Automakers 2010 appears to be no different for GM
The North American International Auto Show is typically the big show for Detroit-based automakers and 2010 appears to be no different for General Motors. Chris Preuss, GM’s vice president of communications, has hit Twitter confirming that each of the General’s four brands will have at least one vehicle to display at the Detroit Auto Show next month.
Chevrolet figures to have a somewhat quieter show, with its big reveal being the Aveo RS, which we hear is all-new and very little like the narrow and unattractive B-Segment hatch GM is selling now.
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GM-Tengzhong Hummer Deal Confirmed – News
General Motors has just confirmed that it has entered a “definitive agreement” with China’s Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. to sell Hummer. While the details of the agreement are still officially under wraps, one source cited by Bloomberg said the deal carries a price tag of $150 million.
GM will continue to make H2s and H3s for Hummer until June 2011, at which point Tengzhong is on its own unless it takes the optional one-year production extension through June 2012. Continuing production of these vehicles, GM says, will save 3000 jobs.
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2010 Cadillac SRX First impressions for You
GM isn’t mincing words these days. At the unveiling of the 2010 SRX, Steve Shannon, Cadillac marketing director in the United States, declared outright that “the first-generation SRX was a tweener.”
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| The profile of this 2010 Cadillac SRX is all about turning heads. |
In the flamboyant world of professional wrestling, a tweener is a neutral wrestler, neither loved nor hated. A colourless, bland, uninspiring character like the old SRX, whose status was hard to pin down.
Faced with a quandary, humans often choose a different path. This no doubt explains in part why the SRX has been more or less successful until now. Its sales never took off like those of the Lexus RX, undisputed champion of the luxury crossover segment.
Terminology is very important for designers like Max Wolff. Manager of GM’s Exterior Design Studio, he made sure that the newcomer was in no way a tweener. After all, he hopes to seduce the trendsetting crowd. You know, those hip consumers that dictate fashion trends, the same ones that started the buzz responsible for the success of the Mercedes-Benz GLK and Volvo XC60.
Eye-catching style
To accomplish this, Max and his team dreamed up a distinctive profile for the new SRX. They succeeded beautifully, if the number of heads we turned during our short jaunt through the Catskill Mountains in southern New York State is any indication. As it happens, certain styling cues that the new SRX shares with the Escalade originated in the Evoq prototype unveiled in 1999.
The designers even dared to give the SRX a little retro feel, with prominent rear wings stretching back like the Cadillacs of the 1950s and 60s. Some will see it as tongue-in-cheek statement, others as a nod to history.
GM Confirms Entry-Level RWD Cadillac
Drowned out by the news of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt’s projected 230 miles per gallon city fuel efficiency rating was confirmation from GM that two previously unannounced vehicles will join the Cadillac lineup, one of which – an entry-level vehicle – was specifically called out.
In order to compete in the entry-level luxury segment, which consists of stalwarts like the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3, Cadillac will need to capitalize on the success of the CTS, as Fritz suggests. The unnamed Caddy will have “high tech-engines, rear-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive,” according to GM’s press release. Seeing as GM has only one platform that fits that bill, we’re guessing the automaker is literally going to “repeat what CTS has already achieved” – by using a modified version of the Sigma II platform that the CTS is built on.
GM did not announce details of the mysterious fifth vehicle for Cadillac, but Automotive News has some information on what is predicted to be the brand’s new flagship sedan. According to Automotive News sources, the rumored XTS will be the fifth vehicle to be introduced by 2011, and it will be based on a modified version of GM’s new global front-wheel platform, Epsilon II. The 2010 Buick LaCrosse is currently the only U.S. vehicle employing the Epsilon II architecture.
GM’s " ; 60-day Buy Back"
Starting today and running through November, General Motors is offering buyers of their Core Four brands, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, a 60-day money-back guarantee on their new car and truck purchases. It’s called the “60-day Satisfaction Guarantee.”
The campaign marks GM’s efforts to rebound after a 39-day bankruptcy and a $50 billion federal bailout. GM, which is shedding half of its US brands will try to boost their US market share that has fallen to 19.5% this year from a peak of 50.1% in 1962.
It’s the second radical marketing move in just a few weeks by GM to try and resurrect consumer confidence in the company since the bankruptcy ended.
Could 60 days in a 2010 Buick LaCrosse convince import-buyers to make Detroit their car-maker of preference?
The first was begun last month in conjunction with online buying service Ebay. In that program, which has had only modest success but will continue for the time being, some 250 GM dealers in California are posting their new-car inventories for California-only buyers, some cars and trucks up for bid in a traditional auction environment, some marked with a no-haggle “buy it now” price.
Here are the details of the new money-back plan:
• Covers Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models for the 2009 and 2010 model years.
• Allows customers to return their cars after 31 days and before 4,000 miles.
• Does not cover leased vehicles.
It’s thought this program is the first of its kind for any major car-maker, though it does bear some philosophical resemblance to Chrysler’s, “If you can find a better car, buy it!” sales program headed by then-company chief Lee Iacocca in the early 1980s.
This 1984 Chrysler K-car limousine was made during the time of the company’s, “If you can find a better car, buy it!” campaign
While the GM campaign will be fronted by the company’s new chairman, Ed Whiteacre, former chief of AT&T appointed to the GM post by the Obama Administration, it’s thought that Bob Lutz, GM’s powerful and outspoken vice-president with strong influence in the corporation’s styling, marketing, public relations and advertising, is the “man with the plan” in this case.
We’re at a happy stage in the automotive industry where, essentially, in the various price brackets, most things are equal between brands and makes and models.
For instance, the average price of a new car in the US is right around $32,000; driving all the cars in that price bracket will yield a lot of good experiences and very few negatives. Objectively, cars and trucks in each major price bracket reflect most of the same positives and quite few negatives.
Here’s what we think of the new GM program:
Apart from price, safety, performance, appearance and fuel mileage, the most important part of the car-buying decision comes from the test drive. Many shoppers make the mistake of being timid during this critical part of the process, often allowing themselves to be “muscled” into driving the car only on certain roads and for a specific period of time “recommended” by the salesperson.
But if buyers test-drove the new car in their own real-world situations, it would have a huge influence on which car they’d buy. In a very real sense, isn’t this what GM is offering potential buyers with this new money-back scheme?
Even with objective things about the various cars being shopped very similar to most buyers, it’s those subjective items — how the switchgear feels, adjustability of the seats, rear seat room, how bright or dim the instrument panel can be made, if reflected sun makes the gauges hard to see in the daytime, if wide A-pillars make front/side vision difficult — which can turn the buyer one way or another.
I usually drive one or more new cars a week to stay familiar with each car-maker’s offerings and be able to answer your questions and make recommendations.
Recently, I spent a week in a 2010 Buick LaCrosse, and even though the early “pilot” model I drove was not off the actual assembly line (so some glitches are expected), this LaCrosse was more than a rival for its target: the Lexus entry-level luxury sedan, ES350.
LaCrosse’s fit-and-finish, performance, appearance inside and out and styling are all impressive and even outdo the Lexus on many accounts.
GM used the Lexus ES350 as their target car for the 2010 LaCrosse; they’ve come close to hitting a bull’s eye
