Today’s photo comes from HarleyPilot.

Be sure to look at all of sjb4photos’ photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with “gmfyi.”

We’re going to try something new and different tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 26) from media day for the 2010 Washington Auto Show.  At 1:45 p.m. EST, you’ll be able to Skype live with Chevrolet Volt global product manager Cristi Landy from the show floor.  As you probably know already, the greater Washington D.C. area has been added to the list of lead retail launch markets for the Chevrolet Volt joining Michigan and California and we thought this would be a good opportunity for you to chat live with one of our Volt experts.  To join the conversation, simply add the Skype name volt_moderator to your Skype contact list by 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 26.  At 1:30 p.m., we’ll begin pulling participants into the conversation queue so that we’re ready to start promptly at 1:45 p.m.  We’ll try to fit in as many questions as we can in about 30 minutes.  And don’t worry if you don’t have Skype because you can watch all the action live here on FastLane or you can click through to our USTREAM show page, where we’ll be live streaming the entire Webcast.  -Phil Colley, Advanced Technology Communications

Today’s photo comes from sjb4photos.

Be sure to look at all of sjb4photos’ photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with “gmfyi.”

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Technology, Chevrolet, Misc. Auto Shows

In advance of the 2010 Washington Auto Show, Chevrolet has announced that the greater Washington D.C. area will join California and Michigan as initial launch markets for its upcoming plug-in hybrid electric Chevrolet Volt. The automaker has also announced cooperative programs with Pepco and Dominion, two D.C.-area utilities, to help establish vehicle charging programs and further introduce customers to electric vehicles.

"Concentrating Volt sales in these three key initial markets allows us to give our first customers a high-quality experience," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet general manager. "In addition to geographical considerations, each market also has progressive local and state government leaders and utility partners who are crucial in bringing electric vehicles to market."

Overall, more than 100 Volts will be delivered to utilities around the U.S. as part of an extended demonstration pilot to gauge customer feedback. The program, made possible with a $30 million grant administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, will install 500 charging stations for residential, business and public use. Chevy has also teamed with other utilities in California and Michigan for similar programs in those local markets. Full press release after the jump.



[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Washington D.C. joins California and Michigan as initial launch markets for 2011 Chevrolet Volt

Washington D.C. joins California and Michigan as initial launch markets for 2011 Chevrolet Volt originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DETROIT – General Motors Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre will host a press conference today, to provide updates on GM business activities. The press conference will begin at 11:30 a.m. EST in the Renaissance Conference Center located in Tower 300, Level 2, of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. A listen-only line will be available for media:

• 800-288-8974   (U.S.)
• +1- (612) 332-0342 (international/caller-paid)
• No access code is required
• Please provide your name and affiliation and ask for the GM conference call

The press conference will also be webcast here on FastLane, as well as at http://media.gm.com and here. The webcast will be archived at the site for replay after 2 p.m. EST on January 25.

Filed under: Car Buying, Wagon, Crossover, Cadillac, Luxury

Cadillac shoppers wanting the CTS Sport Wagon basically expect a little bit more car for a little bit more money than a CTS. But when they got to the showroom and saw the bigger SRX crossover cost $6,000 less, the Sport Wagon fell off the charts. So Cadillac has dropped the price of the Sport Wagon by about $1,300 in a bid to give the CTS hauler more of a chance on the sales floor.

Now the CTS Sport Wagon starts at $38,265, while the SRX is $33,330. Before the price drop, the wagon was above the $40K mark, which added that psychological barrier to the sheer dollar amount. Load up either an SRX or a CTS wagon and you'll end up around $50K.

Now, is that initial $5,000 difference still too big, or is it close enough now to keep people's eyes on the Sport Wagon prize. Car shoppers have embraced crossovers in general. As such, even with the price changes, the SRX probably doesn't need to sweat having sales poached by the CTS Sport Wagon. The former has mainstream appeal, and the latter remains a niche product.

[Source: USA Today]

Report: Cadillac lowers price on CTS Sport Wagon to give it more breathing room from SRX originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Chevrolet

There were plenty of charity cars up for auction at Barrett-Jackson the last few days, but perhaps the one that benefited the most worthy cause was donated by GM. They brought out a 427 Limited Edition Corvette Z06 worth more than $80,000 to Scottsdale and promised to donate the entire proceeds of the sale to the American Red Cross to help those who were affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Fortunately, the bidders in attendance hadn't exhausted all of their funds by the time the car crossed the block, and a generous buyer put down a $200,000 offer for the car. You can visit www.redcross.org or text HAITI to 90999 to donate yourself, and although you won't go home with a new Corvette, you'll be helping out a very worthy cause.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Barrett-Jackson 2010: Limited Edition Corvette Z06 raises $200,000 to benefit Haiti

Barrett-Jackson 2010: Limited Edition Corvette Z06 raises $200,000 to benefit Haiti originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Cadillac

For the last few years Barrett-Jackson has become the place to sell "production firsts" like the Dodge Challenger, Corvette ZR1, and Shelby GT500 KR to name a few. For 2010, it seems we've run out of new muscle cars to auction off, but Cadillac decided to take advantage of a captive and wealthy audience to unload the very first production 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe. We'd probably be more interested if it was a CTS-V Coupe, as we don't see a run-of-the-mill two-door CTS becoming a collectible, regardless of when it was produced.

Still, we can't fault Cadillac too much for bringing the first CTS Coupe to Barrett-Jackson, since all of the winning bid minus the cost of the car will be donated to the College for Creative Studies. The top bidder doesn't get this exact car, but instead gets to special-order his or her own CTS Coupe with the choice of color, engine, transmission, trim, and any options. So what's it worth? The car sold yesterday for a respectable price of $95,700 including buyers commission.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First production 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe goes to highest bidder at Barrett-Jackson

First production 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe goes to highest bidder at Barrett-Jackson originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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