Filed under: Videos, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Saturn

Autoline Detroit recently played host to Bob Lutz, and, as is always the case, the former General Motors vice chairman dished out some great commentary. Lutz was promoting his new book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, and talk quickly turned to his role as it related to product development and high-level decision making at GM. While on the topic of brand management, Lutz revealed a few rather interesting tidbits about his former employer:

• All Chevrolet vehicles were required to have five-spoke aluminum wheels and a chrome band up front, as part of the Bowtie brand's overall image.
• Pontiac was required to utilize "see-through" headrests, despite the fact that they cost more to produce while offering no consumer value.
• All Buicks required a sweep spear in the exterior design language.
• Cadillac considered building a 550-horsepower supercharged Escalade.
• Saturn was working on a seven-passenger Vue.
• Many of the non-car person GM board members preferred to drive imports.
• Proportion and shape didn't matter as long as all the brand-image boxes were checked.

Lutz provides an interesting look at the type of decision making that forced GM into a position of bankruptcy. The automaker was being run solely by folks focused on techniques and ideals that don't work in the industry. We don't want to give away the entire interview, but it's worth watching all 26 minutes. Click past the jump to see for yourself.

Also, judging solely by the above screenshot, we'll cast a vote for Robert De Niro to play Lutz in the inevitable movie about this period in General Motors' history.

Continue reading Lutz dishes dirt on GM in latest Autoline Detroit

Lutz dishes dirt on GM in latest Autoline Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Buick, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Saturn

The summer of 2010's recall hit parade continues unabated today, with General Motors having just announced that it is asking 243,403 owners of its 2009-2010 Lambda crossovers to bring their three-row haulers in for inspection. The culprit? Second-row seat belts in select Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook CUVs have "failed to perform properly in a crash."

According to GM, a second-row seat-side trim piece is to blame, as it can impede the upward rotation of the buckle after the seat is folded flat. As a result, if the buckle makes contact with the seat frame, cosmetic damage can occur, potentially requiring additional force to operate the buckle properly. So far, no great shakes, but in the process of applying that additional force, the occupant may push the buckle cover down to the strap, potentially revealing and depressing the red release button. As a result of this, the belt may not latch, or in certain cases, it may actually appear to be latched when, in fact, it isn't.

GM will be working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to administer the recall, which will see owners receiving letters beginning later this month to schedule an appointment for a no-cost inspection and repair of the affected belts. Click through to the jump for more details. Top tip, NOS879!



[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM recalling over 243,000 crossovers over possible seat belt defect

GM recalling over 243,000 crossovers over possible seat belt defect originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jamie Hresko
GM Vice President, Quality

I’ve been watching how people are reacting to our voluntary recall of the 1.3 million compact cars that we announced late Monday, and I think it is important to clarify and expand on a few things. First and foremost, owners and customers of Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G4, G5 and Pursuit models need to understand that even if their power steering assist suddenly stops working, their vehicles can be steered manually.

The steering effort required could be greater below 15 miles per hour, but steering control is always possible.  On Monday, I drove a Cobalt in which we reproduced this condition to understand what customers may experience. Usually, this condition presents itself when the cars have been driven 20,000-30,000 miles.

While we have the same electronic power steering system in the Chevrolet HHR and Saturn ION, these vehicles are not included in the recall because every vehicle has unique tuning, tires and chassis, which causes some vehicles to be more susceptible to this condition than others.

We are working with our steering system supplier on repair scenarios, which could include repairing or replacing the steering motor. We will share more information, including when customers can expect notification, as soon as we have all the details worked out.

We decided to do the safety recall to help customers have peace of mind that we are stepping up to this issue.

Filed under: Car Buying, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Pontiac, Saturn, Toyota

Ford buyers appear to love their cars more than customers of any other automotive brand, returning back to the American automaker when it comes time to purchase their next vehicle. According to a study by Experian Automotive, six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty wear badges from the Blue Oval. That includes the Ford Fusion (62.4 percent), Ford Edge (57.9 percent), Ford Five Hundred/Taurus (56 percent), Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent), Ford Escape (49.4 percent) and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent).

Other vehicles making up the top 10 include the Toyota Prius (52 percent), Chevy Impala (51.7 percent), Toyota Camry (47.8 percent) and Toyota Corolla (47.56 percent). This brings up an interesting question: With the closing of automotive brands like Saturn and Pontiac, where are those buyers to turn for their next automotive purchase?

Apparently, not back to General Motors. According to Experian, Pontiac owners are most likely to look to the Ford lineup for their next car or truck and Saturn shoppers will switch to Toyota or Honda - not particularly surprising given that Saturn was meant to compete with import brands. Experian predicts that GM's overall market share will fall from 20 percent to about 17.5 percent, with most of the slack being picked up by Ford, Honda and Toyota.

[Source: Experian Automotive, USA Today]

Continue reading STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After months of negotiations, we were all ready to hear the details of Penske’s takeover of the Saturn brand this month. Instead, it appears the plan has fallen apart, with Penske foreseeing a lack of future product once its contract with GM to supply the current crop of Saturns—Aura, Outlook, Vue—ended.

This leaves Saturn as one more dead General Motors brand, and a short-lived one at that. The Saturn folks had planned to launch a streamlined model lineup that included more pre-configured trim levels for 2010—much like the sales models from Honda and Toyota. It looks like that system will last only through October 2010, when GM’s wind-down plan for Saturn dealers comes to an end.

Related posts:

1. Saturn to be Purchased by Penske Automotive – Car News
2. 2008 Saturn Vue
3. 2010 Saturn Aura / Opel Insignia Offer First Look at the Future of GM’s Mid-size Cars

Please join Kevin Williams, GMNA Vice President, Service & Parts Operations, on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time for a one hour live chat to answer your questions about customer service and GM making the customer the center of everything we do. Kevin is also interested in your thoughts on what constitutes a great vehicle ownership experience. Look forward to hearing from you. – Tom Henderson, Communications Manager, Service & Parts Operations

(Note: While we can’t address specific customer concerns in this chat, resolving them is very important to us. If you have any questions or concerns about a specific GM vehicle you can reach us Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Eastern Time, by calling the appropriate Customer Assistance Center telephone number. Buick: 1.800.521.7300, Cadillac: 1.800.458.8006, Chevy: 1.800.222.1020, GMC: 1.800.462.8782, Hummer: 1.866.486.6376, Pontiac: 1.800.762.2737, Saab: 1.800.955.9007, Saturn: 1.800.553.6000)

M-F 8am – 9pm Eastern

By Beth Lowery
GM Vice President, Environment, Energy & Safety Policy

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of environmental professionals who were in Detroit to attend the Air and Waste Management Association’s annual conference and exhibition.

I gave a formal speech, but the best part of the morning for me was the question and answer session that followed. I’d like to share some of the questions that were posed, along with my answers, and invite you to ask questions of your own about GM’s efforts to reinvent ourselves as a greener company.

Electric vehicles have high up-front capital requirements. How are you going to make electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt profitably?

Introducing advanced technology is always expensive initially, especially in the early generations. It’s important to have the right incentives for customers, such as federal tax credits. Future generations of the technology will be less expensive, making it possible for us to turn a profit.

Does GM have plans to move beyond motor vehicles?

We actually entered the hybrid market with a two-mode hybrid system that was first developed for buses. From a macro level, we’re looking at transportation systems globally, but our main focus today is on getting personal transportation – cars and trucks – right.

How are you going to get people back into American cars – how do you convince them that American cars are reliable?

We know that people’s perceptions of the quality and reliability of our vehicles do not match reality. When people get behind the wheel of our cars and drive them, they have a totally different opinion. We are focused on quality, fuel economy and great design, and we are asking customers to judge us for what we are today, not what we were years ago. The award-winning Chevy Malibu – which continues to be very popular with consumers – is proof that we can win in today’s market. We think objective data – such as J.D. Power and Associates naming Buick the most dependable brand this year (tied with Jaguar) – will also help convince people.

It seems that the U.S. now depends more heavily on the financial sector for a greater percentage of our Gross National Product (GNP). As a manufacturer, how do you compete?

We see a real need for a comprehensive manufacturing policy in the U.S. Our philosophy has been to manufacture where we sell. GM strongly supports building products here in the U.S.

Not all of the components that go into GM’s cars are made in the U.S. How will you rectify that?

There are labeling requirements and we identify the percentage of U.S. content in our cars and trucks. That being said, we are a global company and we operate a global purchasing system. We buy the best available components that we believe will make our products the best.

What is GM doing to help educate the next generation of U.S. engineers?

This is a critically important issue, and we have a number of initiatives under way. We have programs that target students in kindergarten through grade 12 to educate them about what the vehicles of the future will be like through publications like the Weekly Reader. We also have programs for college students, like the EcoCAR Challenge, which is done in partnership with many, such as the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada. Teams of students from more than a dozen universities in the U.S. and Canada are competing to convert a Saturn Vue into a zero-emission vehicle that consumers can afford to buy. We provide the teams with production vehicles and parts, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support throughout the three-year program. And we have been fortunate to recruit some of our talented engineers from this program.