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.

GM has taken a long time to bring a strong hybrid offering to market, and recently chairman Bob Lutz made it clear that the company’s decision to pursue hybrid cars is bittersweet. The 2010 Chevy Volt is a popular topic, made obvious by the amount of buzz streaming across the Internet and its already extensive waiting lists of orders.

With all of the positive publicity why then is Lutz down on hybrids? He says that GM loses money on many of its hybrids and will continue to do so in the intermediate future. Marring the future of hybrids further he also predicted that they will own a small piece of the overall car market, at 10% or less over the next 10 years!

That’s a cynical viewpoint, but perhaps based on some realistic experience. Lutz later said “for the next 10 years, that’s the way we see it! That would would be over 1.2 million units per year; at today’s price premium for plug-ins, that’s even an optimistic estimate, I think,” according to GM-Volt.

He also clarified later that he was referencing PHEV hybrids like the 2010 Chevy Volt and all electric vehicles like the Nissan LEAF. It seems that government requirements are driving a lot of GM’s research in hybrid vehicles, which wouldn’t be surprising considering how much money the company accepted in loans from the United States republic.

GM may also be benefiting from Toyota’s recent battle with defective gas petals which created mass recalls and destroyed part of its bubble of perfection. Where consumers once considered Toyota the only viable source of hybrid cars with its Prius model, they now may be considering competitors more seriously.

Exact pricing on the Chevy Volt isn’t available yet but it’s expected to be around $40,000 with about $7,000 in tax credits. They will likely be in production by the end of November 2010 but most of those will be snapped up quickly so realistically an average consumer may not have a chance to get one until 2012.

Source : taintedgreen.com

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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* First mass-produced vehicle to claim more than 100 mpg composite fuel economy
* Tentative EPA methodology results show 25 kilowatt hours/100 miles electrical efficiency in city cycle
* Plugging in daily is key to high-mileage performance

WARREN, Mich. – The Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle is expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon, based on development testing using a draft EPA federal fuel economy methodology for labeling for plug-in electric vehicles.

The Volt, which is scheduled to start production in late 2010 as a 2011 model, is expected to travel up to 40 miles on electricity from a single battery charge and be able to extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with its flex fuel-powered engine-generator.

“From the data we’ve seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas,” said GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson. “EPA labels are a yardstick for customers to compare the fuel efficiency of vehicles. So, a vehicle like the Volt that achieves a composite triple-digit fuel economy is a game-changer.”

According to U.S. Department of Transportation data, nearly eight of 10 Americans commute fewer than 40 miles a day http://tinyurl.com/U-S-DOTStudy .

“The key to high-mileage performance is for a Volt driver to plug into the electric grid at least once each day,” Henderson said.

Volt drivers’ actual gas-free mileage will vary depending on how far they travel and other factors, such as how much cargo or how many passengers they carry and how much the air conditioner or other accessories are used. Based on the results of unofficial development testing of pre-production prototypes, the Volt has achieved 40 miles of electric-only, petroleum-free driving in both EPA city and highway test cycles.

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Our Best Cars, Your Best Offer: eBay Motors and General Motors Make Shopping For a New Vehicle Online as Easy as ‘Click and Buy’ from California Dealers

Shoppers now have online access to the new car showroom and can ask questions, negotiate price and make buying arrangements online from participating dealers

In a move to help simplify the car-shopping process, eBay Motors and General Motors Company today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind promotion that enables consumers to ‘click and buy’ new cars, crossovers and trucks online from participating California Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Pontiac dealers at outstanding values. The new car shopping website – gm.ebay.com – will be available to consumers from August 11 through September 8, 2009.

Consumers will be able to browse hundreds of California dealer online showrooms, ask questions, negotiate prices, and arrange financing and payment to purchase a new 2008, 2009 or select 2010 car, crossover or truck online. With more than 225 GM dealers in California participating, shoppers can at any given time expect to see a wide selection of up to 20,000 new GM vehicles at very competitive prices. Vehicles will be offered through eBay Motors’ traditional formats such as “Buy It Now” (where shoppers agree to pay the advertised price) and eBay’s innovative “Best Offer” option (where buyers indicate the price they are willing to pay and can negotiate online with the dealer for the vehicle).

The site also incorporates features that will allow consumers to compare pricing across models or participating dealerships, get tips and advice with a Buyer Checklist, and determine the value of their trade-in or whether their current vehicle may also qualify for government funded ‘Cash For Clunkers’ incentives.

“With 12 million individual car shoppers visiting our site every month, eBay Motors has unique insight into how people prefer to buy their cars,” said Rob Chesney, vice president, eBay Motors. “Through this program, we are helping GM dealers to extend their physical showroom while at the same time delivering to our buyers the great deals and broad selection they expect from eBay.”

“Together with eBay Motors, GM and our dealers are reinventing the car-buying experience for our California customers,” said Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales. “As the dealer showroom expands from the parking lot to the laptop, this makes it easier for a customer to browse available new-car inventory, make an offer, buy it now, or send a message asking for more information from a dealer – all at the customer’s convenience.”

gm.ebay.com represents a benchmark in the evolution of both online commerce and automotive sales, where the Internet is becoming the new dealer showroom and playing an increasingly important role in auto selection and purchase. A recent J.D. Power & Associates study cites more than 75 percent of new-vehicle buyers in 2008 used the web during their shopping and research process, compared with 70 percent in 2007. The study also found that 2008 marked the largest year-over-year increase in online automotive shopping since 2001.*

“We are very excited about being a part of this special eBay initiative in California. We’ve found that serious shoppers want it to be easy and have shifted from the traditional forms of researching and purchasing vehicles to getting it all done on the internet,” said Ted Nicholas, president and CEO of Three Way Chevrolet in Bakersfield. “In the not too distant past, a customer had to work too hard to find a vehicle and what might be the best offer to be found. Now, with the custom-built GM/eBay microsite, customers can get all the information they need about available inventory, compare features and price … and make a decision to buy a vehicle now or make an offer.”

Complete program details including participating GM dealer inventory available through individual GM brand websites that can be found at gm.ebay.com, chevrolet.ebay.com, buick.ebay.com, gmc.ebay.com, and pontiac.ebay.com.

These are the first official sketches of the all-new Chevrolet Agile, a Ford Fiesta-sized hatchback that was developed and designed entirely by GM’s South American operations.

Bob Lutz, who formerly headed GM product development and recently un-retired to return as head of marketing, has claimed the new car’s design will be competitive or better with the best in its segment.

“It is a full car of youth, with a design that is going to surprise,” says Carlos Beard, design chief of GM Mercosur

The GM manufacturing plant in Argentina is already tooled up for the Agile operation and workers have been trained in its assembly. It will join other products being sold in the Mercosur market such as the Chevrolet Corsa models, Spark, Aveo, Astra, Meriva, Vectra, Zafira, Blazer, Captiva, S10 and Corvette.

A new General Motors emerged from bankruptcy protection on Friday — far more quickly than most industry watchers had expected — as a leaner automaker pledging to win back American consumers and pay back taxpayers.

A whirlwind 40-day bankruptcy for GM concluded with the closing of a deal that sold key operations to a new company majority-owned by the U.S. Treasury.

The development, which follows a similar fast-track reorganization of Chrysler, represented a victory for the Obama administration and its commitment to save jobs and prevent a liquidation of the largest U.S. automaker.

At the same time, the U.S. government has taken on substantial new risks as a 60 percent owner of the new GM with a $50 billion equity investment and $10 billion in debt and perpetual preferred shares.

Analysts said the government intervention had given GM a new chance and sharply lower operating costs, but left management facing deep challenges given the weak economy and GM’s long-running slide in market share.

“I wouldn’t really call it a new GM, it is just a smaller GM. That would be more of an apt description. They still have a lot of hurdles to jump,” said Mirko Mikelic, portfolio manager at Fifth Third Bank. “Right now, they are in a survival mode.”

Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said the new company would shed layers of management, make decisions faster and shed the bureaucracy that critics say contributed to the failure of the 100-year-old automaker.

The company’s white-collar workforce will be cut by more than 20 percent by eliminating 6,000 jobs. Executive ranks will be cut 35 percent.

NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL

“The bottom line is that business as usual — and as we have had it until today — is over,” Henderson told reporters at GM’s Detroit headquarters. “Everyone associated with GM must be prepared to change — and fast.”

Bankruptcy slashed GM’s debt and healthcare obligations and brought down labor costs to be on par with Japanese competitors led by Toyota Motor Corp.

The new GM will have slashed its debt and healthcare obligations by $48 billion, dropped almost 40 percent of the dealers from an unprofitable network and moved to sell laggard brands such as Saab, Saturn and Hummer.

Analysts said that gives GM a chance to deliver on its commitment to launch more fuel-efficient cars and to focus its resources on fewer brands, models and dealerships.

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General Motors Corp. consistently lost money on its Saab brand and ran out of cash as the bankrupt automaker was preparing to launch the next-generation of vehicles at the Swedish automaker, President and Fritz Henderson said today.

Henderson made the comments in a series of text messages with reporters hours after the automaker announced it had reached a memorandum of understanding to sell the Saab brand to luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Henderson said GM will continue to provide support for powertrain and other technologies, and that he expects GM will be asked to build the 9-4x compact crossover for Saab.

Since filing bankruptcy, GM also has reached deals to sell Hummer and Saturn as part of the automaker’s plan to focus on four core brands: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

One hundred percent “of our product, technology and marketing spend will now be focused behind the 4 core brands and 34 nameplates,” Henderson wrote during the text-based chat. “Each one needs to be a hit and that is our challenge/commitment.”

Pontiac, meanwhile, will not be sold and is scheduled to be phased out next year.

“We have had success in discussions with buyers — re Hummer, Saab and Saturn, but in the end we did not see the same potential to be honest for Pontiac,” Henderson wrote.

Saab sold just 93,000 vehicles last year — primarily in Sweden, Britain and the United States. Analysts say it is too small to attract interest from a global automaker seeking scale.

The automaker filed for court protection on June 1 under section 363(b) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. As part of the bankruptcy process, the Treasury Department plans to buy the automaker’s “good assets” and provide GM with an additional $30.1 billion to operate while in bankruptcy.

That would boost the government’s total investment in GM to $50.5 billion.

Henderson said GM will trim its executive ranks by 34 percent by the end of this year as part of the sweeping restructuring. Overall, the automaker plans to trim 20 percent of its U.S. white-collar workforce by the end of 2009.

Responding to complaints from Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen that GM wants a large cash payment for a commitment to build a new small car, Henderson said a final site selection will be based on 12 undisclosed criteria.

“Not simply one,” Henderson wrote today.

By the end of the month, GM is expected to select one of three sites: Orion Township; Spring Hill, Tenn.; or Janesville, Wis.

The automaker is negotiating with state and federal officials in Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin to build the small car at an idled factory.

Orion Township officials are offering a $44 million incentive that includes a 100 percent tax break on new machinery and equipment for up to 12 years.

Source:Detnews.com