Autoblog

It is no secret that the automotive industry is hurting for sales to close out 2008. Over the past few months incentives have been thrown out left and right to draw in more buyers. The deals have not done enough to bring folks into the showroom, though. With all the media talk of bleeding Detroit, consumers know that the domestic manufacturers have been holding out on their best offers. Perhaps the memory of 2005's employee pricing incentives has kept many waiting on the fence. With 2009 models heading to dealerships as we speak, General Motors is hoping to end the stalemate. It will be testing the waters of employee pricing yet again beginning Wednesday, August 20th and running through September 2nd.

The employee discount program will apply across all 8 GM brands. Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers will mark down 91 percent of their inventory on all 2008 models, along with the 2009 Pontiac Vibe and G5, Chevy Cobalt and HHR and, surprisingly, the Cadillac CTS. Chevrolet dealers can unload 90 percent of their 2008 inventory with all 2008 models eligible for the employee price. Cadillac, Saturn, SAAB, Hummer will each have their own stipulations as well, but it is certain that the discount will be widespread. The price reduction varies from vehicle to vehicle, but is typically on order of a few thousand dollars. Additional incentives will also still be offered on some slower selling items, such as, you guessed it, trucks and SUVs. So the question is, will employee pricing get you off the fence and into a dealership?

[Source: GM]

Click above for high-res gallery of GM's display on Woodward Ave.

For the past several years General Motors has been using the Athens Coney Island Restaurant on Woodward Ave. as a base of operations for the Dream Cruise. The parking lot this year is again filled with classic, wannabe classic, and future classic GM machinery, much of it brought out from the GM Heritage Center in nearby Sterling Heights. For those who haven't yet seen the new Camaro in production form, the red RS we saw a few weeks ago is on display here in the parking lot along with a ZR1 in police markings and what must be one of the most yellow first generation Camaros anywhere. The powertrain tent at the back of the lot is filled with past present and future powertrains from the Z11 427 to the two-mode hybrid and even a fuel cell stack. The parking lot area is open to the public all day, so come on down. If you can't make it, check the gallery below.

Though the newish Buick Enclave has received plenty of accolades, it's the right vehicle at the wrong time for GM's smallest brand. The other two vehicles in Buick's lineup – the LaCrosse mid-size sedan and Lucerne large sedan – might better appeal to gas-conscious buyers than a large CUV, but they're far from leaders in their segment. A new LaCrosse, however, will reportedly be arriving as a 2010 model. Car and Driver just published these spy shots of a pre-production model caught with its camouflage pants down, and they reveal its design will borrow heavily from the Invicta Concept that was revealed at this year's Beijing Motor Show. That's not a bad thing, as the Invicta is a fetching sedan that went over well with the Chinese crowds. And while we could be mislead by the grainy quality of these spy shots, we swear there are two rows of portholes on the hood.

The '10 LaCrosse will likely arrive atop GM's Epsilon II platform that also underpins the upcoming Insignia and will next find its way to the '11 Saturn Aura and '12 Chevy Malibu. Engine choices are anyone's guess, but don't expect another V8 Super model. We guess the next-gen LaCrosse will get a smattering of four- and six-cylinder engines, the smaller of which could employ turbocharging and direct injection. Also check out C&D's pics of the new LaCrosse interior, which looks like a smaller version of a Cadillac CTS interior. Since we know have pictorial evidence of preproduction prototypes this far along, it's safe to assume that Buick will debut the 2010 LaCrosse during the upcoming auto show season. Our bet's on January debut at the Detroit Auto Show.


[Source: Caranddriver.com via Jalopnik]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Buick Enclave.

In addition to getting the coolest Buicks which are not available in America, individuals in China are about to get the best vehicle that Buick has to offer in the States. In a deal which was initially inked ten months ago, the attractive Enclave CUV, built at GM's Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, is headed for China. The U.S. assembled 'utes will make their way by means of Shanghai GM. The exportation of the Enclave to China is only surprising in that it took so long for the General to get the model there in the first place. After all, Buick sells more vehicles in China than anywhere else in the world, with the nation consuming over half of all Buicks worldwide. We can only hope that Shanghai GM returns the favor and sends some of its best designs our way... and soon.


[Source: GM]

Click any image for a slightly larger shot.

Earlier in the week, a handful of tiny images from General Motor's presentation to employees leaked onto the Web, providing a glimpse into the future of Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and Saab. As the General's spinmeisters try to console both Wall Street investors and tepid consumers after Black Tuesday's depressing announcements, they've finally released these all-too-small pics into the wild images began surfacing on other sites, sourced from GM's own media portal where the video of Wagoner's presentation was posted.

Aside from GM's plans to reduce white collar expenditures by 20 percent, eliminate salaried employees' health care after age 65 and a cut its way to liquidity to the tune of $15 billion by the end of 2009, Bob Lutz dropped the bomb that the current iteration of the Beat isn't coming to the U.S. and that the 40+ mpg Chevrolet Cruze won't be immediately available to North American consumers after it debuts at the Paris Motor Show.

Regardless, the images give us a sneak peak at the stillborn (Stateside) Cobalt replacement, which features tautly drawn headlamps, deep swage lines and a grille that apes its big brother the Malibu. The Cadillac CTS Sportwagon features a massive D-pillar reminiscent of that found on the CTS coupe concept and taillights that stretch from the edge of the roof to the lower fascia. The Caddy SRX's design is precisely what's been predicted, while both the Buick sedan and Saab 9-4X – a supposed competitor to the BMW X3 – are hardly compelling.

Check the images in the gallery below and give us your own opinion about GM's supposed saviors.


[Source: AutoObserver]

Autoblog reader Mike dropped us a note the other day to let us he had spotted this car tooling around in Troy MI. Being a vigilant Autoblog reader he had a camera handy and snapped off a series of photos. Mike was unable to identify the car in question, but we've seen this machine before. It's the next generation Buick LaCrosse although it's not known if GM will retain that branding. The new Buick is built on GM's Epsilon II platform which is shared with the new Opel Insignia. Thanks to Mike for the photos!


[Source: Autoblog reader Mike]

The Buick Reatta a design flop? That's what a University of Michigan professor told The Wall Street Journal recently. Really? The Reatta is the one car that he could find to pick on as an automotive design flop? Sure, the high-tech coupe was overweight and underpowered, overpriced and under-appreciated. But a design flop? I think most of us would agree there are uglier, slower, more poorly-made cars in the history of automobiles. Our Dan Roth even called it a Future Classic not too long ago.

The story is part of a larger collection of design studies that looks at everything from blue jeans to concrete saws. One other automotive element of the series is a gushing story and video about Buick's Invicta concept car. If the piece is to be believed, the LaCrosse that may be based on the Invicta, will surely never make it onto a list of design flops.

So by that logic, fake, plastic portholes insure design success, but sexy, restrained style doesn't.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

During a dealer teleconference today, General Motors announced it would be launching a zero-percent financing sale beginning tomorrow, while simultaneously raising the prices of its 2009 vehicles.

The "72-hour sale" will run from June 24th through the 30th, and will offer customers 0-percent interest rates for 72 months on most Chevys, Buicks, Pontiacs and GMC vehicles. So far, there's no word on whether the offer will extend to Cadillac and Saturn. GM will also offer $500 in "bonus cash" to buyers who opt to purchase GM products outright rather than leasing them.

At the same time, the General is going to be raising the prices of 2009 models by an average of 3.5-percent "across the board," something that was bound to happen, according to Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicles sales, service and marketing.

On the production front, GM will be adding a third shift to its Lordstown, Ohio plant to increase production of the Pontiac G5 and Chevy Cobalt, while at the same time boosting production of the Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu and Saturn Aura through the use of maximum overtime. Also of note: GM has hired Citibank to investigate the future of the HUMMER brand, which comes in the wake of GM's CEO, Rick Wagoner's announcement that "all options" are on the table regarding GM's faltering off-road brand.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

This has been a big year for GM's organization alignment, with President Fritz Henderson opening up about the brand issue snafu and the appointment of four brand czars. HUMMER was meant to join forces with Cadillac and Saab in a premium channel, but while HUMMER is still in the family, it's apparently been put out on the lawn. GM Inside News (GMI) reports that GM is treating HUMMER as a goner, saying that the H4 program is on life support for handover to the next buyer, and the H3 GMT-700 program is kaput.

The bigger hearsay is that GM's board is considering euthanizing GMC or Pontiac. Those two brands were to be aligned in a brand channel with Buick (PBG). Getting rid of GMC could make some kind of sense, since it's entirely brand-engineered vehicles with some of the worst mileage numbers in the fleet. Shunning Pontiac would be a surprise to us since the Solstice and G8 have given it a nice brand awareness boost and it's got some products in the pipeline. If GMC or Pontiac did go, the GM board would consider folding Saturn into the PBG channel to maintain sales volume. In corporate-speak, we believe this is called GM's "gloves off" phase. Thanks for the tip, Dan!

[Source: GM Inside News]

Click above for a ghres gallery from The All GM Car Show

On sunny 90-degree day that felt like a lot more than 90 degrees, Autoblog made the trek to a park in Van Nuys, California for The All GM Car Show. Old mingled with new, with a 1911 Buick sitting across the aisle from a Cadillac Allante, and a 1950 Oldsmobile next to a Shelby Series 1 supercar. And age didn't stop anyone from winning prizes: in fact, a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT took home one of the day's awards.

The show also featured concept cars, customizations, and some absolutely superb hood ornaments and detailing. Follow the jump to get the scoop on The All GM Car Show, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res images below.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jonathon R. Ramsey / Weblogs, Inc.