|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » GM » Concept Cars » Economy » Beat ( RSS)
-
|
Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Plants/Manufacturing , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , HUMMER , Pontiac , Saturn , Opel , Vauxhall General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009. Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that." Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as...
|
-
|
Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet , GM , Opinion/Editorial In the wake of the Chevy Beat news that started pounding the wires before the 4th of July weekend, the Wall Street Journal reached out to Bob Lutz for some commentary on the topic. Lutz, in an email to the Journal, said, "We always thought we'd do it at some point, but now it obviously enjoys a much higher priority." Based on what the Journal says, this loosely translates to "the 2012 timeframe." Unfortunately for GM, this is a car that its U.S. operation needs approximately yesterday. It would behoove the brain trust in the RenCen to stop debating this and simply end all the speculation by formally announcing a U.S. Beat and attaching a timetable, already (as in, now). We think that the car's appearance as an Autobot in next summer's Transformers follow-up will help create enough public interest for that GM will be forced to make some sort declaration if they haven't...
|
-
|
Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet , GM Click image for a high res gallery of the Beat GM knows it needs an economical, mass-market, mass-appeal small car -- badly. Yes, it has the Aveo, but it's underwhelming in all respects, and sure, it's currently pimping the Cobalt XFE , but that car's about as exciting as an episode of Antiques Roadshow . Corsa? Not engineering the current one to be U.S.-compliant probably wasn't the greatest idea. The answer? MarketWatch says The General has summoned its inner Janet and cried, "Gimmie a Beat!" GM has yet to make a formal announcement, but word is, the Chevy Beat is indeed coming to the U.S. market. The broader public will get a really good look at it next Summer in the Transformers sequel , and as was the case with the Camaro, they'll be looking at a car they'll (apparently) be able to buy. If GM is smart, the screen-to-showroom transition won't take two years as it has with Camaro....
|
-
|
Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Chevrolet , GM , Celebrities We knew the Chevy Beat was making an appearance in the overly-named Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . The new news is that one of its "triplet" siblings, the Chevy Trax concept, is joining it, as you can see above. The two are chasing/following Bumblebee on Philadelphia's JFK Boulevard. Proof of GM's new commitment to building more smaller, fuel-efficient cars, you ask? Eh, well, as you may remember, Trax and the third triplet, Groove, were not slated for production like the Beat, so this is (unfortunately) probably just a movie special. At least one Autoblogger is happy, though (raises hand), because Trax is the one he voted for last year. Transformers Live Action Movie Blog wonders if the Beat and Trax might be portraying the Autobot "Twins" in the sequel. Sacrilege? Well, if the movie Bumblebee can be a Camaro instead of a VW beetle, there's no reason Sideswipe and Sunstreaker can't...
|
-
|
Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Trends , Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Green , Tech , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , GM Promising the best possible fuel economy for whichever type of vehicle its customers choose, GM's Bob Lutz and Ed Peper trotted a full lineup of green vehicles from their arsenal. The Aveo5, Impala E85, Malibu Hybrid, Tahoe Hybrid, Silverado Hybrid, Volt, Equinox Fuel Cell, Beat and Groove were used to show off that Chevy will be the brand carrying the greenish flame most prominently into the future for GM. Lutz talked about having a whole range of options available to meet future trends, from hybrids, to flex-fuel burners, to fuel cells, to electrics like start/stop technology and good old-fashioned economy cars that get great fuel economy. Gallery: 2008 Chevy Hybrids at the LA Auto Show Gallery: 2008 Chevy Aveo5 Continue reading LA 2007: Lutz and Peper show off Chevy's high efficiency fleet Permalink | Email...
|
|
|
|