Paul Tan's Automotive News» Chevrolet at Paul Tan’s Automotive News

Chevrolet Caprice police car returns to the US!

Paul Tan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:01:28 +0000

Chevrolet has developed a new Chevrolet Caprice PPV for the US market, and as indicated by its PPV suffix (Police Patrol Vehicle) it will be police-only. The new Caprice PPV is based on the GM Zeta platform which is shared between its large vehicles like the Camaro, and in long wheelbase form, the Holden Statesman. The Caprice has the same 3,010mm long wheelbase as the Statesman.

Under the hood is a massive 355 horsepower 6.0 liter V8 that can take the cop car from 0 to 100km/h in under 6 seconds. A smaller V6 engine will be offered later. The transmission used is a 6-speed automatic. The front seats are sculpted to “pocket” the officer’s equipment belt (worn on the waist), which greatly increases the comfort for a great range of police officer sizes. The foam density of the seatback and cushion insert surfaces are designed to conform to the shape of an equipment belt’s various items, too, allowing the officer’s back to rest properly on the seatback surface.

Feedback was obtained from the police force during the development process. “The new Chevrolet Caprice police car is the right tool at the right time for law enforcement. We asked for a lot of feedback from our police customers, which helped us develop a vehicle that is superior to the Crown Victoria in key areas,” said Jim Campbell, general manager for GM Fleet and Commercial Operations.

I’m not sure how hard exactly that can be considering how old the Crown Victoria is (over a decade)! Now I wonder what happened to the Carbon Motors E7…

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Agile: previews the next gen Aveo?

Paul Tan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:41:31 +0000

This is the new Chevrolet Agile, a product that GM designed for the South American market. The Agile’s development was done by GM Mercosur located in Sao Paulo, Brazil at a cost of US$400 million. Target markets include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay so I don’t think we can expect the Agile to reach our country anytime soon, at least not in this form. There’s some word that a variation of this car will end up launched as the new Aveo though. The Agile is based on the same platform as the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa D and has a wheelbase of 2,510mm, putting it in competition with cars such as the Fiesta and the Polo. A few engines will be available ranging from a 105hp 1.4 liter up to a 129hp 1.8 liter engine.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM’s Bare Necessity Car Concept – a perfect trade-off between creature comforts and efficiency?

Paul Tan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:49:20 +0000

This is GM’s “Bare Necessity” Car concept, which was the result of them asking themselves: what are people willing to trade off for efficiency’s sake? And this is what they think is the car with the lowest cost per mile of any four-seater on the road.

They’ve conceptually designed it with some interesting stuff like retractable wipers to improve aerodynamic efficiency, and on the slide detailing the interior you can see that the default is pretty bare but they’ve already pre-planned various add-ons such as a reconfigurable touch display, modular HVAC systems, etc.

I’m pretty sure it’s an EREV with a hybrid system like the Volt too, since the instrumentation panel features both fuel levels and a battery level. GM thinks the best way to go about car propulsion now is what they call an Extended Range Electric Vehicle, which means the vehicle runs primarily on a battery and an electric motor, but a combustion engine is available to run to produce power to charge the battery only, not drive the wheels.

Look after the jump to view all the slides they’ve published. There’s also a video where they interview some of the team behind the concept.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

The Chevrolet Volt’s biggest problem: its cost

Paul Tan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:16:45 +0000

When GM first announced the Chevrolet Volt project, Bob Lutz said the production version could end up being priced somewhere in the high US$20,000s. That’s not so bad. The car is Cobalt-sized and a Cobalt starts at just under US$15k and tops out at US$23k. For about US$29k you can get a fully loaded up Chevy Impala. So I suppose you’ll be trading an upsize in vehicle class for the advanced EREV powertrain. But not any longer. It turns out the price tag was a big underestimation.

Apparently now the realistic price tag for the Volt hovers at somewhere around US$43,000. For that kind of money you can buy a fully loaded top of the range 3-Series, or even a basic BMW 5-Series. A Prius starts at just under US$22k. And how did Lutz end up with high US$20k range in the first place? “I just thought if a conventional car of that size with a four-cylinder engine can go for US$15k-16k, add US$8k for the battery and we’re at US$25k,” admitted Lutz.

But of course the Volt is more than a regular inline-4 car with a battery. Yes, the battery did end up being US$8,000, supplied by Korean company LG Chem. But you also have to add the electric motor, ECU and various controls for the motor and battery charging systems, as well as equip the car with new auxiliaries that can continue to work via other methods rather than draw power from an internal combustion engine via an aux belt. The Volt also ended up using many one-off parts which does not benefit from economies of scale from use in other GM cars.

Even at the US$43k to the customer price tag, GM will also have to sell the car to the dealers at a loss. They are banking on warranty costs being much less than they provisioned and for technology advancement to reduce the costs of the Volt’s components halfway down the road to make the car profitable.

It was last reported that our neighbours up in Thailand north will be getting it beginning 2011, and who knows, maybe we’ll get it too, albeit if that happens it will probably be only as a halo model of some sort because of the kind of price tag it will have. Even in Thailand it is estimated to be priced at nearly 3 million Thai baht (roughly RM300,000), because of Thai import duty structures.

Related Posts:
Production Chevrolet Volt Hybrid Car Revealed!
New official details on the Chevrolet Volt

PHOTO GALLERY: The Chevrolet Volt
Click thumbnails to view high resolution photo

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

New GM emerges and downsizes to 4 core brands

Paul Tan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:52:49 +0000

General Motors (GM) has emerged from bankruptcy after filing for Chapter 11 administration in early June. Still called General Motors, the “new” auto maker is now 60.8% owned by the US Government, 11.7% by the governments of Canada and Ontario, 17.5% by UAW retirees, and another 10% is owned by bondholders from the “old GM”.

The auto maker also revealed that it will only maintain four vehicle brands in its group, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, as these four are more profitable than the rest. Other brands such as Saab and Saturn were put on sale, while the Pontiac brand name has been shelved.

The auto maker will still continue to scale down its operations by reducing plants, dealers and a portion of it’s workforce, in the name of improving efficiency. GM, which has Fritz Henderson as it’s President and CEO and Ed Whitacre from AT&T as it’s chairman, has also also cut lose a total of 54 advertising and marketing contracts.

Such contracts include the placement of a Chevrolet Clock at Times Square (since 1930’s), sponsorships for the Oakland Raiders (American football team) and the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament (golf event) and more.

For the record, the so-called “struggling” auto maker has spent US$424 million in advertising and marketing just for the first three months of 2009! Although the figure is down by 20% from last year, it is still alot.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Cruze to get 5-door hatch variant

Paul Tan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:57:46 +0000

GM’s Australian car company Holden will take charge of the development of a 5-door hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze, which would be the replacement for the Chevrolet Optra5 which was sold here in Malaysia. The project will cost AU$600 million and Holden will build it alongside the Cruze sedan at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia from Q3 2010 onwards, and the company also intends to export it.

Holden says it needs a hatchback car as they claim Australia’s largest passenger car segment in terms of volume consists roughly half of hatchbacks. It used to bring the Astra in as an offering but decided to stop because of currency fluctuations.

Holden will use the Cruze platform (of which global platform also underpins the new Astra) and build a hatchback version positioned in a more upmarket position compared to the Cruze sedan. It will have an “European” feel that will lean more towards how the Astra feels rather than the Cruze, thanks to steering and suspension input from Holden.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM to move more production volume overseas

Paul Tan — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:18:46 +0000

GM aims to bring in a new range of small vehicles into the US and plans to have these made in China!

Though not technically a “Chinese car” as in produced by a Chinese marque, it is still the first time a volume car produced in China will be sold in the US.

Will the American consumer be able to accept that these set of cars will be made in China? It’s not a lot though, GM expects these Chinese-made models to only account for 1.6% (just over 50,000 units) of American GM sales in 2014.

The same GM document that details plans to bring in cars from China also reveals plan to increase production in Mexico from over 300,000 to over 500,000 and South Korea from just under 40,000 to nearly 160,000 by the year 2014. In turn, Canadian production will be cut.

Of course their UAW union is kicking up a fuss all over again, accusing GM of using taxpayer money to fund manufacturing outsourcing to other countries. Business is business and if the UAW cannot make cars at a cost that is competitive enough with the world, then this is just what GM has to do in order to improve profitability.

The American UAW and their colossal benefits schemes simply cannot compete with the lower labour costs of other countries.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner asked to resign?

Paul Tan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:36:05 +0000

According to Politico citing an unnamed White House official, Rick Wagoner will reportedly be stepping down as the CEO of General Motors at the request of the US Government, probably as part of conditions for more aid to be given to GM by the feds. In fact some sources day the 56 year old CEO already resigned yesterday.

The replacement for the outsted CEO who said over a week ago that he does not plan to resign anytime soon is likely to be GM’s COO Fritz Henderson, if the feds do not request for someone from the outside.

Chrysler chief executive Bob Nardelli is said to be safe from receiving similiar chopping, for now. If more and more aid is given to Chrysler (already $4 billion – they are asking for another $5 billion) with no results like GM so far, he may face the axe.

A formal announcement has yet to be made – Politico quoted the White House official and the rest of the media world ran the story. Look after the jump for a video of one of the latest congressional hearings regarding the Detroit Three bailout. One of the congress members (Senator Bob Corker) basically sums up what he thinks their plans to use the money are, quite interesting.

In other auto CEO news, PSA Peugeot Citroen has fired its CEO Christien Streiff and replaced him Philippe Varin, the man who oversaw the merger of Corus and Tata Steel two years ago. Streiff was replaced because his ability to perform as CEO was in doubt. He had two minor strokes in 2008. Apparently the board was also not happy with Streiff’s go-it-alone management style.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Cruze set for July 2009 Malaysian launch!

Paul Tan — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:37:48 +0000

The Chevrolet Cruze will hit Malaysian roads in July 2009 and it will be imported from Korea as a CBU model. The Cruze is a C-segment sedan in the same class as the Civic, Corolla Altis and Focus.

Under the hood will be a GM-Opel Powertrain sourced 1.8 liter DOHC unit while in other markets the Cruze is also available with a 1.6 liter ECOTEC. This new 1.8 liter unit replaces the older Holden-based engine that our market’s Optra comes with. The new engine will have DCVCP or Double Continuous Variable Cam Phasing and produce 140hp and 175Nm of torque at 3,800, so that’s quite a torquey mid-range there.

What’s most impressive is the Cruze will be a class leader in terms of transmission as it will be equipped with a 6-speed transmission, something that none of its rivals have. The closest is Honda with a 5-speed auto.

The Cruze is generally a rather good looking car and it has a pleasant interior as well. It has been touted over and over that this car together with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt will be the new global car that saves GM. Unlike previous GM C-segment offerings where the Americans got the Cobalt while the rest of the world got the Daewoo-derived Optra, the Cruze is one single model that will serve the global market.

Another new Chevy will come later – the D-segment Chevrolet Epica. Look after the jump to view a full featured high resolution interior & exterior photo gallery of the Cruze and its Daewoo-based version, the Lacetti Premiere.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Geneva 2009: RHD Volt-based Vauxhall Ampera to be produced by 2012

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:29:20 +0000

General Motors has revealed Vauxhall’s interpretation of the Chevy Volt which will be offered in a right hand drive form, and that potential buyers can expect a production version by 2012. Based on the Chevy Volt and the Opel Ampera, this almost similar looking Vauxhall Ampera also features the Voltec electric propulsion system, meaning for journeys of up to 60 kilometers, it runs on electricity stored in the 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery pack and this is done by emitting zero emissions.

Once energy in the battery pack is depleted, electricity generated from an engine-generator extends the Ampera’s range to more than 500 km. Recharging can be performed via a 230 volt house hold power outlet. GM also revealed that its Australian subsidiary Holden, will offer its own version of the Volt/Ampera for the Australian market. Personally, the Ampera looks a little better than the more down to earth Volt. Continue reading to view an image gallery.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM and Chrysler to get funding from private institutions?

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:48:56 +0000

According to a published report by Reuters, struggling American auto makers General Motors and Chrysler may end up getting funds from private institutions, if the U.S Government decides not to provide further funds to both companies, that will then force the auto makers to file for Chapter 11 which basically mean that both companies will go into restructuring, to become viable businesses.

A number of external advisers to The Treasury are rumored of trying to secure the funds from private institutions, which will be needed to restructure both companies. The amount which is rumored to be about U.S $ 40 billion, and to be backed or guaranteed by the government would also be used to pay back the U.S $ 17.4 billion the government initially lent General Motors and Chrysler late last year.

This means that the U.S Government would not tap into “the people’s” money to give a helping hand to both auto makers. However, this brings us to the next question; will these private institutions be able to extend the above mentioned amount during such uncertain times? If both companies file for Chapter 11, they would also be temporarily protected from creditors.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM shuts down High Performance Vehicle Operations

Paul Tan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:33:24 +0000

GM has just shut down its equivalent of BMW M and Mercedes-Benz AMG, in efforts to conserve money and stay afloat. GM’s High Performance Vehicle Operations are responsible for cars such as the Cadillac CTS-V and the SS-badged Chevrolets. All engineers in the HPVO division will be moved to other divisions and will work on regular GM cars such as Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevys and Pontiacs. GM’s spokesman Vince Muniga says the HPVO division might be brought back to life in the future when GM is in better financial health, but right now in line with its pledge to the U.S. Treasury Department to deliver more fuel efficient cars in the future, there is no room for low-volume niche high-performance products.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM cancels right hand drive Chevrolet Camaro

Paul Tan — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:43:57 +0000

If you’ve got loads of cash and really want to drive a Chevrolet Camaro in Malaysia with the help of your friendly neighbourhood parallel importer, you’ll have to sit on the left side of the car, as GM has just announced that it will be scrapping plans to reengineer the car for right hand drive to help preserve cash. However it seems that Chevrolet will still be selling the Camaro in the UK as a LHD car in a RHD country, but only in limited units of less than 100 in order not to trigger type approval regulations.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Maxximus G-Force’s 7.0L twin-turbo V8 takes it up to 60mph in 2.1 seconds

Paul Tan — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:44:53 +0000

The Maxximus G-Force accelerates from 0 to 60mph (96.6km/h) in just 2.1 seconds. If you want to get to 161km/h, that’s takes just 4.54 seconds, faster than some automatic transmission cars take just to get 1st gear done with and get to 2nd gear.

Braking power is equally impressive – 0 to 161km/h and back to 0 takes 8.86 seconds. Now that beats the Bugatti Veyron’s 0 to 60mph time of 2.46 seconds, and the 0-100-0mph time of 9.9 seconds.

As for top speed, there are no official quotes yet but it will have to beat the SSC Ultimate Aero TT record holder which has touched 257mph (413.6km/h), thanks to its 1,287hp 6.35 liter twin-turbo V8 with 1507Nm of torque.

The Maxximus G-Force’s engine sounds even more massive – a 7.0 liter twin-turbo V8 built by Chevrolet that they claim to be putting out a scary 2,100 horsepower (1,600 at the wheels claimed) thanks to its Turbonetics turbochargers. Since the car is supposed to be lighter than the Ultimate Aero TT, it may just surpass the Aero TT’s top speed and hold the new record for the faster street-legal car around.

The men behind the car are an Indiana businessman financier David McMahan and a race car-driving chauffeur designer, Marlon Kirby. The price for one of these? US$3 million. The car is based on the Ultima GTR 720 but with the engine and gearbox replaced by the new units. And it’s just insane.

VIDEO: Maxximus G-Force Dyno Test

VIDEO: Maxximus G-Force Dragstrip Test

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Stingray Concept: Autobot Sideswipe debuts at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:42:25 +0000

The Chevrolet Stingray Concept is a design study with no current plans to be produced, though never say never – there is always a small possibility of it being used in the future when GM goes to the drawing board for a next generation Corvette.

It seems that Michael Bay was touring the GM styling studios looking for cars to be made into new characters for the Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen movie and liked the car so much that he decided to use it for a new character – Sideswipe.

We don’t know if there was any plans to display the Stingray to the public originally, but whether it was because of the movie character or not, the new Stingray concept Corvette made its debut this week at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. The Stingray Concept takes the Corvette down the retro-futurism road with elements from both the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray and the modern day Corvette. Even the Sting Ray badge has been updated.

Look after the jump for a video of GM’s Global Design Vice president Ed Welburn taking us through a walkthrough of the concept.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

New Transformers 2 Trailer: Autobot Fleet Convoy

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:46:56 +0000

The Autobots go on a cross-continental convoy in this new trailer of the Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen movie. The convoy goes from Long Beach all the way to some desert area with pyramids, damn! It’s a massive GM marketing exercise featuring cool new upcoming GM cars such as the blue Chevrolet Volt, the now-production Chevrolet Beat and the equally as cute Chevrolet Trax concept car. There is also a new concept car just introduced at the Chicago 2009 show called the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept, which is called Autobot Sideswipe in the movie. Watch the video after the jump and stay tuned for coverage of the new Stingray Corvette.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

2010 Chevrolet Spark production car based on Chevrolet Beat Concept set for Geneva debut

Paul Tan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:52:29 +0000

Finally the Chevrolet Spark, a model that was allegedly shamelessly cloned to become the Chery QQ, will be able to have a unique design again! The new Chevrolet Spark will be unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, smack in the heart of Europe where small and fuel efficient hatchbacks like this are popular.

The new Spark is based on the Chevrolet Beat Concept, one third of a trio of cute compact concept cars that GM exhibited sometime ago. While the Beat was a 3-door hatch, it has been translated for production into the 5-door design you see here. The new Spark will also be making an appearance in the new Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen movie, a smart marketing move as potential young and gimmick-loving European first time car buyers could be swayed to buying “that car that was in Transformers” when picking among the many choices out there.

Click for enlarged image

This is the first time we’re looking at the Spark’s interior and it seems that Chevrolet has implemented a motorcycle-style instrument cluster positioned in front of the driver. It is mounted on the steering column like the new MINI and uses a combination of analog and digital instrumentation to display information.

Despite being a small (likely low-end) model, there is considerable attention paid to detail with the exterior design. It’s not easy/cheap to stamp metal into the shapes required for the body, and the rear door handles are hidden near the C-pillar much like the Alfa Romeo 147 and 156. The interior dash lights up in a colour similiar to the Jaguar XF.

The new Chevrolet Spark is 3,640mm long with a 2,375mm wheelbase and will be available with either a 1.0 liter or a 1.2 liter engine, both DOHC engines with 4-cylinders for smoothness that’s hard to achieve with a 3-cylinder. The car will (depending on markets) be available with front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, and even stability control.

The Spark is expected to hit European dealers by early 2010. Stay tuned for more updates on this new compact car once Geneva rolls by, then we’ll have full specifications including power output and more photos of the interior.

UPDATE: Added a video of Dave Lyon, director of GM Design, explaining the exterior and interior design of the all-new Chevrolet Spark

For now, two more shots are available after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM is no longer world’s largest automaker

Paul Tan — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:31:44 +0000

GM is no longer than world’s largest automaker in terms of sales, ending its 77-year claim to that title. GM only sold 8.36 million units in 2008, which is slightly less than Toyota’s 8.97 million units. Who knows what will happen in 2009 though, GM may overtake Toyota again, Toyota may leave GM even further behind, or GM may just cease to exist. Now is not the time to be bothered about such titles, especially since GM has not posted a profit since 2004. More profit per car is what needs to be achieved, not more cars sold.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

2010 Chevrolet Equinox Crossover SUV

Paul Tan — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:03:49 +0000

The new Chevrolet Equinox for the 2010 model year is here, and seems to be based on an enhancement of the old Equinox’s front wheel drive GM Theta monocoque chassis as the wheelbase is the same (a shortened version is used for the Captiva), but there are some changes including a wider front track for better stability.

Two engines are available, a 2.4 liter direct injected inline-4 engine producing 182 horsepower, and a 3.0 liter DOHC V6 producing 255 horsepower. GM claims an achievable mileage of over 800km per full tank on both these engines, though this is probably with highway driving.

Safety features include 6 airbags which consist of dual frontal airbags, head curtain side airbags and pelvic/thorax seat-mounted side airbags. The interior features a center stack similiar to the one on the Chevrolet Cruze. The rear seats keep its predecessor’s “MultiFlex” feature which allows it to slide fore and aft by 203mm to vary 2nd row legroom and rear luggage space according to your needs. Maximum luggage space with the seats pushed the most foreward is 889 liters.

GM claims 30mpg highway and 21 mpg city for the 2.4 liter version, while the V6 gets 25mpg highway and 18 mpg city. That’s 13 liters per 100km, which is acceptable considering that’s city driving for a large engine powering a large vehicle.

Look after the jump for more photos of the 2010 Equinox.

PHOTO GALLERY: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM and Chrysler get US$17.4 billion bailout

Paul Tan — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:09:13 +0000

They’ve done it, the Detroit boys have managed to secure federal emergency loans to execute their plans to stay afloat. Initially their request for money was rejected by the US Senate, but the Bush administration has decided to take money from the US$700 billion that was allocated to bail out their failed banks.

The amount to be given to GM and Chrysler (Ford doesn’t need the money apparently as they build cars that people actually want to buy, thanks to their extensive European involvement) totals up to US$17.4 billion. US$4 billion will go to Chrysler this month and GM will get the same this month, with the remaining US$5.4 billion set to fall into their hands next year pending the release of the other half of the US$700 billion by the congress.

George Bush says the bailout was because he and the American people did not want the indigenous auto companies to fail, and he also did no want to hand over the administration over to Barack Obama next year with the auto industry in shambles.

The two companies have until March 31st 2009 to become “financially viable”, otherwise the loan will be recalled and all funds are to be returned to the U.S. Treasury. In this case, financially viable is defined to be “having a positive net value, taking into account all current and future costs, and can fully repay the loan.”

Other terms and conditions include: firms must provide warrants for non-voting stock, firms must accept limits on executive pay and eliminate perks such as corporate jets, debt owned to the government would be placed at higher priority than other debts to the extent permitted by law, firms must allow the government to examine their accounting books and records, firms must report any transaction greater than US$100 million and the government has the power to block any of these transactions greater than US$100 million, firms must comply with Federal fuel efficiency and emissions requirements, and firms must not issue new dividends while in debt with the government.

Ford, the healther of the Detroit 3, is still asking for a US$9 billion government line of credit in case conditions worsen or one of the other Detroit 3 fails. But they do not need any money immediately at the moment, unlike as claimed by GM and Chrysler.

Canada has also extended help to the Canadian arms of GM and Chrysler. The Canadian government will provide C$2.7 billion while the Ontario state government will top up another C$1.3 billion for a total of C$4 billion. Of this total, C$3 billion will go to GM while C$1 billion will go to Chrysler. Canadian production capacity represents 20% of total North American auto production capacity, but this aid amount only represents 16% of all total aid offered by North American governments.

So far the response from the industry have been mixed, but the positive ones so far are only coming from pro-Detroit government officials and GM dealers and other industry-related people who stand to benefit from the loan. Standard and Poor equity analyst Efraim Levy expects GM to quickly blow the billions they are getting and then request another multi-billion dollar loan on March 31st 2009. Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds said this bail-out is much like the government infusing the blood in on arm while it’s bleeding out the other arm in attempt to keep them alive.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM apologizes to the American taxpayer

Paul Tan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:44:13 +0000

Okay, so the Detroit Three have finally got their money, but exactly the amount they wanted but it’s money. They asked for US$34 billion but only got US$15 billion. Seems now they’re heading north, asking another country for money.

GM, Chrysler and Ford is asking for a collective US$6 billion in loans, of which US$2 billion is a request from Ford and only a “stand-by” line of credit in-case the situation gets worse. Ford seems to be the least affected of all 3, could it be they are actually making cars people want to buy?

GM seems to be the worse off. GM is also asking an additional “immediate” US$800 million from Canada to make it through the end of 2008. U.S. Senator Chris Dodd has suggested that GM CEO Rick Wagoner “move on”, given an almost “impossible to defend” record (according to BusinessWeek) that includes wasting US$1.3 billion on a stake in Subaru which yielded absolutely nothing – no new cars, no technology, nothing, and then proceeded to sell off the stake later, partly to Toyota. He also spent US$2.3 billion to buy a share in Fiat and another US$2 billion to get out of it. Read the BusinessWeek link for more on Wagoner’s track record in GM.

The American taxpayers are probably furious at GM and the silver lining is at least GM knows it, hence this two-page apology letter to the American taxpayer you can read below.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

GM wants to block public from tracking how it uses its private jets

Paul Tan — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:31:14 +0000

General Motors has filed a request to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to prevent the public from tracking the journeys its private planes make, which is apparently one of the options available to private plane leasers and is not a special request.

This comes after GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner was criticised by lawmakers and the public for spending approximately US$20,000 on a private flight to ask for a US$25 billion bailout together with the other Detroit Three heads, when a first class plane ticket costs much less.

There could have been many reasons why a private plane was used at a much much higher cost instead of a commercial airline such as logistics problems or timing problems, but it still looks really bad to observers and I believe right now GM has alot more problems to deal with other than trying to stop people from tracking ihow it uses its private planes.

This action probably makes people feel like they’re trying to cover something up, and a little more transparency could do wonders for its bail-out cause right now. If you want to track US air traffic yourself, just head on to this site. A quick check shows that GM’s Gulfstream G350 with a N5116 tail code has already been blocked from being tracked on FlightAware, but is still available here. GM planes have the tail code N5113 to N5117.

But still, I believe that the Congress wants to save their Big 3 somehow, they just don’t know how to do it and I suppose are disappointed that the heads of the companies themselves gives them the impression that don’t seem to know either.

Look after the jump to view some videos of the hearing between the U.S. lawmakers and the Detroit 3 CEOs.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

SNL satire sketch on Detroit 3 bail-out

Paul Tan — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:04:56 +0000

American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live did a satire skit on the Detroit 3 and their request for a federal bail-out which involved the heads of all three American auto companies on a panel – Rick Wagoner, Robert Nardelli and Allan Mulally.

I found it quite hilarious and I am sure those who are opposed to the Detroit 3 getting a federal bailout or simply anyone that enjoys a good laugh will enjoy this. At least the satirical fictional CEOs did not fly in their private jets to the satirical fictional hearing!

Anyway here’s a note: the video jokes about the U.S. congress asking for a 200 mpg car by 2015, but the number is actually 36 mpg, which is about 6.5 liters per 100km.

Watch the video after the jump.

Related Video:
VIDEO: What would happen if GM collapses?

VIDEO: SNL – Detroit 3 Bail-out

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Cruze WTCC car for 2009 series

Paul Tan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:03:35 +0000

This Chevrolet Cruze WTCC car will replace the Lacetti as Chevrolet’s entry in the World Touring Car Championship for the 2009 series, powered by a 2.0 liter petrol engine. It will be prepared by RML Motorsport, who have looked after the Chevy WTCC car since 2005.

“The Cruze is a great car and feels fast straight out of the box. We are obviously still at the very early stages of development but already I can feel how much better it handles and what an advantage the car’s wider track will be in a race environment,” said British driver Rob Huff, who will be joined by Swiss racer Alain Menu and Italian driver Nicola Larini, the same trio who also drove for the Chevy team this year.

The road-going Chevrolet Cruze was launched in Korea as the Daewoo Lacetti a few weeks ago and will make its UK debut in the first half of 2009.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Should the Detroit Three be allowed to go bust?

Paul Tan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:08:08 +0000

Eric Reguly of Canadian paper Globe and Mail has a piece on why the Detroit Three should be allowed to go bust. Click here to read the story.

Essentially the gist of the article is that the Detroit Three have gone lazy and have relied on lobbying auto-related laws such as CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to be able to sell low-tech large guzzling and polluting SUVs at over-inflated prices, while other automakers who actually have to sell their cars in other markets which are not protected continued technically innovating and developing their cars following the global market trends.

The CAFE was a protectionist bailout in disguise, and now when the shit hits the fan, they want to be bailed out all over again, this time with cold hard cash.

Frankly I tend to agree. The only globally marketable car that seems to be coming out of GM’s factories now are all Daewoo-based. It’s ironic – from what was once a cheap car designed to sell in “emerging markets” like the special “ASEAN cars” we get here in our market, the new Daewoo Lacetti (pictured above, to be badged the Chevrolet Cruze) is touted as the car that could save GM, even in the US.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Cruze finally launched as the Daewoo Lacetti Premiere in South Korea!

Paul Tan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:30:23 +0000

GM has surprised us all amidst rumours that its hopeful Chevrolet Cruze compact car has been postponed – quite far from it in fact. The car has actually already been launched in South Korea as the Daewoo Lacetti Premiere. It will compete with the Hyundai Elantra, the Kia Forte, and the Honda Civic in the increasingly competitive C-segment sedan market in South Korea. So perhaps only its US debut will be delayed.

The Daewoo Lacetti Premiere measures 4,600mm long, 1,790mm wide and 1,475mm tall with a 2,685mm wheelbase. It rides on 17 inch wheels wrapped with 215/50R17 tyres. Under the hood is a 1.6 liter ECOTEC engine that produces 114 horsepower at 6,400rpm and 152Nm of torque at 4,200rpm. No sight of the 1.4 liter ECOTEC Turbo yet.

On the interior, it seems that the dashboard can be colour coded to match your two-tone seats. Thus you are able to have your dashboard have either blue or red trim if you get black-blue or black-red combination seats. Apparently the various sensors in the car communicate with the ECU via something called GMLAN. It seems to be a trend to give your in-car databus a funky name these days, such as FlexRay.

The car actually kinda reminds me of a smaller Toyota Crown. Prices range from 11,550,000 won (RM32.300) for the cheapest SE manual version up to 17,700,000 won (RM49,500) for the 6-speed automatic CDX version. 6 colours are available – white, silver, silverish blue, grey, blue and black.

Look at more shots of the Chevrolet Cruze/Daewoo Lacetti Premiere after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet GPiX crossover coupe concept

Paul Tan — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:20:00 +0000

The Chevrolet GPiX crossover coupe concept was unveiled earlier this week at the Sao Paulo International Auto Show in Brazil. Yes, this is another one of those coupe-SUV vehicles, but after looking at it you can’t help but think – hasn’t Chevrolet already done this before back in end-2005 with the Chevrolet T2X Concept?

According to GM, the reason the GPiX has a high ground clearance is because it is tailored to the types of road conditions typically found in emerging markets, and presumably the show’s host country Brazil is considered by GM to be one of those emerging markets with horrible roads, since the concept car was launched there.

The GPiX name means Global Picture (G-PiX), which translates into Global Image as they’ve intended it to mean. It probably sets the design direction for how GM/Chevrolet’s next generation global cars are going to look like.

Just give us the Chevrolet Cruze already!

PHOTO GALLERY: Chevrolet GPiX Concept
Click thumbnails to view high resolution photo

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Orlando Concept MPV Initial Photos

Paul Tan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:35:59 +0000

An initial batch of photos of the upcoming Chevrolet Orlando concept 7-seater MPV has surfaced on the internet. This is a compact MPV based on a C-segment car chassis (Delta II – Chevrolet Cruze and Volt) much like the Honda Stream and the Toyota Wish.

More details (as well as higher resolution images) will surface when it debuts at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, but for the moment the only details we have is that it’s a 7-seater and has the option for a 2.0 liter turbodiesel engine producing 150 horsepower and 320Nm of torque. A range of Ecotec petrol engines will probably be available for countries where diesels are not as popular.

Look after the jump for a whole set of images.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

Chevrolet Volt: a RM300,000 price tag?

Paul Tan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:03:46 +0000

The Chevrolet Volt will be entering our region via Thailand but don’t count on it solving your fuel price woes as it is estimated to be priced at nearly 3 million Thai baht (roughly RM300,000), thanks to current Thai import duty structures. The Volt will be launched in the US in 2010, and the Thai arrival is expected to be as early as 2011.

I suppose the only way for prices to come down to a more affordable level would be local assembly in Thailand. Hybrid or electric car assembly have typically been in places where the manufacturer has a strong foot, but with even Toyota beginning to set up overseas hybrid assembly plants, it could be possible for GM to set up an assembly center for the Volt up north.

Source

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.

New official details on the Chevrolet Volt

Paul Tan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:42:55 +0000

More photos and details of the new Chevrolet Volt have been revealed and this time there are also photos of the interior, and no GM staff blocking our views of the new production hybrid car by General Motors. The Volt was unveiled on GM’s 100th anniversary.

Unlike other hybrid vehicles which use either the petrol or electric engine to move the car, or some hybrids like Honda’s IMA which uses the petrol all the time with no electric-only mode and uses the electric motor only for assist, the Chevrolet Volt runs on the electric motor at all times. The electric motor produces 150 horsepower and 370Nm of torque and gets power from a 16-kWh lithium ion battery (220 lithium ion cells) which is recharged via brake energy regeneration or the internal combustion engine.

The combustion engine (powered by gasoline or E85) only kicks in to charge the battery and because that is its only function it can be tuned to be extremely efficient at this, working best only at a certain RPM range required to drive a dynamo and charge the battery. GM calls this type of hybrid an E-REV or Extended-Range Electric Vehicle.

When you are parked at home, the battery can also be charged via a standard household plug with 120V (8 hours) or 240V (less than 3 hours) output. Charging times are of course less if the battery has not been fully depleted. Based on American electricity tariffs at time of publishing, the Volt uses 80 US cents per day (or 10 US cents per kWh) to charge up for 65km per day of driving. According to GM, running a Chevrolet Volt and charging it daily will use less electricity annually than an average home’s refrigerator and freezer.

The interior features an LCD instrument display and a 7 inch touch screen vehicle information display. All climate and entertainment controls are also touch screen-style with an optional nav system that can use the onboard hard drive for map in additional to music storage, so the Volt’s interior matches its “futuristic” powertrain.

Lastly, here are some figures. The Volt’s wheelbase at 2,685mm is slightly shorter than the Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic at 2,700m. It’s 4404mm long, 1798mm wide and 1430mm tall. It has a 301 liter boot. It rides on 17 inch forged aluminium wheels which are wrapped with specially developed low rolling resistance tyres.

If you think the Volt will mark a turn in GM’s financial records for the next 100 years, think again. GM’s COO Fritz Henderson said that GM is likely to lose money with every Chevrolet Volt sold. In fact, according to Henderson he’s never seen a situation where GM made money with a “generation 1 technology”. GM’s vice chairman Bob Lutz says there is still hope for profit as a huge conservative chunk of figures have been attributed to battery warranty claim costs and if there are not many claims the project could turn a profit.

The Volt will only go on sale in November 2010 (and China in 2011) but 100 production Volts will be built in 2009 for internal test fleets and media test drives. The Chevrolet Volt will be built on the same platform as the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze.

Look after the jump for more photos and videos of the Chevy Volt.

PHOTO GALLERY: Chevrolet Volt hybrid car
Click thumbnails to view high resolution photo

Video: Chevrolet Volt Unveiling

Video: Chevrolet Volt Aerodynamics Testing- the Chevy Volt production car has a drag coefficient that is 30% lower than the original concept car.

Video: Chevrolet Volt Design

Video: Chevrolet Volt Battery Technology

Video: Bob Lutz on the Chevrolet Volt

Video: Rick Wagoner’s speech at the Volt unveiling

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 10:42:41 +0800.