Filed under: Car Buying, GM, Pontiac, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

On top of the 1,124 General Motors dealers that will be closed next year, the ailing automaker is reportedly going to announce another round of dealer closings on Monday when its bankruptcy declaration is expected. According to two Automotive News sources, 450 dealers will not see their dealer franchises renewed. For his part, Mark LaNeve, GM’s VP of North American sales, said the number would be “less than half that.”

No matter the number, it’s more of the same bad-yet-necessary news being spread around. LaNeve notes that the dealers who won’t be renewed “have very specific issues” including “specific performance issues.” Among them are supposed to be some stores that are skewed exclusively or heavily Pontiac. These dealers will be shutting up shop when their franchise agreements expire in October 2010.

[Source: Automotive News -sub req’d | Image: Mark Ralston/Getty]

REPORT: GM preparing to give more dealerships the axe originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 May 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 29th, 2009 by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: GM, General Motors | Comments Off

Filed under: GM, Saturn, Earnings/Financials

The General Motors appendage known as Saturn is scheduled to be scalpeled off sooner rather than later. What happens to the mass once it has been removed from its host is still uncertain, though there are apparently groups interested in the shiny metal entrails. GM has reportedly whittled the roster of buyers it might let Saturn go to down to two or three, says a source at The Detroit News. One of the few that hasn’t been culled is Telesto Ventures, which has put its auto team together.

Heavy with ex-Chrysler people, Telesto’s group counts former design head Tom Gale (right) among its numbers. The ex-Auburn-Hillers bring big experience to Telesto’s attempt to snag Saturn from among the small pool of bidders, and the group believes that Saturn under the leadership of Telesto’s team can have a significant effect on the auto industry. It’s not yet clear who’s got the most attractive bid for Chrysler, and Telesto’s got to compete with the likes of Roger Penske and Magna - the latter of which apparently already has the inside track on Opel.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Jeff Kowalski/AFP/Getty]

Telesto Ventures’ bid for GM’s Saturn division thick with Chrysler talent originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 May 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 29th, 2009 by Dan Roth
Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off

Filed under: Euro, GM, Saab, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

In a brief article on its website, the UK’s Channel4 says that a Swedish newspaper, Dagens Industri, is reporting that supercar maker Koenigsegg is in the running to purchase either a stake in Saab, or the whole kit and caboodle.

According to the report, Koenigsegg is reportedly a front-runner to rescue the fellow Swedish automaker, with the other suitors being the Renco Group, a U.S. investment company, and the Italian automaker Fiat - the latter of which is being denied by both Fiat and Saab.

Automotive News has asked Saab to comment on the report, but spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs declined, although she did say that the likely bankruptcy of parent company General Motors will not derail Saab’s plans. Gustavs apparently did impart that GM plans to disclose a “preferred candidate” in the next few weeks.

If Christian von Koenigsegg and his band of merry men manage to get their hands on Saab, we can’t help ourselves from wondering that with their expertise in supercars, perhaps they could bring the Aero X (above) to market. We can dream, can’t we?

[Source: Channel4; Automotive News - subs. req.]

REPORT: Koenigsegg a finalist in bid to buy Saab originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 May 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 29th, 2009 by Chris Paukert
Filed under: GM | Comments Off

Filed under: Podcasts, Trends, Hybrid, Sedan, Performance, Etc., Technology, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, Opinion/Editorial

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Episode #129 of the Autoblog Podcast is here! Chris, Sam, and Dan toss the ball around this week discussing the Lexus HS250h, the Toyota Prius’s newfound chassis grace, the production version of the BMW 5-Series GT, Cadillac’s sharp new SRX, and of course, a few questions. We even go back and update an answer to a question from last week. This installment clocks in just shy of an hour, so enjoy… and thanks for listening! As always, hit us up at Podcast at Autoblog dot com with any questions/comments/over-the-top praise! Thanks to reader/listener Dat for taking in the Podcast while at LeMons in Reno and sending us a pic!

Follow the jump to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, add the show to your RSS aggregator… or listen to it right now!

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #129

Autoblog Podcast #129 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 May 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 28th, 2009 by Dan Roth
Filed under: Cadillac | Comments Off

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Cadillac, GM, Hummer, Maserati, Saab

Mark McNabb loves a challenge. After working for General Motors for 13 months leading Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab, McNabb announced his resignation last week as of June 1. His destination, it turns out, is Maserati, where he’ll replace former North American CEO Marti Eulberg, Who resigned last month after less than a year on the job.

At GM, McNabb ended up shepherding one of his brands and trying to sell the other two. At Maserati he’ll have just one brand to lead and he’ll be focused on selling its cars. Maserati sales have done their impression of a sinkhole, falling 48% worldwide and nearly 58% in America, taking revenue numbers with them. We find those numbers a little surprising, but perhaps the coming GranTurismo convertible will help things out. In the mean time, best of luck to you, Mr. McNabb.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

REPORT: McNabb left GM premium post for Maserati position originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 May 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 28th, 2009 by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Cadillac, GM, General Motors, Hummer, saab | Comments Off

Filed under: Car Buying, Wagon, Crossover, Cadillac

The second-generation 2010 Cadillac SRX will be rolling into showrooms later this summer with a base price of $34,155. Jumping into the crowded luxury crossover segment, Cadillac hopes to lure customers with the SRX’s fuel efficient 3.0-liter direct injected V6, technical features, and versatility. Of course, they’ve thrown in a dose of Cadillac’s “visual appeal and driving character,” says Steve Shannon, executive director of marketing for Cadillac. “We believe the Cadillac SRX offers emotional appeal to a segment previously devoid of much of that,” he added.

Joining the Cadillac SRX later in the summer will be the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. The Sport Wagon mirrors the CTS sedan in design and features, yet it offers nearly double the cargo space. The standard engine in the CTS Sport Wagon will be the same 3.0-liter direct-injection V6 as is found under the hood of the upcoming SRX. Check out the press release after the jump for more details.

Continue reading Cadillac SRX coming this summer, priced at $34,155

Cadillac SRX coming this summer, priced at $34,155 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 May 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 27th, 2009 by Michael Harley
Filed under: Cadillac | Comments Off

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Tech, GM, Saturn

Since our first encounter with General Motors’ HCCI (homogeneous charge compression ignition) engines in August 2007, the powertrain research engineers at GM’s Tech Center in Warren, MI have continued plugging away at the technology, trying to turn it into a marketable reality. The basic premise of compression ignition is simple. Based on the Ideal gas law (PV=nRT), if you decrease the volume of a particular quantity of air, the temperature rises to the point where fuel will spontaneously combust.

The hard part is controlling the pressure, temperature and air/fuel mixtures precisely enough to manage that combustion without causing excess noise and engine damage. When we first tried the HCCI prototypes a couple of years ago, the engines had a fairly narrow band of HCCI operation with the engine running in basic spark ignition mode the rest of the time. Thanks to a newly developed mixed-mode HCCI feature and external EGR, the engines can now run in HCCI from idle all the way to 60 mph.

We had a chance to drive a Saturn Aura with an HCCI engine based on the 2.2-liter EcoTec four-cylinder around the streets near the Tech Center. The engine ran smoothly and transitions between HCCI and spark ignition really couldn’t be felt. The only indication of a transition was a slight ringing sound over the first couple of power cycles after transition.

The basic hardware for a production HCCI engine is in place now, with the only new piece of hardware being a combustion chamber pressure sensor. GM is continuing to work on the control software to make this a robust system and even adapting the homogeneous charge and pressure sensors to diesel engines to reduce NOx emissions. GM says that HCCI engines can achieve about a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to a similar spark ignition engine - at a much lower cost than a hybrid. The automaker hopes to have HCCI engines in production in about five years.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

Continue reading We take a quick spin in GM’s latest HCCI engine prototype

We take a quick spin in GM’s latest HCCI engine prototype originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 26th, 2009 by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: GM, General Motors | Comments Off

Filed under: Saturn, Renault

As the bidding to take over over the Saturn brand from General Motors nears its conclusion, it looks increasingly likely that Roger Penske will walk away with the “prize.” Regardless of who takes control, all Penske is slated to receive is a network of dealers and a brand name. GM has already announced it will cease producing new Saturn cars at the end of June 2009, which means the new owner will have to line up another company to provide products for those 380-odd stores. One of the rumors making the rounds is Renault would be a supplier, however, as GM learned trying to import the Astra from Europe, importing cars from the continent is not a viable business plan under current exchange rates. It turns out the supply of vehicles could come from Renault Samsung Motors, the small South Korean maker that’s 80% owned by Renault. That’s a plan that could be financially viable with vehicles based on shared Renault-Nissan platforms. Hyundai has demonstrated that South Korea can produce quality products and priced aggressively as Saturns.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

REPORT: Samsung looks to be most likely supplier to a Penske-owned Saturn originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 May 2009 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 26th, 2009 by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, GM, GMC, Earnings/Financials

According to The Detroit Free Press, the U.S. Treasury has dumped another $7.5 billion into GMAC’s coffers just two weeks after the bank was told by federal regulators that it needed billions in order to survive. In another government-backed boost, GMAC is now allowed to issue FDIC-insured debt. Both actions are reportedly designed to help restore faith in the damaged U.S. credit markets.

Founded in 1919, and traditionally a longtime lender to General Motors dealers and customers, the government recently ordered GMAC to extend the same lending offers to Chrysler dealers and their customers. “This new arrangement with GMAC will help provide a reliable source of financing to both auto dealers and customers seeking to buy cars,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Approximately $4 billion of the new infusion will support go to support dealer and retail loans for the Chrysler brand, while the remaining $3.5 billion is designed help GMAC address its capital needs in order to survive.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

REPORT: GMAC gets another $7.5B from U.S gov’t. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 May 2009 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 22nd, 2009 by Michael Harley
Filed under: GMC | Comments Off

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Saturn

Regardless of what entity General Motors eventually unloads its network of 380 Saturn dealerships upon, it’s not planning to continue supplying vehicles to the displaced automaker past 2011 at the latest. This being the case, the majority of prospective Saturn bidders will need to find an alternate source for cars and trucks to stock its newly purchased showroom floors. But who?

According to The Detroit News, both Mitsubishi and Nissan are in talks with various parties that are considering making a bid for Saturn. Of those two options, Mitsubishi seems to make a bit more sense as it only has about 430 dealerships in the U.S. and it is therefore not nearly as well represented as Nissan. However, Nissan has a much deeper product portfolio and it already demonstrated that it is capable of selling in significantly higher sales volumes. At this point, it’s unclear whether the Nissan or Mitsubishi-supplied vehicles would be badged and sold as Saturns, but given Mitsubishi’s damaged reputation in the States (save the Evo), selling its wares under a brand with a reputation for strong customer service and ownership satisfaction could be just the opening it needs to find success in the U.S. market.

In related news, the DetNews is also reporting that the list of potential bidders for Saturn has been whittled down to “two or three,” which likely includes Penske Automotive Group, Magna International and investor group Telesto Ventures.

[Source: Detroit News]

Mitsubishi interested in supplying Saturn dealers? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 May 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on May 22nd, 2009 by Jeremy Korzeniewski
Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off