct. 6, 2005 Marketwatch.com story BUCHAREST (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. (GM) is discussing a potential investment in Romania with the government, a General Motors Europe spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. The spokesman, Marc Kempe, declined to elaborate on the nature of the investment. The Romanian government said last month that it is trying to persuade U.S. auto makers General Motors and Ford Motor Co. (F) to open new production units in Romania or buy Daewoo Automobilia Romania, the local plant of South Korea's defunct Daewoo Motor Co. The Romania…

DETROIT - In the document that spells out the tentative pact between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers, their futures are listed as: "demand and business case dependent," "no future product allocation," or even possible sale or closure. Fifteen factories in places such as Wentzville, Missouri; Wilmington, Delaware; and Flint, Michigan, have been left on shaky ground by the pact that the UAW hailed as having won unprecedented job security from GM. Most of the 15 factories, which together employ more than 40,000 hourly workers, will see their current work go out of production in 2011, when the four-year contract would expire, with the next generation of the…

Size is key. General Motors expects 2005 Middle East sales of its nine-seat GMC and Chevrolet Suburbans and its lumbering GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe to soar to 51% over last year, pushed by frantic sales in the biggest regional market - Saudi Arabia. General Motors, Ford and Nissan all reported big October sales declines in America last week, with four-wheel-drives taking the biggest hit. Sales of the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Navigator, GMC Yukon, Hummer H2 and Toyota Land Cruiser were all down by 50% or more. High oil prices were cited as a chief reason. But in one of the auto industry's great ironies, the same oil price rise is driving four-wheel-drive fever in…