Oracle of Delphi

Remember I was born in 1969, I was forced to listen to my parent's music throughout all of the 70's and part of the 80's. In that regard I have acquired their taste and knowledge for that type of 70's Rock & Roll, like Tull, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, etc.

Songs From The Wood

That fog light most likely will only be for 15 months while production is in Germany, after that production moves to North America, so you will be able to tell which cars were built where ...

Sorry to hear about this Cory. I was thinking you worked for Brenda Priddy or Chris Doane or whatever now. I hope things turn around for you ...

17 November 2009 By MARTON PETTENDY A CHEVROLET version of GM Holden’s ill-fated Commodore-based Pontiac G8 could soon be confirmed for North American showrooms. The move would mark the return of a significant US export program for Holden in the wake of arch-rival Ford's announcement it will vie with the Statesman-based Caprice patrol car for Stateside police car business. Expectations of a Chevrolet iteration of the Australian-made sedan, which was discontinued when GM axed the Pontiac brand earlier this year, have increased after the appearance on a Pontiac G8 web forum of an official GM email that refers to the “MY11.5 Chevy Police Program and MY12 Chevy SS”. US website Autoblog says this is proof that a high-performance version of the Pontiac G8 will be resurrected in the form of a Chev SS, possibly badged as an Impala, in 2011. New GM president and CEO Fritz Henderson has consistently denied that Holden’s long and short-wheelbase chassis architecture would be employed in the US for anything other than the officially revealed WM-based Caprice Police Patrol vehicle (PPV), but former GM product chief Bob Lutz has repeatedly said the VE-derived G8 “is too good to waste”. Now, in what would be the perfect supplement to exports of the 2011 Caprice PPV for Holden, whose Middle East export business slumped even before its US export program evaporated, former Holden chairman and managing director Mark Reuss has suggested that a Chevrolet version of either the G8 or the Caprice PPV itself could be made available to the US public. Asked in a recent episode of the online automotive program Autoline After Hours if a civilian version of the Caprice patrol car would be unveiled at Detroit in less than two months, GM’s new vice-president of global vehicle engineering said: “I can’t comment on our future products … “(But) I think there’s a real good thing that will happen with these police cars too is that people will like seeing the car and it never hurts to create a little interest around making a product decision, so we’ll see how people like it with a Chev badge on it and see how that goes.” Mr Reuss said GM had agonised over producing a Chev-badged version of the G8 but decided to develop a police version of the Middle East’s left-hand drive Caprice first. He said he expected the PPV’s more consistent sales volumes to shore up almost an entire shift of workers at Holden’s Elizabeth assembly plant, following the demise of Ford's aged Crown Victoria, which has been left virtually unchanged since 1992 but commands a 75 per cent share of US police car sales. “I can tell you that we had a lot of discussion around that – I did late at night … “(But) None of us felt right about badge engineering from an integrity point of view, so if there’s an opportunity to do something else maybe a little later … people will remember what this car is and what this platform is. “I’m not saying we’re going retail. (But) If there’s an opportunity to do some things to the car to make the car even better maybe or do in a different way than stick Chev badges on it, then we’ve really got to think about that. We’ll try to do everything we can with integrity. “The cop car was something I really wanted to have happen here (in the US) because it’s very stable volume and it can be (employing) almost a shift of people at Adelaide in South Australia. “Overall there’s an 80,000 Crown Vic space that we’re going to go in and play with this police car and the police car looks good.” Mr Reuss’ comments preceded Ford Motor Company's announcement late last week that it would not walk away from the lucrative US police vehicle market when production of the Crown Victoria ceases in 2011. The surprise confirmation comes just over a month after GM and Holden revealed the Caprice PPV concept, which will be made available to US law enforcement agencies from early 2011. Ford’s intention to offer a seamless transition to the new interceptor within about six months later was not completely unexpected, but is likely to represent a serious blow to Holden’s hopes of claiming the lion’s share of the US police market. Ford Australia has ruled out any involvement in the program with its Falcon, which remains one of the few remaining rear-drive passenger cars in the Ford world, leaving an all-wheel drive version of the Blue Oval’s new large Taurus sedan as the prime candidate for police duty. “We are aware of it, but we have not had anything to do with it,” said Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary. “It is a US-only program.” Holden’s long-wheelbase Statesman-based police vehicle debuted at a US police chiefs convention in Denver on October 3, when new GM Holden chairman and managing director Alan Batey confirmed his company would be gunning for a large slice of US police and emergency service vehicle business. “It changes nothing for us,” was the only comment Holden spokesman Scott Whiffin was prepared to make today. But Ford’s confirmation that it will produce an as-yet-unidentified replacement for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, for a market it has dominated for more than a decade, has significant implications for Holden’s police export plans. “We are at 70-plus per cent, and we intend to stay there,” vice-president of Ford sales and marketing Ken Czubay told Detroit Free Press. “We understand the police business, we've been doing it for decades and … I think we demonstrated integrity and service to these branches of government and we're going to continue. “Ford long has supported our public servants with vehicles that work as hard as they do. We intend to build on this legacy with a new generation of municipal and police vehicles that set even higher standards.” Announcing the new Police Interceptor last Friday (November 13), Ford’s president of The Americas Mark Fields stressed the Blue Oval’s new interceptor would be designed and manufactured in the US, in an apparent swipe at GM’s Australian-built Caprice PPV. “We have heard the repeated requests from the law enforcement community to continue uninterrupted support of the law enforcement community,” he said. “Ford is answering the call with the new Police Interceptor – engineered and built in America.” Sales of the Crown Victoria – 90 per cent of which are sold to police and other emergency service and government fleets, with much of the remainder seeing duty as New York’s iconic yellow taxis – were down 33 per cent at 28,458 to August this year. But Ford has traditionally sold 45,000 Crown Victorias a year to police fleets, which alone buy more than 60,000 vehicles a year, making it North America’s largest provider of police and municipal vehicles. Ford is just the latest manufacturer to deal a potentially serious blow to what should have become Holden’s largest single export program. Although the Dodge Charger Police Car from Chrysler was not expected to be a large player in the US police vehicle market, Chrysler told the Detroit Free Press that it plans to increase its share on the segment from a current 17 per cent to 40 per cent in the next 12 to 18 months. “Based on results of third-party testing and the activities going on in the marketplace, we feel there is a good opportunity to grow our sales,” Chrysler spokeswoman Cathy Graham told the DFP. Meantime, Carbon Motors Corporation, a new start-up US police vehicle manufacturer based in Connersville, Indiana, plans to introduce a vehicle codenamed the Carbon E7 and designed specifically for law enforcement duty in 2012. CMC says the E7 was designed with input from 3500 of North America’s 840,000 first-response law enforcers. Powered by an unspecified 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and claimed to accelerate to 60mph in just 6.5 seconds, the all-new rear-drive police vehicle is said to have already attracted 12,000 orders from more than 200 law enforcement units across the US. Like Holden’s Caprice PPV, the Dodge Charger sports sedan is available with both V6 and V8 petrol engines. The Caprice employs the same 3.6 and 6.0-litre Vee engines as the Commodore, while the Charger engines displace 3.5 and 5.7 litres. Chevrolet’s current police vehicle, the front-drive Impala, runs only a 3.9-litre V6. The Crown Victoria nameplate, which dates back to 1955 and along with the closely related Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis remains the only full-frame rear-drive passenger car built in the US, will cease to exist in the third quarter of 2011. The earlier than expected production shutdown follows a cost-cutting agreement signed by Ford and the Canadian Auto Workers union on October 30, which includes the closure of the St Thomas plant in Ontario, where the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis are built. While Ford did not accept bailout money from the US government like Chrysler and General Motors, some 1500 Ford workers will be sacked as a result of the agreement, which and also includes a reduction in leave periods and co-payments on health care, plus a guarantee to keep at least 10 per cent of Ford’s North American production in Canada. The agreement, which expires in September 2012, is the second reached between the CAW and Ford in 18 months. Ford said it has made a significant investment in a new purpose-built Police Interceptor, which will be based on the same front and all-wheel drive large-car platform that underpins the 2010 Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS full-size sedans. Unlike the Crown Victoria, which emerged in the early 1980s and has been the subject of numerous law suits relating to fuel-tank explosions during rear-end collisions, the new police model will eschew a rigid ladder chassis construction. Ford said its new interceptor would offer better fuel economy, quality and durability than the Crown Victoria it would replace. Although the Taurus does not offer a V8, a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre EcoBoost petrol V6 from the flagship SHO variant and all-wheel drive capability should suit police pursuit and cold-climate duties. The company said the car was developed over the past 14 months with input from its own Police Advisory Board, and will be revealed along with full specifications in the first quarter of 2011 – in time for law enforcement agencies, police equipment manufacturers and retro-fitters to prepare for the changeover from the Crown Vic. Fleet manager of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a member of Ford’s Police Advisory Board Lt Brian Moran said he expected Ford’s Crown Vic replacement to be significantly more advanced. “Ford’s commitment to the law enforcement community produced the Crown Victoria, the benchmark police vehicle,” he said. “This commitment has continued, and Ford has been working closely with the Police Advisory Board on developing the new Police Interceptor. I am confident that the next-generation Ford police vehicle will meet the future needs of the law enforcement community and will set the new standard.” Australian industry minister Kim Carr met with the most senior Ford and GM executives last month for trade talks and came away with ambitious sales forecasts for the Caprice PPV. “The truth of the matter is that the Crown Victoria is a vehicle that is going out of production, that has dominated the police market in the US for a very long time, and it is timely that GMH has put this bid forward,” he told GoAuto. “Law enforcement agencies in the United States buy about 80,000 patrol cars a year. Capturing even a quarter of this market would be a coup for Holden. It would be an important step in the transformation of the industry, which must ultimately be export-led.” Mr Reuss said the federal government had helped open export doors in relation to the Caprice police vehicle. “The Australian government has really helped us to show the capability of it (the PPV) in places like LA, which are the big police markets, and they did a wonderful job.” GM’s global engineering chief said he expected Ford to offer a Crown Victoria replacement, but that the Caprice PPV’s early reveal would give it an advantage. “We’re going to be there pretty quick I think,” said Mr Reuss. “We’ve got to make sure the police understand what we’re doing for them. We making the police car for the police so when the police start ordering and they like we’ll make as many as they want.” Link with pics: http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/DA5D665AC1059919CA25766F00804AAC

It’s over $100,000 cheaper than its nearest German competitor. Model Tested: ■2009 Holden WM Statesman; 3.6-litre, six-cylinder, petrol; six-speed automatic; sedan – $56,990* Fuel economy; interior room; value for money Transmission; lack of design change I’ll promise you from the outset that this isn’t one of those ‘the fish was this big’ stories. The Holden Statesman truly is huge. It’s any wonder a large portion of Holden’s Statesman and Caprice sales go toward hire cars, even our PM uses them – so they can’t be that bad. The Holden Statesman is one of those cars that you don’t feel right driving on your own. It’s a massive car that doesn’t feel complete without a horde of passengers and luggage. While Holden has inserted its new SIDI engine into the V6 Statesman and Caprice line-up, the exterior design remains identical. Long LED indicator stems, along with a brash front and rear end define the Statesman as an executive’s car. It certainly has presence on the road and looked elegant in the Karma metallic paint job. Likewise with the exterior, the interior remains unchanged. From the moment you open the driver’s door, it’s obvious the Statesman has been tailored with luxury and prestige in mind. Lashings of wood grain encrust the interior panels, in addition to silver metallic highlights. Unfortunately the dull black overtones, which appear all too often inside the cabin, tend to bore in a hurry. Most manufacturers these days are mounting LCD screens higher in the cabin so the driver isn’t forced to look down and take their eyes off the road for longer than necessary. Unfortunately Holden is yet to change this characteristic trait, which is one of the interior’s main shortcomings. The myriad of buttons alongside the LCD also become confusing at times, at least until the driver is used to their whereabouts. One other confusing aspect is the optional satellite navigation. They say that patience is a virtue and is well and truly necessary when attempting to enter in an address Fiddly controls and slow response makes using the satellite navigation a mind numbing task, especially when it believes the street you’re entering doesn’t exist. Holden has managed to improve the sound system on offer also. When the VE Commodore was first released, it was one of the Statesman’s strongest flaws. Now the sound system offers plenty of bass (without the rattling and distortion that once existed) and precise treble. Interior room is bound to astonish anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to sit in the front or rear of a Statesman. Leg room and head room in the front is impressive, even for tall adults. It’s when you make your way to the rear seats that it becomes astonishing. Even for somebody of a tall stature like me can comfortably sink into the seats and stretch out. Shoulder room allows three adults to sit abreast without feeling like they are sitting on top of each other. This is one of the main reasons the Statesman and Caprice are so popular amongst hire car companies. Compared to a non-L 7 Series, A8 and S-Class, the Statesman and Caprice offer superior leg room. You need to option the long-wheel-base on either of the aforementioned before they offer similar amounts of leg and head room. Behind the wheel, the package is let down by a tired six-speed automatic gearbox. Holden’s new 3.6-litre SIDI engine produces 210kW and 350Nm of torque, which is more than sufficient to move the entire package. The six-speed automatic gearbox offers a lethargic response when an urgent gear shift is beckoned, in addition to minor hunting during inclines and declines. I found on occasion when power was needed immediately, the gearbox would dordle and only then grab the right gear, wasting precious seconds. The engine itself is a pearler offering adequate torque and fantastic mid-range power delivery. If it wasn’t for the gearbox getting in the way of things, it wouldn’t be anywhere as near of a critical assessment. Sitting at the helm of the Statesman is a leisurely task. Forward and side visibility is good (except for the massive A-pillars), but rearward visibility is limited due to the high boot-line. Rear parking sensors are standard, which helps when reversing. The suspension is very soft and offers a luxury feel to the ride. It does have substantial body roll which rears its head during sweeping and tight corners. The demographic for this vehicle probably won’t care so much about the latter though. Steering feel is accurate, while brake pedal feel is abysmal. Pedal travel is far greater than necessary and feedback through the pedal is limited to say the least. Holden claims a fuel consumption figure of 10.3-L/100km; I was able to better this on test, returning an average fuel consumption of 9.5-L/100km. This was after a 70/30 highway/city split. Standard features include: Central locking, dual-zone climate control, electric windows, electric mirrors, auto-dimming rear vision mirror, heated wing mirrors, six-disc CD player, leather seats, eight-way power driver’s seat, four-way power passenger seat, automatic headlights, automatic windscreen wipers, fog lights and 17-inch alloy wheels. Standard safety features include: Electronic Stability Control (ESC), driver and front seat passenger SRS airbags, driver and front seat passenger side airbags, full length curtain airbags, engine immobiliser and pyrotechnic seatbelt pretensioners. Starting at $63,990, the Holden Statesman is good value for money if you’re after a vehicle capable of moving passengers in luxury. The engine is let down by a dismal gearbox, but doesn’t do much else wrong. The Statesman is still $100,000 short of its nearest German competitor (the Audi A8) and it’s hard to imagine any reason why you would consider spending an additional $100,000 for a brand name. The Statesman offers just as much for over half the price. See Link for full article and pics - http://www.caradvice.com.au/47839/holden-statesman-review-road-test/

Shortly after rejoining GM in late 2001, Bob Lutz initiated a program to provide sub-Cadillac rear-drive cars in the United States developed from the Australian Holden brand. Unlike previous GM product chiefs in Detroit, Lutz was impressed with what the Australians had achieved with modest engineering budgets and saw the opportunity to transform the Holden rear-drive platforms into the sporty products he believed Chevy and Pontiac desperately needed. It was a sound concept -- and one successive Holden execs had been pushing on and off since the 1990s and a project called GMX127, a proposal to build a Holden Commodore rear-drive sedan in Australia for Buick that was reportedly deep-sixed by UAW opposition to the idea. So what went wrong? In a word, timing. Lutz had the right idea, but from the get-go he was chasing the clock. 2006 Pontiac GTO PONTIAC GTO: Basically a rebadged version of the Holden Monaro coupe, the GTO program suffered from two problems. First, the Monaro, which started out as a skunk-works project at Holden, was intended only as a short-timer, as it came late in the previous-generation Commodore's life cycle. That meant its sheetmetal was based on that of a Commodore styled in the '90s, which was okay for Australia given the rest of the range, but was too plain, with no cues to relate the car to '60s GTOs for the American market. The second problem was the name: GTO set up all sorts of expectations the styling couldn't support. If GM had called it the Pontiac Catalina, or Chevelle, the initial lukewarm reaction to the car might have been different. Pontiac sold 134,758 over three model years, but spread across six calendar years (the last of the leftover '06s sold in 2008). Of those, an impressive 115,590 were sold in 2005. BUICK VELITE: As GM's finances slid, a sedan based on the handsome RWD '04 Velite convertible concept was put on hold, then eventually canceled. 2009 Pontiac G8 Front Three Quarters View PONTIAC G8: A rebadged version of the all-new Holden Commodore launched as a 2008 model featuring a 3.6-liter DOHC V-6, 6.0-liter V-8 and, in the GXP, a 415-horsepower 6.2-liter. It was launched just as gas prices skyrocketed, and Pontiac customers needed to get used to unfamiliar switchgear. Pontiac held a contest to name the El Camino-style pickup version, settled on G8 ST, then killed it before it could be imported from Australia. A station wagon version was earlier ruled out for importation. Finally, the economy imploded, and near-dead GM killed the Pontiac division and the G8 with it. With a couple sales months left, Pontiac sold just 35,623 in about two years. CADILLAC DT7: GM's meltdown finally killed plans for a Cadillac DTS/STS replacement based on Holden's Zeta architecture. There had been some controversy around DT7 -- some GM insiders wondered whether the Holden hardware was premium enough for a full-size Caddy. Chevrolet Caprice Cop Car Front Three Quarters View CHEVROLET CAPRICE: Lutz and his new boss, Fritz Henderson, argued over whether the G8 should be rebadged as a Chevy Caprice. Both won, or maybe lost: The car will be sold beginning in 2011 as the Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle, a Holden Statesman (the long-wheelbase version of the Commodore) without the G8's split grille or fake hood scoops and with special police equipment. It lacks one thing police departments love, though: body-on-frame construction. The Los Angeles Police Department, for example, owns three frame-straightening machines, and can have a Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor back on the road within days after one of those televised chase-scene bump-and-spin maneuvers. Link: http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2010/112_1001_gm_holden_blown_opportnunity/index.html

You should change your name to the Head Skunk with the Stinky Slinky.

Half the time when I view New Content I get this message "Sorry, no new content found." Click it the very next instant again and I see the whole list. It's weird!

Except when it's time to suck out the $h!ter! I recommend gloves ...

How about a Zeta based flagship Cadillac paying homage to the Cadillac 16, and Cadillac always being based on RWD vehicles? Let Buick have the EP IIs, Cadillac needs to be so much more than that.

Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar ...

My advice, stop licking pigs !!! Seriously, H1N1 is no joke, I hope you feel better soon.

Hurry Dodgefan, all this blue, silver and white makes me think of winter and that's not a good thought for me ...

By Niklas Magnusson and Ola Kinnander Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Saab Automobile AB dealers in the U.S. are running out of new cars after the Swedish carmaker cut production to conserve cash and prepare for its first new model in seven years. “We have about 10 Saabs left, and they won’t last long,” said Ivan Goodwin, sales manager at Jim Ellis Saab in Atlanta. “It’s going to be a big problem, but there is nothing we can do about it.” Saab, which General Motors Co. is selling to an investor group led by Swedish sports-car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB, has slowed assembly to retool its Swedish factory to build the new 9-5 sedan starting next year, spokesman Eric Geers said. The company said last week it will eliminate more than a third of its U.S. dealers. Those that have received notice that they will remain open say they may be limited by a lack of inventory. The time it takes for Saab to deliver the new car and ramp up production of other models is crucial for dealers, whose sales have slumped since GM said in February it would cut ties by the end of 2009 and Saab filed for bankruptcy protection. Saab has also held back assembly as it waits for Koenigsegg to take over and a loan from the European Investment Bank to arrive. “Our stockpile isn’t very large anymore as we’ve worked hard during the reconstruction to reduce it,” Geers said by telephone from Budapest, where Saab is showing the new model. “When we close the deal and change owners we can start producing again for real as we then will have financing.” Sales Slump Saab is struggling in the U.S., which it has identified as one of its four most important markets, announcing last week plans to close 81 of 218 U.S. dealerships. Saab sold 21,368 cars in the U.S. in 2008, or 23 percent of all deliveries. The carmaker has yet to identify which dealers will be shut, though the dealers have received letters letting them know their status. Saab’s 10-month sales slumped 62 percent to 7,441 cars in the U.S., the world’s largest auto market. The automaker sold just 513 cars in the U.S. last month. “One of the side effects with the transition from being a GM subsidiary to a Swedish group is that Saab has not been able to run the factory at a satisfactory level,” Stephen Pope, chief global market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald in London, said. “They are disappointing buyers with extended waiting times or just failure to deliver.” Saab said it will start delivering the 9-5 in early 2010, probably first in Sweden, before shipments elsewhere. At Parkfield Saab in New Jersey, dealer Rick Wehle hopes the new cars come fast enough. He has 30 new Saabs left in stock and expects to run out of new cars within a couple of months, he said. The dealership, which has been notified it will remain open, sold 10 Saabs last month. Running Out The carmaker told U.S. dealers on a Nov. 10 conference call dealers would be able to place orders for the new model “soon,” Wehle said. “It looks to some of us we will not have 2010 models to sell until the spring,” Wehle said. “I sure hope production has started because our 2009s will be long gone by springtime.” The old 9-5 was first introduced in the late 1990s and is one of Saab’s three existing models. Typically carmakers replace a vehicle every five years or so. Saab has stepped up marketing of the new 9-5, its first new car of any kind in seven years, after showing the sedan for the first time two months ago. “It looks as if it’s going to be a beautiful car and we should do very well with it,” said Tim Whalen, general manager of International Motors Ltd., a Saab dealer in Falls Church, Virginia, that is staying open. “We obviously would like to have it as soon as possible. We’ll take as many as we can get.” ‘Annoying’ Wait While concern over access to new cars is most acute in the U.S., Swedish dealers are waiting too. Lars Kopp, who runs a dealership in southwest Sweden, said Saab has extended delivery times, with the longest wait being eight weeks, as Saab’s “stretched liquidity” means the carmaker cannot produce enough autos. He has 20 vehicles in stock and orders for 50 more. “We’re not worried about our own liquidity, as we’re an old and stable company,” said Kopp, who has sold Saabs for more than two decades. “What is annoying and deplorable is that you don’t generate any money by just sitting here with orders.” Saab is unable to increase production until the sale to Koenigsegg, which it had expected to close last month, is complete and new financing arrives, Geers said. The deal was postponed after the European Investment Bank delayed a decision on granting Saab a 400 million-euro ($600 million) loan, which it eventually approved Oct. 21. The European Commission must still sign off on the funding, leaving dealers waiting. “We’ve been in limbo too long,” said Goodwin, the Atlanta dealer, which also received notice it will remain open. “But we’re optimistic. The new 9-5 has got more bells and whistles. It’s the best car they’ve ever made.” Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=arhlTGtHz9RM

While we were talking about the Escalade EXT launch with Susan Docherty (don't ask) during the Regal reveal at the Hollywood Palladium last week, Car & Driver's Steve Siler was pushing Maximum Bob about sportier versions of the newest Buick. Now, we heard mumblings about a new Buick Regal GS last month, but that was just dealer hearsay. Siler's report is straight from Lutz's mouth, and while he's not exactly the most reliable GM exec we've ever talked with, he does seem to have his finger on the General's performance pulse. To summarize a bit, a 335-hp, all-wheel-drive manny-tranny version of the Regal might be coming, labeled with the legendary GS badge. There might even be a wagon version of the top of the line Regal – maybe even one with GM's eLSD torque vectoring. In fact, Lutz made it sound like GM might just import the 325-hp turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer, crank up the boost a smidge and slap a Regal GS badge on it – which is more than totally fine with us. In fact, Siler suggests that what GM ought to do is make the tip top Regal wagon-only – sort of like the MazdaSpeed3 or WRX STI. Maybe call it the Buick Regal GSX? But like most such things involving GM these days, we'll believe it when we see it. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/15/rumormill-bob-lutz-drops-more-buick-regal-gs-high-performance/

Opel HQ and GME HQ are not the same. GM is moving GME HQ to Germany to keep an eye on Opel HQ, until a solution is made as to where Opel/Vauxhall HQ will be.

In an overly publicized outburst at a cabinet meeting earlier this month, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused General Motors of "scornful" behavior after the American company canceled a plan to sell off a German car maker to a Russian-Canadian consortium. "The last-minute refusal to complete the Opel deal is not harmful to our interests, but it shows that our American partners have a very original culture when dealing with counterparts," Mr. Putin said. However, there's no need to worry that Mr. Putin's feigned indignation will seriously harm the already chilly U.S.-Russian relations despite the obvious harm it has done to the survival prospects of Russia's backward automobile industry. Such antics notwithstanding, the Kremlin is far more worried about refilling its dwindling coffers through trade deals with such traditional partners as Iran, China, India, Syria, and Venezuela that are rife with kickbacks. The United States, which forbids bribing foreign officials, is useless to the Kremlin in that sense. Truly, in that sense, Mr. Putin was telling the truth - the Kremlin's self-interest was not hurt by the GM decision. In any case, Mr. Putin could hardly expect anyone to believe in his hurt feelings given the former president's track record of persecuting Russian business leaders who dared to do business with the U.S. or its allies outside of Kremlin-controlled business structures. Here are some examples: •The Yukos saga, in which the Kremlin selectively used the Russian judicial system it totally controls to imprison the oil giant's leaders, seize the company, break it up, and transfer the ownership of its largest asset to a Kremlin-controlled business entity. These maneuvers occurred after it became known that a large stake in the company was about to be sold to U.S. companies. •Russia has recently been terrorizing more than a dozen countries in Europe by shutting off gas supplies via Ukraine to punish the latter for its pro-Western orientation and force it to pay a higher price for Russian gas. •Police in Moscow have periodically raided businesses owned by ethnic Georgians and have on one occasion shut down all transportation links with Georgia to force its pro-Western president to abandon his hopes of Georgia joining NATO. Given the high political risk of doing business with Russia, it is only natural that General Motors would renege on the Russian deal once the economy in Europe started to look up. Just a few of the indignities that General Motors has avoided by refusing to deal with the Russians include harassment by the state's officials at all levels, extortion, and potentially massive job losses by General Motors' plants and their many suppliers across the United States and particularly in the Midwest. Even if such a decision may seem to contribute little to U.S. economic recovery in the short term, it is indisputably a smart move in the long run. As for Mr. Putin, he would do his country a favor by not alienating the leadership of one of major investors in its economy. The bottom line is that Mr. Putin needs an attitude adjustment if he expects to do serious business with the United States. Mike Sigov, a former Russian journalist in Moscow, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and a staff writer for The Blade. Link: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091115/COLUMNIST25/911150304/-1/SRMAIN

GM Holden admits to “grrrrrreen” washing Friday, 19 September 2008 20:17 The Federal Court has found Swedish car brand Saab guilty of making false and misleading claims in its "Grrrrrreen" campaign, which promoted the environmentally friendly nature of its Saab range of vehicles. The Federal Court has found Swedish car brand Saab guilty of making false and misleading claims in its "Grrrrrreen" campaign, which promoted the environmentally friendly nature of its Saab range of vehicles. Saab Australia is owned by GM Holden, a subsidiary of US car giant General Motors. Between 27 July and 1 September 2007, GM Holden published newspaper and magazine advertisements across Australia promoting the Saab range of motor vehicles. The advertisements, under the headline statement "Grrrrrreen", contained the words and phrases, "Grrrrrreen", "Every Saab is green. With carbon emissions neutral across the entire Saab range" and "Shift to neutral". The ads also suggested GM Holden had taken measures so that the carbon dioxide emissions from any Saab vehicle would be neutral over the life of that car. The ads said that in the first year following the purchase of a Saab, GM Holden would plant, on behalf of the purchaser, 17 native trees which would offset the carbon dioxide emissions for the life of that motor vehicle. These claims caught the eye of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which launched an investigation. “These claims were misleading. The carbon dioxide emissions from any Saab motor vehicle would not be neutral over the life of that motor vehicle, and the planting of 17 native trees would only provide a carbon dioxide emission offset for a single year's operation of the motor vehicle,” the ACCC said in a statement. Yesterday, the Federal Court declared that GM Holden contravened sections 52 and 53© of the Trade Practices Act by engaging in misleading conduct. The court also ordered GM Holden to pay the ACCC's costs and made a series of court-enforceable undertakings whereby GM Holden has agreed to: Refrain from republishing the advertisements. Retrain all its Saab marketing staff in relation to misleading and deceptive conduct in the context of “green” marketing claims to make them aware of their responsibilities under the act. Have the training reviewed by an independent third party and have the reviewer provide a report to the ACCC about the training. In another act of penance, GM Holden has told the ACCC it will plant 12,500 native trees – it believes that is enough trees to offset the carbon dioxide emissions for the life of all of the Saabs sold during the campaign. GM Holden was also ordered to pay the ACCC’s costs. ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says the case should act as a warning that companies need to give a lot more thought to green claims. “Vague, unsubstantiated, misleading, false or deceptive environmental or green claims not only are at risk of breaching the act but they also reduce consumer confidence in such claims and disadvantage ethical traders doing the right thing,” he said. "The ACCC will continue to be vigilant on 'greenwashing' and will not hesitate to take enforcement action, including Federal Court action, against traders who make false or misleading representations to consumers, as has been demonstrated by this case." Link: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/manufacturing-77.html

BERLIN General Motors Co. wants to move its European headquarters to Germany from Switzerland before the end of the year, an Opel spokesman said Saturday. By moving its headquarters from Zurich to Adam Opel GmbH's Ruesselsheim headquarters in Germany, the company wants to strengthen its subsidiary Opel, spokesman Ulrich Weber said. GM's Chevrolet brand will continue to keep its headquarters in Zurich. Last week, GM called off the planned sale of Germany-based Opel to car parts maker Magna and Russian lender Sberbank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had favored that deal to save jobs. Merkel now says she wants GM to present a restructuring plan that gives Opel Europe and the German sites the chance of a good future. Between 200 and 250 employees worked at headquarters in Zurich, according to Weber, but most have already returned to their home countries and many of whom had originally come from Ruesselsheim. Link: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9BVA8L80.htm

Happy Birthday Boyz!

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