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Chevy Camaro Convertible Delayed and Z28 Canceled

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The 2010 Chevy Camaro is finally starting to roll off the production line, but there are rumors that two of the hotly anticipated variants are in jeopardy.

The Detroit Bureau is reporting that the Camaro convertible and Z28 variants are being delayed and may eventually be canceled due to the budget crisis hitting GM and its many suppliers. The main issue with the Camaro convertible has to do with the collapse of the German company that was supposed to supply it. It was originally planned that the convertible would launch about a year after the coupe, but since GM now has to seek a new supplier, the convertible could be delayed even further.

As for the Z28, it may just cost too much to produce according to Gene Stefanyshyn, Camaro’s Vehicle Line Executive. Stefanyshyn estimated that it would cost GM approximately $50 million to bring it to market. The Z28 would have featured well over 500 horsepower and would have been the halo car for the Camaro lineup.



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Vauxhall Dials Up Speed With Astra VRX 888


Vauxhall Astra VRX 888

If you’ve ever felt that GM has failed to reach its full potential with American consumers (I almost laughed when I typed that), you will likely feel validated in that belief to learn about the British performance version of the Saturn Astra.  The Vauxhaull Astra VXR has added a few numbers to both it’s name and horsepower courtesy of Triple Eight Engineering.


VRX 888

Beyond the special body treatment, differences between this speed demon and the factory diesel version are most significantly achieved by retuning the engine to develop 50 more horses.  Other uprades include a lowered and stiffened suspension, larger front disc brakes, four-piston calipers and special 18-inch black alloys wheels and tires.  0-60 mph is estimated to take 6.5 seconds in the VRX 888 with a top speed of more than 140mph.  Perhaps most impressive is the fuel economy which is estimated as close to 50 mpg in normal highway driving and certainly in the 40 mpg in the city.  Additionally, owners of gas versions of the VRX can not only benefit from the brake and suspension upgrades previously mentioned for the diesel, but get in on the power increase as well via an exhaust package by the aftermarket company Remus and/or a specially tuned Triple Eight ECU that coaxes an extra 48 horsepower from the Astra’s normal 2 liter engine. In total, Triple Eight is able to bring the total power of the gas burner to a jaw dropping 305 hp!

Although Triple Eight will only make 100 of these vehicles, nearly every component will be available for owners to upgrade their Vauxhall at special dealerships in Britain.  It would be refreshing if GM would foster the same relationship over here that it has developed in other parts of the world to revitalize a degree of excitement that it is surely lacking in entry-level vehicles.  While everyone froths at the mouth over the Volt and the fuel efficiency that is the centerpiece of its worth, the VRX tuned by Triple Eight proves what is capable with existing technology and cars already on the road.  One can only hope that more enterprising person(s) will continue to take it upon themselves to disprove the notion that vehicle gas mileage and performance are mutually exclusive in new cars.



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Cadillac CTS Coupe Delayed Until Summer of 2010


GM was supposed to release the much anticipated Cadillac CTS Coupe this summer, but it looks like the coupe has been delayed a year until the summer of 2010.

The change is plans is most likely due to GM's current economic condition. Cadillac's director of communications cited "changes to the overall portfolio" as the reason for the delay.

Cadillac is still moving forward with the launch of the CTS wagon this spring and the new SRX crossover this summer.



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Detroit 09' Preview: 2010 Cadillac SRX Gets Throughly Reworked

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Cadillac has officially unveiled the 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover.

The next-generation SRX ditches the wagon-like styling from the last-generation for something more "crossover" like. It's styling was previewed by the Provoq concept. The 2010 SRX builds on Cadillac's Art and Science design theme with its multi-piece shield grille and iconic vertical headlamps.

The SRX is powered by a new, 260 horsepower 3.0L direct injected V-6 engine, standard and a new, 300 horsepower 2.8L turbocharged V-6 is optional. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Front and all-wheel-drive will be offered. It's not known if GM is planning a hybrid version of the SRX to help it go head to head with its closest competitor, the Lexus RX.



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Detroit 09' Preview: 2009 Saab 9-5 Griffin Edition

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Saab loves its special edition models and although the current 9-5 is close to the end of its life cycle, Saab is releasing a 9-5 Griffin Edition.

The 9-5 Griffin Edition is powered by a 2.3L 260 horsepower 4-cylinder engine that can be mated to either a manual or automatic transmission.

The exterior of the 9-5 Griffin features a matte chrome grill, Xenon headlights, rear spoiler, unique five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels and Griffin badges. Inside there is a high gloss interior trim and Aero-inspired leather seats.

The 9-5 Griffin starts at $42,775 for the Sedan and $ 44,045 for the SportCombi model.



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White House Weighing "Orderly" Bankruptcy Of Automakers [Carpocalypse Now]

The Carpocalypse continues with the White House now looking at what they're terming as an "orderly" bankruptcy of two of the not-so-Big Three. We guess that's better than a "disorderly" bankruptcy. [NYT]



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2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon Unveiled at Pebble Beach

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Cadillac has officially unveiled the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.



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Grading The Not-So-Big Three's "Bailout" Plans [Carpocalypse Now]

We spent the night reading the the not-so-Big Three's business plans presented yesterday to Congress and after we graded them below, we've one huge question. Given the Carpocalypse, what's with the overwhelmingly optimistic sales projections for the next three years?

The biggest factor into how well a cash loan will work with the automakers will be the number of total auto sales in the United States. If an automaker makes the right projections they should be able to figure out how much money they'll need to get them through this downturn. So how did they each do in their projections? Let's take a look and grade them. Here are the sale projections from the three automakers:

Ford

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections (Slightly Improved Rate / Current Rate / Worse Rate)

2009: 12.5 / 11.0 / 10.5 million units
2010: 14.5 / 12.5 / 11.0 million units
2011: 15.5 / 14.0 / 12.0 million units
Analysis: Yesterday on CNBC, we said we were unimpressed with Ford's submitted business plan because we were concerned the results were overly optimistic after a quick skim and seeing only the "slightly improved" projection, thinking that there was no way the U.S. market would hit those numbers. Our first and snap response was "they'll need to dip into the line of credit they're asking for." Then we had a chance to read through the rest of the automaker's massive filing. We saw they'd not only created a "slightly improved" projection, but also a "current rate" and "carpocalypse now rate" projection. In those sub-sections, Ford frankly admits the automaker will not only need $9 billion in loans, they'll need up to $13 billion. While we still think the 2010 numbers are overly optimistic, we salute them for being honest and after seeing Chrysler's gameplans, we're of the opinion they really may be the U.S. automaker in the best position.
Grade: B+

GM

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections (Slightly Improved Rate / Current Rates / Worse Rate)

2009: 12.0 / 12.0 / 10.5 million units
2010: 14.0 / 13.5 / 11.5 million units
2011: 15.5 / 14.5 / 12.0 million units
2012: 16.2 / 15.0 / 12.8 million units
Analysis: GM goes the extra step of providing a magic fun world of 2012 with a peaches and cream annual sales projection of over 16 million. Apparently in 2012, we're going to party like it's 2006. But whatever, the big number discrepancy between GM and the other two (well, Ford really), is their projection for 2010. 13.5 million units is a lot of vehicles to be selling without a serious boost in hiring in this country, something not expected until mid-2010 at the latest. Also, we're not sure GM's taking into consideration the increased longevity of their own products. With increased quality comes increased time owners will keep their vehicles. We think Ford's numbers for 2010 are much more reasonable and frankly, we're concerned about the numbers of people at the RenCen who may be wearing rose-colored glasses.
Grade: C-

Chrysler

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections

2009: "lower than normal"
2010: Inc.
2011: Inc.
Analysis: If this were a real homework assignment, we'd award Chrysler with an incomplete and send them straight to detention. Hopefully there, they'd come up with something that resembles real work rather than something they scrawled in their notebook in the back of the bus on the way to school. UPDATE: A better analogy from the comments below — "It's like...an open book test...writing an essay where each automaker's allowed to bring whatever books they wanted with them into the test. Chrysler brought crayons and a coloring book."
Grade: Inc.


Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images News



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GM to produce 70,000 Chevy Volts in first 2 years

It was recently approved by the GM board (not like they had a choice after putting all that money into it), the design has been finalized and Bob Lutz has taken an ‘electrifying’ test...



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El Camino, where are you?

Pontiac was considering naming it’s new Pontiac G8 Sport Truck, the El Camino. Luckily folks within Pontiac and Chevrolet had some discussions and decided it was just strange to toss a Chevy Brand on a Pontiac even though everything is made under the same roof. Customers have a hard enough time deciding what the heck they are going to buy with the current branding problems at General Motors, all they needed was an old vintage car name on a different branch of GM.

I do however think the El Camino brand has some juice left in the tank and I think they should bring it back. Just not under the Pontiac branch of things.

el camino



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2010 Chevy Camaro Caught in Black...Does it Look Better than in White?

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We've seen several spy photos of the 2010 Chevy Camaro in white, but now we have our first shots of the car in black.



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Federal "Car Czar" could be 9/11 fund organizer

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Congress will likely vote this week in favor of giving Detroit automakers at least $15 billion in federal loans, but that healthy chunk of change will come with many strings attached. Several Congressmen have insisted that more concessions come from the UAW, lenders and executives before a cent is sent to Detroit. Another stipulation is a special "Car Czar" to watch over the money and make sure it is being spent wisely. Several congressional officials have mentioned September 11 fund master Kenneth Feinberg as a candidate to keep the automakers in line. Feinberg, who is also an accomplished lawyer, oversaw over $500 million in donations following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. A key element of being "Car Czar" would be wielding the authority to take all the funding back if he determines it's been used improperly.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Federal "Car Czar" could be 9/11 fund organizer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read |  |  | 


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GM's Troy Clarke E-Mails Employees To Beg Congress For Money [Financiapocalypse]

Well, OK, someone over at the RenCen's urging co-workers to do more than buy a silly "Save GM" t-shirt.

Hat tip to Wired on a copy of the e-mail!



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Ford & Pontiac Leaning on Rappers Appeal to design and sell new cars

With Funkmaster Flex and 50 Cents in attendance at this years SEMA to promote the cars that borrow their fame we are beginning to wonder whether the gamble pays off. Celebrity endorsements and affiliations seem to pay high dividends in other areas of the market; from clothes to sunglasses and on down to water. However do similar endorsements perform the same way in the car industry? Obviously Ford and Pontiac are hoping that they do. (more…)



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Corvette’s “Blue Devil” will officially be badged as the next ZR1

corvette

After rounds of speculation and misdirection Chevrolet finally comes out to say that the Corvette referred to as “Blue Devil” and thought to be the upcoming ZO7 is actually going to get badged as the ZR1. The ZR1 badging was first used in 1971 and then revived again in the 90’s. It is usually earmarked as the fastest of the Corvette breed during its limited production run. With a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 it is promised to have more horsepower than the current 505-hp ZO6.

The all new supercharged Corvette is listed as a 2009 model and will begin production in 2008. Sales for the ZR1 are projected to begin in late 2008. And if you think the ZO6 costs a pretty penny just wait until you get a load of this Corvette. Supercharging a production car does not come cheap.

It is also believed that the same 6.2 liter V8 that is in the ZR1 is what will find its way into the next Cadillac CTS-v. What a mighty tandem they will make for GM.

The ZR1 Corvette is going to have its coming-out party at this years Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) in January. Look for more information from Chevrolet during that time.

Source[MotorTrendBlog]



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2009 Pontiac Vibe Officially Unveiled...Better than the Matrix?

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Following the release of the all-new Toyota Corolla and Matrix last week, Pontiac has now officially unveiled the Pontiac Vibe (don't forget that the Matrix and Vibe are cousins).



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Cadillac working on hybrid motorcycle for LA Auto Show debut

In a recent interview with D Business magazine of Detroit, Cadillac’s boss Jim Taylor talked about the upcoming CTS Coupe and a pair of hybrid motorcycles that Cadillac will debut at the LA...



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Bob Lutz is Stepping Up!


Back in February, Bob Lutz announced he would step down from his position as “Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor.” Given the dude is 77, and has a collection of wicked cars and a personal fighter plane to play with,  it was hard to fault him for his decision. But everyone around the office was stoked to learn that he’s changed his mind, and will continue to serve the General. Good to see you’re not going anywhere Bob—now go kick some ass! Read the full story over at Automotive News.



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