Posts Tagged ‘general motors’
Lima, Ohio places eighth on green list.
by Michael Strong on Apr.23, 2013
Strong sales of the Chevy Volt is one of the reasons Lima, Ohio, is on the top 10 list of cities interested in green cars.
One might associate green with lima beans, not Lima, Ohio, yet a new study finds that the small, Midwestern town ranks right up there with places like San Francisco, Portland and Washington, D.C. when it comes to shopping for “green” cars.
A new study conducted by Cars.com lists Lima as eighth among the top 10 U.S. cities with the most environmentally conscious car shoppers. Less surprising is the fact that San Francisco tops the chart, while eight of the 10 communities are out West.
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The list, in order, includes: San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.; Monterey-Salinas, Calif.; San Diego, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Eureka, Calif.; Washington D.C.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Lima, Ohio; Medford-Klamath Falls, Ore.; and Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif.
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Tags: Chevy Volt, TheDetroitBureau.com., chevrolet, electric vehicles, general motors, gm, green cars, hybrid-electric vehicles, hybrids, lima ohio, michael strong, thedetroitbureau, volt
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Maker will add new mix of 3-, 4- and 6-cylinder engines, and 8-speed gearboxes.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.04, 2013
GM will add several variants of the new Ecotec family, including a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder.
General Motors will invest $332 million to gear up four plants to launch an array of new powertrain components, including all-new 3-, 4- and 6-cylinders engines, as well as a new 8-speed transmission.
In a complex announcement, the maker also revealed plans to boost a previous investment at two Michigan plants by $46 million. In all, the new and expanded programs will bring to $1.8 billion the money GM has committed to updating six Midwest powertrain facilities since just 2009.
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“We are investing in technologies and manufacturing capabilities that produce high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles and components for our customers,” said Diana Tremblay, vice president of GM North American Manufacturing.
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Tags: 3-cylinder engines, 8-speed transmission, auto news, car news, general motors, gm, gm ecotec, gm engine plants, gm powertrain investment, high-mileage engines, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
by Joseph Szczesny on Mar.07, 2013
GM is already staffing up three other "Innovation Centers," like this one in Austin, Texas.
The ongoing search for high-tech talent, which is critical for an era in which cars will serve as mobile hot spots, talk to one another and drive themselves, has led General Motors to Arizona.
GM said it plans to hire 1,000 high-tech employees to staff an Information Technology Innovation Center Chander, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, over the next three to five years.
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Over the past year, GM has announced similar moves for innovation centers in Austin, Texas; Roswell, Georgia; and Warren, Michigan, as the centerpieces of a strategy to bring high-value IT work in-house to support the business transformation underway.
The new GM policy announced last spring reversed more than three decades of outsourcing where IT work was routinely handed over to outside suppliers such as EDS and HP.
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Tags: GM it, auto news, car news, general motors, gm hewlett packard, gm hires, gm ho, gm information technology, gm jobs, gm news, infotainment, joe szczesny, software development, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
CEO expects “modest” share increase in 2013.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.09, 2013
GM Chairman Dan Akerson has high hopes for 2013.
With the U.S. Treasury getting set to sell off its remaining stake in General Motors over the next year, the Detroit maker is looking ahead to a time when it can not only regain its complete independence but also win over skeptical investors, analysts and consumers, GM CEO Dan Akerson said during a rare meeting with journalists.
Akerson said he is confident GM can achieve a “modest share increase” in the U.S. this year after a weak performance in 2012 that saw is share slip to an 80-year low of just 17.9%. But he also admitted the situation in Europe, where GM has now operated in the red for 14 straight years, is still a challenge.
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One of the executive’s ongoing goals is driving up profitability which Akerson hopes, will also help prop up GM’s share price. While the maker has made significant gains in recent months, its shares are still trading about 10% below the $33 strike price set during the November 2010 GM IPO.
The other challenge facing GM is digging its way out of “junk” territory, where its debt rating has lingered since 2005 – though in a positive sign, a recently negotiated line of credit was able to generate an investment grade raing.
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Tags: GM sales, GM stock, Government Motors, auto news, car news, dan akerson, general motors, gm europe, gm junk, gm news, gm shares, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Searching the LA Auto Show for the newest 40 mpg offerings.
by Michael Rose on Dec.03, 2012
The new Honda Accord PHEV will get 115 MPGe, says the EPA, the highest mileage rating in the industry.
For years we’ve been hearing about the surprising vim and vigor of people who hit age milestones like 40 that once meant the downhill slide had begun. Now 40 is being touted as the new 30. Might this milestone hold true for cars, as well?
Is 40 miles per gallon the new 30?
Could this be the de facto standard for a new crop of vigorous, green machines that promise to cart our gracefully aging selves around while taking baby sips of fuel — or electrons?
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To get a sense, we kicked the tires and listened in on the news conferences and Q&A sessions during the two press preview days at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The second day started off with the Green Car of the Year award going to the promising new 2013 Ford Fusion that offers a hybrid version providing an average for city and highway driving of 47 mpg. Not bad.
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Tags: Dodge Aero, Ecoboost, Fiesta, Ford, Fusion, LA Auto Show, Prius, Spark EV, TDI, audi a3, auto news, car news, chevrolet, chrysler, direct injection, fisker karma, focus, general motors, green car of the year, michael rose, nissan leaf, thedetroit bureau, volt
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Further plant closings possible.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Nov.01, 2012
GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky leads a new team trying to right the maker's European ship.
Despite an intense turnaround effort that will include plant closings, job cuts, a management shake-up – and a flood of new product – General Motors doesn’t expect its hemorrhaging European operations to be back in the black until mid-decade, according to the executive overseeing that rescue effort.
In the near-term, losses are continuing to mount, $478 million for the third quarter, and the maker upping the projected deficit for all of 2012 to somewhere between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion. GM Europe has consistently run in the red since 1999, total losses now expected to top $17 billion by year-end.
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But the picture isn’t entirely bleak. GM’s German-based Opel subsidiary has received strongly positive reviews – and a flurry of orders – for new products such as the compact Mokka crossover and Adam minicar, and GM Europe actually going into the black from a cashflow basis for the July – September quarter.
That was “a positive step in this difficult environment for a company that hasn’t had much positive news” in recent years, suggested Steve Girsky, the former Wall Street automotive analyst who now serves as GM Vice Chairman – and who was put in charge of the European turnaround early this year.
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Tags: auto news, dan akerson, europe auto industry, general motors, gm europe, gm europe losses, gm opel, joe szczesny thedetroitbureau.com, opel, opel adam, opel losses, opel mokka, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, steve girsky, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Follows decision to in-source IT work.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Oct.19, 2012
GM is rapidly expanding its IT base.
General Motors will hire 3,000 new workers to man its expanded, in-house information technology operations, a move that follows its decision to stop using outside contractors, such as HP, for much of the work.
Most, if not all, of the new hires will, in fact, be recruited from the team that had been handling GM’s IT work at Hewlett-Packard, the maker revealed. The maker says it plans to now handle 90% of such technology efforts in-house in a bid to speed up the development process while also reducing costs and potential overlap between suppliers.
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Like most automakers, GM is betting that its future success will depend heavily on digital technology – from the software used to develop its new products to the in-car infotainment systems consumers increasingly demand.
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Tags: GM it, auto news, car news, general motors, gm hewlett packard, gm hires, gm ho, gm information technology, gm jobs, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, software development, thedetroitbureau
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Claims maker blocked deals that would have saved Saab.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.06, 2012
GM effectively forced Saab to liquidate when it refused to sell intellectual property for vehicles like the 9-5 sedan to a new owner.
This story has been updated to reflect GM’s comments on the Spyker lawsuit.
General Motors is facing a $3 billion lawsuit filed by the small Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker Cars NV – which claims the U.S. maker improperly blocked its efforts to save Sweden’s now-bankrupt Saab Automobile.
Spyker purchased Saab in early 2010 from General Motors after the American carmaker decided to sell or shutter the struggling Swedish company. But it quickly became apparent that Spyker didn’t have the cash needed to see the venture through. It made a series of attempts to save or sell Saab, but was forced to liquidate the firm last year.
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Spyker – which briefly changed its name to Swedish Cars, says GM blocked its rescue effort to avoid the possibility of facing additional competition in China – where General Motors is the largest manufacturer.
“We tirelessly worked to save Saab Automobile until GM destroyed those efforts and deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy,” says Spyker CEO Victor Muller. The Dutch entrepreneur insists, “We owe it to our stakeholders and ourselves that justice is done.”
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Tags: auto news, car news, general motors, gm news, national electric vehicle sweden, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, saab, saab bankruptcy, saab closes, saab gm, saab news, saab sues gm, spyker news, spyker sues gm, swedish automobile, thedetroitbureau, victor muller
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Maker aims to raise sales, margins – and stock price.
by Joseph Szczesny on Jun.12, 2012
GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson addresses shareholders at the maker's annual meeting.
General Motors is stepping up its global product offensive in a bid to raise its margins – and stock price — GM chairman and chief executive officer Dan Akerson told shareholders at the company’s annual shareholders meeting.
“2011 was a good year. But it wasn’t a great year,” Akerson acknowledged.
The maker, the executive pointed out, recorded an all-time record $7.6 billion in profits for 2011, with its EBIT – or Earnings Before Interest and Taxes – coming in at $8.3 billion. Nonetheless, the executive conceded the maker could have done even better.
“We have much more work to do because making GM great again is what we are working toward,” Akerson told shareholders. “Just look at this year’s Fortune 500 list if you need proof. GM was ranked #5 in revenue. But when it comes to profits GM ranked 20th.”
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Addressing shareholders, the former Navy officer said his focus will be on closing the earnings gap, “by steadily improving our margins. Akerson called it “fundamental to earning a blue-chip multiple for GM stock and ensuring that the company will be successful for generations – not just a few quarters or a few years.”
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Tags: GM share price, GM stock, auto news, car news, dan akerson, general motors, gm akerson, gm earnings, gm margins, gm news, gm products, joe szczesny, thedetroitbureau
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Maker found little payoff to sponsored ads – but high value in unpaid FB pages.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.16, 2012
GM's Facebook page for the Chevy Camaro.
Just days before the superstar of the digital world is expected to launch a multi-billion-dollar IPO General Motors has delivered an unexpected blow by revealing it will pull its advertising off the Facebook site by mid-year.
It’s unclear whether the news will have any impact on the Facebook IPO — which is expected to go off on Friday and which had been expected to value the digital firm at as much as $100 billion — but GM’s widely publicized decision underscores a range of recent reports that have questioned the value of advertising on the Facebook site.
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“We reassessed our Facebook advertising and will stop advertising by mid-year,” confirmed GM spokesman Pat Morrissey, adding that it was part of a review of overall ad spending conducted on “a regular basis.” Morrissey, spokesman for GM marketing czar Joel Ewanick, stressed that the automaker will revisit its decision in the future and could re-launch its ads on the social media site.
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Tags: auto advertising, auto news, car news, facebook ads, facebook ipo, facebook stock, general motors, gm advertising, gm facebook, gm facebook advertising, gm news, google advertising, mark zuckerberg, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, social media advertising, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
