One of the best things about this month’s Chevrolet SXSW Road Trip Challenge was following the eight teams from across the nation as they tackled offbeat challenges on their way to Austin, Texas, for the SXSW Conference. And, along the way, there was some world-class smack talk exchanged between the teams.
We were fortunate enough to [...]
By Will Stewart
SXSW Road Trip Challenge Correspondent
As the Chevy SXSW Road Trip Challenge rolls into its final day, Team Detroit continues to dominate the scoring, opening up a nearly two-to-one lead over its nearest rival, Team South Florida.
It’s looking like Team Detroit might be unbeatable as the teams approach their destination, Austin, Texas. But from [...]
By Andrew Farah
Chevrolet Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer
Nearly two years ago, we put plans in motion to begin building the first pre-production Chevrolet Volts in May 2009. Back in February of this year, I hung a countdown clock on my office wall. It read 99 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes. The countdown had begun to [...]
Last week as we finished our chat session here on FastLane, I promised to follow up on some of the questions we didn’t get to during the chat. There’s been a lot happening this week, so it took a little longer than I’d wanted — but here’s a few answers to start with. We’ll get [...]
By Rick Spina
GMNA Vice President, Quality
Buick ranks first, in a tie with Jaguar, beating perennial chart topper, Lexus, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study Results. Don’t believe me? Check out the news yourself here. While you’re there, check out the ultra-competitive midsize car segment. There, you’ll see the [...]
Dear Mr. Friedman:
On Meet the Press you said, “So, show me a plan…” on why GM should receive government aid to bridge the current global financial crisis. We’ve invited you repeatedly to visit General Motors and see firsthand all we are doing to transform our business and develop new, energy-saving technologies.
We’re disappointed you still [...]
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Here’s something that arrived in my e-mail inbox recently from an old friend. I thought I’d pass it along to the FastLane crowd, because I know you’ll find it as interesting as I did. The Big Three has taken a lot of heat in recent years over falling sales in the [...]
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Recently we unveiled the Buick Invicta concept car at the Beijing motor show. It was a natural choice to have the sleek concept sedan’s debut in China, where Buick is an established, respected premium luxury brand.
The Invicta is a vehicle that GM Global Product Development can be proud of on many levels, not the least of which is, I think, that it’s a beautifully designed car. It shows where Buick design is headed, both in China and in North America, and gives you a strong hint at what the next generation LaCrosse might look like.
In the big picture, to me, Invicta is symbolic of the progress we continue to make revamping GM Global Product Development and rolling out our global architecture programs. The next generation LaCrosse will share an architecture with other midsize sedans from Chevrolet, Saab, Opel/Vauxhall and others. But the key to the whole thing is … it will be very hard to tell they share the same parentage if you didn’t already know.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
This is a little late coming, but I just wanted to take the time and space to officially thank everyone who traveled to New York, some from fairly far away, for the Volt Nation event at the auto show there last month.
And I’d like to thank Dr. Lyle Dennis, the Foundation of Volt Nation, for organizing such a great event, and for his boundless enthusiasm. In fact, all the attendees were rather enthusiastic, and we are very appreciative of that, and of their rabid interest in the Volt program.
As I told the group assembled there in New York, the Volt team feeds off their enthusiasm, it’s a great motivator for us.
From America
By Ed Peper
Chevrolet General Manager
If you were online yesterday and had even a passing interest in performance cars, you probably read about the new 2009 Corvette ZR1. The car will go on display to the public during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, but we released some photos and the all-important technical information on this ultimate Vette. It's the Corvette that challenges the supercar hierarchy, with world-beating performance offered at a world-beating price.
Just in case you missed it, here's the story: The ZR1 is the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever produced. In fact, it's the fastest and most powerful production car in General Motors' history. We're still conducting performance testing, so I can't throw out 0-60, quarter-mile and braking numbers, but suffice it to say that we couldn't use the Corvette Z06's 200-mph speedometer because there weren't enough numbers on it.
By Steve Shannon
Saab Automobile USA General Manager
I want to infect you with the same enthusiasm I’m feeling for the upcoming Boston Auto Show, which opens to the press just after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27.
You see, at the Boston show the ultra-hot Saab Turbo X will make its North American debut. Bringing the ultimate expression of Saab performance to U.S. soil is pretty cool in itself.
But now, imagine if you will, adding a recently acquired classic 1985 Saab 900 Turbo SPG, to the debut. Now that’s REALLY exciting. I don’t think I’m alone in my excitement. I fondly recall my younger days on the East Coast and seeing the first of the Black Turbos zipping along Wall Street, Madison Avenue and even on some university campuses. Saab really rocked in the mid-80s, beating sales records month after month, reaching an all-time high in 1986. Saab had cult car status. I can’t wait to see it again.
By Jim Bunnell
General Manager, Buick-Pontiac-GMC
It's nice to know that you do good work and have quality products. It's even nicer when someone else recognizes just how good you really are.
J.D. Power & Associates came out today with their 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study. In it, J.D. Power recognized Buick as building the most dependable vehicles in the automotive industry. They say that we jumped eight points from third last year (153 ppH) to first (145 ppH), tying Lexus for the best score in the industry. (By the way, "ppH" stands for "problems reported per hundred vehicles; this year's industry average was 216.)