Autoblog

Opel experienced an 8-percent sales dip in Europe in the first quarter, and designers at GM plan to give the storied German brand some of its mojo back by moving design and content upscale. GM says the move upmarket will result in a relatively inexpensive one- to three-percent price hike, but in return customers can expect sexier sheet metal, better packaging and more technology. The move makes sense as GM's value-conscious Chevy brand has steadily increased its presence across the Atlantic, giving the General the opportunity to push Opel up the automotive food chain. GM's plan is already underway, too, as the gorgeous Insignia is due to hit the showroom floor before the end of the year.

The great part about GM's plan to give Opel luxury looks and more inventive interiors is that we'll continue to see better Saturn cars and CUVs here in the States. And that's saying a lot, considering Saturn already looks fresher than most brands on the market today.


[Source: Auto News (subs req'd)]

The hopes and dreams of electric car aficionados for a purely battery powered successor to the late, lamented EV1 may soon be satisfied. Or not. It all depends on ... you guessed it, the battery. However, the latest utterings from Maximum Bob have people buzzing again. Mr. Lutz spoke to EV site PetroZero the other day and intimated that a purely battery-powered variant of the upcoming Volt is a possibility, leaving the range extender on the cutting room floor. This is actually not a new idea and dates back to the earliest dates of the Volt program. During a media briefing back in December 2006 several weeks before the Volt's public release, the Volt team showed us images like the one above that included several different powertrain configurations. The premise was to demonstrate the flexibility part of E-Flex. This included a variant with a larger battery and no engine to charge it. This pure EV was described as something that could be built if and when the range and more importantly the cost of the battery reaches a point where it could be successful in the market. Ditching the battery. on the other hand, won't happen because the inefficiencies inherent in transforming from mechanical to electrical to mechanical power without a battery to store regen energy and grid power just wouldn't make sense.

Finally, the PetroZero article indicates that Lutz will be driving the first Volt prototype within the next week. Lutz's use of the word prototype rather than mule led the author to believe this was an actual car with Volt bodywork. We checked with GM's Rob Peterson, who confirmed that such actual prototypes are still many months away and Lutz would actually be driving the Malibu-bodied mule that is now running with a lithium ion pack installed.

[Source: PetroZero via AutoblogGreen]

As so often happens when the first spy shots of a new car surfaces, we jump all over them trying to get them on-line and then we stop and take a closer look at what we have. Then questions start to arise. Is this really what we think it is? If not, what is it? Well, when it comes to one of the most eagerly anticipated new cars to come out Detroit in recent years, the late night availability of the first photos causes us to jump first and look where we're going later. In this case, it was the first spy shots of Chevy Volt mules that turned up late last night. We already knew that GM has been testing various bits and pieces destined for the Volt in previous model year Malibu body shells, but now, we had pics.

As it turns out the gray car that we posted on last night is only a ride and handling mule. It has various suspension components destined for the extended range EV, but the powertrain is bog standard Malibu. The red Malibu you pictured above, however, is one of the powertrain mules. Notice the big lump in front of the driver? That's to provide clearance for the prototype power electronics module that goes along with the electric drive motor and engine/generator set. Tying all of this together is a standard nickel metal hydride hybrid battery that acts as a power buffer. These cars are being used to validate powertrain hardware (aside from the lithium batteries of course) and start development of control software. Sometime in the next few weeks these mules should start going back on the hoist to have the new lithium battery packs installed and then the real fun starts.

[Sources: General Motors, AutoblogGreen]

Click above for high-res gallery of Chevy Volt mule spy shots

Today the Chevy Volt passes from the vaporware stage into the physical manifestation of GM's efforts to bring the series hybrid to production as promised. Though what you're looking at is the body of a last-gen Malibu, we have confirmation that underneath is the Volt's E-Flex powertrain being track-tested for the first time, or at least the first time in front of a spy photographer's zoom lens. Of course, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the Volt, like whether or not GM will meet its self-imposed deadline of late 2010 for production, or if the price will continue to rise above the estimated $35,000 we've heard thrown around. What we do know is that the E-Flex powertrain will be paired with the next-generation Delta chassis. Two suppliers, Continental Automotive Systems and A123 Systems, are tasked with developing the Volt's all-important lithium-ion battery pack that has to achieve the difficult mark of allowing the Volt to operate for 40 miles on electric power alone. There's still a lot of work to do and not a lot of time left to do it, so it's good seeing GM finally driving the Volt around.


[Source: Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy and Co.]

Click above for a high-res gallery of Chevy's "fitting rooms"

In what has to be the most ridiculous or utterly ingenious marketing ploy to date, Chevrolet has set up a drive-in fitting room outside a London dealership to allow consumers to "try on" their car before they buy. According to GM's research and marketing hacks, three out of four consumers consider their car to be a status symbol, despite 95-percent of people having no idea what they look like inside their car. As strange and admittedly vain as this campaign is, we can't help but think that it isn't an entirely bad idea. However, we doubt that it's going to make the trek across the pond and redefine our dealership experience.

GM's full press release is available after the jump.

Click above to view video

Unlike a number of other drugs, the great thing about 2010 Camaro sightings is that you cannot OD on them. With that in mind, we bring you a lengthy Camaro video, this time of a black car being trailed by an "official" camera car. The great thing about this video is that it comes with its own theme music, and the great thing about that is that you know you're going to hear this song coming out of a lot of Camaros when they hit the streets next year. Maybe they'll even offer loudspeakers in the grill as an option so you can blast it on the way to Dairy Queen. We like the song and the car, and as we said when we reviewed the Camaro Convertible concept: we'll take it in black with black wheels, please. To see the feast for eyes and ears, follow the jump for the video.

[Source: Streetfire]

General Motors can claim about three percent of the car market in India, and it wants more. Tata's $2,500 Nano will still be the lowest priced new car in the world, but GM wants to offer something less expensive than its $7,350 Spark for Indian buyers. Group Vice President David Reilly points out that while a sub-Spark would be inexpensive, competing directly with the Nano is not something GM intends to do. If a bargain basement GM were developed, it could be leveraged in other markets besides India – it seems feasible that it'd be easily ported to the also-emergent Chinese market.

Three quarters of cars sold in India are small vehicles, and if the General can ratchet up its market share with a new model, the gains in other new markets with explosive growth could help further offset the sluggish performance of sales in the United States. To help achieve that goal, another manufacturing plant is currently underway in Pune, and should be fully up and running by the end of this year. There are also plans for an engine plant in India, though no details are forthcoming yet.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for more high-res spy shots of the white Camaro prototype

We're not sure how this happened, but Corey Roginski, the same photographer who snapped the batch of black Camaro pics we showed you last night, also managed to shoot one in white. It appears he was given the same cordial welcome by engineers in whose care the car was placed, even going so far as to take a picture of the beaming photog posing with the car. Corey tells us that the he owns a '69 Camaro that his family bought new nearly 40 years ago, so getting to do an impromptu photo shoot with two prototypes of 2009's hottest car is why his face is beaming like a kid in a candy store.

We must be quick to point out that things like the headlights and taillights and other various components of the car are not final production pieces. But the body shape likely is, every crease, curve and bulge (unless GM's playing a horrible trick on all of us). As was the case with yesterday's batch of photos, Corey wasn't allowed to shoot the interior, further lending credence to GM VP of Global Design Ed Welburn's claim that the production innards of the new Camaro will be a pleasant surprise, despite spy photos that suggest otherwise.



[Source: Corey Roginski for Brenda Priddy & Co.]

Click above for a gallery of black Camaro goodness.

Maximum Bob's edict that no Camaro prototype will be spotted with camouflage held true again today, when Corey R. over at Camaro5.com snapped off almost a dozen shots of a black mule headed out for testing. The dark horse pony isn't sporting anything we haven't seen before, but the chrome surrounds on the tail lamps are more obvious with the contrasting black paint.

According to Corey, the driver and passenger other drivers gave him the traditional one-fingered salute as he attempted to track down the black Camaro. The engineers driving the car, however, were reportedly very nice, and they allowed him to shoot the outside of the Camaro as long as his prying lens didn't get any images of the interior.

We've assembled all the pics in a gallery below for you viewing enjoyment.

Thanks to all who tipped in.




[Source: Camaro5.com]

Click through to the source for more pictures of the Cobalt SS Sedan

Chevy's Cobalt SS Coupe goes on sale soon, but the door count comes up short for some folks who would otherwise consider the turbo-fed modern-day Z24. Powered by the 2.0 liter turbocharged Ecotec four that does an uncanny impression of a small block V8, the Cobalt SS looks to offer a significant grin coefficient for $22,995. There's only a few options, this being a top-dog model. A limited-slip differential will help hardcore drivers power out of turns and costs $495, and the only other boxes to tick are for a sunroof, metallic paint, and a rear wing – all items we'd gladly omit to save weight and cost. In contrast to the equally-priced HHR SS, the Cobalt SS wears summer-only Continental tires and also carries a beefier brake package from Brembo. The porting of the hot rod powertrain to the four door bodyshell is another beacon of hope for those who find a two door impractical (ever tried to wrangle a baby seat into a coupe?) but still want to have some fun, and the reasonable price of entry makes the SS and its quick, competent performance an attainable domestic entry in the economy missile segment.

[Source: MotiveMag]