SoCalCTS

Toyota and Honda marketed their vehicles against GM by saying that they didn't need to plug them in. They played up the fears of consumers who felt like they would be stranded somewhere without a place to plug in their cars. A hybrid plug in car would actually be better for the environment. Most drivers travel less than 30 miles a day. The car batteries could be completely recharged at night using cheap electricity. This would mean that the gas engine in the car would probably only need to be filled once a month or less. I think GM would be on the right track if they came out with this kind of system. Consumers could get all the benefits of an all electric vehicle while getting the range of a traditional hybrid.

Reuters Story By Jui Chakravorty DETROIT, June 23 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. <GM.N> plans to offer zero-percent financing on most of its 2006 models and financing as low as 2.9 percent on its 2007 line of sport utility vehicles, a GM dealer said on Friday. The zero-percent financing offer would mark a deepening of a summer price war for U.S. automakers, which have been hurt by weak showroom traffic and slower sales of more profitable SUVs and trucks in the face of higher gas prices. GM declined to comment, but the company, which typically briefs key dealers on its sales strategy in advance of any announcement, scheduled a news conference for Tuesday to discuss its third-quarter marketing efforts. The GM dealer, who declined to be named, said the automaker would offer the zero-percent financing, available on loans of up to six years, from June 27 to July 5. The offer will exclude hot-selling vehicles such as the Pontiac Solstice and the Chevrolet Corvette, the dealer said. GM may have felt forced into the move by Chrysler Group. GM's smaller rival, carrying a costly inventory of unsold vehicles, has been aggressively discounting in recent months, extending zero-percent financing and cash rebates. In an escalation of that strategy, DaimlerChrysler AG's <DCXGn.DE> Chrysler unit on Thursday said it was considering offering deeply discounted employee-level pricing on its 2006 vehicles starting next month. "With Chrysler's announcement, GM needs to do something to remain competitive," said Alex Rosten, an analyst at Edmunds.com. "But they want to stay away from heavy discounts and rebates." TURNAROUND GM, which lost $10.6 billion in 2005 and is in the middle of a sweeping turnaround effort, has said it planned to focus on a clearer pricing strategy that relied on lower sticker prices and avoided the big incentive programs that bolstered sales last year but were criticized as a "fire sale" tactic. Investors have watched the big incentive programs with concern because they sacrifice profit margin for sales volume. They also hurt the resale value of cars, a key concern for consumers and a factor that affects the terms of lease deals. But the GM dealer said the company also planned to offer financing of 2.9 percent to 3.9 percent on 2007 models of its newly redesigned line of sport-utility vehicles, called the GMT-900 series. "This whole Chrysler thing has thrown a wrench into GM's strategy, especially as Ford is expected to match Chrysler's employee discount program," the GM dealer said. A Ford Motor Co. <F.N> spokesman said the automaker had no current plans to offer employee discounts to consumers. Dealers who have been briefed by Chrysler officials say the company's upcoming discount program will likely include employee discounts for all car buyers, a 30-day money-back guarantee on all vehicle purchases and an advertising campaign featuring Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of parent company DaimlerChrysler AG. <DCXGn.DE> Rosten said that GM's strategy of offering incentives -- albeit smaller ones -- for its new SUVs was a good move, even though sales of the more fuel-efficient new models have been good to date. "This is forward-thinking ... this (SUV) segment has experienced a downturn in sales for several years now," he said. "They just want to make sure they sell the inventory. The financing offers are very attractive." (Additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki)

This just in from Reuters: Why on Earth did they debut this thing in England?

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what is this thing? I know its a compact flash but for what? http://nissannews.com/multimedia/infiniti2...07_sedan_16.jpg

The stupid part was that they built the car for the European market. They should have imported them here and sent them to China as well. They could easily sell 7,000-10,000 units in here and in Asia.

And besides... Lexus has all the presige of say... Buick. When was the last time a Lexus impressed anyone?

And why do they need this? Do they really think that people who drive automatics really want to be shifting something? I applaud their technology but obviously, they have a lot to learn about marketing. I don't need to be bothered with anything less than a fully automatic transmission.

The front of the truck is awesome. That's the best looking silverado in a long time. The side view is just ok.

Saab-rolet

Whatever an Eos is...

Just slap a Hummer badge on a Chevy Kodiak. Hummer buyers will buy anything.

This is great news. I had just about given up on GM! If they come out with a Caddy coupe they will keep me buying their products. I have no use for a sedan or a convertible. As much as I love SAAB, if I had to buy a foreign car, I'd look towards Mercedes, BMW or Porsche first. GM you need to build the CTS coupe or Eldorado! Please, please, please build it.

This car is another reason why Pontiac needs to go away! This is ridiculous.

Well, I'm not saying that its a bad car. Its just so noisy. Squeaks and rattles at 20k. Maybe the rear differential is messed up too... another trip to my lousy Cadillac dealership. The new interior is much more Saabish than the current CTS. The headrests are right out of the 9-5. I'm not sure i like the new dash at all. The instrument panel looks gimmicky and cheap. I hate that circular protruding instrumentation look. Also, where is the NAV system??????

Agreed! I can't wait to dump my '04. I hope the quality is much better this time around.

IF GM is smart then they will at least release a concept sketch before people start to doubt that they are developing new cars. I mean is it really bankruptcy for GM or are they still in the game? The damn solstice, G6, malibu and equinox pics were out years before the cars came out.

I don't think this is true. If the CTS is going to be new in 08 then it would be released in fall 07 and there has not been a single pic of it to be seen. If the general had a hot product coming they wouldnt be sitting on it. Seriously, even die hard GM buyers like me are getting burned out waiting for new product. I doubt the CTS will come out before 09.

Its the 2008 CTS.

The Aveo actually received 9 out of 14 stars: The same test shows that the Aveo outperformed the: Alfa Rome 147 Audi A3 Citroen Xsara Fiat Brava Ford Escort Honda Civic Hyundai Accent Kia Cerato Mercedes A Class Mitsubishi Lancer Nissan Almera Peugeot 307 Toyota Corolla VW Beetle Etc....

0% interest is a thing of the past. Bush has risen the interest rates so many times in the last few years that it doesn't really make sense for finance companies to offer such cheap loans.

At first, I liked the overall looks but then I thought it looked like the Chevrolet Classic. I wonder what the interior looks like. Its not hot. I don't think the "dawg pound" is going to like it.

Is Suzuki still around? Dear Suzuki, please follow Isuzu and go home.

Nissan and DCX both have design centers in San Diego. I've seen DCX cars out here but have caught a Nissan yet.

One time costs associated with a NAV system are far cheaper than an OnStar subscription.