Autoblog

General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009.

Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that."

Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as fuel costs in the U.S. begin to resemble those in the rest of the world" it will be easier for GM to realign its products on a global scale.

[Photo: David McNew/Getty]

This has been a big year for GM's organization alignment, with President Fritz Henderson opening up about the brand issue snafu and the appointment of four brand czars. HUMMER was meant to join forces with Cadillac and Saab in a premium channel, but while HUMMER is still in the family, it's apparently been put out on the lawn. GM Inside News (GMI) reports that GM is treating HUMMER as a goner, saying that the H4 program is on life support for handover to the next buyer, and the H3 GMT-700 program is kaput.

The bigger hearsay is that GM's board is considering euthanizing GMC or Pontiac. Those two brands were to be aligned in a brand channel with Buick (PBG). Getting rid of GMC could make some kind of sense, since it's entirely brand-engineered vehicles with some of the worst mileage numbers in the fleet. Shunning Pontiac would be a surprise to us since the Solstice and G8 have given it a nice brand awareness boost and it's got some products in the pipeline. If GMC or Pontiac did go, the GM board would consider folding Saturn into the PBG channel to maintain sales volume. In corporate-speak, we believe this is called GM's "gloves off" phase. Thanks for the tip, Dan!

[Source: GM Inside News]

Click above for a ghres gallery from The All GM Car Show

On sunny 90-degree day that felt like a lot more than 90 degrees, Autoblog made the trek to a park in Van Nuys, California for The All GM Car Show. Old mingled with new, with a 1911 Buick sitting across the aisle from a Cadillac Allante, and a 1950 Oldsmobile next to a Shelby Series 1 supercar. And age didn't stop anyone from winning prizes: in fact, a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT took home one of the day's awards.

The show also featured concept cars, customizations, and some absolutely superb hood ornaments and detailing. Follow the jump to get the scoop on The All GM Car Show, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res images below.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jonathon R. Ramsey / Weblogs, Inc.

General Motors has informed its dealers that production of some of its 2008 full-size trucks and SUVs has been halted due to the ongoing American Axle strike. The affected vehicles include the GMC Yukon, Denali, Sierra heavy-duty regular and extended cab, its commercial-duty pickup and variants of Chevrolet trucks and Tahoes. According to the General, a basic lack of parts is the reason for the stoppage and dealer orders for the week of May 8th and May 15th have been cancelled. While a lack of production is bad news for any automaker, we can't help but think that it couldn't have come at a better time for the General as SUV and truck sales are down overall.

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

Since Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers are in the process of consolidating their showrooms, many were likely hoping for a halo product that could draw customers into the showroom. Hey, wouldn't a version of the upcoming Chevy Camaro badged as a Pontiac Trans Am revival do the trick? Maybe, but at the NADA conference this week, GM told these dealers that a Pontiac Trans Am is not going to happen. Blame the new, more stringent federal fuel economy regulations for killing off this cool idea. In fact, the new regs also mean that the automaker will be scaling back on transforming Pontiac into a rear-wheel-drive performance division. Though GM assured dealers that Pontiac will remain a car-only brand, the assurance that a debacle like the Aztec won't happen a second time is little comfort to those who were hoping Pontiac would once again be the brand that builds excitement. And who says performance has to be totally sacrificed for fuel economy? New powertrains are being developed that make the most of the internal combustion engine's efficiency, and a twin-turbo, direct-inject four-cylinder can make gobs of power while being much more efficient than an equally powerful V6 or even V8.

GM did inform Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers that they would be getting 12 new or special-edition vehicles over the next 20 months. A special-edition GMC Sierra pickup called Pro Grade was mentioned, for instance. Still, the quashing of any hope for a new Trans Am means that the number of vehicles slated to share the Camaro's rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform in the U.S. is dwindling. Only the Pontiac G8 and G8 ST car-based truck are confirmed, with Zeta-based rear-wheel-drive sedans for Buick and Chevy still up in the air. This means that without the ability to spread out costs across a number of new vehicles, the price of producing these vehicles will likely be high and passed on to the performance-minded consumer.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd, Photo: Winding Road]

You might remember a bout of fires consuming a handful of Ford trucks, SUVs and cars that was due to a faulty cruise control switch that could ignite even if the vehicles were parked. General Motors is apparently having a similar issue, and although it doesn't involve the same cruise control system, the potential outcome – a car fire – is the same.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the 2007 GMC Yukon after two of the SUVs caught fire while parked in the owners' garages with the ignition turned off. The issue could affect some 423,000 vehicles, but according to a GM spokesperson, the automaker doesn't think it's a widespread pattern or trend. The NHTSA will have the final word on that, we suppose.

[Source: Detroit News]

Ford sent but a single model into the roiling crossover market battle with GM's Lambda trio quartet. How did the Edge move 130,000 units alone while GM needed the aggregated sales of the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook to close 137,000 deals? Money. It's a simple case of throwing lots of bucks behind a product and making it hot. Ford backed the Edge with about $179 million in media buys, while GM spent less in total for all three Lambdas. Having three branches on the same tree doesn't give quite the same bang for the buck as you can get throwing it all behind a single product, too.

The advertising campaign for the Edge saw Ford hitting the web with a vengance, in addition to being placed well with several programming tie-ins. Viewers of American Idol and Extreme Makeover were treated to the Edge blitz, with snappy spots from David Mamet highlighting the Edge's speed and serenity. Overall, the crossover segment has been good for Detroit, with the Buick Enclave in particular zipping right off dealer lots, and the buying public embracing car-based, truckish-looking big wagons.

[Source: Advertising Age]

click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid

It is a universal truth that for every Chevy truck that debuts, there is a GMC version not far behind. This maxim even extends to the two-mode hybrid versions of the automaker's GMT900 half-ton pickups. At the LA Auto Show late last year, Chevy debuted the 2009 Silverado Hybrid. At the Chicago Auto Show next week, we'll meet the 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid, which is virtually identical to its bow tie brother. That means the Sierra Hybrid gets the same two-mode hybrid drivetrain and 6.0L V8 used in the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon Hybrids, as well as the Silverado Hybrid. Like the latter, the Sierra Hybrid pickup features a 300-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack beneath its second-row bench. Those cells can power the pickup up to 30 mph for a full mile without help from the gas engine, even when towing. Speaking of which, the 2WD model can tow 6,100 lbs., while the 4WD model dials it down to 5,900 lbs. The 6.0L V8 also features Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation), which allows it to run on as few as four-cylinders when not under load. There's also the requisite chin spoiler and tonneau cover to help reduce aerodynamic drag. All of this adds up to a 40% increase in fuel economy during city driving and a 25% improvement overall. That's identical to the increase you'll get in the Chevy Silverado Hybrid, but perhaps you prefer the hybrid truck with the biggest logo on the market.

[Source: GMC]

click above for high-res gallery of the Denali XT

Another embargo bites the dust, but at least it made it this far. Keep reading for all the details on the GMC Denali XT Concept that will debut next week at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

Ever since it became know that GM would be bringing the rear-wheel-drive Pontiac G8 sedan to the US market from Australia, fans of the old El Camino have been salivating for them to bring over the Holden "Ute", as well. For the uninitiated, Australians use the term "Ute" to describe utility vehicles that are car-based pickup trucks. Both Holden and Ford offer Utes based on their rear-wheel-drive passenger car platforms.

Camino fans can now relax, because the first US iteration is arriving in Chicago this week and it's got some interesting twists. The GMC Denali XT concept is inspired by the Holden Crewman, which was a four-door variant of the Commodore with a pickup truck bed out back. While this layout is nothing new to our friends Down Under, what is unique to the Denali XT is its powertrain, and it provides some interesting hints as to what we might be seeing in this and other vehicles from the General. Read on to find out more.

click above for more high-res pics of the 2003 Holden Crewman

Australian outlet GoAuto is reporting that GM Car Czar Bob Lutz has confirmed that a four-door ute concept based on Holden's rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform but wearing a GMC badge will debut at the New York Auto Show in late March. From Bob's description, the vehicle is much like the Holden Crewman, which was a version of the Holden Ute with its wheelbase stretched to accommodate a second row of seats and two more doors (all-wheel-drive was also eventually an option).

The concept debuting in Detroit will be wearing very masculine GMC styling cues, however, and sounds as if it will be billed as a unibody pickup. This gives the GMC four-door ute a good shot at production since GM knows that demand for trucks in the future has to be satisfied with vehicles that are more fuel efficient than body-on-frame trucks. A recent spate of unibody truck concepts like the Toyota A-BAT Concept and Ford Explorer America Concept show that automakers are very interested in switching to lighter unibody platforms for vehicles that have traditionally been truck-based.

Lutz also points out the obvious upside that if the GMC four-door ute is popular with the public, it can be sold in Australia as Holden's replacement for the Crewman, which wasn't updated along with the rest of the Ute lineup last year.

[Source: GoAuto via Winding Road]