truth about domestics

General Motors is pushing close to $7,000 at dealers in order to move the remaining Saturn and Pontiac models sitting on dealer lots.  The move comes as GM was forced to close down 4 brands (Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac) leaving only GMC, Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet left.  Sales of the Saturn and Pontiac brands were down sharply this year, which is to be expected, I mean, who would really want to buy a brand that will no longer be around come spring of 2010?  For more details, head on over to MSNBC.

(Image source: GM)

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)

Alright, so I haven’t done a rant post in a looooong time. So here goes…

I just read a column at the Washington Post, and again, I am not surprised at the ignorance of the editor. It is instantly clear that the editor is angry that GM decided to kill of Saturn; yet he states that he is happy with his past 5 Saturn vehicle purchases. Okay, that is acceptable. But then, he states that he will never buy a GM vehicle again: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. GM has already fooled me once.” What!? GM fooled you into purchasing vehicles that you were happy with!? Alright, whatever.

So the dude decided to purchase an Asian, up-scale SUV (the exact model is not mentioned); although supposedly he is pro-American in his purchasing habits. His reasoning? Chrysler can fold at any moment and his wife had a bad experience with a Ford, “her first car.” Her first car!? When was that!? You just said that you and your wife lived in the Detroit area from 1972 to 1979, so it has to be 20 years or more since your wife owned her first Ford! Come on, get a clue, you are losing credibility with every word.

Avoiding some of the other gibberish in between, I’ll skip and criticize the last paragraph. The editor says that his Asian SUV is “largely an American car” because it was assembled in Canada and its engine had been made in the US. Alright, Mr. pro-American-consumer, as you wish. Ignorance is bliss…

Read the article at the Washington Post.

It appears as though Penske has walked away from talks with GM over the purchase of the Saturn brand, when they were unable to secure future product.  GM had already stated that they would continue to build the Aura, Outlook and VUE until the end of next year, but talks with Renault-Samsung Motors fell through leaving Penske without product past 2011.  For more details, and official press releases, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

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)

The Saturn VUE 2-Mode hybrid was supposed to hit the market late 2008/early 2009.  When the market crashed, it was one of the first programs to be cut, and now that Saturn is being transitioned over to Penske, the VUE itself doesn’t have much life left in it.  That didn’t stop the General from having the VUE hybrid EPA certified, bringing home a 27 mpg city, 30 mpg highway rating.  While that doesn’t seem so great compared to the Ford Escape hybrid, the VUE features a V6 compared to the Ford’s I4.  The VUE beats the Toyota Highlander hybrid though, which is rated at only 27 mpg city, 25 mpg highway.  For more on the story, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Autospectator)

Other sites seem to be making a big deal out of this…like it wasn’t totally expected.  GM has been planning on moving certain Opel models over to Saturn, like the new Insignia, for some time now.  Well now that Saturn has been shed from GM, those models are being used to create new Buick’s in China…so since most of the development work was already done, why not sell them here as Buick’s too?

With the PHEV Saturn VUE, a large portion of the development was already done, so it makes sense to put all of that time and substantial cost to work as a Buick here in the States (and China too.)  For the full story, as well as the official press release from General Motors, click on over to Autobloggreen.

General Motor’s Delaware assembly plant, home of the Kappa based roadsters, closed yesterday.  It really is a sad end to what was a great product.  Sure, it had some quirks, but the vehicles were moved from concept to production in a very short amount of time.  It just goes to show you, the general public is full of morons.  Feedback from the public at auto shows was the reason the cars were given the green light and then no one decided to follow through and buy one.  People say the American companies don’t make cars people want…well here are two reasons why.

GM has named three locations in a press release as possible sites for production of a new b-car.  While the car has not been named, speculation is that it will be the 2010 Chevrolet Spark or the “Viva” hatchback that has been spotted testing at the Nurburgring.  The locations listed are Orion, Michigan (currently a shuttered G6 plant), Spring Hill, Tennessee (former home of Saturn), and Janesville, Wisconsin (former GMC Yukon/Chevy Tahoe plant.)

For more details head on over to Autoblog.

General Motors has announced that it has 16 buyers interested in its Saturn brand, which is quite a shocking number.  While details are hard to come by, many assume that GM will continue to make vehicles for Saturn until the new owners can attract automobiles from another automaker.  For full details, head on over to the Detroit Free Press.