Filed under: Minivan/Van, Recalls, Safety, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

General Motors issued a recall and stop sale on heavy-duty vans including the 2010 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana due to a problem with the alternator that could potentially lead to a fire. GM advises owners to stop driving the vehicles immediately. adding that vehicles should be parked away from buildings and vehicles, and owners should promptly disconnect both battery cables. Vehicles should not be used until GM has come up with a fix for the problem.

Many of the recalled vans are owned by company fleets. The recall includes all 2500, 3500, and 4500 models built in February and March of this year. Light duty vans are excluded from the recall because they utilize a different alternator. Some of the affected vehicles are utilized for retail operations and as rentals. With the stop sale order, the vans cannot be sold to customers and can not be rented from car rental agencies. Full details in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading GM recalls 5,000 vans with serious fire risk, tells owners to park outside, away from everything

GM recalls 5,000 vans with serious fire risk, tells owners to park outside, away from everything originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today’s photo comes from Roadsidepictures.

Be sure to look at all of Roadsidepictures’ 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: Motorsports, Acura, Chevrolet, Dodge, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo, Racing

The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge lost Speed as a title sponsor for 2010, but they've picked up a new class of racing and a new schedule that features four double-header events with back-to-back racing on Saturdays and Sundays. 2010 will also see GT, GTS and Touring Car classes in mixed on-track action for the first time since 1999.

This weekend was the first (and second) race of the season, the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, run on the streets of St. Pete's. While the top-billed IndyCars have had their race postponed until later today because of torrential rains, the WC boys and girls were able to squeeze two action-packed events into the weekend.

Follow the jump to see how rounds one and two of the 2010 World Challenge championship went down.

[Source: SCCA World Challenge | Images: SCCA Pro Racing, Inc.]

Continue reading World Challenge: Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg [Spoiler Alert]

World Challenge: Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg [Spoiler Alert] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Paul Copses
Executive Director, GM Customer Care and Aftersales

Last week, J.D. Power released its report on customer satisfaction with dealer service, and the Cadillac brand came in second only to Lexus in the luxury segment and GM’s other brands occupied six of the top seven spots in what J.D. Power refers to as mass market brands.

Despite these results, I hear every day from many of our GM employees who often think GM dealers don’t do a good job serving our customers. Can we and our dealers do even better? Absolutely! But, we should celebrate the positive facts this 100,000-person J.D. Power survey provides. We also can’t ignore the results of our recently completed anonymous mystery shopping exercise of approximately 16,000 dealer visits which gave our dealers’ service high marks in many areas…and yes, areas where we must improve.

We’ll soon be asking many GM employees to extend our mystery shopping exercise. My guess is that we’ll also learn more ways to improve, but we will also hear of many employees who were thrilled with their experience.

I’ll come back to you with further blogs on what we are doing collectively in the Vehicle Sales, Marketing, Service, and OnStar team in conjunction with our dealers to address price, convenience, and the value our dealers provide. I think you’ll be pleased with what you hear. Better yet, make sure you’re visiting one of our dealers today for your service needs.

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Performance, Wagon, Cadillac

Here in America, drivers who prefer station wagons to crossovers and SUVs are in a distinctly fringe minority. In spite of that, Cadillac has heard the cries from the wilderness and delivered the car we've been clamoring for. The CTS-V Sport Wagon is now finally official and production starts later this year.

Ever since AMG built a handful of Hammer station wagons back in the late 1980s, the idea of a family hauler with ludicrous power and torque has held a strange and twisted appeal for us. The V-wagon takes all the traits we love about the 556-horsepower sedan and adds the expanded cargo body style.

Aside from the tailgate, everything else is carried over, including the magnetic ride damping system, Brembo brakes, 19-inch wheels shod in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s, and the asymmetrical half-shaft rear end to avoid axle tramp. Add in 25.4 cubic feet behind the back seats and 58 cubic feet with them folded and we may well have the perfect performance car. Did we mention the 551 pound-feet of torque?



[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Officially Official: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon unleashed!

Officially Official: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon unleashed! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: New York Auto Show, Sedan, Chevrolet, GM

Chevrolet will use the 2010 New York Auto Show to reveal a few more details about the production Cruze sedan going on sale this fall. Specifically, the Big Apple is where Chevy will formally unveil the high-mileage Cruze Eco model and RS trim package (inset). The Chevrolet Cruze Eco is propelled by the new turbocharged 1.4-liter Ecotec inline four-cylinder. This engine, combined with a six-speed manual transmission, is not only the most powerful unit available, it's also expected to yield a hybrid-like 40 miles per gallon on the highway. In order to help achieve that lofty number, the Cruze Eco gets drag-reducing shutters that close off the lower grille at higher speeds. Also contributing to the car's elevated fuel efficiency are a deep front air dam and under-body panels. The 1.4 turbo is rated at 138 horsepower and a healthy 148 pound-feet of torque.

Like other Chevy models, the Cruze will also be offered in LS, LT and LTZ trim levels. The LS gets a 136-horsepower naturally-aspirated 1.8-liter four, while the two higher trims get the turbo. Drivers wishing for a sportier appearance can opt for the RS package, which adds foglamps, rocker panel extensions and a rear spoiler. The RS pack also brings an upgraded interior featuring chrome trim and backlit instrument cluster bezels.

Pricing and official EPA fuel economy numbers won't be available until later this year when the Cruze actually goes on sale. Check out the Cruze Eco and Cruze RS in the high-res image galleries below. We'll have lots more on these cars next week once we look them over in person at the Javits Center.




[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Cruze Comes To Town: Chevy unveils 40-mpg Eco model and RS package

Cruze Comes To Town: Chevy unveils 40-mpg Eco model and RS package originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Chevrolet

We've seen patent drawings of the Chevrolet Malibu, and now spy shooters have captured the real thing cruising the hinterlands like a Yeti. Additional styling elements will be added to the bodywork, giving the current car's graceful bulk a few more angles and a bit more finesse.

The prototype's better-looking than the patent sketches indicate, which is no surprise, but we're still looking forward to how those front and rear lights will evolve. At least in back, it looks like they won't be true dual units, as envisioned on a couple of sketch-based renderings, but will have single lenses outboard and another set on the trunk.

Inside, which is where we think the Malibu can really step up its game, "vastly improved" materials are said to be on the way. A significantly better ride will come courtesy of the HiPer strut system on the car's new Epsilon II platform.

[Source: Car & Driver]

Spy Shots: 2012 Chevrolet Malibu prepares to shake up mid-size segment originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Canada

Continued strong demand for General Motors' new Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain has triggered the automaker to add extra production capacity for the crossovers at the its Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant. As you may recall, last year, GM added an extra shift of production at the Ingersoll plant that has always built the Equinox, but apparently that still isn't enough bandwidth. Thus, the body shop at Ingersoll will be expanded over the next several months to provide the extra stamping capacity needed to supply Oshawa. The bodyshells will then be shipped 120 miles east to Oshawa where a third shift will build the Equinox alongside the Impala.

With the new production capacity, all laid off employees at Ingersoll will be back at work and 70 workers will be hired. The Oshawa ramp-up will lead to the recall of 600 employees there, many of whom lost their jobs when full-size pickup truck production ended there last year. Production of the Equinox in Oshawa will start this fall.



Photos copyright (C)2009 John Neff / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading General Motors adding Chevrolet Equinox production at Oshawa, move boosts GMC Terrain too

General Motors adding Chevrolet Equinox production at Oshawa, move boosts GMC Terrain too originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Performance, Videos, Cadillac

There are two kinds of people in the world. The first kind drives Cadillac's supercharged CTS-V, experiences the thrill of 556 horsepower paired with 551 pound-feet of torque and declares, "This thing is a monster. This is the fastest, most incredible American performance sedan ever made." Then you have the other type of person, the kind that takes the 4,300-pound CTS-V to 60 miles per hour in just over four seconds, runs the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 115 mph and says, "Meh." Should you fall into that second category, John Hennessey has got a car for you.

John's calling it the Hennessey V700 and, as you might have ascertained, it's a Cadillac CTS-V pumped up on the best auto-steroids available in the Houston area. One crank of the fake key and your ears quickly explain that the gnashing, metal-on-metal-on-lava sounds leaking out from beneath the floor pan don't come from some run-of-the-mill super-Cadillac. No, something special is going on under that thar tortured hood. Viciously special. Follow the jump to find out exactly what.



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

Continue reading Quick Spin: Hennessey V700 is crazy, fast [w/video]

Quick Spin: Hennessey V700 is crazy, fast [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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