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Automotive News & Views How The 35 mpg Law By 2020 Will Affect The Cars We Will Drive
538 messages, Last post on Jul 31, 2008 at 6:28 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: nippononly (Jun 02, 2008 5:36 pm)
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jun 03, 2008 4:42 am) "DETROIT -- General Motors will unveil a Chevrolet compact car at an auto show this fall, with production slated to begin early next year, say sources familiar with GM's product program. The vehicle will be built on the Delta compact car architecture at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The car will use a new 1.4-liter global engine that GM developed and recently announced in Europe. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used in several GM vehicles worldwide. The Chevrolet compact will not be called the Cobalt, says one source familiar with the plans. GM will produce the current-generation Cobalt through June 2010 as a 2009 model. It was unclear from sources whether GM will continue to build the Cobalt after that. Shared among five nameplates The car's engine will be capable of developing between 120 and 140 hp. Sources say mileage could easily exceed 40 mpg. "It's a pretty incredible engine; it's direct-injected with great power," the source says. "The small-displacement turbos make it possible to get great power so that GM might put it in the mid-sized products, too. It's an extremely important engine and a very capable powertrain." The new engine will be shared among five nameplates: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel and Daewoo, sources say. That means the Lordstown plant could build cars for export. The engine continues the trend that GM started with such cars as the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line. Those cars use smaller engines and high-technology devices such as direct fuel injection and turbochargers to boost fuel economy and performance." So the news is mainly powertrain-related, it doesn't talk about body styles. As for durability concerns, the turbo in the Sky/Solstice has a very high specific output, and it hasn't become known for problems so far. I expect that one of the very common techniques for meeting the new CAFE targets will be small engines with turbos... |
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jun 02, 2008 8:13 pm) |
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GM cuts truck production, considers selling Hummer brand "General Motors said today that it is shuttering production at four of its plants that build full-sized pickups and SUVs and it is considering "all options" with its Hummer brand -- including a possible sale. The moves are the result of high gas prices, which GM now views as a permanent market condition, CEO Rick Wagoner said. The automaker also announced it will add a third shift to its small-car plant in Lordstown, Ohio, Wagoner confirmed. GM will be building an all-new Chevrolet compact car at the Lordstown plant, as first reported by Automotive News on Monday. Finally, GM's board of directors has approved the production funding for the gasoline-electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, Wagoner says. "In other words, the Chevy Volt is a go" Wagoner said in a teleconference before the company's annual meeting today in Wilmington, Del. Wagoner said GM still intends to put the Volt for sale at the end of 2010 and to build it at its plant in Hamtramck, Mich. PRODUCTION CUTS GM is reacting to $4-a-gallon gasoline prices by making major cuts in its full-sized pickup and SUV production. The automaker said it will cease production at its Oshawa, Ontario, truck assembly operations in Canada, which builds the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, likely in 2009. GM said its plant in Moraine, Ohio, which builds the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x, will end production at the end of the 2010 model run, or sooner, if demand dictates. Janesville, Wisc., will cease production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and of the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon in 2010, or sooner, if market demand dictates." "WILMINGTON, Del. - GM today announced a range of strategic initiatives to aggressively respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and to economic and market challenges in North America. Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, made the announcements here as part of the GM annual meeting of stockholders. Major initiatives announced by Wagoner include: • A new global compact car program for Chevrolet, a next generation for the popular Chevy Aveo, and a high efficiency engine module for the U.S. market. • Funding for production of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle. • Addition of third shifts to Lordstown and Orion, which build hot-selling Chevy and Pontiac cars. • Cessation of production at four plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks. • A strategic review of the Hummer brand. "From the start of our North American turnaround plan in 2005, I've said that our goal is not just to return GM to profitability, but to structure GM globally for sustained profitability and growth," said Wagoner. "Since the first of this year, however, U.S. economic and market conditions have become significantly more difficult," he said. "Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix." In North America, GM has been moving rapidly and successfully to revitalize its car lineup and grow its crossover business. New GM cars and crossovers, including the Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Vibe and Buick Enclave, have been selling strongly, and GM intends to build on this success. In fact, 18 of the next 19 new GM products for the U.S. will be cars or crossovers. Additional operational and strategic actions will be required to position GM for sustainable profitability and growth. These initiatives fall into three broad areas: product and technology, manufacturing facilities and capacity, and the Hummer brand. New Chevrolet models and a high-efficiency engine module approved To further strengthen GM's lineup of fuel-efficient cars, the GM board has approved a next-generation compact Chevy for the U.S. and global markets, a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo, and a U.S. production module of GM's 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The new Chevy compact will be better equipped than today's compact cars, and will be designed to set quality and safety benchmarks for the compact class. Production will begin in mid-2010 at GM's Lordstown, Ohio, plant, subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities. "This car will represent the first U.S. application of our global architecture strategy," said Wagoner. "This strategy will pay major dividends as we leverage our extensive car product development capability in Europe, Korea, and other locations to accelerate the shift in our U.S. product portfolio." The next-generation compact will be pure Chevrolet in design, and will feature the 1.4-liter turbocharged version of GM's global four-cylinder engine. With this engine and a manual transmission, the new Chevy is expected to achieve a 9 mpg improvement over Chevy's current entry in this segment. The engine will be produced in Flint, Michigan, again subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities. Also recently approved was a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo. Based on a global architecture, the Aveo is also expected to have segment-leading fuel economy when it goes on sale in the U.S. market in the second half of 2010. These new Chevy models will help build on GM's leadership in fuel efficient vehicles. For example, GM continues to offer more vehicles with a 30-mpg or better highway fuel economy rating than any competitor." http://www.autonews.com/article/20080603/ANA02/455137809/1176/emailblast02&refse- ct=emailblast02 |
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"Ford F series loses title as top-selling vehicle in May Honda Civic sets new record of 53,299 sales The Ford F-150 pickup truck has been dethroned as America's favorite vehicle for the first time since 1991 -- by four sedans. According to preliminary sales figures released by automakers, Ford Motor Co. sold 42,973 F-series trucks in May, while Toyota Motor Corp. sold 52,826 Corollas and 51,291 Camrys. The Honda Civic beat all vehicles with sales of 53,299 vehicles -- an all-time record for any month -- while the Honda Accord raked in another 43,728 in sales, according to American Honda Motor Co. The last time a car outsold the F series was October 1991. Ford CEO Alan Mulally said the fact that cars are outselling trucks is further evidence that the industry is undergoing a change in consumer preference. "We really believe we are seeing a structural shift with the fuel prices going through the $3.40-to-$3.60" range. It's interesting that a lot of others are saying the same thing now," Mulally told reporters Monday, June 2, at a dinner in Washington. "So I think we're seeing a structural shift where, with the prices being high in the United States, we're seeing exactly what happened in Europe a number of years ago, where the customers are going to make economic decisions, and they're going to move toward smaller and medium-sized vehicles."" http://www.autonews.com/article/20080603/ANA05/959951360/1078/emailblast02&refse- ct=emailblast02 Looks like gas prices are going to accomplish what the Congress never could, using CAFE: a shift to fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S. The thing about consumer preference, of course, is that it is fickle, so I'm glad that there is added pressure on automakers to improve fuel efficiency, even if it comes from a relatively weak tool in the form of CAFE 2020.
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Replying to: nippononly (Jun 03, 2008 12:31 pm) This new CAFE law is already obsolete, as the average mpg will rise quicker and further than this law sets as a goal.
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Replying to: kernick (Jun 04, 2008 8:44 am) 
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The automakers went to Washington to go whaa whaa whaa about the schedule of fuel economy increases they must meet by 2015. http://www.autonews.com/article/20080701/ANA02/527230349/1128/emailblast02&Profi- - le=1128 "The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to reconsider its plan to raise standards by 4.5 percent a year during the 2011-15 model years. By 2015, under the plan, cars would have to average about 35.7 mpg and trucks would have to average about 28.6 mpg -- about 25 percent higher overall than today. The proposal "would require manufacturers to expend resources at a pace that is excessive given the fact that the auto industry is already under economic stress," the alliance said in formal comments reacting to preliminary rules NHTSA unveiled in April." I find it ironic that many of the automakers are partly or mostly under economic stress because the fuel economy of their vehicles sucks so bad. If only they would comply with the new regs, their economic stress would likely decrease significantly!
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Replying to: nippononly (Jul 01, 2008 5:23 pm) GM stock is at $12 per share -- a 40 year low. Ford is languishing around $5 per share. The execs see the meteor coming, and they want the taxpayers to give them shelter. However, unlike Chrysler in the 1980s, the Big 3 have fired so many workers in the United States, along with moving so many factories to foreign countries, that they'll have a tough time convincing folks that a bailout is "good for American workers." The upcoming dog and pony show will be interesting. . |
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Replying to: 1stpik (Jul 02, 2008 3:22 am) And I don't support a bailout. The industry has failed to contract sufficiently or quickly enough, and as they are positioned now, I think there is only room for one domestic in the car industry of the future, 20 years out. As of this moment, I am convinced that one survivor should and will be GM, and it doesn't need a bailout to accomplish that. It just needs to aggressively and unswervingly stay the course it has been on for about three years now.
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