And the answer to the big question above?  Chrysler.

Ouch.

See, this is doubly unnerving after discovering that, yesterday, they were still trying to get a cohesive corporate strategy together and won’t actually have one until sometime later today.  Or at least not one they want to tell their franchisees about, who are probably all looking at this news with a kind of confused rage and just longing to scream various epithets at anyone who’s in charge over there.

Chrysler needs a comeback, plain and simple.  So what they’ve got to do is offer stuff you can’t get anywhere else.  Frankly, I have a hard time imagining just what it is they CAN do.  I drive a Chevy, myself, a wonderful if aging Monte Carlo, and my folks drive Ford Explorers.  There’s not a whole lot of taste issues as I’m considering switching to a pickup fairly soon anyway, and chances are I will go either Ford or Chevy.

Chrysler needs to get some new and interesting product, or it doesn’t matter how many bailouts it gets–it’s still done for.

I’ve been watching the Jay Leno show recently, and he’s always having celebrities drive an obstacle course with an electric car.

It’s not odd that he is getting a special 2010 Camaro that is a V6. Yes, normally it is a V8, and it will actually give 425 horsepower with “virtually no penalty in the fuel economy”.

GM built Leno this Camaro for SEMA 2009, and it has other cool features like a souped-up clutch, upgraded radiator, and Brembo brakes.

Source

…um…yeah.  The phrases “vested interest” and “wanted to keep his job” scream at me like thieves in the night, but apparently, Mike DiGiovanni, top GM sales analyst, says that GM’s market share will likely increase for the third straight month.

Oh, great…GM sales, up from squat to squat and a half!

Seriously, isn’t this report just the teensiest bit biased?  Especially with GM probably going to do a stock reissue in the very near future as its current per-share value is actually worth next to nothing?  So some putz from GM announces BIG BIG SALES A-COMIN’ and anyone’s supposed to take this seriously?

And okay, maybe GM market share will go up next month.  Does this really mean anything to any serious investor in the face of the bloodbath they’ve seen?  And how much of that hike is due to the now-over Cash for Clunkers program?  I look forward to seeing how this prediction plays out, but I have my doubts it’ll look anything like reality.

It would appear that Nissan isn’t the only one who is gaining money in the auto industry after the whole economic crisis thing. Not that we are over that yet.

Industry analysts at Edmunds have predicted that GM would increase its market share for the month of October. Now GM has seen its first year-over-year sales increase in 21 months.

Not bad. Signs that the auto industry is recovering, anyone?

read..

General Motors of India is reportedly set to unveil a new mini car this coming December. The codename for the mini car is M300, a car that is undergoing its final round of testing and will be officially displayed at 2010 autoexpo in New Delhi. Production is set to commence at the Talegaon plant and may be priced somewhere in the Rs 4 lakh category. This car will go in line with the Chevrolet Spark and follows the recent launch of the Chevrolet Cruz.

(Source) Express India

Consider that, despite all common sense or simple logic, we Americans actually own a major chunk of GM thanks to the massive bailouts they’ve received courtesy of us.  Thus, it behooves us to keep an eye on our investment, and for some reason, they’re spending like drunken sailors.

No, that’s an insult to the drunken sailors. They’re spending like the government owns them–which, I guess, it DOES.

They’ve recently announced plans, you see, to introduce between seven and ten new models of GM car over the next year.  Sure, this will get them loads of ink in places just like here, and it’ll also get them a lot of word of mouth interest, but it’ll also sink them in the red like nobody’s business.  Introducing even one new model is a pricey endeavor–seven to ten will cost billions.

Like with a “b” billions.

Excuse me if I don’t think this is a horrendous idea–a couple new models, maybe…but that many in that short a time speaks of impatience and desperation.

Buick has today announced that their next mid-size sedan will be none other than the Regal. You may be familiar with the name Regal in relation to Buick as Autoblog reports around 6 years ago they had a model with the same name.

The 2010 Buick Regal for the North American market will be based on the Chinese sedan of the same name but other than that we have no information regarding what will be under the hood or what cosmetic changes, if any, will apply.

We’ll keep you posted.

GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson has today done to honors of letting us know that there is in fact a convertible Camaro in the works and that it will hit the market in Q1 of 2011.

There were virtually no details as Henderson was quite mum when asked about the convertible Camaro but as Q1 2011 draws closer we are sure to hear a lot more of the vehicle.

via fastlane

Late last month we told you that GM was in talks with Tengzhong to finally sell off the dying HUMMER brand. Well, today, reports have surfaced that say the deal is officially going down for $150 million.

This wad of cash will net Tengzhong 80% of HUMMER whos vehicles will still be built by GM through June 2011. The other 20% will be going to a private investor which means GM will finally be able to wipe their hands clean of the brand.

What’s really interesting though is the fact that HUMMER, an iconic American brand, is now a Chinese company. What will come from this? Only time will tell.

via autobloggreen

The first thing you think of when you hear of the DeLorean Motor Company is most likely the Back to the Future series where their DMC-12 was used as the iconic time machine. Well, the company ceased to exist due to bankrupcty but if recent rumors are to be believed it may be looking to make a comeback with the Pontiac Solstice in tow.

These rumors come from the above rendering that shows a Pontiac Solstice inspired vehicle manufactured by the DeLorean Motor Company. Further kindle was added to the fire by reports that the company got their hands on a Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe for evaluation.

Let’s see how this one unfolds.

via jalopnik

GM’s Chevy Volt has yet to hit dealerships and already tremendous amounts of buzz has begun circulating partially due to advertising efforts.

This is only the beginning says GM’s Bob Lutz as when the car is closer to hitting dealerships GM will be “pulling out the heaving artilery and get Volt buzz going”. In other words, GM is going to pour unheard of amounts of money into the Volt’s advertising campaign in hopes that it will catch out.

Read (Autoblog)

GM will revive the Chevrolet Caprice brand in 2011. However it will not cater to the private vehicle groups but rather towards law enforcement. The Caprice will be brought back for a new fleet of North American Police cars which will not be based on any current GM model. They will come in V6 and V8 engines and will pick up of from the expected exit of old brands, G8 and Pontiac. The Caprice was a popular choice for law enforcement until it stopped production in 1996.

Dealers will start taking down orders by the fourth quarter of 2010 and delivery of the vehicles will commence in 2011. No word on the pricing though.

(Source) NY Times

Honda!

That’s who!  Seems that Honda got sick of watching fellow Japanese car company Toyota eat its lunch round the clock with nonstop harping on the Prius, and as such has readied a line of its own hybrids to go after some of that fat green–and cash, too.  There will be a Honda hybrid minivan based on the Odyssey (it’s apparently already for sale in Japan) and a regular sedan based around the Insight.

Smart of Honda, I’d say–take advantage of current models to rejigger their fuel systems a bit and churn out a hybrid car.  Strike while the iron is hot and be rewarded with the ability to reshape the market as you see fit.

Hopefully other companies will start to take up this approach–I’d love to see a hybrid Ford Explorer, and if someone comes out with a Jeep hybrid I think I’ll just plain old lose it.

It seems that Saturn’s days are numbered — Recent reports have let us know that Penske Automotive group has backed out of a deal with GM that would have effectively purchased the entire Saturn brand.

The reason for the backing out is because Penske fears they will not be able to provide the Saturn dealerships with inventory after GM stops supplying them with vehicles at the end of 2010. The deal said that they would have to find their own manufacturers to produce vehicles for the dealerships, something Penske doesn’t think they will be able to do.

So, in lieu of this deal falling through, GM has said they will be phasing out Saturn, closing all dealerships and directing current Saturn owners to other GM dealers for service. Goodbye Saturn, you shall be missed.

via autoblog

I got a look at this little sucker recently and it’s the stuff of all my science fiction dreams.  Well, at least most of them–it can’t hover and it doesn’t come standard with particle beam weaponry, but still!

It’s called Project Puma, short for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and for urbanites it may well be the next best thing to driving a car.

It’s produced as a partnership between GM and Segway, and is described as a “small, nimble, electric vehicle” that looks a LOT like an enclosed Segway.

Basically, if I’m interpreting this right, it’s a car pod.  A tiny little electric vehicle that acts like a car.  Now, I can see a LOT of appeal in something like this.  You know what it’s like to have to go just a couple miles to go somewhere like the post office or the grocery store, and you think, what’s the point in taking the whole car?  But you can’t WALK, or even bike there because it’s just a bit too far for that.  This is where some people think moped, but that’s still a gas engine.

Problems?  You betcha–I can’t imagine this thing doing well in winter for a panoply of reasons, not least of them those two wheels on icy slush or in high winds.  Even if traction isn’t an issue, an unheated cab sure would be.

But hopefully they can iron out the kinks and get these to market, inexpensively.  I’d sure like to try one.