GM to offer test drives at the North American International Auto Show!
General Motors has some extra room this year at the Detroit Auto Show since Saturn, Pontiac and Saab will not be there, so it has decided to do something innovative. The General will offer test drives at the show for the nearly 1 million people who will come through the show this January. With sales down in 2009, automakers are trying to figure out anything they can do to boost sales. This will give potential customers the opportunity to try out one of the many new cars from GM and then talk to sales people on the show floor! For more details, head on over to the Detroit News.
(Image source: GM)
GMC to offer a Denali version of the Acadia for 2011 model year
The Denali trimline has been a pretty big hit with GMC so the folks down at HQ decided, hey, why not make a Acadia Denali? The image above from the Detroit News shows a pretty sharp looking crossover. Not only does it have a premium look outside with new front and rear fascias and side skirts. The vehicle also features a much dressed up interior with real mahogany on the steering wheel.
(Image source: the Detroit News)
J.D. Power says Mercury tops the list in customer satisfaction
According to a J.D. Power study, the Mercury brand is number one in customer satisfaction. While this is great news for the Ford Motor Company, the big story is that all seven of GM and Ford’s mass market brands (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury) were ranked above average! For more on the story, head on over to MSNBC.
(Image source: Ford)
Going through bankruptcy and loosing $1.15 billion last quarter does not seem like very good news for General Motors; but there is a silver lining to this dark cloud. According to Edmunds.com, consumer interest and product consideration is up for all four of GM’s brands.
Edmunds.com measured consumer consideration by tracking the percentage of site visitors who viewed pages about a specific vehicle or brand. Since January of this year, Buick consideration increased from 1.35% to 2.71%, Cadillac consideration increased from 2.42% to 3.18%, Chevrolet consideration increased from 10.79% to 11.56%, and GMC consideration increased from 2.78% to 3.83%.
This is great news for GM, and proves that the new products that it is launching are very desirable.
Read the full article at MediaPost News.
GM having a massive 2009 blowout sale! All remaining models must go!!!
General Motors is having a huge sale to clear out the 2009 models to make room for the 2010′s. Each of GM’s remaining 4 brands have their own sale. Chevy is having a “Red Tag Sale,” Buick-GMC is having the “Holiday Event,’ while Cadillac is having the “Seasons Best” sale. So head on out to your local GM dealer for some really great…deals (haha, get it?) Support America and your neighbor this holiday season. We know times are tough so now more than ever we need to pull together. For more on the sale, head on over to Autoblog.
The folks over at PickupTrucks.com have some photos of the 2011 GMC Sierra 3500 which show the new corporate GMC grille that debuted on the 2010 GMC Terrain. The HD truck features the new 6.6L “clean” Duramax diesel meant to meet the new U.S. emissions regulations for diesels. There are rumors that GM is also developing a new gas engine of large displacement, possibly up to 7.0L, that will feature direct injection to produce massive power but at a lower cost to the consumer when compared to the diesel. For more details, head on over to PickupTrucks.com.
(Image source: Truck Trend)
GM to spend $100 million to increase Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain production
It appears that the “New GM” has a pair of hits on their hands. The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and its sibling the GMC Terrain have been selling so well that General Motors has announced a $100 million investment in the Ingersoll, Ontario plant that produces the cute ‘utes. This can really only be seen as good news for GM, the CAW and the environment, as the two vehicles are rated at 32 mpg highway, more than the Toyota Rav4 and Honda CR-V. For more information, head on over to Reuters.
(Image source: GM)
An Edmunds analyst is predicting that GM’s market share could increase to 22.4% during the month of October. Since emerging from bankruptcy in July, GM has been seeing increases in market share month-over-month. It’s four brands, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac, have seen a market share increase of 2.9% in September over July. The sales increase can be attributed to strong launches of the new Cadillac CTS wagon, GMC Terrain, Buick LaCrosse, and Chevrolet Equinox.
Unfortunately, GM is going to have to make up the sales that it will loose from the four brands that it is getting rid of, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, and Hummer. I foresee this not being a major issue as long as GM keeps on developing exciting vehicles.
GM’s overall market share was 19.7% at the end of September, which is ahead of the April bankruptcy plan prediction of 18.4-18.9%. Good stuff.
Read the full article at the Detroit Free Press.
GMC will finally offer a Denali premium trim level on the 7-8 passenger Acadia crossover. I happen to find the Acadia to be the most appealing of all the Lambda brothers, so hopefully this will be the icing on the cake for those shoppers who were looking for something a little more luxurious than the standard model. For more details, head on over to Autoblog.
(Image source: GM)
GM advises dealers to prepare for the new small cars…
General Motors held a conference in Novi last Friday for about 430 of its dealers to explain to them the importance of the new small cars being launched over the next two years. Cars such as the Chevy Cruze and Volt are just two of the new vehicles expected from GM in the next few years. The dealers were also prepped on how the General plans to deal with the 3 million customers who will lose a model, dealer or brand by the end of the year due to the death of Pontiac, and sale of Saab, Hummer and Saturn. For more details, head on over to The Detroit Free Press.
(Image source: GM)
