Entries Tagged 'GM' ↓

I have seen Chevrolet Orlando Spypics from jokeforblog, I think All around looking for Orlando is too hard for Family or Parent who looking at new MPV.

GM plans to sell Orlando Much Country of Europe, They don’t expect sell its in Asian.

Confirm this picture off this purposely designed to look like Chevrolet Orlando Volt sedan headlights both sides and rear.

If it is to say Volt MPV. Oh Yess!!

New photos of the upcoming Chinese / North American market baby Buick have surfaced in China (courtesy of Autohome), and it doesn’t look too bad. The small, 2010 Opel Astra-based sedan will be a fitting bookend to what may become the most attractive Buick lineup ever.

The Excelle features a waterfall grille, distinctive headlights, hood-mounted porthole vents, and controversial taillights. Inside everything appears Astra-spec, except the badge on the steering wheel.

While details are limited, power will likely be provided by a variety of four-cylinder petrol engines. They include a 1.6-liter with 116 hp (85 kW / 118 PS) and 155 Nm (114 lb-ft) of torque, a 1.8 liter engine with 138 hp (103 kW / 140 PS) and 175 Nm (129 lb-ft) of torque, and a turbocharged 1.6-liter with 180 hp (135 kW / 183 PS) and 235 Nm (173 lb-ft) of torque.

From what we gather, we’ll probably see the Chinese version of the car named the Buick Excelle making its world premiere at this month’s Beijing Auto Show, with the North American version to follow sometime in 2011.

General Motors, the nation’s largest automaker, today posted a $4.3-billion loss for the nearly six-month period following its emergence from bankruptcy last summer as a new company largely owned by the U.S. government.

The Detroit automaker said it generated $1 billion in cash on operations from July 10 until Dec. 31. The company said it generated $57.5 billion in revenue during that period.

The net loss of $4.3 billion includes the pretax impact of a $2.6-billion payment to the UAW retiree health care trust fund.

“As the results for 2009 show, there is still significant work to be done. However, I continue to believe we have a chance of achieving profitability in 2010,” GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said in a statement.

Today’s release marks an important milestone for the new GM as it releases its fresh-start accounting. It’s a major step that needed to occur before the company can go public again. GM executives have said an initial public offering could occur as soon as the second half of 2010.

“We are building the foundation that will allow us to return to public ownership,” Liddell said. “Completing fresh-start accounting is an important step in that process.”

Liddell recently told reporters that the automaker faces a reasonable chance at turning a profit this year.

In 2008, GM lost $30.9 billion. During that year’s third and fourth quarters, GM lost $12.1 billion.

The losses came as GM was marching on a path that ultimately led to a government-backed bankruptcy reorganization that lasted 40 days last summer.

The automaker has been working since then to implement a turnaround plan that is supposed to allow the company to break even in a U.S. sales market of just 10 million vehicles.

Through the first quarter of 2010, GM’s sales have increased by 16.8%. But the gains come after GM’s sales dropped 29.9% in 2009.

The industry’s seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate in March was 11.78 million vehicles.

source : Freep

DETROIT – General Motors will expand use of “enhanced smart pedal” technology globally to all passenger cars with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle control, providing an additional safeguard to enhance customer confidence.

Also known as brake override, the change involves modifying existing electronic controls to reduce power to the engine in cases where the brake and accelerator pedal are being depressed at the same time. The global rollout will be completed by the end of 2012.

Brake override is an additional safeguard because for the past several years, GM has had braking performance standards that apply to all cars, trucks and crossovers, requiring that the brakes can stop the vehicle within a specific distance.

“News media analyses of government data consistently validates that GM has had among the lowest rates of unwanted acceleration complaints among automakers,” said Tom Stephens, vice chairman, GM Global Product Operations. “At the same time, we know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle.”

The rollout plan balances the speed of implementation with validation needed to assure that customers feel no deterioration in drivability.

Last month, GM showed off the Chevrolet Aveo RS at the Detroit auto show as a sneak peek of the upcoming compact car. Here are the first official photos of the production version.

The Aveo, whether in sedan or hatchback form, has been a source of cheap wheels for car shoppers for years, but the new Aveo looks to be a significant upgrade in style and materials. Chevrolet wants to make it something more than just an affordable choice. The design of the sedan shown here is sharp, with a handsome front end that offers something on par with Ford’s new Fiesta. The interior — shown in images below — looks to follow the trend of the Chevy Equinox in terms of improved materials and design. The offset analog tachometer and digital speedometer are unusual.

With a front end that stays true to the RS, along with a set of bulging fenders and an artfully carved swage line, the 2012 Aveo is a dramatic departure from the budget-conscious model roaming the streets today. Coupled with a thoroughly revised interior, complete with upgraded materials and the RS’ motorcycle-inspired gauge cluster, the Aveo has its sights set squarely on the new Ford Fiesta, particularly when it arrives in five-door form.

Pricing remains a question mark, but we’d suspect all the details to be revealed before the end of the year, with sales starting sometime in 2011.

General Motors Co. said it will shut the money-losing Saab unit after talks collapsed on a sale to Spyker Cars NV, the second failure in less than a month to keep the 72-year-old Swedish brand alive.

GM and Skyker, a Dutch maker of $235,000 sports cars, faced “certain issues” that couldn’t be resolved, according to a GM statement today. Saab is expected to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and the unit will honor warranties and provide service and spare parts, GM said.

Closing Saab caps more than a month of reshuffling of GM’s European operations. On Nov. 3, the Detroit-based automaker reversed plans to sell the Opel unit and opted to keep it, and Koenigsegg Group AB backed out of a Saab purchase agreement three weeks later, creating an opening for Spyker.

“If you were a gambling man, you would have bet this deal would not close because none of the other deals have closed,” said Mike Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura Securities in London.

GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre said Dec. 15 that the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based unit would be shut unless he had a sales accord by month’s end.

“We were so incredibly close,” Spyker CEO Victor Muller said in a text message to Bloomberg News. “I have no words.”

Spyker fell 33 cents, or 15 percent, to 1.86 euros at 3:59 p.m. on the Amsterdam exchange. The shares touched 1.62 euros earlier for the biggest intraday decline since Sept. 30, 2008.

The wind-down of Saab will commence immediately, the company said. Drivers of the vehicles will still be able to get warranty service, and parts for the vehicles will continue to be made available.

“We expect Saab to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and to wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner while looking after our customers,” said Reilly.

Last week, Saab said it had sold powertrain technology associated with the 9-3 and new 9-5 models to Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co., known as BAIC. GM said today’s news would not affect that sale.

BAIC had been thought to be bidding on the entire Saab brand when it approached GM early this fall, but as negotiations progressed, its interests narrowed.

Although the government of Sweden has offered to make loan guarantees to a potential Saab buyer, it has refused to bail out the brand itself. Saab has 3,400 employees worldwide and 1,100 dealers.

Saab was founded in 1937 to make airplanes. It made its first car in 1946. Through the first 11 months of this year, GM sold 7,812 Saab cars and SUVs in the U.S., a 61% decline compared with a year earlier, and the brand’s worldwide sales are expected to come in under 50,000 units this year. .

Brands we loved … and lost in 2009

“Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time. In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution,” said GM Europe President Nick Reilly. “We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars.”

GM has owned the Swedish automaker since 1989; Saab has been making cars since 1949. GM will now begin winding down Saab production, but warranties will continue to be honored, and spare parts will still be available, the company said.

In the past two decades, GM has made every effort to turn Saab into a profitable car brand, Smith said. But recent global economic problems were simply too much for the still-weak automaker to survive.

“It’s a business that has struggled more years than not during its existence,” Smith said.

A total of 3,400 employees will be directly affected by Saab’s closure, GM spokesman Chris Pruess said.

Saab has never been a big-selling car brand, but the recent global recession and news of the brand’s possible demise have driven sales down to crisis levels. Saab’s U.S. sales have been down by more than half so far this year.

Sweden’s other major automaker, Volvo, is currently owned by Ford, which is in the process of selling it to the Chinese automaker Geely.

As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, GM planned to sell of or wind down four of the eight brands it recently operated. Pontiac is being wound down; a deal to sell the Saturn brand to Penske Automotive fell through in September; and a deal to sell the Hummer SUV brand to Chinese heavy equipment maker Sichuan Tengzhong is awaiting government approvals.

GM’s remaining brands are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

source : Bloomberg,latimes,cnnnews

Revealed first image of the new Chevrolet Agile

Model, fully developed in Brazil, with a surprising and memorable novel design to enchant the Brazilian consumer

It’s finally revealed the first image, without any disguise or camouflage, Agile, the new Chevrolet automobile, whose stylistic lines were being stored by the mark. The novelty, now known, will officially launch in the Brazilian market during the month of October 2009.

Totally developed for the areas of Design and Engineering Development Center General Motors vehicles in Brazil, the new Chevrolet Agile surprises with its novel design and remarkable, in addition to offering the consumer other strengths such as indoor comfort, versatility and a very modern technology .

So the big launch this year in Bombay is now known, less than two months before their arrival at dealerships, and to Jaime Ardila, president of GM Brazil and Mercosur, “The Agile, a leading news and Chevrolet the market in 2009, shows the confidence we have in the preference of Brazilian consumers and potential of the country. ”

In turn, Jose Carlos Pinheiro Neto, vice president of GM Brazil, emphasizes that the Agile “is a clear demonstration of the capacity, technology and infrastructure of GM Brazil, which now dominates the development of a completely new vehicle, since its conception and design to production assembly line, including key areas such as design, engineering, powertrain (engine assembly) and manufacturing. ”

- And the GM Brazil utilizes the latest in automotive technology, “adds Pinheiro Neto.

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GM Daewoo Auto & Technology (GM Daewoo) today launched its all-new global mini-car, the Matiz Creative. The new mini will go on sale from September 1. “The Matiz Creative is an all-new mini-car developed at GM Daewoo, the global vehicle development center for GM’s mini and small cars,” said Michael Grimaldi, President and CEO of GM Daewoo.

“With its best-in-segment design, performance and safety, the new mini is destined to become an industry benchmark and a winner among consumers in Korea and around the world.”

Based on GM’s global mini-vehicle architecture, it took 27 months to develop the Matiz Creative. KRW 295 billion has been invested in the vehicle’s development.

Following its launch in Korea, the global mini will be sold in over 150 markets around the world including those in Europe, Asia and North America. Aimed at meeting the highest quality and performance standards in the most sophisticated markets, the global vehicle was put through over 1 million kilometers of intensive durability tests, extreme weather tests, and crash tests both at home and abroad.

With roof-rail curtain air bags and high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel over a majority of its body, the Matiz Creative ensures segment-leading occupant protection. With a revolutionary design, advanced technology, segment-leading features and benchmark safety, the Matiz Creative offers much more than a mini.

Segment-Leading Size and a Dynamic Exterior
The Matiz Creative is a car that is ideal for those with an urban lifestyle. With the styling of a sporty hatchback, it showcases the new direction of GM Daewoo design and a new trend in the design of mini-cars. “Our clear goal from the very beginning was to create a revolution in size and design despite the restrictions of the mini segment,” said Taewan Kim, Vice President of GM Daewoo Design. “We wanted to make a statement with an innovative design that would go far beyond a typical mini-vehicle and set new standards for the segment. This is not your average-looking mini-car.”

The Matiz Creative’s roomy proportions and dynamic styling are courtesy of its segment-leading length of 3,595 mm, height of 1,520 mm, wheelbase of 2,375 mm, and width of 1,595 mm combined with its “body-in/wheels-out” stance. Dramatically sized headlamps that literally stretch from the front fascia to the back of the hood, with clear polycarbonate lenses and chrome-coated bezels, resemble diamonds, adding an upscale appearance and glamour.

A window line that is slanted dynamically upward, an arching roofline and sharp sidelines bring a sporty yet edgy look, a rarity in the segment. Secret vertical rear door handles located in the C-pillar are another unusual feature. They give the Matiz Creative a unique, sporty three-door coupe appearance without sacrificing five-door utility.

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