Pretty cool video on how GM tests its vehicles in a climatic wind tunnel. This place can range from -40F up to 140F. That means you can simulate Arctic Circle to Death Valley.
Showing posts with label general motors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general motors. Show all posts
Thursday, March 04, 2010
We don't have to wait for the weather, we make it
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Give 'em Hell: Whitacre made permanent General Motors CEO
Edward E. Whitacre, Jr (Courtesy: General Motors)
Whitacre is certainly no shrinking violet and has been very vocal since joining the company, becoming the star of commercials that helped to relaunch the company after bankruptcy and stacking the General's management ranks with his own appointees.
This isn't General Motors' first encounter with a strong willed Texan, many might recall the company's infamous showdown with Ross Perot back in the 1980s.
In a statement to the press, Whitacre stated,
The board of directors asked if I would be willing to stay on at GM and help continue the company's road back to success. Having spent the past few months learning the business, meeting with our employees, customers and dealers, and working with the GM leadership team, I was both honored and pleased to accept this role. This is a great company with an even greater future, and I want to be part of it.Although General Motors had retained an executive search firm to help find a permanent CEO, it is unclear how much consideration was truly given to anyone other than Whitacre with the New York Times reporting that the search firm never presented a list of candidates to the board.
The "Given 'em Hell" phrase used in the title of this article was rumored to be have been said by Whitacre to his hand picked replacement, Randall Stephenson, as CEO of AT&T.
Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!
Monday, January 25, 2010
General Motors engineer gives us the lowdown on Ecotec 2.4
Chris was also able to give me a brief overview of the 1.4 Turbo Ecotec, you'll see this baby in the Chevrolet Cruze. The 1.4T was also fitted into the Aveo RS concept at the Detroit auto show.
General Motors covered my expenses so that I could attend the 2010 North American International Auto Show
Thursday, December 24, 2009
General Motors to run Kansas City plant nearly 24/7: Efficiency breakthrough or not sustainable?
General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant (Courtesy:GM )
View a gallery of images from the Fairfax plant in this linked slideshow.
GM’s plan reminds me of my youth, when I managed a student cooperative while attending college. I hatched a plan where I would rent out a storage closet to a student at a reduced rate, thereby boosting occupancy to greater than 100%. The closet had a window (albeit slim) and a smoke detector, so I figured that if I could find a renter, it would be an easy way to score more money for the cooperative. I showed the room to a resident assistant and as she gazed at the tiny room, she said to me “You know, this has been the (fill in the blank) dream of every manager who has ever worked here.” Sadly, the window would not open to provide a secondary means of escape and my plan was foiled. Besides, the room really was ridiculously small.
Many industry experts believe that Obama administration’s plan to get the Fairfax plant running with a permanent third shift is an equal flight of fancy and here’s why: Automotive manufacturing plants need downtime to perform maintenance, clean and restock. GM thinks it can get all of that work done by “overspeeding” parts of the line and then slowing them down later. My wife had better not hear about this, lest she try and “overspeed” my “honey do” list.
If any plant can carry it off, Kansas City’s Fairfax would be the one. The plant is one of the most efficient auto plants operating in the USA and it produces two of GM’s hottest cars, the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse, two cars that GM cannot manufacture fast enough.
We will not have to wait long to find out if GM can squeeze the buffalo a bit more as the Fairfax plant is scheduled to begin its third shift on January 4 of next year.
For more information: Read this Wall Street Journal article.
Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
My precious! General Motors hangs on to Opel
My precious! General Motors decides to keep Opel
In a move that was almost telegraphed, General Motors has announced today that it will keep its European subsidiary Opel/Vauxhall.
In a press release from GM, CEO Fritz Henderson spoke about the decision,
While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved. At the same time, GM’s overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured. We are grateful for the hard work of the German and other EU governments in navigating this difficult economic period. We’re also appreciative of the effort put forward by Magna and its partners in Russia in trying to reach an equitable agreement.
In terms of moving forward with the revised plan Henderson stated,
GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration. We understand the complexity and length of this issue has been draining for all involved. However, from the outset, our goal has been to secure the best long term solution for our customers, employee, suppliers, and dealers, which is reflected in the decision reached today. This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall’s long-term future.
General Motors cited improving conditions, but many auto analysts had questioned the move from the beginning. Given General Motors push towards globally shared platforms, it was questionable to hand over control of a key developer of those platforms to a third party. For example, the Opel Insignia is sold in China and next year in the United States as the Buick Regal (view a slideshow of the Chinese Buick Regal in this link): Essentially the same car with only light retouching. General Motors' South American offerings also draw heavily from Opel platforms.
The next big hurdle for GM will be pacifying Opel's workers, no easy task considering that workers put their full support into the Magna deal.
For more info: Read GM's full press release.
Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!
Monday, August 10, 2009
GM shows its frilly underthings to select bloggers prior to tomorrow's press conference
Chevrolet Spark at its 2009 debut in Geneva (GM)
General Motors is offering select bloggers a very broad ranging tease of forthcoming vehicles. The event is tied to the ‘230’ event that GM has scheduled for tomorrow, August 11.
What exactly are people seeing? Well, unfortunately yours truly was not invited to the event, so it’s off to Twitter for the latest and greatest in updates.
View this slideshow for images of GM's latest and greatest.
2012 Chevrolet Malibu: Folks who have seen it say it looks much better than the current and sports a very nice interior. Given that the current model was a huge leap from its predecessor and how good the Buick LaCrosse looks, one can only imagine how tasty this morsel will be.
2011 Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Spark: The Aveo could use a serious refresh and the Spark will be a new entry for Chevrolet here in the US. We know about the Spark, but the Aveo redesign is newsworthy. Without seeing it, it’s hard to tell how much of the gushing we read on Twitter is the free champagne talking.
Visitors are also being shows a pre-production Chevrolet Volt to help dismiss the moon landing conspiracy theorists who say the car isn’t real.
Cadillac is showing its wares as well. In addition to a mock up of the DTS/CTS replacement tentatively called the XTS, bloggers are being shown a sub-CTS model along the lines of the long discussed Alpha project called ATS. Would this actually be the Alpha project or something lower cost?
Buick is also joining the game. First up was a rebadged, slightly tweaked Saturn Vue. Think mini-Enclave. More than likely, journos were also shown the Opel Insigna rebadge as a Buick Regal that should go on sale next year here in the states. Also on tap was the next generation Saturn Astra which will now be a Buick here in the States.
GMC also had a concept on display that was a “blend of old and new” according to one Twitterer.
A quick chat about the event with GM's Director of Global Social Media, Christopher Barger, revealed that tomorrow's "Will offer a sneak peek, but will only feature a few of the vehicles on display today." From what this author has read elsewhere, the new Buick crossover and the Caddilac XTS will probably be the models shown.
If you read accounts of this event on various automotive blogs, there is a mixture of excitement about new product with a touch jealousy that traditional journalists did not get the scoop first. How did GM come up with the list of invitees? I posed that question to Mr. Barger. According to Christopher, the group of the people invited today were people that GM has "met" on Twitter, a few were consumers who wrote in to "Tell Fritz," some were moms GM invited off of moms' message boards. Other invitees were college radio DJs or station managers. The idea was to go as "real people" as GM could. Today the concept was CONSUMER first.
Traditional media will get the same tour tomorrow, but as previously noted the webcast available to the rest of us will not include as much material.
Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Hello OnStar? The vehicle I just stole won't start
This graphic shows the components of RIB
OnStar has been on a tear as of late, pumping out new features to compete with the likes of Microsoft's SYNC technology (which has performed extremely well for Ford).
OnStar isn't the greatest at providing a lot of media photos, but that didn't stop this author from rooting around the media closet for a few gems and adding his own snarky remarks. Check out the pictures in this slideshow.
The big difference in OnStar's eyes is that it has the cellular capability and related hardware all baked into the car which not only makes it harder to disable, but also allows for a wider range of functionality. Therefore, OnStar has taken great pains to maximize the strengths of its built in platform. A new wave of Stolen Vehicle Assistance services is being rolled out with one of the first being Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and now a service called Remote Ignition Block.
Remote Ignition Block and will allow an OnStar Advisor to send a remote signal to a subscriber’s stolen vehicle to prevent the vehicle from restarting once the ignition is turned off. This capability will not only help authorities recover stolen vehicles, but can also prevent dangerous high speed pursuits from starting.
“Remote Ignition Block is a prime example of the rapid pace of technological innovation underway at OnStar. We are developing services desired by our subscribers that deliver important societal benefits as well,” said Chet Huber, OnStar president.
Remote Ignition Block builds on OnStar’s growing suite of Stolen Vehicle Assistance services which includes GPS technology that pinpoints a stolen vehicle’s exact location and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown® which can remotely slow a stolen vehicle to idle speed.
OnStar will make Remote Ignition Block available on select over 2 million GM 2009 and 2010 model year vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
The process for deployment:
• An OnStar subscriber reports their vehicle stolen to authorities and requests stolen vehicle assistance from OnStar.
• Law enforcement provides confirmation to the OnStar Advisor that the vehicle is in fact stolen.
• The OnStar Advisor pinpoints the vehicle’s exact GPS location and sends a remote signal to prevent stolen vehicle from starting the next time someone attempts to start it.
• On select models, authorities can also request Stolen Vehicle Slowdown if they have a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle and confirm that conditions are safe to slow down the vehicle.
“Technology like Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and now Remote Ignition Block will improve the chances of apprehending suspected car thieves and are great assets to the law enforcement community” said Michigan’s Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. “Removing an instrument of harm from the hands of criminals improves the safety of our officers, our highways and our citizens” said Bouchard.
For more than 13 years, OnStar has helped authorities in locating tens of thousands of stolen vehicles in order to assist with their safe and quick recovery. OnStar receives approximately 600 Stolen Vehicle Assistance requests from subscribers each month and has helped in over 28,000 requests over the past decade.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, there were 1,095,769 vehicles stolen in the U.S. in 2007, equating to one motor vehicle stolen every 28.8 seconds. Stolen vehicle incidents can turn into dangerous high speed pursuits; at least 300 people die as a result of the more than 30,000 high speed police chases that happen every year. With capabilities such as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and now Remote Ignition Block, OnStar subscribers have the added peace of mind knowing their vehicle can be prevented from being used as an instrument of harm. In fact, 97% of OnStar subscribers surveyed said they would like Remote Ignition Block capability on their vehicles.
For more info: Visit OnStar's website.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sun sets on General Motors Sky and Solstice plant
The Pontiac Solstice coupe is drop dead gorgeous
As General Motors begins to take some of its product lines out behind the barn and shoot them, it’s hard not to get a bit misty eyed. Take for example the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, two American kids growing up in the heartland (okay, actually Delaware).
I remember the first time I laid eyes on the Pontiac Solstice. It was at a GM ride and drive event that was touring the country. The line to test drive the car was long, the day was hot and my wife was questioning exactly why we had to wait in line for this particular car when the line for the Tony Stewart Signature Series Monte Carlo (with orange trim) had no one in line. I gave her the “Surely you must be joking” look and then continued to count the minutes. A fight broke out in the front of the line when someone either tried to score another drive or cut in front, either way no other GM car on the test track inspired that kind of passion. When we finally reached the front of the line, I was practically salivating. We sat down low in the seat, almost so low that my wife could hardly see over the dash. I shifted into first and the Solstice squirted forward. I was quite smitten with the car, even after just a few minutes in the driver’s seat.
My next encounter with the Solstice and Sky wouldn’t be until 2007 when I was invited to GM’s Milford proving grounds for a sampling of their 2008 lineup. Driving around those hallowed grounds was a real treat made even more special when driving with the top down in a Saturn Sky. Yes, the hood shook when I drove over rough patches and the cabin materials were on the hard, cheap-ish side of things, but who cared? I was driving the whee out of a red convertible on GM’s dime and all I had to do was steer clear of the GM proving ground police. As luck would have it, I took a few wrong turns in the in the Sky and ended up with an extended tour of Milford. While I half-heartedly tried to find my way back, a procession of a Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS and Saturn Sky passed me in the other direction. It was hard not to admire the brilliant styling of those cars. Thank you Bob Lutz I muttered under my breath. You can watch my awkward interview in a YouTube clip shown below.
The Sky and Solstice would have had brilliant successors, I can just feel it. Whatever shortcomings the current models had, GM would have been able to smooth over. Sadly, that day will never come and GM leaves this segment behind. To be certain, sales of convertibles is mercurial at best. The Kappa twins had issues from an intruding gasoline tank, mere suggestions of cup holders and overall refinement that could not best the Miata. Still I am very torn up about the loss of these two gems, more so even than the loss of the Pontiac G8 (which doesn’t make a lot of sense). We can hope that one day GM will be in a position to once again offer up such models to the buying public. However, any such models would be far down the road.
I have always told myself that I’ll buy one of these convertibles on the used market someday. Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubt if I will ever come back. There will be hot new models and I’ll forget all about these two stylish, but flawed machines. One day I'll be watching an auction like Barrett-Jackson and my memories will all come flooding back. The lights will turn off at General Motors’ assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware at the end of the month. Not only will this be the end of era of GM assembly in Delaware, it is the last auto assembly plant in Delaware. Farewell my little twins, you will be missed.
Here is my tear jerkingly bad interview. I swear I was ambushed by the camera!
Here is another tear jerker. This video was shot when the Kappa cars were first beginning production. There was such hope and optism by the workers. Now that we know the ultimate fate of the plant, it's a little tough to watch without feeling bad for some of these people.
For more info: If you want to know more about the plant's closing, check out this Wilmington News Journal / USA Today piece.
Monday, July 13, 2009
General Motors: The most public private company on earth?
GM designer works on a clay model source: gm
General Motors is staging an all-out electronic blitz to convince a skeptical public that the company truly has a new attitude and is committed to change. Via its websites, social media accounts (twitter, facebook, etc), and e-mail missives to customers, GM is trying to be "the most public private company on earth."
Judge for yourself by visiting the sites linked above and watching this video from GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson where he talks about the priorities of the new GM: customers, cars and culture.
Chat with Bob Lutz today, July 13 at 2PM Eastern
Bob Lutz is taking no prisoners
Bob Lutz will host a Webchat on GM's Fastlane blog Monday, July 13, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT to answer questions about his new role as GM vice chairman responsible for all creative elements of products and customer relationships. Lutz will oversee GM’s brands, marketing, advertising and communications. Bob will take as many questions as he can.
Perhaps you have a question or just want to send some praise his way for saving the G8!
For the truly curious, here is a link to an NPR interview with Bob Lutz.
Just an FYI, you have to click on over to GM's Fastlane blog to be a participant in the chat. In the past, some folks have left questions in the comments section below. These comments are not monitored and won't be answered by GM officials.
For more info: Visit GM's Fastlane blog
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
NUMMI no more! General Motors decides that Fremont, CA facility does not fit with 'New GM'
I think GM is going to leave me!
Recently GM announced that Pontiac Vibe production was ending by no later than August of this year. At the time of the announcement, GM stated "GM and Toyota remain in active discussions regarding potential future production at NUMMI." Today GM announced that there will be no future GM products produced at New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated. Toyota has not yet issued a statement on what it plans to do with the extra capacity.
The Fremont plant, NUMMI, was a joint venture between Toyota and GM. In the past, NUMMI has assembled the 1985-1988 Chevrolet Nova and the 1989-1997 Geo / Chevrolet Prizm for GM.
"As part of its long-term viability plan, General Motors has decided that its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint venture with Toyota will not be a part of the 'New GM’. After extensive analysis, GM and Toyota could not reach an agreement on a future product plan that made sense for all parties. Accordingly, NUMMI will end production of vehicles for GM in August, and there are no future GM vehicles planned for the joint venture at this time.Given that, GM believes it is in the best interest of the ‘New GM’ and its stakeholders that we place our ownership interest in NUMMI in 'Old GM’. We have enjoyed a very positive and beneficial partnership with Toyota for the past 25 years, and we remain open to future opportunities of mutual interest.”
Anyone remember when Elaine tried to sweet talk Newman into something by calling him Newmie (or NUMMI in this case)? I'll admit that it is a stretch, but it is Monday, when not have some fun with it?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Live shots of pre-production Chevrolet Volt
Pre-production Chevorlet Volt with Chief Engineer Andrew Farah
Chevrolet Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer Andrew Farah takes the first pre-production Chevrolet Volt for a drive Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Warren, Mich.
Pre-production Chevorlet Volt with Chief Engineer Andrew Farah
Chevrolet Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer Andrew Farah takes the first pre-production Chevrolet Volt for a drive Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Warren, Mich.
Plug it in! Chevrolet Volt's charge port
Chevrolet Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer Andrew Farah plugs-in the first pre-production Chevy Volt after a test-drive Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Warren, Mich.
Fitting of the battery pack into the Chevrolet Volt
The first production-intent Chevrolet Volt is fitted with a lithium-ion battery pack at the General Motors Pre-Production Operations (PPO) building in Warren, Michigan Wednesday, June 3, 2009. The battery pack is a technologically-advanced component of the vehicle with more than 200 lithium-ion cells, sophisticated computer controls, liquid cooling system and other components. About 80 production-intent Chevy Volts will be assembled at PPO, which serves as the birthplace of all GM pre-production vehicles before they are manufactured in a plant.
Command in Chief gets a tour of the Volt
General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson and other GM executives get a closer look at the first pre-production Chevrolet Volt Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in Warren, Mich.
Everyone gathers around the Volt!
General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson and other GM executives get a closer look at the first pre-production Chevrolet Volt Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in Warren, Mich.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Chat with GM executives about quality
2009 IQS chart provided by J.D. Power and Associates.
If you have the time to check it out, GM will be offering the opportunity to join Vice President of Quality for GM North America Rick Spina on Monday, June 22 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time for a one-hour live chat to discuss quality and GM’s results in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Initial Quality Study. Two of GM's brands, Cadillac and Chevrolet, ranked above the industry average for problems per 100 vehicles.
You can join the chat by clicking on this link. If you miss the live chat, you can read a transcript after the event is over at the same link.
Please note: This article is only a link to the live chat. Questions posted in the comments section of this article will not be read by GM officials and will only result in your frustration. If you have specific concerns about your GM car, here are the phone numbers to call:
Buick: 1.800.521.7300, Cadillac: 1.800.458.8006, Chevy: 1.800.222.1020, GMC: 1.800.462.8782, Hummer: 1.866.486.6376, Pontiac: 1.800.762.2737, Saab: 1.800.955.9007, Saturn: 1.800.553.6000
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Finally a ray of light: GM recalls 900 workers back due to increased demand
Buick Enclave
General Motors has taken its lumps as of late, but GM told about 900 workers today that they were headed back to work due to rising demand for the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia crossover vehicles. The large crossovers have proven to be very successful for GM as they arrived into a burgeoning segment. The company correctly sensed that demand was dropping for minivans, a product it never excelled at making, and put its efforts behind the crossovers. In addition to the trio of models made at the Delta Township plant in Lansing, Michigan, GM also manufactures a sister vehicle called the Chevrolet Traverse at its Spring Hill, Tennessee facility (which formerly manufactured Saturns). The company has decided not to shut down the Spring Hill plant the week of August 8 because of an increase in demand for the vehicle. However, GM will be shuttering the Tennessee plant and moving production for the Traverse to Michigan as part of its cost cutting measures.
For more info: Read this Detroit News article.
Friday, June 19, 2009
General Motors loses its Vibe: Pontiac Vibe a goner by the end of August 2009
2009 Pontiac Vibe
The Toyota Matrix will soon lose a sister as GM will cease production of the Fremont, CA assembled Pontiac Vibe by no later than the end of August. The Fremont plant, NUMMI, is a joint venture between Toyota and GM. In the past, NUMMI has assembled the 1985-1988 Chevrolet Nova and the 1989-1997 Geo / Chevrolet Prizm for GM. GM and Toyota are not yet commenting on what vehicle might replace the Vibe.
Direct from the GM press office:
As part of its long-term viability plan and recent decision to phase out the Pontiac brand, General Motors has decided to discontinue production of the Pontiac Vibe by the end of August 2009. The Vibe is produced at the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) facility jointly operated by GM and Toyota in Fremont, California. While no replacement for Vibe production has been determined, GM and Toyota remain in active discussions regarding potential future production at NUMMI.
For more info: Visit Pontiac.com
Monday, June 15, 2009
State by state count of General Motors dealers closing
GM dealer count by state of those who have received letters from GM
Up until now, all we had was a total count of dealers with which GM had notified of its intent to not to renew franchise agreements. The plot thickens with an accounting of dealerships closing on a state by state basis. The source of this list is a GM document provided to House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
There are some shocking numbers, especially when you calculation on a per capita basis. For example, Pennsylvania (est 2008 population 12,448,279) loses 90 dealerships while California (est. 2008 population 36,756,666) loses "only " 65 dealers for the entire state.
GM has gone about reversing its decision on franchise agreements for about 41 dealers so far. However, those 41 are out of a total of 2,100 while only 1,323 are accounted for in this list.
Total U.S. count = 1,323
Ala. 33
Alaska 0
Ariz. 11
Ark. 17
Calif. 65
Colo. 15
Conn. 11
Del. 2
D.C. N/A
Fla. 35
Ga. 24
Hawaii 2
Idaho 8
Ill. 66
Ind. 48
Iowa 46
Kan. 29
Ky. 23
La. 10
Maine 14
Md. 21
Mass. 29
Mich. 58
Minn. 39
Miss. 14
Mo. 38
Mont. 16
Neb. 21
Nev. 3
N.H. 6
N.J. 33
N.M. 10
N.Y. 60
N.C. 36
N.D. 6
Ohio 79
Okla. 17
Ore. 21
Pa. 90
R.I. 3
S.C. 24
S.D. 16
Tenn. 30
Texas 55
Utah 6
Vt. 8
Va. 26
Wash. 18
W.Va. 25
Wis. 50
Wyo. 6
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
GM: U.S. small car plant to be chosen quickly
Which contestant is going to win?
GM announced today the manufacturing facilities under consideration to build a future small, fuel-efficient car in the United States.
The assembly plants in consideration are:
- Orion (Michigan)
- Spring Hill (Tennessee)
- Janesville (Wisconsin)
Given the importance of this small car program, and in an effort to move quickly to identify the plant, GM leadership has begun discussions regarding selection criteria with Federal and State government officials from Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin. GM hopes to identify and announce the future production site of the small car within the next several weeks.
Get your questions answered by Ed Peper, GM North America Vice President, Chevrolet
Chevrolet Division Manager Ed Peper
Missed the live webchat with GM's CEO? Well, here is your chance to ask GM's biggest division about its future plans! Starting at 12PM PST, Mr. Ed Peper will be addressing questions about the present and future of Chevrolet.
Will the G8 be rebadged as a Pontiac? Will the Spark be marketed differently in order to appeal to small car buyers? Any word on the postponed 4.5L light-duty diesel? I'm just spitballing here folks, click on over to post your question.
Grab a lunch early and enjoy a lively automotive discussion.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Chevy Kodiak and GMC TopKick ride off into the sunset
Chevrolet Kodiak
General Motors announced today that it has decided to wind-down its medium-duty truck operations. In 2007 GM said that its medium-duty truck business, whose products include the Kodiak and TopKick, was being sold to Navistar International. However, the financial crisis took its toll and in August of last year both GM and Navistar announced that their memorandum of understanding for the purchase had expired and was not renewed.
According to Wikipedia, the Kodiak and TopKick were introduced in 1980 as stronger versions of GM's existing medium-duty C-Series trucks. "Kodiak" followed the pattern of "frontier beast" names given to heavier trucks such as the Chevrolet Bison and Chevrolet Bruin, while "Top Kick" came from military slang and tied in with GMC's heavy truck names of General and Brigadier.
Through May, Kodiak sales were down 48% at 2,075 while the TopKick were down 69% to 1,806. Production of the Chevy Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium duty trucks will cease by July 31, 2009.
GM CEO address to employees
GM's CEO Fritz Henderson June 1 address to GM employees where he shares his personal views on what the bankruptcy means to General Motors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
