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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)--the industry-funded group that mashes cars into walls so that you don't have to--says GM's big crossover vehicles are so good at protecting passengers, they're giving them the Top Safety Pick designation.
The TSP award goes to cars and
trucks that earn "good" crash ratings for front, side, and rear impacts, and also have standard stability control.
The GM crossovers included in this set are the
2008 GMC Acadia (the hapless victim actually tested by the IIHS), and its bunkmates--the
2008 Saturn Outlook and
2008 Buick Enclave. The agency says the
2009 Chevrolet Traverse also will get the designation, since it's structurally similar to the other vehicles.
The IIHS says the rating applies to crossovers built after March 2008.
Posted in : 2008, 2009, Buick, Chevrolet, Crossover Vehicles, GM, GMC, Safety, Saturn
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GM hasn't said too much about its new
Buick sedan. Scratch that--they've shown us sketches, talked about how it's one of "
nicest things we've ever done," and now, confirmed that the new sedan will stick with the somewhat controversial name of
LaCrosse.
The 2010
Buick LaCrosse is shown here in an extreme close-up, but it won't be long before you see the real thing. GM's pegging a
Los Angeles auto show debut for the new sedan, which we've also shown you
in spy photos. It's a little odd that GM won't hold it for the Detroit show, since there's also a
Cadillac CTS Coupe coming to Los Angeles. Our strong hunch: GM is clearing the decks for a major Volt/Camaro display in Detroit.
There aren't any more details about the
LaCrosse, but we're expecting the usual V-6 engines, front-wheel drive, six-speed automatics, and a time-space-continuum disruptor as standard equipment. Wait, scratch that last feature--that's for the midcycle refresh.
Posted in : 2010, Buick, Los Angeles Auto Show, Sedans
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A new generation of rear-drive vehicles from General Motors is in question again as the automaker tries to rationalize new cars for
Cadillac and
Buick with coming fuel-economy regulations.
The
Detroit Free Press and other sources suggest GM will push back, and possibly cancel, plans for a replacement for the
Cadillac DTS and a planned new full-size sedan for
Buick.
The new DTS was to enter production in Lansing, Mich., in 2011. A
Buick model to replace the Lucerne--and spearhead a new drive by GM to enter taxi and livery fleets--was to follow. Both were to be spun from the architecture that will underpin the
2010 Chevrolet Camaro.
A replacement for the current
Pontiac G8 also was in the original plan, as was a rear-drive sedan for
Chevrolet, but those cars may be moved to a front-drive platform to conserve weight and boost fuel economy.
GM recently lifted the lid on a string of small cars and crossovers for the next two model years, including the 2011
Chevrolet Cruze, the
2010 Chevrolet Equinox, and a pair of small crossovers for
Cadillac and
Saab.
Posted in : 2008, Buick, Cadillac, GM
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This morning's announcements from GM were met with a big public-relations offensive which included a special bloggers-only conference call with vice chairman Bob Lutz. TheCarConnection.com and Gaywheels.com were invited to be on this very limited call, the highlights of which appear below in brief notes:
- Lutz says GM is fundamentally altering its product portfolio in the U.S. and it will resemble more closely those in Europe and Asia--with much more fuel-efficient vehicles.
- In regards to struggling Saturn, "Our worry with Saturn is that the franchise is not generating enough volume," Lutz said. "We had planned to short-cycle the Aura" and replace it with the mid-size Opel Insignia, he said. By holding on to the current Aura for a few more years, GM can conserve cash.
- Conversely, he says the Buick Invicta is one of "nicest things we've ever done." The car may not carry that name in production.
- "I hope fuel doesn't get more expensive," but Lutz says the introductions of vehicles like the new Cadillac SRX and Chevrolet Equinox will draw its lineup slightly down in size and dramatically higher in fuel economy.
- The new Chevrolet Cruze is expected to have 40+ mpg fuel economy in a package that's larger than today's Cobalt, Lutz says.
- He hints that GMC will get a crossover, substantially smaller than the Acadia, equipped with four-cylinder engines. GMC is expected to get a version of the new Chevrolet Equinox; it's "so different" you would never guess they were similar under the skin. (The GMC version is expected to be called the Terrain.)
- "As U.S. fuel costs approach fuel costs of the rest of the world...the vehicle park of the U.S. will come to resemble the vehicle park of the rest of the world."
- As for Pontiac, it's a vital part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC group, he explains. Buick will be positioned at the premium end, with GMC selling trucks and crossovers. Pontiac will be low-end passenger cars. Offer "excitingly styled, fun to drive cars that are affordable," and largely based on Chevrolets.
Posted in : 2008, Buick, Cadillac, GM, GMC, Pontiac
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Armchair quarterbacking about GM shutting down another brand is just rumor, says GM's Mark LaNeve, who told dealers in a letter that
Saturn,
Buick,
Pontiac, and
Saab are only being studied, not yanked from the GM corral.
In the letter to dealers--obtained by Dow Jones reporters--LaNeve says to dealers that GM is merely trying to improve its business--"that is the extent of the 'examination' that is going on at this time for
Saturn or any other GM brand," he writes.
LaNeve explains that the company's trying to find way to make the brands profitable--in rough agreement with the Wall Street Journal's assertion earlier this week that
Saturn never has turned a profit.
GM shares have fallen to 50-year lows and sales dropped dramatically in June, though less than analysts expected--and less than Japanese automaker Toyota's sales fell. In recent weeks, GM has confirmed it's put its
HUMMER brand under "strategic review," which has been understood in
Detroit to mean either a range of small new
HUMMERs has to be developed, or the brand will be sold or joint-ventured with a foreign automaker.
READ MORE:
GM Sales Chief Says No Plans to Ax More Brands - WSJ.com
Posted in : Buick, GM, Industry News, Pontiac, Saturn
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