Earlier today, GM CEO Dan Akerson was in Washington testifying before congress. The hearing "What Did NHTSA Know & When Did They Know It" focused on NHTSA's handling of the Volt fires and whether or not GM got special treatment from NHTSA.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Staff Report titled "Government Motors: A preliminary Report on the Effects of Bailouts and Politics on the Obama Administration's Ability to Protect American Consumers" (PDF) was concerned that the delay in reporting the issue may have been intentional. That GM's bailout somehow influenced NHTSA's reporting process and caused them to treat GM with kid gloves so that the company would return to profitability. "President Obama has used this unusual blurring of public and private sector boundaries to openly tout the results of this partnership as a top accomplishement of his Administration -- creating a dynamic where the President is politically reliant on the success of GM and Chrysler...In the fact of that political dependency, it is deeply troubling that public notification of the safety concerns related to the Volt was inexplicably delayed for six months -- a period of time that also coincides with the negotiation over the 2017 - 2025 fuel economy standards," it reads.
We posted a summary of the hearing here, but I'm the type of guy who likes to see HOW people are reacting and not just what they said in response. While the House did live-stream the hearing, I prefer these two videos which can be paused, rewound etc. (Warning: Long. Extremely long.)
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Categories: Chevrolet,General Motors
Besides making fine automobiles, GM in the past had a habit of making some fairly impressive films explaining the world of transportation. Previously we've seen them demonstrate how a differential works and why you need one. That video was made in 1937 and should be required viewing for every car guy.
This time GM takes on a more political topic: Traffic. GM tackles traffic problems in major cities (you'll see Boston, LA and New York) by arguing that parking regulation and public transportation are the best ways to cut congestion. "Talking, writing or wishing about the downtown traffic jam will not solve the problem. Bad as it is today it will be worse tomorrow if more and more cars are forced to jam their way into the heart of the city. Our best hope for solving the problem is getting shoppers and commuters back into busses. Then, instead of merely moving vehicles, we'll be moving people!"
Your boss won't notice you watching this for the next 30 minutes.
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Categories: General Motors,Miscellaneous
This guy, Tim Cameron, solves problems while driving the same way I do: more throttle. The difference, though, is that he's driving an insane tube-frame buggy with a built 620 horsepower, 7.4-liter LSX 454 crate engine (with a power-glide transmission with 2k rpm stall) on 43s through the woods like a madman.
Seriously. A mad man.
Here's a list of things yelled in the office -- over the roar of that motor -- while we watched it 11 times: "That thing is just indifferent to everything!" "I'd wear a helmet and eye protection." "He's really good with the rear steering." "He just felled a tree with a buggy!"
Without a doubt this is the best video I've seen in 2012.
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Categories: General Motors,Trucks,Tuners and Modifications
"There's an app for that" could become a motto of sorts for GM, as the automaker prepares to open up its OnStar API to third party developers. But on a limited basis.
First up is a partnership with the car-sharing service RelayRides, which will allow millions of GM vehicle owners to use the embedded OnStar system to rent their cars while controlling access and rates. Utilizing the OnStar API, a RelayRides app will let renters unlock and access a participating GM vehicle starting later this year. GM claims that vehicle owners could earn up to $250 a month. Just make sure you've stashed your stuff.
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Categories: Car Tech,General Motors
Today GM announced that they will cover any remaining warranty on Saab vehicles sold while the Swedish company was a member of the GM Family. That means pre-2009 models here in the U.S. and some 2010s in Canada.
But this is not a case of GM being altruistic and stepping in to help a struggling carmaker, GM has to honor the warranties they gave out during that time as part of the companies bankruptcy proceedings.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors,Saab
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Opel has confirmed to Automotive News that they are holding back sales of the Ampera while the company sets up "the process to deal with these highly charged batteries to make sure they are safe." Amperas are already sitting at dealerships in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland waiting to be delivered to customers.
The Ampera, like the Volt, is built in the Hamtramck plant outside of Detroit and features the same lithium-ion battery pack, built by South Korean firm LG Chem, which has caused GM so much concern lately.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Electric Vehicles,General Motors,Hybrids,Opel
Just when Saab thought it had things figured out with its Chinese investors, GM comes crashing the party again.
"We have reviewed Saab's proposed changes regarding the sale of the company. Nothing in the proposal changes GM's position. We are unable to support the transaction," said GM's James Cain.
The contracts between Saab and GM are essential for the current survival of Saab and without these technology licenses, Saab is likely a far less valuable company. GM has stated previously that it won't allow any Saab deal that hurts its current standing in the Chinese market.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors,Saab
56 years after its introduction, GM has just bolted together its 100,000,000 small block motor.
"The small block is the engine that brought high-performance to the people. There is an elegant simplicity in its design that made it instantly great when new and enables it to thrive almost six decades later," said David Cole, founder of the Center for Automotive research and son of Ed Cole, chief engineer at Chevy for the development of the small block.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors
This Saab thing just won't stop. We were so close back on Oct. 28 when Saab agreed to the purchase offer by Youngman and Pang Da. Trouble is, nobody bothered to ask GM.
What's GM got to do with it? Well, they have licensing agreements with Saab and provide Saab with the 9-4X.
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Categories: General Motors,Saab
The Pontiac G8 wasn't enough. Even before we got our all-too-brief sample of Aussie engineering, the land down under held a special place in the hearts of rear-drive American enthusiasts; Australia was still doing proper, full size, rear-drive sedans.
The biggest name Aussie rear-drive goodness is the Holden Commodore which is designed and engineered by Australians for Australia. But that may all be coming to an end.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors
We've got a locked storeroom here at Edmunds with media kits going back decades that is a wealth of information and an endless source of entertainment. It's one thing to go back there when you need to dig out specs on something like our new long term 1991 Acura NSX, but it's quite a different experience to just walk back there and look around to kill some time. Vintage car ads / brochures just have a different feel than they do today. There was time and money invested not just to sell a car, but to sell the lifestyle that that car supported. The older you get, the more detailed they get. People tolerated reading a lot more back then.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Classic Cars,Ford,General Motors
Holden's first concept car, the Hurricane, has been bvrought back to life by a team of Holden engineers and designers.
The Hurricane is a mid-engine, rear-drive sports car featuring a digital instrument display, station-seeking radio (Hooray, no more fussing with dials!), automatic climate control, rear-view camera and an automatic route finder. The route finder was called "pathfinder" and it relied on a system of magnets embedded at intersections in the roadway to guide the driver. It all seems like basic stuff now (except for the magnets) but in 1969, this was pretty radical. Powering the Hurricane was an experimental 4.2-liter V8 cranking out 262 horsepower. Oh, and then there's that crazy hydraulic canopy instead of doors and the seats that rise up to let you in and fall back once you're seated.
Code named RD 001, the restoration project began in 2006. "The entire team has done a fantastic job in bringing this beautiful concept back to life. The Hurricane plays a crucial role in Holden's story and the company has such a great sense or history and heritage that it was very important to bring RD 001 back to life. It's been a challenging but incredibly rewarding process," said Paul Clark, manager for Creative Hard Modeling at Holden.
Check it out at the Motorclassica car show at the Melbourne Royal Exhibition on October 21 -23. But if you're not in Australia, the pics and video after the jump will have to do.
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Categories: Concept Vehicles,General Motors
The Fed's futuristic Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) may be mired in budget deficits and bureaucracy. But GM has a plan to leapfrog the massive infrastructure required for ITS to become a reality by leveraging smartphone connectivity and apps to make roads safer and car's smarter.
This week at the ITS World Congress in Orlando, GM debuted technology that uses smartphone apps that integrate with a vehicle's electronics and a portable transponder to communicate with other drivers, the surrounding infrastructure and even pedestrians. The connectivity three-way is then used to warn of slow or stalled vehicles, slippery road surfaces, driver's slamming on the brakes, sharp curves and intersections and stoplights ahead.
GM also used the occasion of ITS World Congress to predict that partially autonomous vehicles could be ready by the middle of this decade, and that more sophisticated self-driving vehicles will hit the road by 2020.
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Categories: Car Tech,General Motors
When GM started sending out press releases for the new not-for-the-U.S. Colorado, everyone was a little suspicious. After all, they've got lots of foreign products that they don't bombard the U.S. media with, why this one?
The plan became clear this monday when Chevy confirmed that the next-gen Colorado would, in fact, come to the U.S. a year after being introduced in Asia. Whether this was due to customer demand or if it was the plan all along, who knows. But now we're seeing it all again. Today, GM teased a photo of the new Chevy Trailblazer that would debut at the Dubai Auto Show in November.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Future Vehicles,General Motors,SUVs
In its never ending quest to make cars heavier and more expensive safer, GM has just announced the first airbag that deploys between the front seats to protect occupants from...other occupants.
GM found that in far-side impact crashes they analyzed (from impacts between 2004 and 2009), 29 percent of all belted fatalities in non-rollover cases were on the non-struck side of the vehicle. Far-side impacts accounted for 11 percent of belted front occupant fatalities in non-rollover situations. The tubular airbag is not only designed to provide restraint for the driver, but to act as "an energy absorbing cushin between driver and front passenger in both driver- and passenger-side crashes." The bag is mounted in the right side of the driver seat.
"The front center airbag has real potential to save lives in side crashes. GM and Takata (the technology provider for the airbags.-mm) are to be commended for taking the lead in this important area," said IIHS president Adrian Lund.
The new airbag system will be introduced on the 2013 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevy Traverse.
Video after the jump.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors
With all the news about data mining for profit by tech companies, there's no shortage of things to be paranoid about. And if you're worried about your privacy, it's as easy as just staying off the Internet, although we don't encourage such rash behavior. But if you're worried about OnStar tracking your location and speed, it's not as easy as just cancelling your subscription to GM's telematics titan.
According to Wired.com, OnStar is contacting its 6 million account holders to notify them that the company will keep data on their car's location and speed even if vehicle owners cancel their monthly service. The website reports that OnStar began e-mailing its customers on Monday about an update to its privacy policy that also allows the company to sell GPS data in an anonymous format.
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Categories: Car Tech,General Motors
We all know that technology moves at a breakneck pace these days. And automakers are trying to keep up with the expectations of constantly connected consumers. Lots of new bells and whistles were unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show this week, and Ford dropped a few nuggets at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon in San Francisco.
From luxury iPad integration to self-parking VWs, here's a rundown of a big week in car tech.
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Categories: BMW,Bentley,Car Tech,Ford,Frankfurt Auto Show,General Motors,Honda,Mercedes-Benz,Volkswagen
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for your dad, favorite uncle, or I don't know, a certain Edmunds editor in chief? Well, may I suggest a set of these new cufflinks featuring the logos of classic GM performance cars: vintage Corvette, C5 Corvette and Firebird. I mean, what looks classier with a French cuff than a Screaming Chicken. Oh, who am I to snark? I rock these.
Vintage Vette Cufflinks
C5 Vette Cufflinks
Firebird Cufflinks
Categories: Chevrolet,General Motors,Pontiac
Like any good addict recently freed from (majority ownership of) authoritative oversight, GM is right back to its old ways, hiring back 79-year-old Bob Lutz; this time as advisor to senior leadership.
"Lutz has been providing advice to GM executives informally since retiring from the company in 2010," GM said, and now he's officially on the payroll. After the bailout, Lutz was publicly and vocally upset about the limits on executive compensation and corporate perks (ahem, jets) and this new agreement, with financial agreements undisclosed, could be a clever way around all of that.
When Lutz left the last time, GM and Lutz agreed it was the right time because the LaCrosse, SRX, Terrain, Equinox and Camaro were doing well and all four GM brands were strong. And even at that time, many GM insiders thought that the company had moved past the advice Lutz had to offer. Senior leadership, apparently, still feels that his voice is necessary within the General.
Dan Akerson, current GM CEO, is admittedly not a car guy having grown up in the telephone business and GM's Senior VP of Global Product Development, Mary T. Barra, is a manufacturing engineer who most recently was Vice President of GM's global HR department.
We're not sure GM needs a Viper or Prowler or Sky or Volt or GTO right now, but they do need a product guy.
(GM, AutoObserver)
Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors
This is way too cool. A Futurliner on the dragstrip! It may look like an upside-down rowboat going backwards, but really, it's one of the coolest designs to come out of GM ever.
GM's Futurliner was a bus designed by Harley Earl in the early 40s for GM's Parade of Progress. It's 8-feet wide, 33-feet long and has a 20' 8" wheelbase and they only built 12 of them.
But going back to that earlier upside-down rowboat going backwards comment....it's about as fast as that, too. With a 145-horsepower, 302ci 6-cylinder pumping out 145 hp and 262 pound-feet of torque trying to move 30,000 pounds of the future, Futurliner #10 (a 1953 model that's been fully restored) manages a 48 second pass at 28 MPH.
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Categories: Classic Cars,General Motors,Motorsports
