Car Throttle

Last year was a difficult year for the automotive industry - iconic brands being lost and lots of changes in the order of things. Porsche was bought up by Volkswagen, and over at GM Pontiac, Saturn, and now HUMMER have all disappeared. Saab was almost added to that list more than once, until an unlikely bid came from Spyker that saved the brand. Now, the car that everyone hopes will save the brand - the 9-5, is getting official pricing for the United States market. It is good to be talking product again! The 9-5 a product many thought would never get to see the light of day. Autoblog attended the opening of Saab's new U.S headquarters in Royal Oak, Michigan and while they were there,

Right now, the golden children in the media are Hyundai and Ford. That isn't without reason either - both Ford and Hyundai have released a slew of competitive new products, and both manufacturers have the sales numbers to match. Some peg the Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion as being the new leaders of the mid-size segment. We have yet to test either to know for sure, but we would be inclined to agree. General Motors, on the other hand, has been largely flying under the radar as it has made impressive gains. The new Equinox is an extremely impressive product, and a lot of underlying data on sales for GM corporate-wide has gone unnoticed. They results are showing up with consumers. Auto Trader has just released it's automotive research data that shows

Under promise, over deliver. It is always a pleasant surprise to have something better than you first expected. General Motors seems to get this lately. If more power is better, and in our case it certainly is - than the 2011 Camaro is better than we first thought. Under re-certification, the Camaro's V-6 gained 8 extra horsepower and 5lb-ft of torque, bringing the total to 312 and 278 lb-ft of torque. Not much, but we'll take all we can get. Tom Sutter', the V'6's chief engineer, had this to say: "The 304 horsepower in the 2010 Camaro was actually a conservative rating on our end.....but we knew already that this award-winning engine produced at least the amount of power we stated, (and) but now we've gone the extra

From the "not surprising but still utterly awesome" department comes the first official photos and details of Cadillac's coolest car ever, the 2011 CTS-V Sport Wagon.  It's a simple concept, but for a while we were all wondering if GM was going to have the balls to actually produce it.  Wonder no more, kids: the CTS-V Wagon is here! It takes all of the tasty mechanical hardware from the CTS-V Sedan and Coupe, and packs it into the sexy wagon bodystyle.  That means that under the hood is the same 6.2L Supercharged LSA V8, derived from the almighty Corvette ZR-1's motor.  With 556bhp and 551lb-ft of torque on tap, that should certainly be enough to haul the kids to soccer practice.  Thanks to an Eaton TVS

Yesterday, General Motors demonstrated its new full-windshield Head-Up Display (HUD) that it is developing in partnership with Carnegie Mellon and the University of Southern California. It isn't just a simple projection of vehicle information however, it is an augmented reality system that uses sensors and cameras to get information, using that to project images onto the windshield. In foggy conditions that make visibility difficult, it highlight the lines of the road to increase safety. Also, it can be used to highlight road signs in concert with the navigation system. The possibilities really are endless, and it is nice to see GM at the forefront of new technology again - a leader. To explain the new system, GM has created this video. It is worth a watch - lets

With a bankruptcy and bailout all unfolding over months last year, it goes without saying that the image of General Motors as a brand was tarnished significantly. Prior to this period, someone at GM had the bright (not!) idea of adding a small GM badge to every one of its vehicles and brands. The company has since made an effort to correct this misstep by removing the badge. For Cadillac though, more needs to be done. With GM the name that was plastered all over the news for months, it is no wonder that individual brand names Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac are viewed much more positively. GM has taken the steps to give those brand autonomy and that is needed if they are to meet success (which,

After the bankruptcy, many were wondering if the all the "New General Motors" talk was just that - talk. Since then, GM has taken steps to show that they really are a different company now, and in our opinion they have done a pretty good job. The most important change of all is product. The company has really been impressive with new introductions, as well as ones currently on the market like the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. The Equinox has done very well in the market. Part of the "New GM" is a new tone too, in advertising and connecting with customers. This fun new video for the Equinox demonstrates that. Way to go guys! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLpJuCmu5EI

Finally! The Saab story isn't coming to an end after all. Thankfully though, it does seem like this chapter of it is. General Motors' financial problems resulted in the decision to sell the brand, along with Saturn, Hummer and Opel. However, for whatever reason each of the asset sales fell apart - Saturn with Penske Automotive Group, and then Koenigsegg with Saab and now it looks like the same situation is happening with Hummer. Opel didn't work out, but only because GM backtracked on its desire to sell. Since the Saab sale fell apart, GM has been attempting to find a suitable buyer, and that hasn't worked out as well as they hoped - until now. Spyker, like Koenigsegg, is a small sportscar company (which also happens to

OK, this wait is getting quite tiring. However, it is better than the alternative - shutting down Saab altogether. Current General Motors management is making an effort to get the brand sold rather than just shutting it down, and that is a good thing. One of the rumored reasons for the departure of GM's recent Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson is that he just wanted to shut down the brand, in opposition to the board. Now it seems as if the company is extending the deadline. Around the time of the Los Angeles International Auto Show, GM announced they would be considering bids for Saab until December 31st, 2009. Paul Akerlund, the head of the IF Metall trade union, is saying that the date is not in

Saab's dead one minute, Saab's not the next. Let's just split the difference - it most definitely is hanging on by a thread. Just after the automotive world (and Twitter - Saab trended) began to mourn the loss, Spyker has made a vigorous effort to save the brand. Spyker was the remaining bidder in the process, but the company's bid didn't meet General Motors'  requirements. As such, Spyker submitted a 11th hour bid of - you guessed it - 11 points, each one addressing GM's concerns. GM was given until Monday (today here in the U.S) at 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. No hurry! But,  Spyker has seen fit now to extend the validity of the offer in order to give GM more time to consider it.