Category: GM

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GM Holden News

Holden to cease local production in 2017

Holden VF Calais

News has come through from General Motors in Detroit confirming the inevitable: Holden will stop making cars in Australia in 2017.

GM’s full statement can be read after the break, but here’s a few snippets:

“We are completely dedicated to strengthening our global operations while meeting the needs of our customers,” said GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country, including the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high cost of production, small domestic market and arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world.”

…

Holden will continue to have a significant presence in Australia beyond 2017, comprising a national sales company, a national parts distribution centre and a global design studio.

…

Since 2001, the Australian dollar has risen from US$0.50 to as high as US$1.10 and from as low as 47 to as high as 79 on the Trade Weighted Index. The Australian automotive industry is heavily trade exposed. The appreciation of the currency alone means that at the Australian dollar’s peak, making things in Australia was 65 percent more expensive compared to just a decade earlier.

This may have been a day we knew would come, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. We hope those many thousands of workers who will lose their jobs are able to minimise the impact they will face.

Ford 2016; Holden 2017; how long until Toyota pulls the plug?

[Pic: GM Corp]

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GM Holden News

Hope our luck doesn’t end now

Holden VF Calais

Holden will close its local manufacturing operations in 2016 according to the ABC. The national broadcaster says senior government ministers have confirmed their belief that General Motors, Holden’s parent company, has already made the decision to stop making cars in Australia.

For their part Holden is not making any comment and says its unlikely to do so until at least next week after it has faced the Government’s Productivity Commission. One of the issues concerning the future of Holden is the uncertainty over Federal Government subsidies, which it claims it needs to keep local manufacturing viable.

The elephant in the room seems to be that local carmakers—Holden, Ford and Toyota—aren’t making cars that people want to buy. A criticism aimed more at Holden and Ford, rather than Toyota, which is comfortably the country’s best selling manufacturer.

Local car making peaked in 1970 when around 475,000 vehicles were made. By 1980 that number had dropped to 360,000. In recent years the industry last peaked in 2005 when almost 390,000 cars rolled off the line. By 2011 that number had plummeted by over 40% to just 224,000.

Outwardly at least, it would seem Holden and Ford have been too slow to react to consumer demand and no amount of government handouts can make the decision to build cars that people actually want to buy. Cracks in sales numbers might be papered over by models like the VF Commodore, but the overwhelming trend doesn’t lie. Buyers no longer want Commodores and Falcons. Couple that with the fact that no sustainable export markets can be found then it’s a fairly bleak outlook for Australia’s once iconic family sedans.

Ford has already announced it will stop making cars in Australia by 2016. We expect Holden will follow suit. And then it becomes a matter of time until Toyota does likewise.

Unless something unforeseen happens it will be a sad day when local car manufacturing ends in Australia. It’s a business sector that has, at times, been one of great pride for Australians. But not any more. Sales figures don’t lie.

[Source: ABC]

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Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Caterham Ferrari Fiat Ford GM Honda Jaguar Lamborghini Lotus Motor Shows

2013 Goodwood FoS in pictures – gallery 1

2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed

It’s taken us a while to prepare, but here’s your first instalment in our 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed image gallery. We’ve got more than 260 images in all which will be spread out over three galleries.

Presented in alphabetical order, this selection of photos starts with Alfa Romeo and ends with Lotus. And doesn’t that Alfa Romeo 4C just look sensational!

Stay tuned over the next two days for the remaining galleries to be posted.

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Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bugatti Chevrolet Ferrari GM Gumpert Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Motor Shows

2013 Geneva Motor Show in pictures – part 1

2013 Geneva Motor Show

The Geneva Motor Show is still underway over in Europe and while we’re sure almost all of our readers would love to be there we’re doing the best we can to bring you a little closer to the action. Here is the first installment of over 250 pictures from the show, from Alfa Romeo to Lamborghini, which includes some of the great and not so great models on display.

That Lamborghini’s not getting any prettier is it.

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GM Volkswagen

Volkswagen reckons GM can’t count

Volkswagen Scirocco R

Last month news emerged that GM was the number one car maker in the world last year based on total sales. But, Volkswagen is having none of that and says GM’s sales figures are as rubbery as their tyres.

Volkswagen claim GM’s published total of 9.03 million sales includes almost 2.5 million from Chinese manufacturers in which it owns a minority stake; SAIC (49%) and Liuzhou Wuling (44%).

If you subtract those numbers GM slides down the list to fourth place on the sales charts. First, unsurprisingly, would be Volkswagen (8.16 million sales), followed by Toyota (7.95m), Renault-Nissan (7.39m) and only marginally ahead of Hyundai-Kia (6.53m).

Volkswagen has boldly claimed it wants to be the world’s largest car maker and has previously announced a €51.6 billion plan titled Strategy 2018 to say how it will get there. A total of 10 million annual sales is their goal.

Interestingly, Volkswagen’s own sales figures for 2011 include 2.25 million sales from Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive (Volkswagen owns the maximum allowable 50% under Chinese law), as well as FAW-Volkswagen in which it only has a 40% stake.

GM doesn’t seem too fussed either way, spokesman Jim Cain told the Wall Street Journal they want “to be the best, not necessarily the biggest”.

“If we had announced plans on world domination, we probably would have been quibbling with the sales of our competitors and that’s as far removed from focusing on the customers as you can get,” he added.

[Source: GoAuto]

UPDATE 2 February: New figures released by Renault-Nissan today state they achieved 8.03 million sales in 2011.

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GM

GM rises from bankruptcy to number 1

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

General Motors has returned to the top of the worldwide automotive sales charts, the Detroit Free Press reports. Quite a turnaround for a giant that was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as recently as June 2009.

In 2011 GM sold 9.03 million vehicles globally compared to the Volkswagen Group which sold 8.16 million. Toyota is yet to release its official tally, but late last year said it was on track for around 7.9 million sales worldwide.

GM’s growth was in part on the back of Chevrolet which achieved sales of almost 1.8 million vehicles in the US alone.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

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Accessories & Tech GM

Are we nearly there yet?

GM windows of opportunity

Augmented reality is a term you may already be familiar with, BMW has placed it an automotive context with the Vision ConnectedDrive. Human Machine Interface seems to be the new buzzwords. Toyota gave their NS4 concept plenty of HMI sparkles. And now GM is getting in on the act with the Windows of Opportunity project—a system designed to give rear seat passengers a greater connection to the outside world using their window as a touchscreen interface. Imagine what this could do to overcome the boredom of long holiday road trips!

As this stage Windows of Opportunity is little more than an ideas generation project with the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. But check out the video after the break and see what you think. Will stuff like this ever become reality and if it does would it be a good thing? We think it’s pretty cool.

[Source: WCF]

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Carmageddon GM Saab

Saab: This is the end, beautiful friend

Saab RIP - 18 December 2009

Yes, we’ve done this before, two years ago to the day…

Saab has, once again, broken the limits of its owners. This time it’s not GM, like it was in 2009, but current stewards of the Saab brand Swedish Automobile who have said, “This is the end.”

More correctly they have lodged an official notice stating: “Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile), Saab Automobile Tools AB and Saab Powertrain AB filed for bankruptcy with the District Court in Vänersborg, Sweden this morning [19 December].”

Actually, GM has still played a leading role in the latest fall of Saab. Swedish Automobile has been trying to negotiate a sale with Chinese auto manufacturers Pang Da and Youngman. However, much of the Saab 9-3, 9-5 and 9-4X model lines rely on GM technology. And as GM retains preferential shares they have been able to scupper sale plans on intellectual property grounds.

Nice one GM.

Swedish Automobile’s full statement can be read after the break. For more coverage keep a watching brief on SaabsUnited.

[via Car]

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Audi BMW Ferrari Ford GM Lexus Lotus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Porsche

Motions eleven

Motor Trend drag race

US publication Motor Trend has assembled a group of 11 incredibly desirable cars, sent them to an empty airstrip and planted the go pedal. Check the list below, form your opinion on which car you think will be quickest. Also consider which cars you reckon will make the top three. Which one will be the slowest? Then take the jump and watch ex-pat Aussie and former Wheels editor Angus MacKenzie guide you through the results.

[Thanks to Tim for the tip]

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GM Holden Opel

Opel targets Australian launch in 2012

Opel Insignia

Some quite big news emerged from the Detroit Auto Show early this morning with Holden boss Mike Devereux announcing, “Opel will be sold as a stand-alone brand in Australia for the first time in 2012.

“Opel presents a new opportunity for GM in Australia with a growing demand for German design and technology at affordable prices.”

Previous Opel-sourced models to sell in Australia, re-badged as Holdens, include the Corsa (known locally as Barina), Astra and Vectra. It will be these three models, or their current replacements, that will find their way down under, as well.

The entry level Corsa, Astra and mid-size Insignia models have all undergone considerable upgrades in the last 18 months or so and the Insignia was voted the 2009 European Car of the Year. All three will be welcome additions to the local market.

Opel’s product plans for each model are unknown at this stage. However, they bring with them a broad range of options, including wagon versions of the Astra and Insignia, as well as performance variants of all three models.

Holden will assist its sister brand to gain a market presence, which will presumably take place in the form of utlising the local dealer network.

You can keep up to date with developments by registering at the new Opel Australia website.

Today’s official press release is available after the break. Although, one question does remain unanswered; do you think Australian Opel owners will rush out to modify their cars with Holden badges?

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Carmageddon GM

Don’t cry for me Argentina

Hummer H2

So, what does the title of one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best known songs have to do with Hummer? Well, there’s about as much relevance there as there was of Hummer being a legitimate option in the automotive marketplace. In case you’ve missed it, earlier this week came the unsurprising revelation that General Motors could not find a willing buyer for the Hummer brand. This led the once mighty US car giant to commence winding down the SUV marque. My question to the readers out there is, does anyone really care?

I feel for the families of any workers that may be affected through job losses, but really, the Hummer was the best example of the worst aspects of the American car industry. It was a big fat ugly waste of space, and they take up a lot of space, too, that only seemed to work in blinged up junk time over produced “rap” videos.

Still, I guess we have much to thank GM for with their decision to remove Hummer from the automotive landscape. All of a sudden the car industry is a better place.

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GM Saab

Spyker set to take control of Saab

Saab

Great news for Saab fans with confirmation that Spyker Cars and General Motors have finally reached an agreement for the sale of Saab. Spyker will form a new company call Saab Spyker Automobiles and the deal could be closed in around two weeks.

In a statement released by GM, John Smith, vice president for corporate planning and alliances said, “General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we’re all happy for the positive outcome.”

Earlier this month GM had started the wind down process for Saab even though negotiations for a sale were still ongoing. The wind down process been suspended with immediate effect, pending finalisation of this deal.

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