Fifty-three years ago, the LaSalle II Roadster and the Chevrolet Biscayne were among the concepts that showcased General Motors’ vision of the future in its traveling Motorama. After the debut of this automotive eye candy, these cars were not only discarded but destroyed.
Throughout the 1950s, the General Motors Motorama took concept cars on tour to cities throughout the United States, inviting the public to enter the future by stepping through the doors of a GM automobile. After each cross-country show was concluded, these futuristic cars were relegated to the trash heap. In fact, since most of these vehicles had not been road tested, GM often ordered their total destruction to prevent legal problems.
General Motors will also be bringing nearly a dozen dream cars that the company itself has saved, and these cars will join the Bortz Collection and Motorama treasures owned by other collectors during the Concours’ celebration of the General Motors Centennial.
Lines from the 1955 LaSalle II Roadster can be found in such icons as the ’56 and ‘57 Corvette, while lines from the 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne are visible in the 1960 Corvair.
The Motorama cars that will be appearing at Pebble Beach will be joined by a rare assortment of GM Woodies, Cadillac V-16s and GM-powered sports cars. Other featured marques for 2008 include Lancia and Lamborghini.
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OnStar today announced the introduction of two new navigational services to complement and enhance its existing Turn-by-Turn service, the most widely available navigation system on the market. These features solidify GM’s leadership in navigation with more vehicles on the road with embedded navigation systems and more options than any other automaker.
The first new service is OnStar Destination Download, which enables OnStar subscribers with screen-based navigation systems to quickly input their destination while on the go via the simple press of a button. The second service, OnStar eNav, allows subscribers with a Turn-by-Turn Navigation-capable vehicle to find and save destinations on MapQuest.com and have those destinations sent to their vehicle’s OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation system.
"Through OnStar and onboard navigation systems, GM is transforming the category with the broadest range of options to suit customer preferences," said OnStar President Chet Huber. "With 3.1 million model year 2008 vehicles equipped with some form of factory-installed navigation, GM is delivering on our commitment to redefine the availability and functionality of navigation systems in the United States and Canada."
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Is GM reconsidering building the expected “El Camino” version of the Holden “ute” as a Pontiac? (“Ute,” Aussie for “utility.”)
Might it end up being a GMC?
Here’s the basic story:
General Motor’s Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz told members of the Australian press last week that GMC would be exhibiting a four-door concept at the New York Auto Show in March which will be a “ute.” The “ute” is the Australian term for a truck with auto styling, the down-under version of what we always knew as the El Camino, back in the sixties and seventies. Holden currently sells a two-door ute in Australia. In the past, it also sold a four-door ute, which was known as the “Crewman.”
A Pontiac version of the current two-door Holden ute is expected later this year. It is a version of the recently introduced Pontiac G8, and is expected to be available with either a 361 hp V-8 or a V-6 of 265 hp. The base price for the V-8 version is expected to be about $31,000. The V-6 model will be less expensive.
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At the Chicago Auto Show, GM will display vehicles featuring outstanding fuel economy, E85 ethanol and biodiesel capability, and gas-electric hybrid vehicles designed to help GM customers go green without going broke.
Here are some of the gas-friendly vehicles designed for commercial and business use that will be at the Chicago Auto Show: Chevrolet HHR Panel, Chevrolet Express 3500 Cargo Van, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Silverado HD 3500, Chevrolet Impala Police Pursuit Vehicle Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle and 2009 Silverado Hybrid.
The 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is a full-size pickup that achieves 40-percent greater city fuel economy and a 25-percent improvement in overall fuel economy. It is expected to deliver fuel economy comparable to many small and midsize trucks that are equipped with four- or six-cylinder engines, and be the most fuel-efficient full-size pickup on the market, besting the current V-8 leader - the non-hybrid Silverado. The hybrid system provides all-electric driving at low speeds, allowing fuel savings to be realized even when the truck is fully loaded or towing a trailer. Silverado Hybrid can tow up to 6,100 pounds (2,767 kg).
Press release after jump.<
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Anyone who has ever met Will Cooksey, who retires in March as the General Manager of the General Motors Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky – the home of the Corvette – will remember the occasion. It’s not just that Cooksey is naturally gregarious. It’s that he is a very, very big man. Not overweight. It’s just that he’s about 125% of life size. (That’s him, in the orange shirt, mingling with Corvette owners at the National Corvette Museum, located across the street from the Bowling Green plant.
As a plant manager, Cooksey introduced quality procedures to the assembly plant that have resulted in the C6 Corvette being one of the most taughtly and carefully assembled vehicles in the GM line up.
Outside of the plant, however, it seems Cooksey has been equally concerned with quality: the quality of life.
Last week, Cooksey received the “Civil Rights Humanitarian Award” in Bowling Green for his work outside of the plant. Cooksey Cooksey sits on the Greenview Hospital board of directors, the boards of the National Corvette Museum, Tennessee State University’s Foundation Board of Trustees, the Western Kentucky University College of Education and Behavioral Science, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Advisory Council, and the Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering Executive Advisory Board.
Cooksey related that when initially asked by General Motors to take the Bowling Green assignment, he was asked if he would be comfortable as a black plant manager of a plant where most of the employees were white. He said it wasn’t a problem. “I never worried about getting to know people. People are people regardless.”
Bigger than life, and not just in physical stature.
It seems that GM has found the best solution to improve fuel economy: small engines with turbochargers. Starting 2009, the company will introduce a turbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline engine for small U.S. cars. First to use this engine are the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Astra. Same engine could be used in mid-sized vehicles, too.
"You’re going to see turbocharged four-cylinders in vehicles that no one could have ever imagined that they would be in," said GM engineering chief Jim Queen.
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General Motors and Toyota have now both reported their global sales for last year.
At first, they reported 9.37 million, each.
That’s right, they tied. Or so it was reported.
But, then General Motors released the exact figures.
And it turned out there was a reason that Toyota was only releasing an approximate number.
The exact number released by GM was 9,369,524 vehicles. Toyota released only the rough number of 9.37 million and indicated that it will not release a more specific number because the real number was lower than that of GM.
Is it possible that this is as close as Toyota will ever get to besting GM in global sales?
The pundits think it’s only a matter of time, i.e., next year, before Toyota is number one. After all, Toyota did build more cars than GM in 2007.
But where have we heard about companies that build cars they can’t sell? Doesn’t it seem an oddly familiar refrain?
Reality seems to be intruding on Toyota.
They may never quite make it to number one.
Toyota’s sales in its home market have been dismal for several years. General Motors seems to be doing a better job at exploiting the developing markets, particularly China, than Toyota. North American sales next year are likely to be lower overall than this year. But, GM has new products that are making sales gains. Toyota, in contrast, has the Prius, the Camry, and the Tundra. The Prius has probably sold most of its converts, the Camry has lost its luster, and the Tundra is on the verge of becoming the pick-up truck version of the Cracker Jacks prize, something you have to give away.
Despite predictions that United States sales next year will be about the same as those of this year, more and more industry observers expect sales to be lower, perhaps much lower. Toyota loses if this happens. In light of the new product offerings by GM and the bad reviews of the new Camry, both makers may end up losing about the same number of sales in the United States in 2008. That means that Toyota can’t gain numbers over GM in the United States.
So, it’s got to find the extra sales somewhere else.
But, where?
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Bob Lutz.
What can you say about the Mr. Magic of General Motors, the tanned almost octogenarian that flies a MIG and know cars better than anyone. The guy that’s the tough and straight talker with the starched tab collar and the demeanor that makes journalists swoon.
Well, what you can say is that a whole lot of people aren’t buying what he’s selling.
It all has to do with E85.
And, I, for one, want to protest.
They shouldn’t be (...)
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General Motors today reported global sales of 9.369 million vehicles -an increase of 3 percent- in 2007, a total that would place it just ahead of Toyota Motor Corp.
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No, not the Pontiac Aztek.
The new car sales picture.
When asked last week about the economy by TopSpeed.com, GM’s CEO, Rick Wagoner – referring to various political proposals for economic stimulus – said he thought things would get somewhat better, but then added “or it could get quite ugly.”
It’s looking more and more like “quite ugly” is what’s happening.
Everywhere you turn, people are predicting a recession. In the opinion of may, it’s (...)
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