What’s the connection between ponytail and Buick Verano?

Ladies, hair is important and we know that. Even men know that. It’s important when we have a business meeting, when we go out for a date, and even when we go to the gym. It’s something that defines our presence as women and that determines the first impression that we make, and this is why we pay so much attention to it and spend lots of money and time in hair salons. And this is why we chose not to take the cab but our car when going out. But it’s important the car to be “cooperative” with your hair too.

Apparently, the new Buick Verano meets these “hair” requirements (perfect for women), and beside its engine upgrade, Veranos’s seat head rest are “positioned to accommodate ponytails and other up-dos without compromising the occupants’ postural comfort” (according to GM press release) and, I would add, ladies hairdressing and beauty.

In addition to this, leather seats, foam and padding make this car’s comfort.

So, how often did you feel uncomfortable on driver’s seat because of your ponytail?

[Source: General Motors]

Post tags: Tags: buick verano, General Motors, poneytail

2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Announced

General Motors has finally revealed the official (and final) specifications of the upcoming 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. At first, GM said that the massive supercharged V8 6.2-liter engine would generate 550 hp (557 PS / 410 kW) but the production version will unleash 580 hp (588 PS / 432 kW) and a peak torque of 556 lb.-ft (754 Nm).

In order to obtain all of those ponies, the engineers from Chevrolet installed a brand new induction system, a more efficient intercooler and improved the air intake as well. In addition, the hot Camaro ZL1 has been fitted with an electric power steering system that needs less engine power in comparison to a conventional hydraulic setup.

As standard, the car features a Tremec TR-6060 MG9 high-strength manual gearbox that has a twin-disc clutch, a dual-mass flywheel and triple synchros. Clients will be able to order the optional 6-speed automatic transmission that offers three modes to choose from: drive, sport and manual.

Other than that, the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been equipped with a rear-differential cooler, a high-performance fuel system, a Performance Traction Management and a Magnetic Ride Control 3.0. The PTM system packs five modes and is capable of adjusting the launch control, ride control, electronic stability control and the traction control.

Source: General Motors

Post tags: Tags: Chevrolet, chevrolet camaro zl1, chevrolet-camaro, General Motors

GM Working On MPV For Southeast Asia

It seems that General Motors wants a bigger piece of the Southeast Asian pie and for this reason they’ve started working on a new line of people movers. At first they will roll out a 7-seat passenger van which will be launched sometime in 2013. The car will be assembled in one of the company’s plants located outside of Jakarta which was closed in 2005.

GM stated that their intentions are to invest $150 million in the Bekasi plant and the annual production rate will be of 40,000 units. Their factory in Rayong, Thailand, is the company’s biggest in the region and it has an annual production level of 140,000 cars, where they roll out models like the Chevrolet Cruze, Aveo, Colorado and Captiva. They also have a plant in Hanoi, Vietnam that has an annual capacity of only 15,000 units and here they assemble cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and Captiva.

One reason why GM wants to increase production in that area is due to the fact that the car sales in Indonesia have gone up from 486,000 units in 2009 to last year’s 765,000 cars and experts say that for this year sales will reach the 900,000 mark.

The local market is dominated at the moment by the Japanese car manufacturers which are investing a lot of money in Indonesia, especially Daihatsu and Suzuki.

In 2010, General Motors only managed to sell 4,500 units in Indonesia but for this year they plan on selling about 6,000 cars.

Source: General Motors via Inside Line

Post tags: Tags: General Motors, southeast asia

General Motors Overtakes Toyota, Becomes Largest Automaker

General Motors filed for bankruptcy two years ago and now they are back on top, regaining the first spot as the largest car manufacturer in the world. They managed to sell 4.53 million cars in the first six months of this year, while in second place came Volkswagen AG with 4.13 million and in third Toyota with only 3.71 million units sold so far.

Compared to 2010, the Japanese automaker’s sales plummeted by a whopping 23% and according to experts in the domain, the main reasons for this decline is due to the natural calamities that struck Japan back in March this year.

General Motors proudly posted a 2^nd quarter net income of $2.5 billion on revenues of $39.4 billion.

Source: General Motors & The Detroit News via WCF

Post tags: Tags: General Motors, largest automaker, largest car maker, News

Buick Regal GS Gets Price Tag

2012 Buick Regal GS

Set to go on sale later on this fall, General Motors has announced the U.S. pricing for the hot version of the Buick Regal. The 2012 GS is going to be the performance edition and you’ll be able to get it starting with a price of $35,310, including here the delivery charges.

2012 Buick Regal GS

You probably already know this, the Buick Regal GS is based on the Opel Insignia, but it’s not as powerful as the top-spec OPC edition. However, this doesn’t mean that its slow, on the contrary, it manages to do the 0-62 mph sprint  in approximately 6.7 seconds thanks to its 4-cylinder 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that produces 270 hp (274 PS / 201 kW) and has a peak torque of 295 lb.-ft (400 Nm).

2012 Buick Regal GS

Source: General Motors via Automotive News

Post tags: Tags: Buick, buick regal, buick regal gs, General Motors

2013MY Chevrolet Cruze Will Get Diesel Engine

In the last few weeks we’ve heard some rumors about a possible diesel engine for the Chevrolet Cruze in the United States but nothing was certain. Now, we know for sure that the 2013MY will get a diesel engine as General Motors confirmed this a few days ago. Unfortunately, they didn’t say what sort of engine it will get so we’ll have to wait until we have all the juicy details.

At the moment, the most fuel efficient model in the Cruze lineup for the U.S. market is the “Eco”. This one comes with a 6-speed manual transmission and it has been rated by EPA at 42 mpg (5.6 liters / 100 km) on the highway. In Europe and Australia, the Cruze is already available with a 4-cylinder turbocharged 2.0-liter diesel engine that generates 161 hp (163 PS / 120 kW) @ 3,800 rpm and a peak torque of 265.5 lb.-ft (360 Nm) @ 1,750 rpm.

With this power unit, the fuel economy is 42 mpg (5.6 liters / 100 km) when fitted with the 6-speed manual transmission and 35.1 mpg (6.7 liters / 100 km) with the 6-speed automatic gearbox which is optional.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet cruze, diesel, General Motors

GM Presents 2012 Chevrolet Impala Police Car

Probably the most important change over the older model would have to be the direct-injection V6 3.6-liter engine, mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. This power unit is capable of producing 302 hp and enables the car to do the 0-62 mph sprint in 6.6 seconds.

The 2011 Impala police car has a V6 3.9-liter engine that produces 230 hp, linked to a 4-speed gearbox. Although the new engine is more powerful, it manages to provide better fuel efficiency as General Motors said that it will return 17 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, which is 3 mpg than before and 28% better than the Ford Crown Victoria which will soon be retired.

The 2012MY Chevrolet Impala also benefits from GM’s electronic stability control, dubbed StabilTrak. They’ve also fitted the car with a better braking system, allowing the Impala to stop from 60 mph in 132 feet. In addition, the suspension and steering have been tuned in order to improve handling and reduce body roll.

We’ll have more information about the retail version in the following weeks. Stay tuned.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet impala police car, General Motors

Chevrolet Motors

Chevrolet, known also under the name of Chevy, is a vehicle make produced by General Motors. Among the car makes and models produced by this American concern, Chevy is the best sold product and the most famous on the market. The Chevrolet cars are divided in over 20 models each, every model being remodeled in every car era. Chevrolet Motors produces different models of vehicles, starting small ones to commercial trucks, the most wanted truck from this manufacturer being Chevrolet Silverado that occupies second place in the truck rank, first place being taken by Ford F-Series. Don’t forget that for small family cars, the model named Chevrolet Impala occupies the first place in top selling of cars in USA.

Chevrolet Motors was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William Durant. Mr. Chevrolet Louis was a race driver and Mr. Durant was the founder of General Motors but because of some problems he had in this company he was fired from General Motors in 1910. In this time, they both decided to rebuild the reputation and to clear the name of William Durant inside this industry. With year passing, the company developed a lot and during 1916 William Durant became again the president of General Motors and he accomplished the fusion of GM and Chevrolet Motors. In this way, Chevrolet models of vehicles had a huge impact between 1950 and 1960. For example, in 1962, one of ten cars sold in United States was a Chevy and this generated great profits during that period to General Motors and its owners.

Besides vehicles, Chevrolet Motors created its own models of watches named after its founder, Louis Chevrolet. On the back of those watches it is written number 9 because this was the number of racings of the Chevy founder. All Chevrolet fans own one of these watches in the memory of Mr. Louis Chevrolet.

In order to extend the business abroad, Chevrolet Motors started to produce similar American models in other countries, for example, Argentina, Brazil, India, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Canada, Chine, Switzerland  and the list is much longer. Among the models produced in this moment in USA, it can be reminded: cars named Aveo, Cobalt, Malibu, Ipala, Camaro and Corvette, Trucks names Colorado, Silverado, Kodiak and Avalanche, SUV’s named Tahoe, Suburban and Traverse, and VAN’s named Uplander and Express. The list of their products manufactured in Europe is also large. Cars made in Europe are: Spark, Kalos, Lacetti Nubira, Epica, Lanos and Aveo. SUV’s list contains only Captiva HHR model and MPV’s made in the Old Continent is Tacuma model.

In the end, Chevrolet Motors is the best car manufacturer in USA and now due to worldwide factories, it was extinguished all over the globe in order to share the American quality with drivers from all the countries.

Post tags: Tags: Chevrolet Louis, Chevrolet Motors, General Motors

GM Will Increase The Production Of Its 2012MY Chevrolet Volt

2011 Chevrolet Volt

Good news for those of you who are still waiting to buy a Chevrolet Volt as General Motors has announced that for the 2012 model, the Volt (along with the Opel Ampera) will be produced in 60,000 units and approximately 45,000 of them will be sold in the United States. In addition, GM will increase the production of this year’s model by 16,000 units.

The bad thing is that this production increase will not commence right away due to the reason that General Motors has shut down its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant, where they assemble the Volt, so that it could be upgraded in order to prepare the factory for building the upcoming 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

You probably know that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is not available everywhere in the U.S. The states in which you can purchase one are: New York, California, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., Connecticut, Michigan, Maryland and New Jersey. The company has said that by the end of this year, the Volt will be available nationwide in the U.S., as well as in Canada, Europe and of course, China.

Source: General Motors via WCF

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet-volt, General Motors, production

General Motors Recalls 2011MY U.S.-spec Cruze Models

A few weeks ago General Motors issued a recall concerning certain 2011MY Chevrolet Cruze units due to potential problems with the steering wheel that might come loose from the steering column. This recall affects 2,100 units.

Now, GM has announced yet another recall, involving 154,112 units of its 2011MY Cruze, the ones built in North America starting with last summer. The reason behind this decision is also related to a steering issue, and General Motors said that they want to check the car’s steering shaft to see if it was properly installed. GM did not say whether these two recalls are related in any way, but they’ve did stated that in this latest action they want to check another potential problem that might concern about 120,000 units fitted with an automatic gearbox.

The good news is that no accidents have been reported due to these issues.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet cruze, General Motors, Recalls

GM Plans Korea-made Chevrolet Malibu

We’ve talked last week about GM’s intentions to sell the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu on a global scale. To achieve this, the Detroit-based automaker has plans to build the car on several continents, and at the beginning of this week they’ve announced that the Malibu will be built and commercialized in Korea. At the beginning of this year, General Motors Korea said that they will stop using the Daewoo brand, opting for the Chevrolet name for the local market.

This might come as a surprise to most of you, including us, but the U.S. is not going to be the first country that will get the redesigned Malibu, as at first, production will start in South Korea, at the factory in Bupyeong. Later on, the car will roll out of the factory in Jingjiao, China, and in early 2012, the U.S.-made Malibu will be introduced. In the United States, the Malibu is going to be produced at the Detroit-Hamtramck, Fairfax and Kansas factories. General Motors added that there is a growing interest for the model in Korea, although none of the previous generations were official sold there.

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu received its official debut last week at the New York and Shanghai auto shows. It will be commercialized in almost 100 countries on six continents, and each of these regions will come with specific power unit selections. The North American Malibu will be available with either a 4-cylinder 2.5-liter engine that cranks out 190 hp, and a 2.4-liter ECO power unit with eAssist system, producing 180 hp. In China, the Malibu will be offered with a 2.0- and a 2.4-liter 4-cyilinder engine, along with a 1.6-liter turbocharged power plant.

In Europe, besides these gasoline engines, the Malibu will get several diesel engine options.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet malibu, General Motors, korea

Chevrolet Volt, Now Available For Order In Canada

Yesterday, General Motors has started taking orders for its Chevrolet Volt, a car that has a base price of CA$41,545. At first, the extended range electric vehicle is going to be available in Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria, Montreal, Quebec City, Oshawa and Ottawa-Gatineau. First delivers of the Volt will occur in Q3 2011. GM Canada said that within a year of the retail launch, the car will be available at all dealerships across Canada.

Chevrolet Volt

The Chevy Volt will be sold in only a single trim level, and customers will be able to add two optional packages: a Rear Camera and Park Assist Package, and a Premium Trim Package. It will be sold with a 3-year / 60,000 km bumper-to-bumper coverage and a 5-year / 160,000 km roadside assistance. General Motors also throws in an 8-year / 160,000 km limited warranty for the 16 kWh lithium-ion battery.

Chevrolet Volt

As a reminder, the Chevrolet Volt is powered by an electric motor that is fed by the aforementioned battery, and can be driven in electric mode for up to 80 km. After the battery is drained, the conventional 1.4-liter gasoline engine kicks in and acts as a generator, providing an extended driving range of up to 500 km with a full tank of gas.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: canada, chevrolet-volt, General Motors, Green

GM Might Regain No. 1 Spot

General Motors will most likely regain the number one spot as far as production figures are concerned, taking into consideration the problems that Toyota has these days. As a quick reminder, GM held the throne for the largest car manufacturer in the world as far as sales are concerned from 1932 until 2008. The Detroit-based company had a lot of financial problems after 2008 when they had to file for bankruptcy.

These problems allowed Toyota to gain the first position, but they will probably have to give it back to General Motors this year due to their production problems in homeland Japan, caused by the earthquake / tsunami that affected the country last month. What this means is that Toyota will probably not be able to manufacture enough cars in order to maintain their number one ranking.

Aside from supply issues, the Japanese automaker is also facing a lot of recalls which have affected the sales over the last few years, having a negative impact on the company’s image of reliability and quality. Over these last few years, Toyota was forced to recall about 14 million cars.

As far as General Motors is concerned, they got back into shape very fast after solving their bankruptcy problems. In 2010, it was a very close race between Toyota and GM, the latter managing to sell only 30,000 units less than the Japanese company. Taking into consideration that the Detroit-based automaker is getting more and more involved in China, selling three times more cars than Toyota, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if at the end of this year they will regain leadership.

Source: Detroit Free Press via WCF

Post tags: Tags: General Motors, production, Toyota

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Goes Official

After a couple of teaser images, General Motors has finally revealed the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu and I have to say that it looks great, especially on the inside. Considered as being one of the most important models in the company’s recent history, the all-new mid-size sedan will be a global model, as GM said that it plans to sell the new Malibu in almost 100 countries worldwide. In addition, the car will be manufactured at several factories, including China. The U.S.-spec version will roll out from the Fairfax Assembly factory in Kansas City and from the Hamtramck plant in Detroit.

As you can see, the Malibu has been redesigned from ground up and now features a new exterior look that borrowed a couple of styling cues from the Cruze (in the front) and the Camaro (LED dual tail lamps).

As I’ve said in the beginning, the cabin looks great, the best I’ve seen in a mid-size sedan in recent months. It features a more fluid design with an instrument panel that has circular gauges that look a little bit like the ones in the Camaro, set in squared-off housings. The new flat panel display located on the center console articulates up and down, revealing a 6-inch deep hidden, illuminated storage location. For the U.S. market, Chevy will offer the Malibu with the MyLink infotainment package that consists of wireless connectivity through Bluetooth.

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu is based on GM’s Epsilon II platform that has been used on the Opel Insignia / Buick Regal and the new version of the Saab 9-5. The car’s 107.8-inch wheelbase is 4.5-inches shorter than the outgoing model, but this doesn’t mean that there is less space inside the cabin.  The 62-inch front and rear tracks are now 2 inches wider than before, which means that the Malibu offers almost 4 cubic ft. of additional interior space, as well as increased front and rear shoulder and hip room, along with more than 1 cubic ft. of luggage space at 16.3 cubic ft. Measuring 191.3 inches in length, 73 inches in width and 57.6 inches in height, the car is now 0.5 inches shorter, 3 inches wider and 0.5 inches taller in comparison to the outgoing model.

In the beginning, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will be powered by a new 4-cylinder 2.5-liter Ecotec engine with direct injection, which will be mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. General Motors says that this engine can produce more than 190 hp and a peak torque of 180 lb.-ft (245 Nm).

The model features an updated MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link rear configuration. Behind the wheels are ventilated front and rear discs that are clamped by dual-piston front and single-piston rear aluminum brake calipers.

The North American version of the new Malibu will be offered in three levels of trims: LS, LT and the top-spec LTZ, and customers will be able to choose from one of the 10 exterior paint finishes available, along with four colors for the cabin.

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will go into production in the United States in Q1 2012.

The Chinese version will be available at first with a choice of two naturally-aspirated gasoline engines, a 2.0-liter and a more powerful 2.4-liter, both of them being mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The international versions will be offered with a 1.6-liter turbocharged power plant, but GM didn’t say anything about its performances.

In China, the car will hit the dealerships before the end of this year.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet malibu, General Motors, shanghai auto show

Chevrolet Sells 1.1 Million Cars in Q1 2011, All-time Record

GM’s Chevrolet division had a very good start this year as they’ve managed to sell 1.1 million cars worldwide, thanks mostly to the success of the Cruze sedan and the globalization of the company’s name. This is the best first quarter in the automaker’s history, managing to sell 15% more cars in comparison to the same period of 2010.

General Motors said that Chevy has managed to post double-digit sales gains in comparison to the same period of the last year in four of its five top markets. For example, in the United States they’ve managed to deliver 416,505 units in the first quarter, a 23% increase over 2010. In China, sales reached an all-time record of 159,303 units, which is 17% more than last year. They also did very good in Mexico, with 37,291 cars (a 12% increase), Argentina with 34,103 units (a 21% increase) and Europe, where they’ve increased their sales by 7% to 112,482 vehicles.

In addition, in Turkey and Denmark, Chevrolet doubled sales, while in France they’ve managed to sell 80% more cars, and in the Russian market they’ve had an increase of 51% as far as sales are concerned.

One of the most significant factors that lead to the increase of sales for Chevrolet is its Cruze model, which was sold in 150,652 units in Q1 2011, representing a whopping 117% increase over the same period of last year. The Cruze was introduced in Europe in 2009 and since then the company has managed to deliver almost 600,000 units worldwide.

The automaker expects that this trend will continue and even grow after the launch of the hatchback version of the Cruze, a model that will hit the European dealerships this summer. After the Cruze, Chevrolet will introduce the tiny Spark, along with the Aveo/Sonic, both of which are already on sale in some countries and they will continue to be introduced in other markets throughout this year and in 2012. In addition, with the introduction of its all-new Malibum model, General Motors hopes to increase the sales figures of its Chevrolet subdivision even further.

Source: General Motors via Carscoop

Post tags: Tags: chevrolet cruze, General Motors, sales record