truth about domestics

In an earlier post we mentioned a little challenge that GM’s Tom Stephens threw at Ford.  Stephens challenged Ford to a heavy-duty truck tug-of-war to prove who’s heavy duty truck is really the best.  Well, Ford has responded with a thanks, but no thanks, instead saying that they will let truck sales do the talking, posting a link to an article showing that Ford’s F-Series trucks have been the best selling trucks for 33 years and counting.  For more details, head on over to PickupTrucks.com.

(Image source: Ford)

If the documents over at ModularFords.com are to be believed, then the 2011 GT500 is up for some pretty serious upgrades.  For starters, the 5.4L supercharged V8 will be swapping its iron block for a lighter aluminum one.  This should help out with the issue that many an automotive writer has written about: too much weight over the front wheels.  HID headlamps will be standard, EPAS has been added to supposedly improve the fuel economy, and MyKey is standard for those of you who will be letting your kids drive your new Shelby…sick.  There are also some upgrades that will help out those who intend to take their Shelby to the track.  A package will be offered called the SVT Performance Package, which comes with upgraded wheels, tires, shocks, springs, shift knob, stripe package and spoiler with Gurney flap.  Can’t wait to get my hands on one!

(Image source: Ford)

While the video above doesn’t show any actual drifting or rally racing, it is still pretty cool.  The video shows Ken Block and his new Ford ride.  Glad to see Ken finally chose to go with a winner, as Subaru hasn’t done much in the past few years.

Analysts are predicting that Ford Motor Company could post a net income of $2.65 billion, even after one of the worst automotive markets in 27 years.  This after the automaker has managed to avoid both a government handout and bankruptcy, unlike its two Detroit rivals.  While CEO Alan Mulally says they aren’t out of the woods yet, things are looking up much quicker than many on Wallstreet predicted.  For more details, head on over to Bloomberg.

(Image source: Autoweek)

First comes news of Ford adding 1,200 jobs in Chicago to build the new Explorer.  Now GM has announced that it will be creating 200 jobs in Baltimore at its transmission plant.  The move will cost some $246 million, but will allow the plant to make its own motors for the next generation of GM hybrids, due in 2013.  The plant already builds transmissions for GM’s full size SUV hybrids, the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.  For more details, head on over to USA Today.

(Image source: GM)

The Chicago Assembly plant current builds the new Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans, and employs around 1,400 people.  Ford’s Chicago Heights stamping plant current employs around 750 people.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Simply to point out the impact of Ford’s announcement that they will be adding 1,200 more jobs to the area to build the all-new next generation Explorer.  The new Explorer is expected to be based off a unibody car platfrom and should be on sale late this year.  The styling should be based off the Explorer America concept you see above.

In addition to the new jobs, Ford is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the area to make improvements to its plants to handle the new vehicle.  For more details, head on over to Chicago Business.

(Image source: Ford)

In a move that doesn’t really surprise anyone, GM has announced that the Washington D.C. area will be the third market for the initial launch of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, following California and Michigan.  All three of these areas were picked for basic fundamental reasons; California has a large concentration of hippies environmentally conscious consumers and utility companies willing to help the electric vehicle charging issues, Michigan because it is the home of the Volt in design, development and production, and Washington D.C. because that’s where all the government know-it-alls types reside.

For more on this story, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

During my visit to the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, I got a chance to witness Ford’s Active Park Assist technology in action.  Ford set up a mock parallel parking situation and showed off how a Ford Escape maneuvers itself into a parallel parking spot without the driver’s steering input. The driver simply shifted gears into forward and reverse and controlled the speed via the gas and brake pedals – the car did everything else on its own, i.e. steer.

I watched Ford’s demonstration repeated over and over, and the car did not screw up once (which I cannot say is the case for many drivers I know) – awesome technology!

Until recently, the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon started at just a shade over $40k.  That’s nearly $6,000 more than the SRX crossover.  Ouch!  Shoppers felt the same way, and have been passing up the Sport Wagon in favor of the angular SRX.  While any sale is a good sale for Cadillac, they still want to push the Sport Wagon, so the decision makers have decided to drop the price by $1,300.  This lowers the base price for a CTS Sport Wagon to $38,265, or roughly $4935 more than an SRX.  Hopefully this plan works, as the Sport Wagon is one of the best looking wagons in years.  For more details, head on over to USA Today.

(Image source: GM)

General Motors has already pledged $100,000 towards the Haiti relief efforts.  Many would find that a very generous donation from a company struggling to keep the doors open.  On top of that however, they donated a special edition Corvette Z06 to the Barrett-Jackson auction and some gracious bidder plunked down $200,000 to win the car and help out the cause.  GM has promised to donate the entire proceeds of the sale to the Haiti relief efforts.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)