All posts tagged general motors
Opel city car Allegra rendering
Here is a rendering of the possible Opel “Allegra”, future Opel city car model. In a crowded and competitive sector, it would compete with the Ford Ka, Volkswagen Up!, Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, and company. The car would appear directly below the Agila in the Opel product range, and would take on the role of entry-level Opel, with a price as low as 6,000 euros.
The Opel Allegra would be slightly longer than three metres, and would be built on a smaller version of the Agila or Corsa platform. Another hypothesis is that it could even be built by the General Motors Korea research and development division (possibly under the Chevrolet brand in the Asian market).
However, future Opel-GM collaboration would not occur if the Opel-Magna deal comes off, although GM may still seek influence for its Chevrolet models. The Opel Allegra city car could see a 2012-2013 debut.
Source | Caradisiac
Opel Insignia Europe's favourite car
According to the 2009 Internet Auto Award from AutoScout24, Europe’s favourite car is the Opel Insignia. We perhaps would have placed our bets on the Opel Astra, but clearly a sedan is still more popular than a hatchback.
The trophy is known as the ‘Carolina’ and was accepted by the company at an awards ceremony in Munich. Carl-Peter Forster, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Adam Opel GmbH, said: “This new award for the Insignia proves that our blend is right: sporty, elegant design combined with innovative technology. The new Opel philosophy also resonates with the customer.”
Opel has already sold more than 150,000 Insignia in Europe, and the Astra is also a big-selling model for the company, taking up a third of its sales volume. It begs the question as to why General Motors really wants to sell the brand, and whether the sales success with this model design will continue with new owners. Opel Insignia OPC in the pics.
Opel to make electric city car family from 2012
General Motors‘ European president Carl-Peter Foster has apparently said the Opel will build a compact electric car at an affordable price for the city car segment of the market, as reported by German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The new Opel city electric would be built from an all-new platform which would be the basis of future compact cars to follow suit. The aim is to create a new family of compact cars, starting with the electric vehicle to debut in 2012.
Apparently GM Europe is investing 250 million euros in the project, so we can assume they’re serious. Watch this space for future developments.
Source | Autoblog.it
Cadillac commercial featuring new CTS coupe
This Cadillac commercial promotes the 2010 Cadillac range in a space/lift-off metaphor showing the CTS Sedan, CTS Wagon, the SRX SUV and an exciting new model for 2010, the CTS Coupè.
The CTS Coupè should be ready in summer of next year, and with the commercial set to re-introduce Cadillac to the American market, the brand is taking on some responsibility for the new General Motors future.
GM to sell Saab to Koenigsegg Group by August
As General Motors emerges from bankruptcy, the proceedings of the last few months are being felt in Europe as Saab finalises deals for its sale next month. According to reports a binding agreement to sell the Saab brand to the Koenigsegg Group will occur by the end of the month.
Saab is preparing its new 9-5 for production and its official presentation in September, before sales commence in spring 2010. The Koenigsegg deal would mean that GM transfers equipment to the Trollhättan facilities to manufacture the 9-5.
Saab has been working on its 9-5 business plan, with possible targets of 45,000 units to be produced per year, similar to the current model. The aim is to have a three percent share of the global 1.2 million large car market.
Source | Autocar
General Motors to sell cars on eBay
General Motors has been busy with announcements today, with the first being that it has officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The announcement comes only 39 days after the company had originally filed for bankruptcy.
Having gotten itself out of bankruptcy, the company is set to undergo a rebirth and will tackle its controversial executive culture by cutting about 35 percent of staff from its executive level. There is no word as to when the company might pay back the 50 billion dollar taxpayer funded loans it has received, but after a tough month in June, here’s hoping the American auto giant is back on its feet.
After the general announcement that General Motors had emerged from bankruptcy, it also revealed part of its strategy to get sales back on track. The plan is to test a new strategy with eBay online auctions in which customers can bid for new cars online rather than visiting dealerships. Fritz Henderson revealed the plans to sell cars online, saying:
“Customers will be able to bid on actual vehicles just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined ‘Buy It Now’ price… we’ll be testing this and other ideas with our dealers over the next few weeks, and hope to expand and build upon them in the coming months… in all cases, our goal is to make the shopping and buying process as easy as possible for GM customers - on their time and their terms. Stay tuned.”
Apparently ‘revolutionising’ the way people buy cars will include an innovative partnership with eBay in California. The big question is how General Motors will now deal with its dealership network and whether some dealers may find business harder as customers choose to buy online in what may be considered an empowering move for consumers.
Source | Left Lane News and Autoblog
Chinese Hummer deal in negotiations
The plan by China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery to buy GM’s Hummer brand could be in jeopardy as the economic agency for China might reject the bid. Tengzhong will be negotiating with the National Development and Reform Commission to secure approval for its purchase of Hummer.
Unconfirmed reports, however, say that Tengzhong and Hummer have not yet presented the case and that any rumours of blocking the agreement should be considered pure speculation. Chinese state radio has revealed, though, that environmental concerns and Tengzhong’s lack of experience may mean the deal is never reached.
General Motors had originally tentatively agreed to sell the Hummer brand to Tengzhong, and talks between the two companies are proceeding as planned. Tengzhong is based in the Sichuan province and manufacturers special-use vehicles, construction machinery and energy equipment.
Source | Wheels
Mint vintage car on auction: Holden HK Monaro GTS 327
I know we’re supposed to be “eurocar” blog, but you’ve just GOT to see this Australian beauty: the Holden HK Monaro GTS 327. Holden is an original brand in Australia and absolute icon in Australian motoring history. It has been a General Motors subsidiary since 1931, though the brand still makes Australian cars for the Australian market.
Enough of the history, this Monaro is on sale at a July auction, with a guide price of 130,000 to 160,000 Australian dollars (about 75,000 to 92,000 euros). If you’re the lucky purchaser, you are assured of an Australian muscle car classic, which still has the original 327-cid V8 Chevrolet engine.
Other features include a four-speed manual transmission, limited slip differential, sports suspension, front disc brakes and a long-range 95 litre fuel tank. It’s almost famous, appearing as a getaway car in television series “Underbelly”, which is about Australia’s gangland war in Melbourne. Another little gem in the Shannons auction is a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, but how they drive it in Australia, I don’t know - it’s left-hand drive.
Source | The Motor Report
Funny General Motors cartoon
We might be unfair, but we just had to share this funny General Motors cartoon with you from Alan Moir at the Sydney Morning Herald. It could be a little note to the US Government on the possible future complications of suddenly becoming a General Motors shareholder. Not to mention the other interested groups. But then again, it could be an era for new creativity… who knows?
Source | The Sydney Morning Herald
New GM commercial is olive branch to US public
In a commercial riddled with corny images of the American culture and a slogan about “chapter one”, General Motors launches its PR campaign to win the public’s support for its “reinvention”. Check out the new ad in the video above.
General Motors Europe and Opel: new owners amidst controversy
Opel looks as though it will escape some of its shared fate with General Motors’ US operations as the German Government helps out, and new owners Magna International and Sberbank step in with finances.
Plenty of controversy surrounds the deal, though, as despite saving nearly 25,000 Opel jobs in Gernmany, there was political divide over selling the company to a Canadian auto parts manufacturer and a Russian bank.
Despite a new Fiat deal with Chrysler in the US, the Italian manufacturer lost its rival bid for Opel to keep the company in European hands. President of GM Europe, Carl-Peter Forster, will run the new company, which is receiving an extra 1.5 billion euros in funding from Sberbank.
Continue reading: General Motors Europe and Opel: new owners amidst controversy
General Motors bankrupt: analysis
With General Motors finally filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the many premonitions that economists had about the company’s future have been illuminated. And as we shade our eyes from the huge job losses in a sector the scale of which could bring a country to its knees, and the fact that much of this may have been prevented if tax-grabbing policies were curbed, it’s time to have a look at what the future may hold.
The US Government is stepping in to avoid what will be an enormous negative impact across the US, and is investing in a hopeful attempt to bring this giant back from the brink. General Motors is truly, an awesome icon in American society, and recreating something new from the ashes will not be easy.
There’s no keeping the Americans down, but they’ll need more than optimistic rhetoric to get them out of this situation. With 82.3 billion US dollars in assets facing up to 172.8 billion dollars in debt, the “fast track to a competitive future” seems a long way off.
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