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Automotive News & Views GM News, New Models and Market Share
8633 messages, Last post on Dec 07, 2009 at 7:14 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Hopefully GM will have no other special adjustments in the 2nd qtr. GM expects gain General Motors Corp. said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it expects to record a significant accounting-adjustment gain from revaluing the cost of future UAW retiree health costs in the quarter ended Tuesday. The automaker said it has now received the necessary court approvals and regulatory review of its accounting treatment to transfer UAW postretirement health care to an independent trust -- known as the voluntary employee beneficiary association -- effective Jan. 1, 2010. With that approval, GM will terminate GM retiree health coverage for UAW retirees on Jan. 1, 2010. That means it can reduce on its balance sheet the amount it previously needed to count as a health care liability. |
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Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales, said the automaker's market share grew to more than 28 percent in September because it experienced smaller sales drops than its competitors. The share did not come with the expense of incentives, which he said averaged only $100 per vehicle more than in August and were flat from July to August despite the monthlong employee pricing offer, LaNeve said. Incentive spending was reduced, he said, because GM did almost no leasing during the month Light truck demand at GM fell 19 percent in September, as sales of the Trailblazer dropped 31 percent and demand for the Tahoe fell 52 percent. sales of Chevrolet full-size pickups fared comparably better, edging down just 5.5 percent. GM's car sales slid 10 percent, as a 17 percent drop in Cobalt sales and combined declines of more than 30 percent for both Cadillac and Buick cars off set a 68 percent jump in Malibu sales and 17 percent increase in demand for its Impala. |
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As many as 3,800 U.S. car dealerships could fail this fall and into 2009 -- nearly one in five -- because of weak sales, increased operational costs and the credit crunch, according to a forecast released today. "An increasing number of dealers are simply closing their doors because sales have plummeted, credit has dried up, the overall retail environment is increasingly challenging and potential investors are sitting on the sidelines," said Paul Melville, a partner with Grant Thornton LLP, which issued the forecast. "In addition, the domestic automakers who badly need retail consolidation are not spending much of their scarce capital on the problem because the economy is doing it for them," he said.
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Oct 02, 2008 7:46 am) |
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Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., following its worst monthly sales decline in at least four decades, this evening said it would offer 0 percent financing on 11 models through Nov. 3. The loans range from 36 to 60 months, depending on the model. In a statement, Toyota called the program unprecedented for the Japanese automaker as it sought to "take aim" at the credit squeeze inhibiting U.S. auto sales. |
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I worked at Oshawa for a couple years. Great plant and people. GM’s Oshawa Car Plant Honored with “Founder’s Award” Last Friday GM’s Oshawa Car Plant was presented with the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates “Founder’s Award” in recognition of their commitment to quality and a solid track record of industry-leading performance. The Founder’s Award is a discretionary award presented by J.D. Power and Associates, recognizing individuals or companies that demonstrate dedication, commitment and sustained improvement in serving customers. In the 40-year history of J.D. Power and Associates, only 22 companies or individuals have received the award. To learn more about Oshawa’s accomplishments, please read the press release. Tech Talk GM’S Boost in Efficient Four-Cylinders Includes More Turbos GM will double its global production of small four-cylinder engines (1.0L to 1.4L) by 2011, with more than half of the increase coming in North America. The 1.4L Turbo enables great vehicle performance and fuel economy. One-third of GM’s North American engine volume will be four-cylinders by 2011, and 21% of the four-cylinder volume will be turbocharged – a seven-fold increase over today’s volume of turbo engines. For more details, please see the press release. GM and OnStar Create Technology to Help Save Lives Yesterday, General Motors of Canada and OnStar demonstrated technology that assists in the safe recovery of subscribers’ stolen vehicles. Stolen Vehicle Slowdown sends a signal to a subscriber’s stolen vehicle to reduce engine power slowing the vehicle down gradually. Research has shown that 95% of OnStar subscribers want the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service available on their cars and trucks. |
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the Chevrolet Volt story with Bob Lutz is scheduled to run this Sunday on CBS at 7:00 pm. |
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Looks like the Lambdas are replacing the midsize SUV's faster than they thought. Actually the Chevy Traverse was not supposed to be there. Chevy was supposed to keep the real truck but the gas prices changed that. General Motors Corp. said Friday it will shut down its SUV assembly plant here on Dec. 23 as the company shifts focus to smaller vehicles. GM spokesman Chris Lee said employees gathered in the plant Friday afternoon were informed of the closing date. Some 1,100 remaining workers are affected. The automaker earlier this year announced plans to close the plant by the summer of 2010 or sooner, then accelerated shutdown plans as part of companywide cost-cutting moves.
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Model-line quality data compiled by JD Power and Associates finds its way into the media only rarely because the California survey firm guards it to avoid embarrassing clients. So when Power's 2008 Initial Quality numbers for midsize cars leaked recently, they warranted some further scrutiny. And parsing the numbers reveals some surprising developments As long as I can remember, Japanese manufacturers have been regarded as the gold standard in quality. No more. This year's IQS winner in the midsize segment, by a healthy margin, is the Chevrolet Malibu, with a mere 80 problems per 100 customers. That's an excellent showing for a car in its first year of production, when assembly plants are still learning how to put the pieces together. Other non-Asians also did well. The Ford Fusion finished third with 88 problems, the Volkswagen Passat ranked fourth with 94, and the Buick LaCrosse came in fifth with 96. Buick traditionally scores well in these surveys, but Ford and VW are both moving up the charts. To be sure, two Japanese models, the Mitsubishi Galant and Toyota Camry also finished in the top five. But the Nissan Altima finished below average, as did, shockingly, the Honda Accord. Nissan is typically an also-ran in quality, but Honda has been a leader in the past. The 2008 Accord - another model in its first year of production - fell all the way from second in last year's midsize survey with 22 more defects per 100. Bringing up the rear in the midsize quality ranks was the Subaru Outback Wagon - another historical also-ran - and two Chrysler products: the Dodge Avenger and the mechanically identical Chrysler Sebring. They recorded 171 and 183 defects respectively, more than twice as many as the Malibu. A couple of conclusions can be drawn from this data. One, it is possible for American mass-producers to equal or better the quality of their overseas competitors. And two, it still makes sense to avoid purchasing a car during its first year of production - even though that car may carry a famous Asian name on the trunk lid. Again even a media person gets it wrong. Century won this award about 8 years ago and many other GM products have beat out Camry/Accord over the years since. |
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Oct 03, 2008 2:14 pm)
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