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Nano a Nano? GM considers taking on Tata

Maybe there's something to all this talk about the "new GM." General Motors, which filled its money bin for years by churning out SUVs and other behemoths roughly the size of aircraft carriers, now may be benchmarking ... Tata?

The tiny $2,500 Nano introduced this year by Tata Motors of India has GM pondering an under-$5,000 minicar for emerging markets.

"It's definitely a segment that is interesting," said spokesman Johan Willems, who wouldn't say whether GM is developing such a vehicle.

Willems was responding to a question prompted by a report … 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

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

GM floats auto concepts on virtual design studio

WARREN, Mich.--Got an opinion about how General Motors designs its cars and trucks? Let them know.

GM on Tuesday unveiled a blog Web site called The Lab that it hopes will give the struggling auto giant a bead on customer preferences. It's part social-marketing campaign and part product research, company executives said here on Tuesday.

"We want to use this to show where the company is headed, but there are limitations--we're not going to show concepts of cars that will come out next year," said Dave Rand, the director of design at GM's Tech … Read more

Chevy Volt snags 230 mpg city EPA rating

For the last few weeks, we've been seeing a mysterious teaser ad all over the web. The ad simply displayed the number 230 (the "0" represented by a smiling electrical outlet) and a date. Well today's the day and the secret is revealed. The number 230 is significant because the Chevrolet Volt plug-in series hybrid has received an EPA estimated 230 city miles per gallon.

If that number sounds a little high to you, remember that for about the first 40 miles of driving on a full charge, the Volt uses no fuel. And once the … Read more

BOL 1038: Microsoft: It's a change

So at one time before February 2008, you could get a domain name for life if you signed up for Microsoft's Office Live. Today Microsoft says it's no longer free. Even though they said it was free for life. But they did acknowledge that "It's a change." You think? Also you can now deposit your checks via iPhone. Wow.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1038

Microsoft backtracks on free Office Live domains http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10305510-56.html

GM, eBay to team up … Read more