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GM will start blowing its brands' horns

DETROIT -- Eager to improve consumers' opinions after 39 days in federal bankruptcy protection, General Motors Co. will launch a national advertising campaign in mid-September for each of its brands.

"We want to dramatically improve consideration," said Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales. The ads feature product attributes. For example, Chevrolet will boast that the Equinox crossover gets 32 mpg on the highway, LaNeve said.

Over the next year, GM will increase its spending on advertising significantly, he said. LaNeve declined to give exact budgets but said certain vehicles will get more money.

The Chevrolet … Read more

The AMC Pacer: Flaws and all

Ask any car historian or enthusiast about the biggest clunkers in American automotive history, and the AMC Pacer will more than likely be on that list. Made by the now defunct American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1975-80, the Pacer was more or less a gimmick car that had all sorts of unusual features (sitting low to the ground but being wide in girth, the passenger side door being bigger than the driver's door, etc) and its body style has often been said to resemble an upside down bathtub on wheels. And while other so-called clunkers from the 70s like … Read more

Volt gets the press, but Cruze equally important

GM generated excitement and much press coverage when it unveiled the Chevy Volt in 2007, and that interest continues unabated as the production launch date approaches. But GM has another arrow in its quiver that could be equally as important to the company's profitability, the Chevy Cruze.

A story on NPR this morning covers the reopening of GM's Lordstown assembly plant in Ohio. The plant currently produces the Chevy Cobalt, one of Chevy's smallest models, and one that is currently enjoying sales growth. The NPR story points out that the plant is being retooled to produce the … Read more

Battery plant hints at Volt sales

DETROIT -- A battery-pack assembly plant being built here offers the clearest indication yet of the sales potential General Motors Co. sees for its plug-in hybrids: about 70,000 units a year.

The $43 million plant, south of Detroit, will assemble individual batteries from South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. into 70,000 packs a year at full production for the Chevrolet Volt and other plug-in hybrids. Each pack will have 220 cells and is estimated to cost $8,000.

Most of the packs will be used in the Volt, which is scheduled to start production in November 2010. But … Read more

New Chevy Camaro makes a big, bold statement

With its retro looks, the 2010 Chevy Camaro gets a lot of attention on the road. And with its relatively low price, you'll be seeing a lot of them, as quickly as GM can stamp them out. We tested an LT version, which means a V-6 instead of the high-trim V-8, but don't scoff--the powertrain in the LT is the same as in the Cadillac CTS, down to the optional automatic transmission. Unlike the CTS, the Camaro doesn't offer much tech, besides an iPod port and Bluetooth phone integration. Navigation and other services are handled through OnStar. … Read more

GM Corvette Stingray on the street

Here's a brief look at the Corvette Stingray concept. The car has a conceptual hybrid power train and iPhone app-like downloads. Watching the doors and hood open is very reminiscent of this summer's movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Chevy Volt ride along

CNET Green Tech reporter Martin LaMonica gets a ride in a test mule of the Chevrolet Volt, with GM engineer Frank Weber driving.

Nissan claims 367 mpg for electric Leaf

OK, these ridiculous mpg claims are starting to get out of hand. Earlier this week, General Motors announced an estimated 230 mpg for the upcoming Volt extended-range EV--a claim that was later undermined by the EPA. No doubt attempting to steal a bit of GM's thunder, Nissan claimed (via Twitter) that its upcoming Leaf EV could do better:

"Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!"

At first, we thought this was an odd claim to make, seeing that the Leaf is fully electric and (as stated … Read more

Top Cash for Clunkers cars offer GPS, Bluetooth, MP3 playback

A study by iSuppli Corporation shows that the top 10 cars being bought with Cash for Clunkers vouchers offer tech features such as GPS navigation, Bluetooth phone systems, satellite radio, and iPod integration. However, in iSuppli's automotive tech rating system, the average score for these 10 cars, 14.6, falls below the tech average for all cars available, 17.8 according to iSuppli. The Ford Focus tops the list, and sets the tone for the rest, which are all relatively inexpensive and economical vehicles.

The iSuppli report notes that none of these cars offer driver assistance technologies, such as … Read more

New Durant 'Chevrolet' expects 230 mpb

Editors' note: A bold claim this week by General Motors, that its forthcoming Chevy Volt electric car would get 230 miles per gallon, prompted us to do some musing on a possible historical precedent.

For Release the 11th of August, AD 1909

Durant "Chevrolet" Expects 230 mpb in Town Jaunts

WARREN, Mich. - William Durant, chairman of the General Motors Company, announced to-day that his new "Chevrolet" gasoline automobile, named after famed racing-car driver Louis Chevrolet, will boast almost six times the fuel efficiency of a comparable horse-drawn carriage.

Durant attributed this remarkable figure to a … Read more