Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
EVERYTHING TOGETHER:
CHEVROLET INDONESIA
Chevrolet Indonesia has recently launched a series of online drama shows via its website. Produced on three beautiful islands in Indonesia, the story surrounds a family and the importance of togetherness, despite busy schedules.
The film also tells about how a family atmosphere and the spirit of togetherness can be created by family drives taken together.
The online videos are aimed at sharing and connecting Indonesians with what they like, being drama, family and the Internet.
Episode 1 has since been launched, with Episode 2 currently being aired, and the other 2 episodes on their way.
Watch Here.
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Study: Buick, Chevy See Increase in Consumer Satisfaction GM ads helped
While overall consumer automobile satisfaction dropped for a second straight year, two brands saw an increase: General Motor’s Buick and Chevrolet. The findings come from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which said declining customer satisfaction showed scores for automobiles and light vehicles falling 1.2 percent to 82 on a 100-point scale.
The only cars to improve were Chevrolet, with a 4 percent increase, and Buick, with an increase of 1 percent, bringing both U.S. brands up to the industry average of 82.
ACSI found that 16 of 21 brands they track saw declines in overall satisfaction ratings, with imports faring only slightly better than domestic vehicles.
As the only U.S. brands to see an increase, Buick and Chevrolet saw improvement in large part because of GM’s advertising push for those models—despite the active recalls the company is experiencing. (In fact, ACSI found that consumers who had a recalled vehicle overall rated their brand 6 percent lower than consumers of the same brand who did not experience a recall.)
“A considerable investment in Buick appears to be paying off for General Motors,” noted the report. “Sales are up 12.5 percent for the first half of the year—the largest increase for any GM car—led by a surge in sales for Buick Encore.”
Mercedes-Benz saw its ranking drop 2 percent, but, according to ACSI, the brand still has the highest overall score of 86. Subaru dropped 1 percent to a score of 85; Lexus fell 3 percent to match Volkswagen’s unchanged score of 84; and Toyota and Honda each slipped 3 percent to 83. Other changes include Ford, Nissan, Hyundai and Chrysler all coming in with a score of 81; Cadillac dropping a full 6 percent in satisfaction to a score of 80; and the Jeep and Dodge brands ranking last among all brands at 79 and 78, respectively.
“There are two aspects of these findings that are somewhat unusual,” Claes Fornell, ACSI chairman and founder, said in a statement. “The first is that although the domestic car industry has deteriorated in customer satisfaction over the past couple of years, the gap to imports has narrowed due to a weakening of the latter’s customer satisfaction. The other notable finding is that several of the luxury brands do poorly. That didn’t use to be the case, and suggests that consumers now expect more for their money when they pay a premium price.”
To compile the report, ACSI interviewed 4,360 consumers, chosen at random, via telephone and email between April 22 and May 29, 2014. Consumers were asked to evaluate their recent purchases, as well as talk about their experiences with automobiles manufactured by the companies the study tracks. The group follows a wide range of consumer product categories and releases reports detailing each one throughout the year. Automobiles and light vehicles rank sixth overall in consumer satisfaction, according to their statistics.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
GM Is Moving Deeper Into ‘Next Frontier’ of Virtualization
General Motors Co.GM -0.87% is joining the ranks of large companies that are replacing traditional hardware such as storage and networking gear with software, a process known as virtualization.
Like most companies, GM began to virtualize mainframes and servers years ago, and that process is more or less complete. Now, having seen the economic and operational benefits of that process, GM is moving to virtualize other elements of its IT infrastructure, according to Jeff Liedel, executive director of the company’s global IT operations. He is based at the company’s $130 million data center in Warren, Mich.,which was modeled on IT infrastructure developed by Internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. The data center project was overseen by CIO Randy Mott.
“Virtualization brings a lot of benefits,” Mr. Liedel told CIO Journal. The virtualization of the server market paved the way for the spread of many kinds of cloud computing over the last few years, because it facilitated the sharing of hardware by multiple users. He expects that the expansion of virtualization into new areas of IT will have a significant impact, too.
“From a cost perspective, virtualization allows us to better leverage the hardware that we have across a variety of domains. We see the utilization of capital go up, and that is a good thing for any company.”
Virtualization allows companies to run software on lower-cost commodity machines. Assuming a certain degree of standardization among lower-cost gear makers, GM will be able to include hardware from a variety of vendors in its infrastructure. “We will be able to mix suppliers in a more seamless fashion. Virtualization allows you to have a multi-vendor environment and be less reliant on proprietary tools,” Mr. Liedel said.
GM has virtualized about 80% of its servers. As Mr. Liedel said, the company always will have a need for some servers that are linked to specific applications, so the level will never reach 100%. Virtualization of storage is in the early stages, and is only about 10% to 20% complete. Network virtualization is in the exploratory stages, but promises benefits such as dashboards that make it easier and faster to configure the network. “Software-based management tools make it easy to reallocate storage of networking capacity. You don’t have to physically recable something,” Mr. Liedel said.
Further into the future, he expects more applications to be virtualized. Years ago, all applications had their own logon or password components. “Other functions and applications can be virtualized,” Mr. Liedel said. “I think that is the next frontier.”
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
GM to Boost China Production Capacity to 5M
BEIJIN (AP) -- The president of General Motors said Sunday that the company and local partners are boosting production capacity for GM-brand vehicles in China to 5 million.
Speaking at the Beijing auto show, Dan Ammann said the company also expects sales of its Cadillac luxury cars to double to 100,000 next year.
General Motors Co. and its Chinese partners are in the midst of what the company has said is a $12 billion investment program through 2017.
Matt Tsien, President of GM China, said that includes three factories due to open this year and two more next year. He said they would raise the capacity for production of GM-brand vehicles in China to 5 million.
'I think the addition of the several new plans currently under construction will helps us reach the capacity of 5 million units by the end of 2015,' Tsien said.
GM is neck and neck with Germany's Volkswagen AG to be China's most popular vehicle brand. GM said earlier that its 2013 sales rose 11. percent to 3.1 million vehicles.
Ammann said the company expects to grow at least as fast as the market this year. Forecasters expect the overall market to expand by 8 to 10 percent. That could raise GM sales to 3.4 million.
'We are moving full speed to keep up,' said Amman. 'We count on China for another record year in 2014'.
The company plans to increase production capacity in China by 65 percent by 2020, Tsien said.
The company said it, along with local partners, will invest $12 billion in China between this year and 2017.
GM manufactures sedans, minivans, pickup trucks in joint ventures with state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industries Co. and Liuzhou Wuling Motors CO. The three companies also launched a seperate low-cost brand, Baojun.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
General Motors Prices out Natural Gas-Powered 2015 Chevrolet Impala
Last year, General Motors announced it would become the industry’s only manufacturer to produce a full-size sedan in North America capable of running on both compressed natural gas and gasoline with the arrival of the 2015 bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala. Now, the automaker has announced the bi-fuel Impala will go on sale in the fourth quarter of this year carrying a starting price $38,210, including an $825 destination charge.
The vehicle is available in either LS base trim or a more well-equipped LT trim and with only one powertrain option, a 3.6-liter V6 with hardened valves and valve seats for improved wear resistance to accommodate the CNG fuel system. A trunk-mounted CNG tank stores the equivalent of 7.8 gallons of gasoline, which is good for about 150 city miles of range on compressed natural gas. The total range using both CNG and regular gasoline should be able to top 500 miles, GM estimates.
The bi-fuel system in the Impala will run primarily on CNG until the fuel tank is completely depleted, at which point the system will automatically switch to run on gasoline. Drivers can also change fuels on demand via a button on the dashboard, which also indicates through an LED light when CNG is being used. GM says CNG delivers fuel savings of nearly $1.25 per-gallon and is one of the cleanest burning fuels available.
If you’re weary about the reliability of the CNG fuel system, it is covered by GM’s three-year, 36,000-mile new vehicle limited bumper-to-bumper warranty and five-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty. It will be assembled at GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario and will be available for purchase at more than 3,200 Chevrolet dealers beginning later this year.
Monday, 30 June 2014
GM Takes an Aggressive Step on Clean Transportation
Automaker has ambitious plans when it comes to changing the face of transportation
General Motors recently announced that it has begun overhauling many of its operations in order to become more sustainable. This is a trend that is becoming increasingly common in the auto industry, especially as automakers begin to feel pressure from the world’s governments that are concerning with clean energy and emissions. Many governments are introducing new emissions standards that are specifically targeting transportation. This means that automakers are beginning to feel the need to produce environmentally friendly vehicles in order to retain their place in prominent markets around the world.
GM to restructure itself in order to better navigate the challenges of climate change and energy security
General Motors will be restructuring its global vehicle portfolio as well as reworking its manufacturing process. The automaker will also begin working with numerous new partners in order to make use of new technology and become more environmentally friendly. General Motors notes that climate change and energy security have become major challenges for the auto industry as a whole and are no longer matters that are solely within the realm of politics and activism.
Automaker intends to transform transportation and bring 500,000 electric vehicles to the road
The automaker envisions its efforts as a way to “transform transportation.” General Motors aims to sell some 500,000 electric vehiclesby 2017 and believes that the demand for these vehicles is growing rapidly among consumers, businesses, and government agencies. The company has committed itself to reducing carbon emissions, especially in China, where air pollution has become a serious health problem.
GM will focus on battery electric as well as fuel cell vehicles in order to achieve clean transportation goals.
Currently, approximately 153,034 electric vehicles from General Motors are on the road. The demand for these vehicles has been modest in the past, but more consumers are becoming interested in clean transportation, especially as battery technology becomes more advanced and efficient. General Motors is not only interested in producing battery electrics, of course, and has plans to introduce fuel cell vehicles at some point in the relatively near future.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
A Simple Innovation On The 2015 GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado Could Save A Child's Life
General Motors is making it safer for children to ride in the rear seat of its midsize pickup trucks with a simple but effective feature that debuts on the 2015 GMC Canyon and 2015 Chevrolet Colorado, set to go on sale this fall.
Typically, midsize pickups with an extended cab have a pair of truncated rear seats, because there isn’t enough room to include normal ones in the back. The trouble is, the seat cushions aren’t long enough to fully support the base of most car seats for kids, which makes them unstable and less effective at protecting these passengers in a crash.
To fix that problem, GM engineers created a way to extend the lower cushion of the rear passenger-side jump seat in the Canyon and Colorado simply by removing the head rest and reattaching it to the front of the seat cushion. (See the video below for a demonstration.)
“The additional seat cushion length provides more support to the child restraint, which helps to reduce the rotation and the risk of injury in a crash,” says Eduardo Bugelli, GM safety performance team lead. A patent on the design of the seat extender is pending.
The 2015 GMC Canyon (Credit: General Motors)
GM says the Canyon and Colorado will be the first pickups to offer such a feature. They also will be the first midsize pickups to offer forward collision warning and lane departure warning, two advanced safety features that are part of an optional Driver Alert Package.
Given that pickups are increasingly used as everyday passenger vehicles, rather than just as work trucks, these kinds of safety features are becoming more important to buyers, who are carting kids around in them more so than in the past.
The Canyon and Colorado will come in three body styles. Only the extended cab model with a six-foot cargo bed will get the seat extender, which will come as a standard feature. Two crew cab versions, one with a five-foot and one with a six-foot bed, have full-size back seats that don’t require it.
With the extender in place, a child seat in the rear of the 2015 GMC Canyon is more stable. (Credit: General Motors)
In contrast to the full-size truck market, which domestic automakers dominate, GM is the only American company currently producing a midsize pickup truck. Both Chrysler and Ford have ceded the market to Japanese automakers Nissan and Toyota, whose Frontier and Tacoma are top sellers.
But GM sees an opportunity: Full-size pickup owners who like having a truck and don’t make use of its rugged capabilities might be looking to downsize if it saves them money and fuel. That’s where the all-new GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado come in.
They’re smaller and lighter than the full-size Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, and they offer an efficient four-cylinder engine. A V6 and turbo-diesel also will be available, with the latter coming for the 2016 model year.
Though they are corporate twins, the two new midsize models target different types of buyers. The GMC Canyon, which debuted at the 2014 Detroit auto show, is meant for small-business owners and other professional users, whereas the Chevy Colorado, which debuted at the 2013 Los Angeles auto show, is geared toward outdoorsy types.
The 2015 GMC Canyon and 2015 Chevy Colorado go on sale this fall with pricing to be announced.
Monday, 23 June 2014
Ad of the Day: Cadillac, Spike Lee Tell Teddy Bridgewater's Touching Mother's Day Story A pink Escalade for Rose
May 9, 2014, 9:52 AM EDT
A promise kept by the first-round NFL draft pick
May 9, 2014, 9:52 AM EDT
A promise kept by the first-round NFL draft pick
When Teddy Bridgewater was 9 years old, he promised his mother Rose that when he made it to the NFL, he would buy her a pink Cadillac Escalade.
The first part of Bridgewater's dream came true on Thursday night. The Miami native and University of Louisville quarterback was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.
Cadillac caught wind of the second part of his dream, about the pink Escalade, and helped make it come true. The gift reveal is included in the seven-minute film below, directed by Spike Lee, about Teddy and his family. The color choice is made doubly meaningful as Rose is a breast cancer survivor.
I haven't been the biggest fan of Cadillac lately, but this is a nice move. And pro athletes are certainly stepping up with beautiful tributes to their moms this week—following Kevin Durant's moving speech, which is now an NBA ad.
Hats off to Teddy, and a very Happy Mother's Day to Rose.
CREDITS
Client: Cadillac
Agencies: Rogue, Boston; Spike DDB, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Client: Cadillac
Agencies: Rogue, Boston; Spike DDB, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Chief Creative Officer: Lance Jensen
Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Copy: Dave Banta
Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director, Art: Kevin Daley
Vice President, Associate Creative Director, Art: Khari Streeter
Vice President, Creative Director, Copy: Lawson Clarke
Chief Execjtive Officer, Chief Creative Officer: Spike Lee, Spike DDB
Executive Creative Director: Dabo Che, Spike DDB
Creative Director: Rachel Donovan, Spike DDB
Creative Director, Digital: Matthew Zelley
Account Team: Megan Wiggin, Clifford Stevens, Emily Shahady, Kristen Selasky, Riyhana Bey, Geneika Lewis, Kaitlyn Sherman, Chad McLean
Project Management: Paul Pantzer, Christy Costello
Planner: Anne Feighan
Executive Producer: Andrew Barnett
Content, Social Media: John Dukakis, Jamie Scheu, Lora Stock
Operations Manager, Assistant Producer: Robyn Ross
Director of Operations, Integrated Production: Lizzie Haberman, Spike DDB
Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Copy: Dave Banta
Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director, Art: Kevin Daley
Vice President, Associate Creative Director, Art: Khari Streeter
Vice President, Creative Director, Copy: Lawson Clarke
Chief Execjtive Officer, Chief Creative Officer: Spike Lee, Spike DDB
Executive Creative Director: Dabo Che, Spike DDB
Creative Director: Rachel Donovan, Spike DDB
Creative Director, Digital: Matthew Zelley
Account Team: Megan Wiggin, Clifford Stevens, Emily Shahady, Kristen Selasky, Riyhana Bey, Geneika Lewis, Kaitlyn Sherman, Chad McLean
Project Management: Paul Pantzer, Christy Costello
Planner: Anne Feighan
Executive Producer: Andrew Barnett
Content, Social Media: John Dukakis, Jamie Scheu, Lora Stock
Operations Manager, Assistant Producer: Robyn Ross
Director of Operations, Integrated Production: Lizzie Haberman, Spike DDB
Production Company: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Executive Producer: Alex Wright
Director: Spike Lee
Director of Photography: Daniel Patterson
Makeup: JoJo Rogriguez
Stylist: Jessica Thornhill
Executive Producer: Alex Wright
Director: Spike Lee
Director of Photography: Daniel Patterson
Makeup: JoJo Rogriguez
Stylist: Jessica Thornhill
Editing House: Lost Planet
Editors: Jacks Genega, Ben Rodriguez
Producers: Krystn Wagenberg, Kate McCormick
Graphics Supervisor: Reginald William Butler
Editors: Jacks Genega, Ben Rodriguez
Producers: Krystn Wagenberg, Kate McCormick
Graphics Supervisor: Reginald William Butler
Music Houses: Amber Music; HiFi
Creative Director: Paul Robb, HiFi
Music Producer: Michelle Curren and Mike Perri, Amber; Jack Bradley, HiFi
Music Composer: Robert DiPietro, HiFi
Creative Director: Paul Robb, HiFi
Music Producer: Michelle Curren and Mike Perri, Amber; Jack Bradley, HiFi
Music Composer: Robert DiPietro, HiFi
Thursday, 19 June 2014
GM to update Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra for 2015
The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra only recently arrived on the scene, but a lukewarm reception in the face of stiffening competition has caused GM to fast-track updates for the 2015 model year.
GM's Executive chief engineer for the pickups Jeff Luke told The Detroit News that improvements to boost fuel economy, possibly including a transmission with more than the current six gears, will appear on 2015 models. Also in store are appearance enhancements and new tech.
"You'll see these kinds of technologies over the next few years, a whole array of neat, new technologies, some focused on fuel economy, some focused on capability,"Luke said to The Detroit News.
The engineering chief didn't give details on the changes, but more info is expected to be released in the coming months ahead of the 2015 trucks' on-sale date later this year. As we previously reported, GM plans to launch a line of all-new trucks by 2018, when it jopes to have a lighter truck to compete with the aluminium-intensive 20 percent. Another fuel-saving technology GM is considering for the future is start-stop capability.
GM has relied on feedback from customers who bought the 2014 pickups, as well as from those who chose not to buy one, for its update strategy, which we should know more about in a few months. Can the updates keep the Silverado and Sierra competitive?
Friday, 13 June 2014
GM invest $50Million in Chevy Cruze plant
Lordstown, Ohio — General Motors Co. says it is investing $50 million at the northeast Ohio plant that builds the popular Chevrolet Cruze.
The company said the investments, which include a new trim shop, are directed at the next generation of the Cruze compact sedan to be built at the Lordstown plant near Youngstown.
The Cruze has become GM’s best-selling car since it was launched in September 2010.
The auto-workers union said it is buying 1 millionth Cruze, which was built at Lordstown on April 10. The car will be raffled off to a plant employee with all ticket proceeds donated to local charities.
GM says it has invested approximately $250 million at Lordstown since 2009. The complex has built more than 15 million vehicles since opening in April 1966.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140502/AUTO0103/305020062#ixzz33TN29biS
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
GM to Boost Chevrolet China Sales With Redesigned Cruze
By Bloomberg News
By Bloomberg News
General Motors Co. (GM) will debut a redesigned Chevrolet Cruze sedan this month in Beijing, picking China for the model’s global rollout as the carmaker seeks to boost sales of the brand in its biggest market.
The Cruze, Chevrolet’s best-selling model in China last year, is one of the six new or refreshed models under the brand being brought to the nation this year by GM. The Detroit-based company is also showing 36 other vehicles at the Beijing auto show, starting April 20.
GM, which edged out Volkswagen AG (VOW) in sales volume in China in the first three months of this year, is banking on 19 new or refreshed models to boost sales by 10 percent in 2014, Matthew Tsien, president of GM’s China operations, said in February. Chevrolet sales in the nation failed to keep pace with the market last year, rising 4 percent as overall passenger-vehicle sales jumped 16 percent.
“This model is the most important one, for sure,” said Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based managing director at Autoforesight Shanghai Co. “In China, the compact segment is the most important.”
Cruze sales in China increased 6.1 percent last year to 246,890 vehicles, edging out the Chevrolet Sail, a compact sedan. The current Cruze model is priced from 108,900 yuan($17,500).
That places it in the same price category as Ford Motor Co.’s Focus, Volkswagen’s Lavida, Toyota Motor Corp. (7203)’s Corolla and Kia Motor Corp.’s K3, according to data from autohome.com, China’s most popular automobile information website.
Lavida, Focus
The Lavida and Focus outsold the Cruze in the first quarter of this year, when the Lavida was the nation’s top seller while the Cruze ranked 10th, according to the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
With the new model, the Cruze could “easily” move up to become one of China’s five best-selling models, Zhang said.
China is Chevrolet’s second-largest market, with 652,077 vehicles sold in 2013, trailing the 1.95 million units delivered in the U.S.
The Cruze was GM’s top-selling car in the U.S. last quarter, excluding trucks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
GM will use the Chevrolet brand to spearhead its expansion into China’s smaller cities and the nation’s western region, where rising incomes are creating a new class of consumers that are able to afford cars, former GM China chairman Tim Lee, who retired April 1, said in October.
The largest U.S. automaker is also spending $11 billion in China through 2016 to boost products and manufacturing capacity.
Friday, 6 June 2014
Holden to get Camaro and other Chevrolets after 2017
Holden looks set to follow the lead of Ford and give grieving fans an iconic V8 muscle car to ease the pain of its 2017 factory closure. Ford will introduce a Mustang just as the last Falcon is about to roll off the Broadmeadows production line and it now seems General Motors is hatching a similar plan by introducing the Camaro just as the Commodore comes to an end.
The former boss of Holden, Mark Reuss, who is now in charge of all global vehicles at General Motors, told Australian media on the eve of the Detroit motor show: “On all our products going forward we’re going to try and do right-hand-drive.”
Mr Reuss would not speculate which cars in the Chevrolet line-up would make it to Australia, but vehicles that are built in left-hand-drive only for now include the iconic Camaro and Corvette sports cars, and the range of Chevrolet full-size pick-ups and SUVs.
Holden has been thrashed in the pick-up sales race by the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton. The arrival of the iconic Chevrolet pick-ups would help Holden claw back some ground. Demand for US-only utes in Australia is so strong that a number of local businesses have been converting them to right-hand-drive and selling them for in excess of $100,000. In the US, their prices start at less than $30,000.
Holden was close to getting a right-hand-drive version of the current Camaro until the Global Financial Crisis crushed those plans. The preliminary engineering work on the Camaro was even done by Holden in Australia. But Holden fans shouldn’t get too excited about every vehicle in the Chevrolet range being available in Australia.
At the same function last year, the then boss of General Motors, Dan Akerson, told News Corp Australia that the new Corvette would be made in right-hand-drive for the first time in 50 years. But less than 24 hours later the company made a U-turn on the comments, with GM’s second-in-charge Tim Lee telling News Corp Australia: “I have no idea what [General Motors CEO Dan Akerson] said but we have no plan to put a right-hand-drive under that bonnet. The Corvette is a Chevrolet, it’s not a Holden, it never will be, next question.”
When pressed on how the boss of the company could get such a key fact wrong during a media presentation, Mr Lee said: “We can spend the entire 20 minutes talking about this. This is a non-story from my point of view. You can write what you want to write, I really don’t give a shit. But it is not in the mainstream plan.”
Last night Mr Reuss was asked to clarify his right-hand-drive comments and he repeated: “Everything from now on we’re trying to do right-hand-drive.” General Motors made the same decree in the lead-up to the Global Financial Crisis and the plans were scrapped. But the company has more support this time around.
News Corp Australia understands that Mr Reuss, having been a boss of Holden, understands the frustration of a limited model line-up. General Motors’ new boss of International Operations, former Volkswagen and Volvo executive Stefan Jacoby, is also understood to have been surprised by Holden’s inability to get highly desirable US-only models. Out-going Holden boss Mike Devereux, whose replacement is yet to be named, has also been pushing for more right-hand-drive models be made available in Australia.
With high-level support at three key stages of General Motors’ management, Holden has its best chance yet of getting sought after US cars. However a Holden spokesman said the plans for any right-hand-drive versions of US models were yet to be approved, and would then need to undergo a feasibility study.
Meanwhile, the shutdown of Holden’s factory in 2017 is almost certain to change the face of the Commodore of the future. Originally, when the model was to be made locally, the 2018 Commodore was going to share its design with a Chinese-built Buick.
But News Corp Australia understands Holden now has three options on the table: the Chinese Buick design, or it can take the Chevrolet or Opel equivalents of the new large sedan. This means the next Commodore could be made in China, Europe or North America, with which Australia has a Free Trade Agreement.
The future Commodore will still switch to front-wheel-drive (after 65 years of large rear-wheel-drive Holden sedans) but executives in Australia are reportedly fighting to make a V6 available as an option to avoid a buyer backlash. Initially, the next Commodore was going to be four-cylinder-only proposition. One thing is for certain. There will be no V8 or ute version of the new generation Commodore.
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
General Motors & Google Team up for Ride & Share Program
BY DIEGO ROSENBERG
Due to its small footprint, the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV is the vehicle chosen for a pilot ride-share program conducted by General Motors and Google. Currently taking place only in Mountain View, CA, home of Google, the pilot program is a test bed of ideas shared by the two companies.
“This learning pilot combines commuting data, analytics, telematics, navigation, and smartphones to run a smart, real-time system that mixes and matches drivers, riders and cars during morning and evening commutes. Convenience through door-to-door service and flexible scheduling are key goals,” says General Motors in a report.
In addition to Google’s campus, General Motors is also using the Technical Center in suburban Detroit as another test bed. “Through a partnership with Streetline, a parking technology company, we’ve installed sensors in our most used parking decks to measure demand and turnover patterns,” says GM. They have created an app to help employees find parking spaces, the number which is smaller than the need. The goal is to “help ease traffic backups and to combat wasted fuel as drivers looking for parking or wait in traffic,” according to Edmunds.com.
“Facing an automotive industry that is unsustainable in its current form, General Motors is restructuring its global vehicle portfolio, rethinking manufacturing and collaborating with unlikely partners to advance the industry,” adds GM.
General Motors has a goal of 500,000 EVs—pure electrics, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids—on American roads by 2017. The Volt, Spark EV, and 2014 Cadillac ELR are models on GM’s roster that fit this goal.
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/05/general-motors-and-google-team-up-for-ride-share-program/
Thursday, 29 May 2014
GM Chevrolet CMO's Tips on Building a Marketing Strategy from Scratch
Performance Data Recorder
ust when the marketing industry was getting a handle on effective digital and social media, new forces are changing the game yet again: real-time marketing and big data.
Deanie Elsner, CMO at Kraft, says her team has access to two “looking glasses” of giant dashboards that display real-time consumer data; there they can instantly respond to every consumer’s whimsical craving with special, targeted deals.
Laura Henderson of Mondelez International, the makers of snacks like Oreo, Chips Ahoy and Dentyne, says they operate in a “war room structure,” with a calendar of anticipated events. Teams of Mondelez marketers, lawyers and corporate communication professionals convene to make game-time decisions on the right moment to deploy a campaign. But it has to be the right moment.
Startups don’t have a multi-million dollar marketing budget to employ a full-time marketing army, or build a mission control center for big data. But as Henderson said at The Economist's 2014 Big ReThink summit, “You need to start with a cultural transformation. You need the real-time agility to enable empowered marketers and your organization to strive and react to social factors.”
But as innovation continues to transform the rules of engagement with consumers, how else can startups keep their marketing up to date? Furthermore, how can startups weather early-stage crises?
Tim Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer of Global Chevrolet and Global GM Marketing Operations Leader, agrees that brilliant marketing isn’t about budget, but about identifying your audience's passion point. For new companies building a strategy from scratch, Mahoney says to start at square one: “If you’re an entrepreneur, you already have a passion because you’ve taken that leap, so draw on that empathy. My advice is to try to find the perfect intersection of what your product stands for and the consumer’s passion point. Understand your own customer’s passion point so well that everything falls into place. It can be reduced to that.”
Mahoney is also managing the GM brand through its worst crisis since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009. He recently told the Detroit Free Press that the company is "staying focused on the product" and that he is sticking to his marketing strategy despite the recent recalls. To fully grasp Mahoney's "passion point" strategy, we asked him to list and explain his own favorite marketing campaigns:
1) GM centers pickup ads on this messaging because it evokes strong emotions: If you own a pickup, you have more friends. “It can spring a whole variety of reactions.”
Here is a recent actor-free ad:
2) Mahoney’s team knows Corvette-drivers are generally as passionate about high-tech as they are about sports cars. So at the most recent Consumer Electronics Show, GM announced they will mount GoPro performance data and video recorders to the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette models. Drivers will be able to record, share and playback drives (when parked) on the eight inch touch-screen. “You can imagine Corvette drivers are going to want to start recording as they cruise around. It’s all about finding that tool that sets the brand apart,” he says.
3) He even gave Honda kudos for being the first automaker to install vacuum cleaners in their minivans. “It debuted at last year’s auto show,” said Mahoney. “It showed a commitment to their consumers’ lifestyles.”
Monday, 26 May 2014
GM almost half way to goal of 25 percent energy reduction by 2019
A worker installs a light-emitting diode, or LED light at the General Motors assembly plant in Rayong, Thailand. GM has replaced older light bulbs with LEDs in order to save energy. (Courtesy photo)
General Motors Co. committed to reducing its energy and water use at 31 plants nationwide as part of a federal program that already includes competitor Ford Motor Co.
The Detroit-based automaker is one of 26 new partners to join the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Challenge, the Obama administration announced Friday.
President Barack Obama launched the program in 2011 with the goal of making commercial and industrial buildings at least 20 percent more energy efficient in the next 10 years. More than 190 companies, universities, school districts, multifamily housing organizations and state and local governments are now part of the program.
GM committed to reducing its energy intensity by 25 percent from 2008 to 2019 at 31 plants, along with a 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020. Energy intensity measures source energy use divided by the number of vehicles, engines or powertrain components produced. GM already has cut back its energy intensity by about 12 percent since 2008.
The company also has been recognized for having 63 facilities meeting an Energy Star challenge to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent within five years, more facilities than any other company worldwide.
"We see great value in ... benchmarking information so we know who the best is out there in terms of energy efficiency and of course greenhouse gas reduction and we can better target efficiency gains from those learnings," said GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel.
She said GM saves energy much like a homeowner would — making sure lights and equipment are turned off when not in use, and installing new LED lighting. It also uses solar power and landfill gas energy at some facilities.
Dearborn-based Ford previously committed to reducing its energy intensity at 24 plants by 25 percent from 2011 to 2022. It also sought a 30-percent cut in water use by 2015.
Ford and GM are among 20 companies, organizations or municipalities that are part of a new water savings pilot program that allow them to share water performance data, track progress and cut energy wasted from the inefficient use of water, according to the DOE.
"Whether it's investing in new technology or implementing rewards programs with employees, Better Buildings partners are not only creating cutting edge approaches to energy efficiency but they are also sharing their successes with the marketplace," U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement.
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
GM to make limited-edition Cadillac CTS coupe
The 2015 Cadillac CTS-V coupe will consist of 500 limited-edition cars available during the second half of 2014. / General Motors
General Motors plans to produce a limited number of the 2015 Cadillac CTS-V coupe before transitioning to a redesigned lineup of V-series luxury vehicles.
The automaker said today it would sell 500 units of the 2015 CTS-V in the second half of 2014.
The move comes amid widespread speculation that the automaker may phase out the Cadillac CTS coupe, whose sharp edges and aggressive stance made up a polarizing package.
GM introduced a coupe version of the smaller, compact Cadillac ATS at the Detroit auto show in January, adding to the speculation that the CTS coupe would be phased out.
The 2015 CTS-V coupe will contain the same 556-horsepower, eight-cylinder engine and Brembo brakes as the 2010 through 2014 versions. It will feature a customized interior with premium materials.
GM said the next generation of V-series Cadillacs would debut in 2015.
“The V-Series continues to elevate Cadillac, providing an exclusive family of high-performance luxury models that attract a new audience of elite and passionate buyers,” said Uwe Ellinghaus, chief marketing officer of global Cadillac, in a statement.
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