GM Tidbits

[UmroAyyar]

I believe this is quite a good move, to allow GM points from credit cards to be applied towards Saturn vehicles. I am not sure if this is applicable in Canada.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/16/gm-reward-credit-card-earnings-now-apply-to-saturn-too/

There are over six million GM credit card holders that can use 3% of their card usage towards the purchase or lease of a new GM car, but until yesterday that offer didn't apply to Saturn. The GM card program has been ongoing since 1992, which is right after Saturn came into existence, but since the "different kind of car company" went on its path at the beginning, it wasn't included in the debt-inducing give-aways. Since Saturn has been towing the company line the last few years, we'd say the press release after the jump should have been issued a while back.

If you don't have a GM credit card, this little tidbit probably means little to you, but if you have been racking up points in hopes of buying a GM product, it doesn't hurt to finally include Saturn in your list of choices.

[Source: GM]

PRESS RELEASE:

GM REWARD CARDS Expands Options to Include Saturn Vehicles

GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card now offer customers even more choices when redeeming Earnings

DETROIT - Consumers who want to use their GM Card or GM Flexible Earnings Card toward the purchase of an eligible, new GM vehicle now have the option to purchase or lease a new Saturn under expanded program guidelines.

The GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card allows Cardmembers to earn toward an eligible new GM vehicle with every credit card purchase. In the past, these Earnings could be applied toward eligible new vehicle purchases or leases offered by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Hummer. Effective April 15, 2008 Saturn vehicles will be added to the expanded program.

"We're very excited to be able to offer potential Saturn customers another valuable tool when making their purchase decision," said Jill Lajdziak, general manager, Saturn. "Our Cardmembers have asked for this and we're responding."

Saturn has the freshest line-up in the industry, having launched five all-new products in the past 24 months.

A GM Flexible Earning Cardmember's redemption options include: 3 percent Earnings on eligible, new GM vehicles or 1 percent cash back.

"This reward card allows Cardmembers to choose the right reward for them and triples the base Earnings to 3 percent when you redeem on a GM vehicle," said Jody Stidham, director, GM Lifecycle Management. All GM reward card Earnings can be used in conjunction with most national promotional offers.

[Greg B.]

The TD Visa GM Card always allowed you to use the points on Saturns here in Canada. Why they didn't do a similar thing in the USA, I have no idea.

[UmroAyyar]

The TD Visa GM Card always allowed you to use the points on Saturns here in Canada. Why they didn't do a similar thing in the USA, I have no idea.

Thanks, I didn't know that. That makes it quite useful for people not much into regular GM products.

[Allen]

GM Canada targets the 'status quo'
Auto maker eyes time off, staffing and work rules in coming contract talks to better compete with Japanese companies' U.S. plants
GREG KEENAN

From Friday's Globe and Mail

April 18, 2008 at 2:30 AM EDT

TORONTO — General Motors of Canada Ltd. is seeking a “transformational” change in its operations by reducing paid time off, allowing temporary workers and eliminating strict work rules, moves that almost certainly put it on a collision course with its unions.

The changes are essential to slash a $30-an-hour labour cost disadvantage against U.S. plants operated by Japan-based competitors, the auto maker says.

Wages, benefits, pensions and other costs for one hour of labour at the Canadian plants operated by the Detroit Three amount to $77.75, says a company background paper on the coming talks with the Canadian Auto Workers union. The same costs with the Canadian dollar at par against the U.S. currency total $47.50 an hour for U.S. plants operated by Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp.

“When you look at how uncompetitive we are, you can't say we'll do some things and $1 an hour will do,” said GM Canada spokesman Stew Low. “The status quo just won't do.”

The background paper outlines what will be a difficult challenge for the CAW and the Canadian units of the Detroit Three in an automotive environment that has changed dramatically since the last round of negotiations in 2005. Since then, the Canadian dollar has hit par with the U.S. currency – contributing to annual losses at the Canadian unit of General Motors Corp. – and a landmark labour agreement in the United States appears to have slashed the three companies' costs in that country.

If GM sticks to the position hourly labour costs must be slashed by $30, they risk a monumental clash with the union, which has already drawn a line in the sand, saying the two-tiered wage structure adopted at U.S. sites won't be permitted at CAW plants.

“They can't get there,” said CAW president Buzz Hargrove. “I've told [GM chairman] Rick Wagoner, I've told the head people at Ford and Chrysler – all of them – that there's absolutely no way in hell.”

The union will not agree to wage cuts, reductions in health care benefits or lower pensions, Mr. Hargrove said, but he acknowledged that Canadian workers have more time off the job and “that would be one we would have to look at, given the circumstances we face.”

Making the case for investment in the company's Canadian operations is already difficult given the dollar and the flat North American market, compared with strong growth in other markets such as China and Europe, said David Paterson, GM Canada's vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs.

Investment “becomes a lot harder to justify,” Mr. Paterson said. “We're trying to invest right now. We've just laid out $3-billion worth of investments.”

More than three-quarters of the $30 cost gap is generated by the labour costs for active employees, says the GM Canada paper, which argues that “we need to find a creative ‘Made in Canada' solution to our cost challenges – and the solution must be transformational.”

The paper notes that base wages and paid time off make up a significant slice of the gap, pointing out that CAW employees get 155 hours more time off annually than workers at the Japanese plants in the U.S.

CAW workers at GM Canada assembly plants get 46 minutes in breaks during an eight-hour shift, while U.S. workers at Toyota Motor Corp. plants get 30 minutes in breaks, the paper adds.

The GM officials also pointed to work rules, such as a ban on temporary workers. Such employees make up 10 to 15 per cent of the work forces at the Japanese plants, which gives them flexibility to adjust production quickly when the market changes.

Another area of concern is job responsibility. In some plants, a regular assembly line worker can change the welding tips on a robotic assembly arm, Mr. Low said. At GM's two Canadian assembly plants, that requires a skilled trades worker.

CAW economist Jim Stanford said GM Canada should compare hourly labour costs for active workers in Canada against those at Detroit Three U.S. plants represented by the United Auto Workers.

Such costs in Canada are $67 an hour and $60 in the United States, he said, and the $7 an hour difference is made up by the higher productivity of the company's Canadian operations.

[sailor723]

Buzz may say "there's no way in hell" but what if GM says "there's no way in hell we're buiding cars in Canada anymore"?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Chevrolet to get a new compact car for sale early next year

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
June 2, 2008 - 1:52 pm ET

DETROIT -- General Motors will unveil a Chevrolet compact car at an auto show this fall, with production slated to begin early next year, say sources familiar with GM's product program.

The vehicle will be built on the Delta compact car architecture at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

The car will use a new 1.4-liter global engine that GM developed and recently announced in Europe. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used in several GM vehicles worldwide.

The Chevrolet compact will not be called the Cobalt, says one source familiar with the plans. GM will produce the current-generation Cobalt through June 2010 as a 2009 model. It was unclear from sources whether GM will continue to build the Cobalt after that.

Shared among five nameplates

The car's engine will be capable of developing between 120 and 140 hp. Sources say mileage could easily exceed 40 mpg.

"It's a pretty incredible engine; it's direct-injected with great power," the source says. "The small-displacement turbos make it possible to get great power so that GM might put it in the mid-sized products, too. It's an extremely important engine and a very capable powertrain."

The new engine will be shared among five nameplates: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel and Daewoo, sources say. That means the Lordstown plant could build cars for export.

The engine continues the trend that GM started with such cars as the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line. Those cars use smaller engines and high-technology devices such as direct fuel injection and turbochargers to boost fuel economy and performance.

Lordstown plant retooling

GM is retooling its plant in Lordstown for a new vehicle, sources say. Lordstown union officials have heard that GM plans to add a shift.

GM now is building between 1,400 and 1,500 cars a day at Lordstown; adding a shift would increase that output to 2,100 cars a day. GM builds the Chevrolet Cobalt as well as the Pontiac G5 and its Canadian counterpart, the Pontiac Pursuit, at the Lordstown plant.

Meanwhile, GM is reconsidering bringing the Chevrolet minicar, the Beat, to the United States.

"The Beat for the U.S. is getting a pretty thorough examination now that you see what's going on with fuel prices," says a source close to GM's product development. "It isn't definitively on there as a go product, but there is a lot of inside chatter and it's on the consideration list."

[articsteve]

GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales
By JAMIE LAREAU AND RICHARD TRUETT, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
 2008 Saturn Vue hybrid: Launch was slowed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
With gasoline at $4 a gallon and the Toyota Prius flying out dealership doors, General Motors' mild hybrid vehicles are stuck in neutral because of battery-pack failures.

GM had to use 9,000 battery packs to replace leaking ones it recalled, a company spokesman says. GM diverted those batteries from new hybrids for sale this year.

GM planned to sell about 27,000 mild hybrid vehicles this year, possibly more given the sharp rise in gasoline prices. But insiders say GM will fall far short of that goal because of problems with its Michigan-based battery maker, Cobasys, a joint venture of Chevron Technology Ventures and Energy Conversion Devices.

GM discovered an internal leak in the nickel-metal hydride batteries that Cobasys made for GM's 2007 model hybrids. The leak caused the hybrid powertrain to shut down. The vehicles could still be driven, but not with the hybrid system.

The vehicles affected were the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line and Saturn Aura Green Line hybrids. A GM spokesman says the company recalled about 9,000 vehicles to replace battery packs. That slowed the launch of the 2008 Saturn hybrids and the new Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid.


Custom-built batteries
Cobasys' batteries are specifically designed for GM's mild hybrid system. That means GM cannot switch suppliers until it brings out the next generation of mild hybrids in 2010, a source familiar with GM hybrid engineering said.

GM initiated the recall in late December when it began receiving reports of battery failures. Cobasys halted production for at least a month while it fixed the problem and revalidated the batteries, a GM source familiar with the mild hybrid program said.

"I don't know how many hybrids we could have sold, but we would have had at least 9,000 more batteries for the pipeline," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "It's not an insignificant number, but it's also part of what happens with a brand-new technology."

Repeated calls and e-mails to Cobasys were unreturned. But a person who answered the phone at the company's Springboro, Ohio, plant said production had resumed. And the GM source said the automaker is now getting the batteries it ordered.

The mild hybrid system sells for a premium of less than $2,000. Unlike a full hybrid, the mild system doesn't propel the vehicle on electric power alone. Instead, it acts as a stop-start system and provides a boost when the vehicle is accelerating.


Saturn suffers
Sales of the 2008 Vue Green Line suffered because of the battery shortage, Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse said.

Through April, retail sales of the Vue Green Line were just 326 units, compared with 2,683 retail sales during the same period a year ago, he said. Part of the difference is that GM had put incentives on the 2007 hybrids, which were at the end of the previous generation. Now, Saturn's interim goal while ramping back up is about 250 retail Vue Green Line sales a month, Janisse said. Through May 27, he said, it had sold 222 units retail in May.

"We're feeling we're closer to where we want to be," Janisse said.

Saturn sold only 69 retail units of the 2008 Aura Green Line through April because of the battery problem, Janisse said. Saturn launched the Aura Green Line in March 2007 and sold 48 units at retail through April 2007.

The battery problems also likely hurt sales of the 2008 Malibu Hybrid, Chevrolet spokeswoman Nancy Libby said.

In April, GM sold 17,050 Malibus. GM says it sold 260 Malibu Hybrids in April--well below GM's 10 percent target.

GM starts production of the 2009 Malibu Hybrid on June 23. Libby said that by that time, the battery supply problem should be resolved.

[rrocket]

Cobasys' batteries are specifically designed for GM's mild hybrid system. That means GM cannot switch suppliers until it brings out the next generation of mild hybrids in 2010, a source familiar with GM hybrid engineering said.

Geez....that not good for GM.  Hope Cobasys don't decide to go on strike or something.  Would have GM over a barrel...

[articsteve]

or ..... when the battery packs it in, out of warranty, the only practical solution is to junk the vehicle.

Me thinks the only way to operate a current GM Hybrid is to lease it.

[Leviathan]

or ..... when the battery packs it in, out of warranty, the only practical solution is to junk the vehicle.

Not really:

The vehicles could still be driven, but not with the hybrid system.

so the vehicle won't be 100% useless.

[Allen]

GM shares tumble to 53 year low
KEVIN KROLICKI and ERIC YEP AND DILIPP S. NAG

Reuters

June 26, 2008 at 10:53 AM EDT

DETROIT, BANGALORE — Shares of General Motors Corp. dropped nearly 10 per cent and dragged down the auto sector Thursday as Goldman Sachs cut GM to a “sell” rating and warned that the struggling auto maker could have to raise capital and cut dividend payouts amid a brutal industry-wide downturn.

The slide in GM shares caps a period of growing concern about the liquidity risks to U.S. auto makers and suppliers from a domestic auto market reeling from record gas prices and the impact of a housing slump and tighter credit.

The Goldman Sachs warning, including the unusual “sell” call on the U.S. auto industry's largest player after a period of sharp stock price declines, prompted selling across the sector.

While GM stock fell 9.8 per cent to $11.56 (U.S.), shares of No. 2 U.S. auto maker Ford Motor Co., which had its price target cut by Goldman, dropped almost 5 per cent. Shares of auto parts supplier Lear Corp., downgraded to a “sell” rating by the brokerage, fell by almost 9 per cent.

GM shares have lost 38 per cent over the past month as more evidence has piled up that U.S. auto sales weakened further in June, raising doubts about the prospect for the second-half recovery that GM and other major auto makers had anticipated.

In response, Fitch Ratings Wednesday cut debt ratings on GM and Chrysler ratings deeper into the “junk” category, citing the fallout from weaker sales, high fuel prices and a sluggish economy.

Fitch also said it would review Ford and Ford Motor credit ratings over the next six weeks, which could also result in a downgrade.

Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault, who also cut his ratings on Tenneco Inc., said he expected GM shares to continue to underperform as market fundamentals deteriorate, which exacerbates liquidity concerns. He cut his six-month price target on GM stock by $8 to $11.

“We think GM's automotive cash flow burn this year and next is likely to lead it to look to raise capital, which we believe could lead to significant shareholder dilution and/or a cut to the company's dividend,” Mr. Archambault said.

He downgraded auto parts maker Lear to “sell” from “neutral,” citing its large exposure to light trucks built by GM, Ford and Chrysler LLC, and rising raw material costs.

Mr. Archambault cut his six-month price target on Lear stock by $12 to $16. Lear shares were down over 9 per cent to $16.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr. Archambault also cut his rating on Tenneco to “neutral” from “buy,” and price target to $18 from $29.

He also cut his price target on “neutral”-rated Ford to $5 from $8. Ford shares were down almost 5 per cent to $4.97 in early trade.

[safristi]

 Waggoner replied "GOLDMAN SUCKS"....!!!!! .............

[Leviathan]

I'm still waiting for the VOLT. 

An update here.

GM is likely to complete the production version of the Volt by early August and plans to show it off in September, just when the embattled automaker celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding, people familiar with the plans said.

[safristi]

  WOTTA SHOCKER!!!..... ..isn't GM a few amperes short of a battery LICKER???

[articsteve]

 
GM confident in Volt launch after battery tests
Kevin Krolicki, Reuters
Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2008

DEARBORN, Mich. - General Motors Corp is confident it will be able to deliver the all-electric Chevrolet Volt as planned and is close to naming a supplier for the vehicle's crucial battery, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said.


"I would say there's almost no reasonable doubt in our minds anymore that this is going to work," said Lutz, who heads vehicle development for GM.

View LargeA Chevy Volt is on display at the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Conference 2008 in Washington June 11, 2008. The Volt has a 40-mile range between plug-ins.

GM is designing the Volt to run on battery power alone for 40 miles, but some industry rivals and even some of the automaker's executives have questioned whether next-generation lithium-ion batteries could be ready for production of the highly anticipated vehicle in 2010.

Lutz, who was speaking to Reuters after an address to a Detroit-area business group, said GM engineers had shown the battery packs now being tested could power vehicles to the company's target mileage and beyond.

"They've routinely had it to the high 30s, low 40s and they go up hills with it and everything," said Lutz.

GM's Volt is on track to become the first mass-market rechargeable car, a step that would put the embattled U.S. automaker ahead of rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp in a key fuel saving technology at a time when sales of its mainstream trucks and SUVs have hit the skids.

The contract to build a power source for the Volt has also emerged as a crucial, early test of efforts to adapt the batteries widely used in consumer electronics to drive cars.

Lutz said he had driven a test vehicle equipped with a Volt battery pack 15 miles Monday morning as part of a regular review of the Volt development effort with GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.

GM, which has been unusually open in its effort to develop the Volt, has previously shown modified Chevy Malibu sedans it is using at its Michigan test track to check the real-world performance of batteries designed for the Volt.

"They're still in the old Malibu bodies so they still look wretched, but the beauty of that car is in the driving," said Lutz.

"It never shifts and you just scream along in total silence," he said, in describing his Monday test drive.

A unit of South Korea's LG Chem Ltdhas said it is ready to supply batteries for the Volt after making a third- generation battery prototype for the car.

German auto parts supplier Continental AG, adapting battery technology used by privately held A123 Systems, is also competing for the Volt battery contract.

GM is designing the Volt to be recharged at a standard electric outlet overnight. It will also capture energy from braking like a traditional hybrid and feature an on-board engine as a backup generator to send power to the battery on trips over 40 miles.

Environmental advocates have pushed for the development of such "plug-in" vehicles to cut oil consumption and vehicle emissions. The technology could also help GM meet higher federal fuel economy standards, representatives have said.

Lutz said GM engineers were working on how to smooth the power handoff from the Volt's battery to the on-board engine, something designed to kick in as the battery is depleted.

"It all works real well, it's just that the transition from battery power to the internal combustion," Lutz said. "They said it's still noisy and it's a little rough. But heck, we've got a little more than a year and a half to work on that."

 

When asked, Lutz said GM was near naming a supplier for the closely watched contract, but declined to comment further.

Toyota has said it will start producing lithium ion batteries through a joint venture with Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltdin 2009. The automaker, which has eclipsed GM as the world's largest by sales volume, plans to roll out a plug-in hybrid for fleet customers in 2010.

But Lutz said Toyota deserved more scrutiny for its earlier, apparent dismissal of lithium-ion battery technology at the time GM announced the Volt a year and a half ago.

"They told the world that GM was taking a huge risk, that lithium ion batteries were prone to explode and that we were putting our customers at risk and that they would stay with the tried and true," he said. "When it comes to Toyota, let me tell you, the press has a short memory."

Below pic is from GM's Volt website.   

[safristi]

"we knee'd U inna balls"

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Chevrolet's new compact car to be called the Cruze

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
July 9, 2008 - 4:51 pm ET
UPDATED: 5:19 P.M. EDT

DETROIT -- General Motors is calling its new compact car for Chevrolet the Cruze, the automaker confirmed late today.

"The name is a derivative of the word cruise," says Nancy Libby, GM spokeswoman.

GM will unveil the production version of the Cruze at the Paris auto show this fall, Libby confirmed.

On June 2, Automotive News reported that GM would build a new compact car to replace the Chevrolet Cobalt at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The next day, GM CEO Rick Wagoner confirmed that Chevrolet would get a new compact.

The Cruze will be built on GM's Delta compact car architecture. It will use a new 1.4-liter global engine that GM developed and recently announced in Europe. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used in several GM vehicles worldwide.

GM says the engine will be capable of developing 120 to 140 hp. Sources say mileage could exceed 40 mpg.

Production of the Cruze is slated to start in the middle of 2010 as a 2011 model.

Libby sees the Cruze's main competitors as the Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta, Mazda3 and Ford Focus.

The Cruze will be sold globally and will be similar in size to the Cobalt, Libby said. The five-passenger car will be about 15 feet long.

"We're coming to market as a sedan," Libby said. "There's no news yet on any other variants that could be spun from that vehicle."

Libby said the engine will be built in Flint, Mich.

GM unveiled the Cobalt in late 2004 as a 2005 model. It's been a top-selling car since its launch, selling more than 200,000 vehicles annually. Through June, amid a spike in gasoline prices, Cobalt sales are up 18.5 percent to 114,250. In June alone, Cobalt sales rose 21.6 percent versus June 2007.

The demand for the Cobalt has prompted GM to add a third shift at its plant in Lordstown starting on Aug. 4.

[mwqa]

"Cruze"

Ug... what a harsh name.

And too close to Cru_d for my liking. 

[Mitlov]

GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales
By JAMIE LAREAU AND RICHARD TRUETT, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
 2008 Saturn Vue hybrid: Launch was slowed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
With gasoline at $4 a gallon and the Toyota Prius flying out dealership doors, General Motors' mild hybrid vehicles are stuck in neutral because of battery-pack failures.

Autoblog: Prius sales tank in May, Toyota blames battery supply

Toyota just reported that Prius sales were down almost 40% in May compared to the same period in 2007...AutoblogGreen reports that Toyota's VP of Communications, Irv Miller, said batteries are in short supply worldwide and this is what affected Prius production and its sales last month in the U.S.

Doesn't sound to me to be a problem with GM specifically, like the article you posted suggested.

[rrocket]

I mentioned this about a month ago.  With more manufacturers wanting hybrid, batteries were getting harder to get and their prices higher.  Toyota is in the process of building a new battery plant to ease some of this "congestion"

TOKYO (AFP) — Toyota Motor Corp., seeking to stay in pole position in the fuel efficient car race, unveiled plans Friday to build a new factory producing batteries for eco-friendly vehicles.

The move comes amid growing competition between Japanese automakers to tap demand for economical cars amid soaring prices at the pump.

Toyota's joint venture with its partner Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to spend 20 billion yen (192 million dollars) to build a plant in Kosai in central Shizuoka Prefecture, said Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma.

Toyota has taken a lead in sales of hybrids, selling more than one million of its Prius model -- the world's first mass-produced hybrid -- since its launch about a decade ago.

But it is facing renewed competition from other Japanese automakers such as Honda as well as overseas rivals in the green automobile race.

Earlier the Nikkei business daily reported that Toyota aims to double its annual production of batteries for eco-friendly cars to one million units by 2011.

The joint venture, Panasonic EV Energy Co. (PEVE), will invest a total of 70 billion yen (673 million dollars) to expand production of the batteries, the Nikkei reported without naming its sources.