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Monthly Archives: May 2009

GM Plans to Sell Chinese Built Cars in the US

A new document has surfaced that reports that GM is planning on selling vehicles it makes in China, in the US by 2011. The document that was given to lawmakers reports that GM plans on selling 17,335 units of China-made vehicles in the U.S. by 2011 and hopes to increase that number to 51,546 by 2014 according to the...

GM Claims an Opel Buyer to Be Announced by the End of the Month

Although Opel has been one of GM's "better" brands lately, the European brand is not going to be under the GM umbrella much longer. It's already been rumored that GM is looking for a suitable buyer for the brand, but now GM CEO Fritz Henderson recently stated that there are several bidders for the brand. GM hopes to decide...

Ford Recalls Almost 9,000 MY 2009 F-150s

Ford is recalling 8,735 2009 Ford F-150 trucks to fix an issue with the brake lights. According to NHTSA the issue has to do with the brake stop lamp switch and in some situations of very mild braking, the brake stop lamps may not illuminate. Dealers have been instructed to inspect the affected vehicles and to reinstall the brake stop...

Obama Administration Slashes Chrysler's Advertising Budget by Half

Chrysler has only been in bankruptcy for close to two weeks, but the automaker is beginning to see how serious Obama's Automotive Task Force is. Chrysler had planned on spending $134 million over the next nine weeks on advertising, but Obama's team has reportedly only given the automaker half that amount. Judge Arthur Gonzalez was skeptical about spending even 50...

Bob Lutz and Other GM Execs Dump GM Stock

GM North America President Troy Clarke and soon to be departing Vice Chairman Bob Lutz plus four other execs have sold more than 200,000 shares of GM stock. Spokeswoman Julie Gibson says the sales don’t show a lack of faith in the company. As GM comes closer to the June 1st deadline, GM has publicly disclosed to its shareholders that...

Fiat/ Chrysler Deal Could Mean the Ford Ka May Eventually Come to the US

The deal between Fiat and Chrysler could mean that Ford could eventually bring its small Ka to the US. The Ford Ka and Fiat 500 are built on the same platform that as developed by Fiat. Currently there are plans for Fiat to build the 500 at one of Chrysler's North American plants, when the vehicle eventually goes on sale...

Honda Insight Becomes Japan's Best-Selling Vehicle…First Time for a Hybrid

Honda has announced that the new Insight hybrid was Japan's best selling vehicle in the month of April 2009. Honda managed to move 10,481 units making the Insight the first hybrid to ever top the sales charts in Japan (Toyota must not be happy). The Insight was introduced on February 6, 2009. It managed to move to the top spot...

GM Drops SS Versions of the Chevy Impala and Cobalt Sedan

GM has dropped the SS versions of the Chevy Impala and Cobalt sedan for the 2010 model year. The news came from GM's 2010 Online Order / Reference Guide for dealers. The death of the Impala SS is not that great of a loss, but the Cobalt SS sedan was a decent competitor with its 260-hp, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine. Full Story:...

GM Recalling the 2010 Camaro to Fix a Battery Cable Issue

At the end of April a Camaro5 forum member Bumleb was driving his brand new 2010 Chevy Camaro SS with only 40 miles on it, when it shut down. The culprit was a battery cable that was run from the trunk. The insulation had worn down from rubbing against the starter, which caused it to short out and shut...

Buick Astra Coming in 2011?

Now that Saturn has one foot in the grave, GM is looking at other ways of selling Opels in the US. The newest rumor claims that Buick is going to receive a version of the small Astra. If these rumors are in fact true, Buick will be getting a new small car in 2011 as a 2012 model. It's not...

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