Car Throttle

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

A report came out yesterday regarding GM's continuing efforts to find a buyer for Hummer, Saab and Saturn. It also created a stir by speculating on a possible Buick sale to China's SAIC. Before I had a chance to comment on that (unlikely) deal, GM China today dismissed the news story. The deal would have been unlikely for so many reasons. The Buick brand is huge in China. If General Motors has any hope of being a successful global company, it will need a strong presence in the country. With 1 billion people, it will one day become with the world's largest auto market. The amount of money speculated on ($1 billion) is pocket change and nowhere near the value that the brand is worth to GM. Also, in

Even with all the upheaval over at General Motors and General Motors Europe, the launches keep on coming. Today CarScoop has supposedly official sketches and pictures of the upcoming 2010 Opel Astra. I see definite influence from the well-received Opel Insignia mid-size sedan. Particularly in the surfacing and front headlights. It looks like the Astra will be moving upmarket, getting larger in every dimension. Will be interesting to compare new and old side-by-side. If Saturn was still chugging along like normal, with an Opel supply plan, we might see this car here in the United States. As we all know though, that is not the case. GM has agreed only to supply products to the Saturn brand until 2012. With a debut late this year, I highly

Is Saturn not dead after all? A new report out by a Connecticut newspaper, the Danbury News Times says that just might be the case. A "partnership has been struck that will provide for vehicles well into the future" . If Saturn can actually pull this off, color me shocked. You've probably heard about Saturn's fate as decided by GM. Due to the recent Viability Plan and the outlook for the future, some brands had to be cut. Saturn was one of them, along with Saab and Hummer. GM would like to be rid of these 3 brands as soon as possible. They do have worth though and for at Saab and Saturn at least, GM has offered them the chance to succeed by attracting a partner.

Yesterday was the deadline for the US domestic automaker's second "viability plan" to Congress. The purpose of these viability plans (an optimistic name if I've ever heard one) is to secure additional bridge loans from the federal government (out of the pockets of taxpayers) while they float along in virtual bankruptcy. The first bridge loans to two of America's automakers (General Motors and Chrysler LLC) amounted to $13.4 billion of US taxpayer money, meant to hold them over through hard times.  Well, times got worse, and annual automobile sales in the US dropped to their lowest point since 1992.  GM and Chrysler are still nearly bankrupt, they still can't sell any cars, and they're getting more money. GM's viability plan asked for a grand total of roughly $30

Consumers in the US have relatively limited choices when it comes to small, solid-feeling European hatchbacks and sedans.  For the most part, we miss out on all the cool hot hatches and subcompacts that Europe gets to enjoy.  While this is mostly due to the nature of our roads as well as the lower taxes and price of gasoline here, there are some people (read: me) who enjoy this type of car much more than, say, a Chevrolet Impala. I mean sure, we get small hatchbacks here.  But for the most part, they're all crap.  Nissan Versa?  Err, pass.  Chevrolet Aveo?  Thanks, but if I wanted a Daewoo, I probably would've bought one before they retreated from the US with their proverbial tail between their legs.  Honda