'general motors'

The GMC Granite: Chevy's new concept

Today marks the first day of February, but not too long ago back in January at the Detroit auto show, gearheads, critics, and industry folk got the first look at many of the new and exciting production models coming to a dealer near you, as well as the several concept vehicles whose futures are up in the air. Yes, many of the intriguing concept vehicles that were on display at Cobo Arena in Detroit will never make it to the streets, so it's always interesting to consider the possibilities of each. I thought it would be a neat idea … Read more

A closer look at the BMW Concept ActiveE

Today we whittle down my focus on the recently passed Detroit auto show earlier this month. We started this examination with an overview video featuring the many highlights of this auto industry's annual event, and then focused the view onto the BMW product that was unveiled there. Today we're gonna take a close look at a very specific BMW concept vehicle that was "the talk of the town" at this year's party: the BMW ActiveE.

The ActiveE is a landmark in BMW history as its very first electric automobile, and though it is still simply … Read more

2010 North American International Auto Show's highlight reel

Normally I don't do things this way in this blog, but I figured what the heck--let's change horses midstream and take a look at some of the vehicles presented at the 2010 North American International Auto Show. With that in mind, I present you with today's Web video blog post--a short but sweet look at some of the noteworthy cars presented for knowledge and viewing pleasure at this year's event in Detroit.

What we have here today is another brief but informative video produced by the good folks at Inside Line that gives viewers a snapshot … Read more

Hummer H1 and H2 on BBC's 'Top Gear'

Hummer has been fairly newsworthy lately as General Motors has announced its plans to discontinue the SUV line and sell it off to a Chinese machinery manufacturer, and lately I've been dedicating a few blogs to the Hummer as GM plans to pull the plug on the Hummer brand. And as you may know I've become quite the fan of the popular BBC TV program "Top Gear." So I thought we'd have a little more fun with the blog with today's video featuring sharp-tongued host Jeremy Clarkson taking a spin in not one but … Read more

Getting creative with Hummer SUVs

I'm sure by now most of you readers know that the Hummer brand was taken off of General Motors' hands by a heavy industrial machinery company in China, and that means that Hummer will no longer be produced by GM here in the United States. I suspect that a majority of readers here probably think that Hummer shouldn't let its ass hit the door on the way out, but there are a select few of us who appreciate the famous box on wheels for not just its easily recognizable style, but also for its ability to be styled … Read more

An early burial for Hummer

I was reading an Associated Press article recently about all the soon-to-be-defunct product lines produced by General Motors: Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn. But another brand that's been on the way out for a while now was making headlines again, as GM looks all set in its selling off the Hummer brand to China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corporation. While it's not official yet, unless something goes awry it looks to be a done deal and GM will have washed their hands of the tanking SUV line.

With General Motors metaphorically taking its Hummer brand out to the … Read more

Pause-and-play radio trickles down to Buick Regal, Chevy Cruze

Pause-and-play radio is a neat feature built into a few high-end General Motors models, such as the Cadillac CTS and SRX. According the GM, the Buick Regal and the budget-priced Chevy Cruze will be joining the ranks of vehicles that can benefit from this option. Pause-and-play allows you to pause live radio (AM, FM, or XM Satellite radio) for up to 20 minutes and resume playback later--sort of like a TiVo for cars.

The system even works when a vehicle is turned off. For example, if you're listening to your favorite talk radio program during your commute to work, … Read more

OnStar mobile app puts the Chevy Volt in your pocket

Updated: CNET video added.

The Chevrolet Volt hasn't even hit the sales floor yet and there's already an app for that. On Tuesday evening, Chevrolet and its OnStar telematics system announced working smartphone apps for the Motorola Droid, Apple iPhone, and BlackBerry Storm that will allow Volt owners to connect to their vehicles wirelessly to access remote features via smartphone.

The Chevrolet Volt OnStar smartphone app will let users know if the Volt is plugged in or not and whether it's charging on 120V or 240V. Users can also schedule charging times to get the lowest off-peak … Read more

New GM plant to assemble Chevy Volt batteries

General Motors' assembly plant for its Chevy Volt battery is set to begin production on Thursday.

The company claims it will be "the first lithium ion battery pack manufacturing plant in the U.S. operated by a major automaker."

To be more precise, the 160,000 square-foot plant will be run by GM's wholly-owned subsidiary GM Subsystem Manufacturing. And the GM Brownstown Assembly Plant is just that: an assembly plant.

The Chevy Volt battery packs assembled at the plant in Brownstown Township, Mich.--about 20 miles south of Detroit--will consist of batteries manufactured by South Korea's LG Chem … Read more

A tribute and a eulogy for Saab

As you probably know by now, General Motors has decided to discontinue producing the Saab brand after failing to make a sell to European manufacturers Spyker and Koenigsegg Group. Whether it's a lack of resources to produce the Saab brand, or just general disinterest in doing so, GM is about to swing the axe on the Saab imprint, and soon there will be no more Saab.

I have never found Saab to be anything to do cartwheels about, but there are many European car aficionados who appreciate the subtle beauty of Saab over the years, and this Web video … Read more