Newbiewar

GM has blacktie radios from everything to cobalt to the Escalade with execptions being the utility vans, i think the uplanders, and equinox(maybe refresh might have given new radios)

i guess the problem here is the car should have new sheet metal... 4 models on the same platfor 3 of which are using the same sheet metal... i'm glad buick is the one that gets the different one... but the chevy should be different some how... short wheel base? slidding doors instead of traditional? something different

A CTS-v out performed by the likes of BMW? not likely...even my LS1 f-body shut every M3 i've ever seen down... and thats only a lowsey 325 hp... we arent talking 500 hp... or maybe some 650 pipe dream BMW's are overweight... Pushrods have an unpresidented amount of low end power, thus allowing it to take full advantage, of less gears... for example... my LT1, is faster in an 4 speed auto, then an 6 speed manaul transmission.... when you've got a low torque high reving motor is when you need "8" gears... My best friend has a SL55 496hp, stock, and his 70 Chevelle (stock) 475hp is almost faster... technology hasnt changed... and Pushrods still dominate... The Corvette make this a perfect example...

if this vehicle is supposed to replace the trailblazer, the minivan, and possibly the equnix... i think it needs more then 250k units... i beleive it will come forward with sales similar to the trailblazer of <400k but thats speculation... exspecially with 23k on the door... i'm sure it will have a few options removed, that once it starts to add things it'll be right there with the saturn in price... you know Chevy, their LTZ will be 35k...

How UAW deal can pull GM even with Toyota Analysts: Pact big step in closing the labor cost gap October 1, 2007 By JOE GUY COLLIER and JEWEL GOPWANI FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITERS The tentative contract between General Motors Corp. and the UAW could quickly wipe out more than half the gap in labor costs between GM and Toyota Motor Corp., pulling Detroit ever closer to its Japanese rivals, industry experts say. And the gap should shrink further — to about 6 percent by one estimate — as lower-paid workers replace more-senior union members over time. Advertisement GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC headed into contract talks with about $25 an hour more in labor costs than Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., according to industry estimates. About $13 an hour of this gap can be attributed to retiree pension and health benefits, which could be dramatically reduced by the proposed VEBA trust fund for health care. GM, though, has other hurdles to overcome, such as continuing to raise quality and efficiency, experts say. The trends are moving in the right direction for GM, said Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst in the Troy, Mich., office of Global Insight. “The biggest challenge that GM is going to have right now is convincing American consumers to come back and give their products another shot,” he said. “It’s really the old adage: Nothing trumps product.” The new deal would put GM “right on top” of Toyota within a few years, said Rod Lache, an analyst with Deutsche Bank. It could reduce GM’s labor costs from $70 an hour to about $50 an hour, Lache estimates. Toyota’s labor cost is about $47 an hour. “It’s a big, big closing of the gap,” he said. Based on early estimates, the new deal could add at least $800 in profit per vehicle at GM, said Laurie Harbour-Felax, managing director in the Farmington Hills, Mich., office of consulting firm Stout Risius Ross. In 2006, GM lost on average $146 per vehicle sold in North America, according to Stout Risius Ross, while Toyota made $1,977 per vehicle. “It really positions General Motors in a very good spot to be able to make significant improvement on the gap,” Harbour-Felax said. GM’s tentative deal, which still must be approved by UAW members, would tackle the company’s massive legacy costs, something the Japanese automakers do not have to worry about because they have few U.S. retirees and less-generous retirement plans. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said he expects to reach similar deals with Ford and Chrysler. The effect on these two automakers would be different. GM has an older workforce and more retirees, making health care a bigger issue. The major source of savings for GM would come in the proposed voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA, a special trust fund to pay for retiree health care. The VEBA could cost GM up to $29.9 billion, but that is far less than the estimated $51 billion in outstanding retiree health care liabilities GM has on its balance sheet. The VEBA structure also removes much of the risk of rising health care costs going forward for GM. In addition to health care savings, the proposed contract could save GM money by holding down pay and benefit increases for active workers. It also would allow GM to hire workers for some non-core jobs — those not directly related to production — at lower wages and a separate set of benefits. GM still has other disadvantages in labor costs, Harbour-Felax said. GM hourly workers have more break time and vacation days than their counterparts at U.S. plants run by Japanese automakers. In addition, the foreign automakers are not sitting still. In an internal report obtained by the Detroit Free Press earlier this year, a Toyota North America executive outlined concerns that labor costs were growing too fast. The internal report suggested tying Toyota production wages and benefits to the surrounding region for plants, instead of trying to keep up with the pay scale of the overall U.S. auto industry — one traditionally set by UAW contracts. Honda appears to be following a similar strategy. When its new plant in Greensburg, Ind., opens next year, Honda plans to start production workers at $14.84 an hour with an automatic $3.71-an-hour raise in 2009, according to report by the Indianapolis Star. The average wage rate for production workers at GM, Ford and Chrysler is about $28 an hour. “There’s no reason they have to follow a national wage model like the Big Three,” Sean McAlinden, a labor economist at the Center for Automotive Research, told the Star. “Honda and Toyota can be the wage leader in any region where they put a plant and still get the best resumes from three different states.” GM, Ford and Chrysler also have other areas, outside of labor costs, in which competitive gaps need to be addressed, experts say. Toyota and Honda are at or near the top of most industry studies in quality and efficiency. The Detroit automakers have made up ground. Buick tied Lexus in this year’s J.D. Power and Associates long-term quality study. Ford’s core brands — Ford, Lincoln and Mercury — all were above the industry average in the J.D. Power initial quality study. But many U.S. consumers continue to place Toyota well ahead of the domestic automakers because of previous experiences, said Erich Merkle, director of forecasting for Grand Rapids, Mich.-based IRN Inc. GM, Ford and Chrysler will have to improve their quality for years to come and also come up with distinctive designs to win customers back, he said. “They’re still trying to outrun their ghosts of the past,” Merkle said.

I wonder if the placement of this vehicle is a PR thing... IF Hybrids, Electric plug in cars, the worlds least dependant vehicle on protrolium, is built in detroit... where the big 3 are... does anyone else see that as the reason it is going to be built in the heart of motor city?

GM taps Detroit/Hamtramck plant to build its electric car Sep 29, 2007 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If General Motors Corp. manufactures the Chevrolet Volt, the automaker will build the extended-range electric vehicle in its Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, the UAW said Friday in its summary of the tentative agreement. The deal includes a plan to assemble the Volt starting in 2010 at the facility, known as the Poletown plant because of the area's ties to the Polish American community. The Volt announcement, coupled with other commitments for the plant that are to begin as early as 2009, seems to move GM's hometown assembly plant from the endangered species list to one with a potentially electric future. Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly opened in 1985 with hopes it would revitalize the local economy and become a model for modern manufacturing, but its future often has looked uncertain. Greg Kelly, 50, of Detroit, who has worked for GM for 29 years, could not believe the news. There had been a lot of talk about the plant going to one shift in January -- even shutting down -- he said. "I think it's a great move for the people," he said. "You can look at some kind of future." Kelly, a team coordinator, said it was especially good news for the younger workers. He then paused and chuckled. "What kind of car did you say that was again?" he asked. But Paul Radatz, 44, of Fraser, an electrician at the plant, had mixed feelings about the new vehicle. "That's good they finally got a product lined up for us," he said. "I just hope it sells." He prefers Cadillac and Buick Lucerne, luxury vehicles. "Those seem to have more steady sales," he said. But overall, he said of the news, "I'm glad." The commitment to build the Volt in Detroit links together in one contract two of GM's most critical gambles in trying to stay competitive with rival Toyota Motor Corp. The new contract has health care and wage provisions intended to bring down GM's labor costs closer to those of Toyota. The plan to build the Volt is part of a much-publicized race to leapfrog Toyota as the world's leader of green-car technology. Toyota has become a leader in environmentally friendly vehicles, thanks in large part to the Prius, the top-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world. GM unveiled the Volt, which could provide a new level of fuel economy, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. With the right batteries, GM says, the Volt could travel 40 miles -- equal to the average American's daily commute -- without a drop of gas. For those who drive farther, the Volt aims to use a three-cylinder gasoline engine to recharge the battery, so the vehicle could drive 640 miles on a 12-gallon tank without having to stop to refuel or recharge, averaging more than 50 miles per gallon. The vehicle is dependent on contractors developing a power source that is safe, durable and affordable enough for use in a vehicle, but GM executives are growing increasingly confident that it will happen in a time frame that will enable them to build the Volt by 2010.

GM Purchasing Chief: Raw Material Prices 'Scary' October 01, 2007: 05:55 PM EST The purchasing chief of General Motors Corp. (GM) said that price increases on certain key commodities are "scary" and that the auto maker is looking to reduce consumption and find alternate materials in some cases. In a press conference this past weekend in Bogota, Colombia, GM global purchasing chief Bo Andersson said the auto maker would look to use more magnesium instead of aluminum and more plastic in place of steel. The auto maker, like its competitors, is looking to cut costs. But price inflation in key commodities makes that task more challenging for the industry. "The most scary thing for me is the development on raw materials," Andersson said. He noted that prices for aluminum, steel, copper and zinc in particular are up. "The first thing is to reduce consumption and the second thing is to find alternatives," he said. "Use less aluminum and more magnesium and less steel and more plastic." Andersson said GM needs to work with its supply base to try to offset the effects of higher raw material prices. "Easy to say, harder to do," he said. GM's annual purchasing budget is about $89 billion globally, with about $60 billion coming from North America. In recent late trading GM shares recently fell to $35.99 from the Monday close of $36.06. -By Terry Kosdrosky, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; terry.kosdrosky@ dowjones.com (Inti Landauro contributed to this report.)

I think GM is going to be selling fleet again this month... and for one, i really arent too upset if they are... As long as it isnt to rental agency''s i dont see a problem. but also like Lutz said... they are attributing more then 40% of their new vehicles sales to vehicles that are recently launched... thats a landmark for GM... maybe thats why they seem to be doing better... perhaps since they've gotten a couple of financial burdons out of the way, they can handle considerable incentives again...

hrmm.... this will be interesting... does anyone know what these plants produce?

umm... i didnt have to copy and paste that if you didnt want me to... just figured if i was going to look around for you, i wouldnt just stick you with the link... but let me give you a couple of the need to knows out of it "Nonconformity" means a defect, malfunction, or condition in a motor vehicle such that the vehicle fails to conform to the warranty, but does not include a defect, malfunction, or condition that results from an accident, abuse, neglect, modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle by persons other than the manufacturer or its authorized service agent. After three attempts have been made to repair the same nonconformity that substantially impairs the motor vehicle, or after one attempt to repair a nonconformity that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, the consumer may give written notification, which shall be by certified or registered mail or by overnight service, to the manufacturer of the need to repair the nonconformity in order to allow the manufacturer a final attempt to cure the nonconformity. The manufacturer shall, within ten days after receipt of such notification, notify and provide the consumer with the opportunity to have the vehicle repaired at a reasonably accessible repair facility and after delivery of the vehicle to the designated repair facility by the consumer, the manufacturer shall, within ten days, conform the motor vehicle to the warranty. If the manufacturer fails to notify and provide the consumer with the opportunity to have the vehicle repaired at a reasonably accessible repair facility or perform the repairs within the time periods prescribed in this subsection, the requirement that the manufacturer be given a final attempt to cure the nonconformity does not apply. After twenty or more cumulative days when the motor vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities, the consumer may give written notification to the manufacturer which shall be by certified or registered mail or by overnight service. Commencing upon the date such notification is received, the manufacturer has ten cumulative days when the vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities to conform the motor vehicle to the warranty.

thats probably better then most americans... in all actuality... the education system here is a joke... its too well rounded with too little enforcement

i like that commercial i saw it on tv before... very powerful

... umm not exactly... just means your city needs to expand its retail areas... in cali... sure there is a massive amount of people but there is generally enough alternatives you can goto a different store for parking... and if there is too many people, i just dont go shopping that day... even here on base, certain parts of the day the px and commisary are completely filled with cars... since i can walk to them, i can if i had to but i really dont care that much to go shopping durring the busy hours of the day...

apparently they are different for every state... printed you the whole thing haha www.lemonlawamerica.com

it doesnt matter if they can find something wrong with it or not thats why i say its easy to fake it.. i knew a guy who had his engine rebuilt on a corvette a few months after he bought it... he said the new motor made sounds... dealership couldnt find anything 3 times... got lemon law to get him a new one

Lemon Law, as i understand it... 3 returns to the dealership within 1 month time.. 3 returns for the same problem Dealership maintaining the vehicle for a certain amount of days... think its over a month... you can fake lemon laws... very easily and without worry of fraud

haha i love being german...

yea thats why you get GM's cars with the information center... it will tell you your oil's life... it saves consumers lots of money

ummm i'm envisioning another vehicle rushed to production to out do the general... in the army... we have an expression, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast...

whats worse then that... my sister signed up to help with last US census... counting people right? well they have to go door to door... so her first day on the job, the manager asks everyone loud and bold... "DOES ANYONE SPEEK ASIAN HERE?" ohh we... that was well received

the worst thing is you dont even have a blue car... lol i did that today, parked my truck on the opposite end of the parking lot as i go in for groceries... lol the guy comes out to load my stuff in my car i'm like its waaay over there...

yes i work for the man... lol speaking of working for him, in basic training the drill sargeants would always make fun of people... "who's the commander in cheif" everyone new that one... duhh bush... who's the navy's commander in cheif... man they would start looking around... hey nobody ever told me that answer... i'm not in the navy why do i care... LMAO! CLASSIFIED okay enough with the california education... i know plenty of math, plenty of history... get off my back... damn multi nationalists....

also... many people are familiar with the robots... i.e. durring the 80's they switched to completely automated manufacturing... and durring that time, was GM's worst reliablity... according to my dad, only 1 of 10 Buicks would actually start after they were assembled, had to be rebuilt from day one...

i dont want any surprises during my ownership of a vehicle... i couldnt think of a worse tag line... sure sounds good... but let one auto manufacture have at it... "Other cars in this catagory might show up with some surprises and cost you thousands"