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June 28, 2006
Podcast: GM to Le Mans Video
Corvette Racing's victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the result of planning that rivals the precision of a missile launch and the determination of the D-Day invasion. This time-lapse video shot in Corvette Racing's headquarters in New Hudson, Mich., documents the team's final preparations for the assault on Le Mans as tons of equipment and the two Corvette C6.R race cars were prepared to be airlifted to Europe for the world's most prestigious sports car race. Be prepared; it will take your breath away!
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Posted by Editor at 9:34 AM
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Podcast: Looking Back at Le Mans
The 74th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's greatest sports car race, is now in the record books. Corvette Racing scored its third straight victory in the GT1 class (and its fifth win in six years) against world-class competition in this grueling twice-around-the-clock endurance race in France. You can hear the comments of driver Oliver Gavin, who piloted the No. 64 Corvette C6.R to victory with his teammates Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen, in his audio podcast review of the race. Check out his podcast here.
For a different perspective, read driver Johnny O'Connell's personal blog that he wrote after a star-crossed race in the No. 63 Corvette C6.R that finished seventh in the GT1 division.
Check back to Fast Lane for more Le Mans recaps soon.
Posted by Editor at 11:08 AM
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Drive Time
The Saturn Aura will go on sale later this summer.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Although I’ve been traveling extensively this month, I have found time to get behind the wheel of some of our vehicles. I’ve driven two recently that I’m quite excited about, because they really illustrate the progress we’ve been making in mid-size cars.
The first is the Saturn Aura, which goes on sale later this summer. Simply put, I enjoyed it very much. It’s a very refined, very civilized car, beautifully put together, with impressive levels of quiet, and wonderful handling.
I believe it’s a major milestone in terms of both refinement and vehicle dynamics, not only for the Saturn brand but also for GM, in the category of mid-size front-wheel-drive cars. Got lots of “what is THAT” looks while driving it, and people were invariably surprised to find out it’s a Saturn. It’s absolutely outstanding and a great value as well.
I’ve also driven an astonishing Impala with the soon-to-be-released 3.9L Active Fuel Management system, which runs on three cylinders a surprising amount of the time.
It switches off half the cylinders whenever the engine isn’t fully solicited. And because of the unique characteristic of the Impala, which for its size is a relatively lightweight and aerodynamic car, it’s ideally suited for Active Fuel Management with the 3.9L V6. You can even go slightly uphill on three cylinders.
On the fuel economy label, there won’t be a lot of difference, because the fuel economy label cycle calls for idle, for example, and on idle you have to run all six, otherwise you get a rough idle. So you don’t save anything there. And you don’t save anything at full acceleration and most of the other requirements they roll into the cycle procedure. But the way most people drive, as you know, can be considerably different from the fuel economy label cycle.
As a result, people are going to be pleasantly surprised; instead of getting worse mileage than the fuel economy label, they’re more often than not going to see better mileage. When I picked up the car it had several thousand miles on it. And the average fuel economy on the trip computer was 29.8 mpg! (We haven’t released final EPA numbers on the 2007 Impala yet, but the average won’t be that high…) I was amazed by that, and I’m sure anyone else who gets into one will be, too. It’s just the kind of thing we need to address the fuel cost issues, and when it’s available, rest assured we’ll aggressively put the word out about it.
Posted by Lutz at 2:22 PM
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Podcast: Team Corvette Drives Home Results at LeMans
The final wrap-up of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from Le Mans, France, from Brent Dewar, Mark Kent and Tom Wallace.
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Posted by Editor at 2:20 PM
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Podcast: Team Corvette Is Ready for LeMans
With the 24 hours of LeMans set for Saturday, Team Corvette is finalizing plans. Ron Fellows, a two-time class winner at the 24 hours of LeMans and a three-time American LeMans series winner with Team Corvette, talks about what it takes to get both the vehicle and team members ready for the big day as anticipation continues to build.
Posted by Editor at 5:06 PM
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The Times — Again
By Steven J. Harris
Vice President, Global Communications
UPDATE: Here's an interesting perspective, by Josh Hendrickson of the Everyday Economist, on Friedman's latest column that's worth taking a look at.
Editor’s note: Yesterday, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times devoted 1,279 words, a full quarter of the Times’ Op-Ed page, to respond directly to this blog’s June 1 post by Steve Harris, which addressed Friedman’s earlier criticism of GM. That the Times would respond in that way to any blog posting is significant. Here’s Steve’s response to Mr. Friedman’s defense.
Although we have disputed the factual accuracy and reasoning of Thomas Friedman's recent columns on GM, this debate has given us the opportunity to better inform the world of what GM is all about.
First, it’s worth noting that we, and Mr. Friedman, are really not in disagreement on the fundamental issue here: That the United States needs to reduce its fuel consumption and dependence on oil. Enhancing energy security is an appropriate national goal.
Unfortunately, many of his assumptions and the way he proposes to meet that goal are incorrect. He is correct, however, that consumers will increasingly make different vehicle choices, embrace new technologies and adjust the amount of fuel they use as its cost rises.
In other words, consumers are rational and markets do work.
We find it particularly curious that Mr. Friedman dismisses GM’s leadership in producing E85 vehicles as the result of a “shameful federal loophole.” In fact, the federal legislation that encouraged automakers to produce these vehicles is an example of a public policy incentive that actually did what it was supposed to do. It essentially broke the “chicken-and-egg” syndrome inherent to any introduction of an alternative fuel: Which comes first, the vehicles or the fuel?
There are more than 5 million E85-capable cars and trucks on the road today; more than 2 million of those are GM vehicles. The issue now is getting more E85 fuel produced and distributed, and that’s happening. Farmers are forming co-ops to build more ethanol plants, investors are lining up to help out, and we are working with distributors and the government to encourage wider distribution. It’s the market, driven by higher gasoline prices, that’s suddenly helping to build a consensus and momentum for E85.
Granted, E85 is not the complete solution. But it’s an important start — something we can do right now to reduce our oil consumption.
Look no further than Brazil for proof. Just three years ago, Brazil renewed its commitment to ethanol to end its “addiction” to foreign oil. Automakers, including GM, responded with new “flex-fuel” vehicles that run either on ethanol or gasoline. And how much foreign oil does Brazil import today?
Virtually none.
We believe that fuel cell-powered vehicles ultimately will prove to be the solution to ending our oil dependence, and we’re investing billions and making progress in driving the cost of this technology down to make it practical. In the meantime, E85 offers an immediate way to begin our transition away from oil.
GM’s strategy is to invest in many technologies with potential, including hybrid powertrains. In fact, we have put 449 GM hybrid public transit buses on the streets of 38 cities in the United States and Canada over the past few years. While they may get little attention in the media, they’re saving thousands of gallons of fuel every week.
We will introduce the Saturn VUE Green Line hybrid this summer, which will offer the best highway fuel economy of any SUV (EPA estimated 32 mpg) at a price significantly below its hybrid competitors. The Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs with our high-tech, two-mode hybrid system will hit showrooms next year. BMW and DaimlerChrysler have joined GM to produce this hybrid powertrain for their large cars and trucks, and thereby lower the overall cost.
Mr. Friedman questioned how we can compete in a world of $3.99-per-gallon gasoline prices. The fact is, we can and we do here and around the world.
So far this year, GM has sold more than 491,000 cars that get 30 mpg or better EPA-estimated highway mileage in the United States. By comparison, we’ve sold just under 7,000 Hummer H2s and 138 H1s — an aging model that we will stop producing this month.
Put another way, total Hummer sales represented less than half of 1 percent of total vehicle sales in the United States through May, or just 1.6 percent of GM’s total sales. My point is to put Hummer sales into perspective. It’s one of our lower-volume brands, but has a loyal following of off-road enthusiasts.
Interestingly, Hummer sales are up 156 percent this year through May — despite higher fuel prices. That’s because last year we introduced a more fuel-efficient midsize model, the H3, which can get an EPA-estimated 20 mpg on the highway. It has been a significant hit.
Mr. Friedman also was dismissive about the fact that our full-size SUVs have the highest EPA fuel-economy numbers. He cites one magazine that rates Toyota and Honda’s SUVs better overall on other criteria.
Of course, Honda doesn’t make a full-size SUV (Mr. Friedman admits, “I’m not a car expert.”) And actual consumers overwhelmingly rate GM’s full-size SUVs better than Toyota’s. This year through May, GM’s full-size SUVs are commanding 68.3 percent of the segment; Toyota’s Sequoia and Land Cruiser combined account for only 7.7 percent.
Another point that Mr. Friedman raised demands clarification. He implied I was misleading our readers by failing to mention rebates being offered on 2006 Chevy Suburbans and Tahoes. He failed to mention that we stopped building the ’06 models last year before the redesigned ‘07s went on sale, and that relatively few of them are left to sell. It’s common when new models are introduced for automakers to offer discounts to move the older models off the lot — customers aren’t going to pay full sticker for the old model when the all-new model can be had for about the same price.
Again, our 2007 full-size SUVs have been selling very well, without any national rebates.
As I said in my previous post, GM, like Toyota, is a full-line automaker. We offer something for everyone. Ultimately, consumers decide what they will buy based on their own calculation of their needs, desires and budgets.
We’ve been improving the internal-combustion engine for close to 100 years, and we have a tremendous record of innovation. We continue to invest in future technology that promises to get the car out of the debates on oil dependence and the environment.
I again invite Mr. Friedman to come to Detroit and learn more about our research, to speak with our engineers and get a firsthand look at what we’re doing to reach the goal that we both agree is desirable.
Posted by Editor at 3:37 PM
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Podcast: The Countdown to Le Mans Is On
The countdown to the 24 hours of Le Mans continues for Team Corvette and Dan Binks, crew chief.
The countdown to the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues, and Corvette Racing is in the final stages of preparation for the world's most prestigious sports car race. Today's interview features Dan Binks, the championship-winning crew chief for the No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis. Binks talks about the elaborate technical inspection conducted at Le Mans and describes the challenge of keeping his pit crew sharp for a 40-hour race day.
Posted by Editor at 9:58 AM
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Team Corvette: American Pride at LeMans
Team Corvette continues preparations for the 24 hours of LeMans.
The winning record of Corvette is a source of American pride at the world-famous 24 Hours of LeMans which begins June 17. During a pre-race interview recorded in Detroit, Gary Claudio, Corvette North America marketing manager, says a win at LeMans is very important to the Corvette racing team, to owners, and to the Corvette reputation around the world.
Posted by Editor at 11:56 AM
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News Update
Update: In the period immediately following the publishing of the Friedman piece, GM began corresponding with the Times editors in an attempt to get a letter to the editor published. Get the details here.
Posted by Editor at 1:01 PM
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Video Podcast: Corvette Team Heads for LeMans
The Corvette Racing team is on its way to France for the June 17 start of the world-famous 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race. Corvette has been the winner four out of the last five years. GM North America Vice President of Sales, Service, and Marketing Brent Dewar talked recently about the significance of a win at LeMans and why GM is into racing at all.
Posted by Editor at 3:45 PM
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J.D. Power’s New IQS: The Rest of the Story
By Jamie Hresko
GM North America Vice President of Quality
GM once again got a strong vote of confidence from consumers polled by J.D. Power and Associates, though you wouldn’t know it if you only read Power’s news release today: “Lexus and Toyota models continue to dominate” the press release says, citing their awards in 11 of 19 segment categories.
Well, guess what? GM also earned recognition for 11 vehicles that placed in the top three of their segments. That is second only to Toyota. Two vehicles, the Chevrolet Silverado and the Pontiac Grand Prix, took top honors in their segments. GM’s turnaround is real, and responses from the 63,607 consumers of 2006 cars and trucks polled by J.D. Power prove it.
Let’s take a look at the actual numbers.
Cadillac and GMC were ranked among the top 10 brands. In fact, GMC was singled out by J.D. Power as one of the brands with fewest design problems.
These 11 vehicles placed in the top three in their segments:
- Buick Rainier
- Chevrolet Corvette (also one of the top 10 models across the industry)
- Chevrolet Monte Carlo
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Chevrolet Silverado Light Duty (top award)
- Chevrolet Silverado HD
- GMC Sierra HD
- GMC Savana
- GMC Yukon
- Hummer H2
- Pontiac Grand Prix (top award)
Our trucks handily won the large pickup category, sweeping first, second and third places: Chevy Silverados, both the light duty and heavy duty versions, and the GMC Sierra HD cleaned up that segment.
And plant quality? Are the Japanese “transplant” factories in North and South America really better than ours?
For the fifth year in a row, GM earned Power’s top honor, the Gold Award, for the plant in North and South America that builds vehicles with the fewest defects. Moreover, of the top 15 plants, seven were GM plants – proof that our Global Manufacturing System continues to pay dividends in establishing GM leadership in plant quality.
This year’s Gold Award went to the Oshawa 2 plant in Canada, which builds the Buick LaCrosse and Pontiac Grand Prix. It won that Quality Award for the second year in a row.
J.D. Power heard the same things our customers are telling us: GM's quality is good. In fact, 4.5 million customers show their confidence in our cars and trucks every year when they buy them. And compared to four years ago, 40% fewer of those vehicles are returned for service. But don’t think we’re satisfied. We’re committed to becoming the industry leader in every segment.
Sometimes you have to look beyond the headline, or even the news release, for the full story.
Posted by Editor at 5:03 PM
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Podcast: Team Corvette Finalizes Plans
Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan speaks from France about preparations for this year's June 17-18 LeMans 24-hour endurance race. A former race driver himself, Fehan is optimistic that the Corvette team can come away with another win, extending the record to five 1-2 finishes in the most recent six years at LeMans.
Download Doug Fehan's interview.
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Posted by Editor at 4:14 PM
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Everybody's Got an Opinion. . .
By Mark LaNeve
GMNA Vice President, Sales, Service and Marketing
Everybody has an opinion about cars and trucks. That’s part of what makes this business great. And that’s what this blog is all about — the ideas, opinions and even arguments inspired by cars and trucks.
While never one to turn down a good-natured argument, I’m here to tell you that there’s one voice more important than anyone’s. That is the opinion of the buyer. There is simply nothing more significant or enduring than the actual experiences of vehicle owners. The owners are speaking — and they have very good things to say about GM cars and trucks, things that buck the conventional wisdom.
The entire Cadillac division and its CTS sedan, the Chevy Silverado HD and Corvette are winners in AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. This award is based solely on the direct input of vehicle owners in the U.S. Cadillac was named the best overall Premium/Luxury Brand in the industry for owner satisfaction. The CTS was awarded best Entry Luxury Car. Silverado HD won the top spot for Heavy Duty Pickups. Corvette was the winner in Sport Cars category.
I think these wins are of special significance. Premium and luxury segments are where the legendary brands battle for the most discerning consumers. Those savvy buyers — the folks who spent their money, not the pundits — say that they are most satisfied by Cadillac. AutoPacific’s study noted strong performance across the Cadillac brand, with CTS winning the entry luxury segment. CTS is a winner for Cadillac on many levels, its sales have increased in each of the four years it’s been on the market, it showcased our return to RWD and it has shaken up people’s opinions of our flagship luxury brand.
Everyone knows how strong Chevy Silverado is in the U.S. market. The choice of Silverado HD as the most satisfying heavy-duty pickup is important, as these owners demand more of their trucks on a daily basis than anybody. The Duramax diesel is a big reason for this award, and has lead a huge turnaround in the diesel market — a segment in which not too long ago, GM was an afterthought.
No question that the Corvette has a full trophy case already. And this legendary car has been well loved for more than 50 years. But, it wasn’t too long ago that people did not think of Corvette as truly comparable to the world’s best. Those days are over. Corvette is now universally viewed a very serious competitor at the highest level. And the truest experts — as opposed to the armchair quarterbacks — say it’s the most satisfying sports car, as Corvette beat Porsche 911 in AutoPacific’s study.
While there are lots of reviews, ratings and rankings, the ultimate measuring stick is the actual experience of the buyer and owner. We feel our new cars and trucks can win this most important battle —satisfying customers.
Posted by Editor at 2:58 PM
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Hyperbole and Defamation in The New York Times
By Steven J. Harris
Vice President, Global Communications
Imagine our shock when we read yesterday that GM is “more dangerous to America’s future” than any other company, is “like a crack dealer” addicting helpless Americans to SUVs, and is in a cabal with Ford and DaimlerChrysler to buy votes in Congress.
These weren’t the rantings of some obscure, clueless blogger. These were the thoughts of Thomas L. Friedman, author and influential columnist, on the op/ed page of The New York Times.
Mr. Friedman is not normally known for such shrill hyperbole. In fact, he’s generally well-respected and known for presenting rational, fact-supported opinions.
That wasn’t the case with yesterday’s column. That a journalist of his caliber and reputation could write such a defamatory, uninformed opinion was shocking to those of us dedicated to this company and proud of what GM builds and contributes to the nation’s economy.
The GM he describes is not the GM we know. Either Mr. Friedman is being a propagandist, or he’s woefully misinformed. We prefer to believe the latter. In fact, we’d like to invite Mr. Friedman out to Detroit to learn about the work GM is doing on alternative fuels, on hydrogen fuel cells and on technology to make all of our vehicles more fuel efficient.
GM understands the issue of our nation’s dependency on foreign oil as well as anyone, and we're doing as much or more than anyone to address the issue, from making our gasoline engines more fuel-efficient to investing heavily in hybrid and fuel cell powertrains.
We also understand the impact of higher fuel prices on consumers. We offer Americans a full line of fuel-efficient options, including last year’s top-selling subcompact, the Chevy Aveo, and the well-regarded Chevy Cobalt compact. In fact, GM offers more vehicles that get 30 mpg or better EPA highway mileage than any other automaker. More than Toyota. More than Honda. More than Nissan.
We've suggested immediate ways that the United States can reduce its oil dependency, including getting more E85 ethanol fuel made from U.S. corn into our nation's gas stations. Many of the GM cars and trucks that Mr. Friedman mentioned in his column can run on E85 fuel, which is one way we can significantly reduce the amount of oil we use – right now. We already have more than 1.9 million of these so-called “Flex Fuel” cars and trucks on the road.
Mr. Friedman takes exception to a limited incentive that offers a partial credit toward fuel purchases on certain midsize cars and full-size SUVs in two markets where we are working hard to increase our market share. This is nothing more than a creative way to get consumers' consideration for our products in two very competitive segments.
Mr. Friedman sees it as something sinister, an effort to turn hapless Americans into fuel “addicts.” But let's be intellectually honest here: A gas card is not going to get someone considering a $15,000 economy car to buy a $35,000 Chevy Tahoe.
The people who buy full-size SUVs, by and large, do so because they have a need for them – be it a large family to haul around or a boat to tow. And exactly how is offering a gas card that may be worth $1,000 any different or more sinister than the $2,000 cash rebate that Toyota's offering right now nationwide on its full-size SUV, the Sequoia? The Sequoia, by the way, gets worse mileage than any of GM’s industry-leading full-size SUVs.
In fact, Mr. Friedman’s suggestion that Toyota’s approach toward fuel economy is vastly different than GM’s belies the facts. Give Toyota credit for the Prius hybrid. But if you look at the growth in Toyota’s business in the United States over the last decade, it has come primarily from expanding into the truck segments – including full size pickups and SUVs. GM entries in those segments, by the way, have better EPA mileage ratings than Toyota’s.
And which automaker is building a large new assembly plant in Texas to build its biggest full-size pickup yet? Toyota.
Don’t get me wrong. Toyota's a fine company. But like GM, Toyota offers a full range of cars and trucks to satisfy all their customers across this nation, not just what New York and Washington journalists who ride in yellow cabs think the rest of America should drive.
Mr. Friedman also misstates our position on fuel economy standards. The fact is, GM is not opposed to reasonable standards. But there is no proof that the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations have done anything to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, oil consumption has increased dramatically over the years, even as vehicle fuel efficiency ratings have improved significantly.
That's because consumers make their own decisions on what to buy and how to drive. The sales-weighted “average fuel economy” numbers have not gone up more over the years because consumers have wanted larger, more powerful vehicles – even as our cars and trucks have become remarkably more fuel-efficient. Our new full-size SUVs that Mr. Friedman so despises, for example, now get more than 20 mpg on the highway.
GM has faced its share of criticism over the years, some of which was well-deserved. No company does everything right all the time. We appreciate constructive criticism that’s based on facts, and we try to listen and learn from it.
Today we’re in the midst of perhaps the largest turnaround in corporate history. We’re building the best, highest-quality cars and trucks in our history. We’re working closely and respectfully with our unions to lower our costs and fix the structural parts of our business that make us less competitive. And we continue to invest heavily in our future, a future that includes cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
We’re working hard to build a stronger GM and a stronger America that’s less dependent on foreign oil. Hyperbole and shrill editorializing on the pages of The New York Times shouldn’t mislead anyone.
P.S. Along with the comments and trackbacks below, please see commentator Joseph Pratt's analysis of the situation.
Posted by Editor at 2:51 PM
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