Car Throttle

I always make it out to Raleigh's Cars & Coffee event the first Saturday of every month. It's always worth it, even though I abhor waking up early, because there's always awesome stuff to see.  A lot of the same cars show up, so I won't show pictures of stuff you've already seen - for those you can check previous Cars & Coffee coverage here, here, and here. For starters, here is one of 337 Porsche 959's ever built, which was Porsche's rolling technical showcase that blew everything else out of the water in the 1980's, and set the standard for supercar performance.  None were ever imported to the US; it's likely this one has been fitted with the Canepa Design engine

This news is just in: Penske Automotive Group and General Motors have both issued statements announcing that negotiations between the two for the Saturn brand has been terminated. Saturn has been one of the GM casualties of the financial crisis, with GM announcing a few months ago that the brand would be shuttered. Upon hearing this, Saturn's leadership and fans attempted to mount a campaign to secure an independent future by being bought by another company, Penske Automotive Group. Tat effort has reached a dead-end. This is very disappointing news to all the Saturn employees and loyal customers that have tried so hard to keep Saturn alive.  The problem lies with Penske Automotive Group's ability to secure products for Saturn bey0nd the supply period it negotiated with

Where I live we have a Farmers Market on Thursday's - streets downtown are closed and visitors are free to walk around and walk the vendor-lined streets. There is even something for gear heads. On one of the streets that's closed off, local car owners sometimes bring their vehicles for an impromptu car show. In the past, I've seen such high-end machinery as the Bentley Continental GT and Ferrari Testarossa. This time, there was a less exclusive display but still cool nonetheless. Probably most interesting is the (once) beautiful and rare 1937 Cadillac V-12 Limousine which is being restored for a local hotel. I can't wait to see it finished - should be amazing. I will be sure to take some photos of it once it's completed. For now,

Most of the new alternative fuels vehicles on the market are quite boring and that's why I've stayed away from posting on CarThrottle about the latest developments in the field. However, the source of power - in this case, electricity - isn't the problem. It's the vehicles they're used in. For instance the Toyota Prius isn't exciting for enthusiasts, but the Tesla Roadster sure is. This case though is different for a few reasons - I think the introduction of a Buick plug-in crossover is a landmark development. Are bigger and greater things really in store for Buick? I hope so, but there is one thing that is a bit unnerving to be about the whole thing.... This image!! We've known for quite some time that a

With Canadian supplier Magna International striking a prelimary deal with General Motors to purchase the Opel brand, launches are still going forward as usual. One of Opel's most important cars if it ever is to be successful is the new Astra. In Europe, small-segment cars are much bigger then they ever have been historically in the United States and that puts an even higher imperative on producing a solid entry. The Astra has done very well in the past, but with stiff competition like the Golf, the new model has to deliver. That it does! What an impressive interior! The design and execution is a better than a lot of mid-size car interiors sold in the United States. I clearly see a lot of inspiration taken from the Insignia, which makes sense given that

Well, that report yesterday was accurate! Saturn is saved, bought by a well-heeled buyer with a proven track record. Saturn fans should be quite excited about this development. I thought it was pretty unlikely that the brand would find a buyer that would keep it open and business given it's volume brand status and the economic situation. As part of the deal, GM will continue making the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook on a contract basis. This is a huge benefit to GM as well, getting revenue from production as well as proceeds from the sale of the brand. The Sky roadster and Astra hatchback will be cut however, as expected. The Sky might be sold to an separate buyer and the Astra has consistently been a slow

Looks like resolutions are done or are being neared in the sale of all GM's 3 brands. A buyer has been announced for Hummer; it is being sold to a Chinese heavy equipment company with no prior experience in the automotive sector. Saab has enough cash to sustain itself separately from the bankrupt GM, and two buyers are rumored to be in the running for them (one of which is Koenigsegg). There is a handful of buyers remaining to purchase Saturn, with reports indicating that Roger Penske's Penske Group is the lead bidder with an announcement that could potentially come as soon as tommorow. One of the buyers in the running is rumored to be considering using Mitsubishi-sourced vehicles. Reports also have come out that for Roger Penske's bid, he is considering sourcing Saturn

The cutting of Pontiac and Saturn has a lot of implications for various models and plants that produced those models. Nowhere is that more apparent then in Wilmington, Delaware. The plant produces two models; the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. Both are being cut and GM doesn't seem to have any plans for the plant in the future. If all goes to plan, this plant along with the jobs (and sales) that go with it will dissappear. GM CEO Fritz Henderson revealed on Monday something that - for once - is common sense! He said the company would be "very open" to a proposal on the plant and the tooling to produce the two roadsters. The Solstice and Sky have proved in their short lifetime to be successful

When GM originally announced plans to cut the Saturn brand, me and many other analysts thought the brand was toast. Does anyone have the patience and money to turn it into a viable position? Standing alone independently is very hard, especially with economic conditions like this. So it's with surprise that good news for the future of the brand continues to roll on in. I think GM is very surprised as well. In outlining it's recent acceleration of it's restructuring/Viability Plan released on Monday, April 26th, GM announced it was giving the brand until the end of the year to find a new owner. The old 2012 date? No more, due to the worsening of GM's financial straits. To help sort out the whole situation (and I assume

Edmunds' Inside Line wasn't kidding; Pontiac has indeed been cut as originally reported. The official announcement came today, along with a host of other more drastic restructuring measures that have been taken. It's not pretty, not pretty at all. Like I've said before, I thought this painful realigning was what government intervention was supposed to stave off? Guess not. Looks like General Motors is heading right toward Chapter 11. GM has included the cuts and changes as part of a update on the "Viability Plan" produced for the U.S Treasury on February 17th. A lot has changed since then, as evidenced by these new cuts. GM says it's an "accelerated timeline deeper cuts in several key areas  of GM's operations". That includes cutting Pontiac for good; it