Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[REPORT: General Motors to kill Pontiac on Monday]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/#commentsFiled under: ,



According to a report from InsideLine, General Motors could axe Pontiac as early as this Monday. Although IL isn't citing its source within GM, it did contact the General's PR man, Tom Wilkinson, who said, "There's nothing I can share with you at this time... Officially, nothing has changed with Pontiac's niche-brand status, until you hear differently." Not very clear, but not particularly positive either.

The line about Pontiac's "niche-brand status" has been floating around since last December, when GM began to focus on its four core brands - Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC - while readying the rest (Saab, Saturn and Hummer) for execution or extradition.

Pontiac's focus has been ill-defined (at best) over the decade, with solid products like the G8 coming to market alongside other less-than-stellar offerings (cough, G3). There was talk of reigniting Pontiac's performance heritage or even refocusing the brand as a Scion competitor. Regardless of past plans or intentions, there was no doubt that Pontiac was in the cross-hairs, and come Monday, we might know it's final fate.

[Source: InsideLine]

REPORT: General Motors to kill Pontiac on Monday originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingdeadgeneral motorsGeneralMotorsgmkillkilledmondaypontiacThu, 23 Apr 2009 17:33:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1526419/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/1526419/article-detail.xml 1526419 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/pontiacg8gxp_abg_01-580op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/pontiacg8gxp_abg_01-580op.jpg <![CDATA[No Surprise: Ford halts RWD programs]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/12/no-surprise-ford-halts-rwd-programs/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/12/no-surprise-ford-halts-rwd-programs/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/12/no-surprise-ford-halts-rwd-programs/#commentsFiled under: ,


Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Interceptor concept

Ebb and flow. That's the way the petroleum market works, and if history holds true - and it normally does - then fuel prices are set to go up... again... and then some. So it's no surprise that Ford, GM and Chrysler - not to mention its competitors from across the Pacific - all brought out plenty of fuel-sipping models at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Nor is it surprising that J Mays, Ford's design chief, is telling the world that FoMoCo's rear-wheel-drive plans have been nixed.

"We've got other priorities," Mays told Automotive News/Autoweek, referring to both Ford and Lincoln's plans for a RWD sedan. "We're going down a path right now that is all about fuel efficiency."

The original plan - which began a year ago and was already under review in the middle of 2008 when gas prices were peaking - was to work with Ford's Australian arm to develop a new, large RWD platform that would be shared with the U.S. market. The new sedan was due in 2013, but as the landscape changed, Ford decided to eliminate the plan altogether. Mays says he was looking forward to the project, but he seems resolute with the shift to efficiency. We say: now's the time to start working on a small, RWD shooting brake with a 1.4-liter EcoBoost four.

Gallery: Ford Interceptor Concept


[Source: Autoweek]

No Surprise: Ford halts RWD programs originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>deadfordkillednixnixedrear wheel driveRearWheelDriverwdMon, 12 Jan 2009 13:27:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1427032/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/01/12/no-surprise-ford-halts-rwd-programs/1427032/article-detail.xml 1427032 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/interceptorcon_05_580op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/interceptorcon_05_580op.jpg <![CDATA[Source Interlink kills <i>Sport Compact Car</i>, laying off 115 employees]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/source-interlink-kills-i-sport-compact-car-i-laying-off-115/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/source-interlink-kills-i-sport-compact-car-i-laying-off-115/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/source-interlink-kills-i-sport-compact-car-i-laying-off-115/#commentsFiled under:



We just got off the phone with one of our sources inside the Source Interlink monolith who informed us that some of Sport Compact Car's staff was laid off yesterday and that the February issue may be the last SCC you'll find on newsstands. The death of SCC follows Source Interlink's execution of Turbo earlier this year, and reports suggest that 115 employees inside the company have been given the boot and more titles could be axed in the future.

Sport Compact Car was the go-to title for gearheads obsessed with small displacement engines, forced induction, number crunching and the black arts of ECU and suspension tuning, with a dedicated focus on down-and-dirty tech, unique reviews, stellar writing and going fast on a budget. Both the page count and circulation numbers have dropped over the last five years, although according to our sources, ad revenue was up and distribution was holding steady.

On a personal note, SCC was the magazine that got this scribe hooked on driving and the finer points of air-to-fuel ratios, provided me with my first freelance gig and inspired me - primarily through the writings of Dave Coleman, Josh Jacquot, Mike Kojima, Andy Hope, James Tate, John Pearley Huffman and Jared Holstein, among many others - to pursue my dream of writing about cars. SCC will be sorely missed and the world is truly a worse place without it.

Hit the jump to see a list of everyone who has made Sport Compact Car possible over the last two decades.

UPDATE: We've gotten word that Truck Trend has also been canned. According to our commentators on the inside of Truck Trend, the mag hasn't been cancelled -- it's being "restructured."

Continue reading Source Interlink kills Sport Compact Car, laying off 115 employees

Source Interlink kills Sport Compact Car, laying off 115 employees originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>axedkilledsport compact carSportCompactCarFri, 21 Nov 2008 16:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1379802/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/11/21/source-interlink-kills-i-sport-compact-car-i-laying-off-115/1379802/article-detail.xml 1379802 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/scc_pile_450op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/scc_pile_450op.jpg <![CDATA[RIP: Chevy kills off Monte Carlo]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/28/rip-chevy-kills-off-monte-carlo/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/28/rip-chevy-kills-off-monte-carlo/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/28/rip-chevy-kills-off-monte-carlo/#commentsFiled under: , ,



A member of the GM Inside News forum posted today that he received an email from General Motors announcing the end of the Monte Carlo. We rang up the General for confirmation and received word that the Monte Carlo is indeed being offed. May 4th will reportedly be the last day you can order a Monte Carlo and production of the car at GM's Oshawa plant in Canada will cease on June 20th. Apparently production of the Monte Carlo is being cancelled to make room for all those extra Malibu orders the automaker is expecting when the new 2008 model sedan begins production in October. This is the sixth generation Monte Carlo, and when asked if we'd see the name return on a new model in the near future, we got the canned answer from GM, "We do not comment on future product." Sigh. Monte Carlo sales were off 64.2% in January of 2007 with only 1,639 units being sold. In 2006, 34,113 units were sold, a slight improvement over 2005.

[Source: GM, GM Inside News]

RIP: Chevy kills off Monte Carlo originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cancelledkilledmonte carloMonteCarloripWed, 28 Feb 2007 17:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/842955/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/02/28/rip-chevy-kills-off-monte-carlo/842955/article-detail.xml 842955 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/x07ch_mc002_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/x07ch_mc002.jpg <![CDATA[RIP: Clay Regazzoni 1939-2006]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/16/rip-clay-regazzoni-1939-2006/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/16/rip-clay-regazzoni-1939-2006/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/16/rip-clay-regazzoni-1939-2006/#commentsFiled under: ,

We're saddened to report the untimely passing of former F1 driver Gianclaudio "Clay" Regazzoni. Clay was killed yesterday when he collided with a truck in the northern Italian city of Parma, where he was reportedly driving at high speed and failed to stop in time as he met an unexpected traffic jam.

Born in the Italian sector of Switzerland only days after the end of World War II, Clay Regazzoni rose through the ranks all the way to Formula One, where he raced alongside such greats as Niki Lauda and Jacky Ickx at such teams as Ferrari and Williams. Clay's record includes five grand prix victories, and he was known as a particularly reckless driver.

In 1980 Regazzoni was paralyzed from the waist down when the brakes on his Ensign F1 car failed during the grand prix at Long Beach, resulting in a terrible crash that sent his car flying into a concrete barrier at the end of the straightaway. In subsequent years, Clay fought an often uphill battle for certification to compete in racing cars modified with hand controls, and found success racing in off-road rallies as well as in endurance sportscar racing.

Clay was only 67 upon his death. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

RIP: Clay Regazzoni 1939-2006 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 16 Dec 2006 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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