Oracle of Delphi

Mental note to self - Never, ever sit in a chair that CD was sitting in. :AH-HA_wink:

Hmmm, I could say more, but let's let nature take its course. :AH-HA_wink:

Pennies or Nickles?

I vote in the United States and Germany, the joys of having dual citizenship.

Jamie LaReau Automotive News December 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET DETROIT — General Motors plans to chop pickup production in January, but it may be too late to avoid a fire sale. As of Dec. 1, inventories of the Chevrolet Silverado (153 days supply) and GMC Sierra (150 days) were bloated despite $5,000 rebates on 2007 models. The market for full-sized pickups has been soft since the housing industry went bust. But inventories of rival brands Ford, Dodge, Toyota and Nissan are closer to the industry norm of 60 days. As of Dec. 1, Chevrolet had 233,800 unsold Silverados, which is not a huge increase over its inventory of 219,600 units a month earlier. So what went wrong? When demand went soft, GM hesitated to trim production of the Silverado. The restyled 2008 model, which arrived in showrooms in November 2006, was still in its first year. Too slow to cut GM "clearly overproduced," says auto analyst John Casesa, a principal of the Casesa Shapiro Group in New York. "The weak market caught them by surprise. If the market was stable, their days supply should only be up by 10 percent, but the market weakened materially in November." Chevrolet probably will have to boost incentives and advertising to unload those vehicles. "They have a lot of cash on the trucks, and now they have to spend a lot of money to advertise it to get the customer to bite," Casesa says. "They just have too many trucks to clear in the first quarter if they don't do it in December." GM is coaxing dealers to order more trucks, and one dealer says he is feeling the heat. Ken Fichtner, owner of Fichtner Chevrolet in Laurel, Mont., says he took an additional 10 Silverados last month, at GM's request.. This month GM asked him to take an additional 20 trucks, and he said no. "I am sitting on a 13-month supply right now," Fichtner says. "They wanted me to go to an 18-month supply but we only sell 10 a month, and I'm in the heart of truck country!" Fichtner blames slow sales on stingy rebates; Casesa notes that Chevy did not offer aggressive incentives on the Silverado until the third quarter. Currently, GM offers $1,000 on the 2008 Silverado and up to $5,000 on the 2007 version. Slash production GM had little to say last week about its plans to reduce inventories. "Production exceeded demand for a period of time," said company spokes-man Terry Rhadigan. But GM's January production schedule speaks volumes. GM plans a two-week shutdown of its truck plants in Oshawa, Ontario; Pontiac, Mich.; and Fort Wayne, Ind. And when those plants resume production, GM will eliminate a shift at Pontiac and Oshawa. "Ford actually went ahead and closed some plants in December, whereas GM is waiting until January," says Haig Stoddard, an auto production analyst for Global Insight in suburban Detroit. "It's safe to say that GM overproduced." Too many pickups Here are pickup inventories as of Dec. 1. A 60-day supply is considered ideal. Inventory in units Days supply Chevy Silverado 233,800 - 153 Days GMC Sierra 82,900 - 150 Days Dodge Ram 117,200 - 120 Days Ford F series 186,100 - 100 Days Nissan Titan 21,100 - Days 105 * The Toyota Tundra is not listed because Toyota does not report inventory levels for individual vehicles. Source: Automotive News Data Center The pickup pack Here are the top-selling full-sized pickups through November, with the percentage change from 2006. Ford F series 635,520 –12.4% Chevrolet Silverado 564,697 –3.3% Dodge Ram 326,177 –1.5% GMC Sierra 188,461 –2.5% Toyota Tundra 177,336 58.30% Source: Automotive News Data Center

Automotive News December 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET "Bigger is better" is dead. True, that marketing philosophy has proved lucrative for the better part of a century. Americans like big cars and trucks and big powertrains to haul them. But now that Congress has passed a 35-mpg corporate average fuel economy standard, that philosophy is obsolete. Automakers must prepare consumers for some big changes. The industry must show the public what the future will look like. Vehicles will shrink, and engines won't be quite so large. But with the right mix of styling, technology and performance, marketers still can create excitement. Yes, it will force some new thinking among automotive marketers. The old 0-to-60 yardstick won't disappear entirely, but it will apply to a shrinking niche of performance cars. That's OK. The success of the Toyota Prius proves that some consumers appreciate such mundane attributes as good fuel economy. As gasoline prices creep toward $4 a gallon, good fuel economy will become a marketing necessity. Moreover, small cars don't have to be boring. Europe's rally cars attract a devoted crowd of gearheads, and Chrysler LLC sized up that niche with its Dodge Hornet concept. To their credit, automakers saw all this coming. This year, the Tokyo and Frankfurt auto shows featured fleets of concept cars powered by hybrids, diesels and other fuel-stingy powertrains. We are confident that the upcoming Detroit show will continue that trend. Here's a suggestion: Automakers should rummage through their product lineups in Japan and Europe for practical people movers. Don't assume that American consumers won't like hatchbacks simply because they weren't popular in the era of $1-a-gallon gasoline. It's encouraging to see that General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are evaluating their European lineups for vehicles that might sell in America. Properly priced, a Chevrolet Zafira could do well here. Here's more advice: Don't be bashful. The public has displayed a taste for style statements such as the Mini Cooper and Scion xB. In such a crowd, generic transportation won't cut it. In the future, vehicles such as the Nissan Cube and Ford Verve will up the ante. Beware of the old marketing verities. Bigger-is-better is sooo last week.

Rick Kranz Automotive News December 7, 2007 - 10:33 am ET SAN DIEGO — A massive change to General Motors’ future product plans is expected if the 35 mpg CAFÉ fleet average favored by Congress is enacted into law. “The minute we have confirmation of the 35 mpg rule, that is the point where we go through all of our forward product plans and probably introduce, frankly, massive restructuring of the product plan,” said GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. “A 35 mpg fleet mix means there is a bunch of stuff out there that is going to have to be 40 and 50 mpg.” The House bill passed last month calls for a 35 mpg nationwide fleet average by 2020, roughly a 40 percent increase from today’s CAFÉ standard. A key provision allows an automaker to trade credits between its car and truck fleets. “We will have to take a look at everything because we’re going to have to come up with a plan which gets us to 2015, 2017, gets us part of the way there, and with clarity on how we’re going to get the rest,” said Lutz, interviewed Dec. 5 at a Saturn event in San Diego. “Then we will have to start raising prices as we introduce the new technology.” He estimated a $6,000 to $7,000 increase in the price of vehicles requiring new technology. GM is offering a two-mode hybrid power system in the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, although it has not said what the price of the option will be. It is developing a series hybrid vehicle based on the Chevrolet Volt concept that would run solely on electric power, recharged by a small gasoline engine. A production version is expected to arrive in 2010. Earlier this year, many industry figures said the 35-mpg CAFÉ plan would hurt automakers, suppliers and workers. But the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, of which GM is a member, endorsed the House bill. “I think one of the reasons that everybody said, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’re in agreement with this,’ is because anything, even a horrible alternative, is better than the constant uncertainty,” he said. While such vehicles as 2008 Saturn Astra, which goes on sale later this month, gets 32 mpg on the highway and could be tweaked to reach 35 mpg, he said “there is no way that we’re going to get pickups and sport utilities to anywhere close to 35 mpg.” The two-wheel-drive Tahoe with a two-mode hybrid system gets 21 mpg city/22 mpg highway. Lutz said it is impossible for GM’s Lambda-based crossovers, such as the Buick Enclave, to achieve 35 mpg, he said. GM’s plans for larger rear-wheel-drive vehicles like a Chevrolet Impala replacement remain uncertain, Lutz said.

Since I just happened to be in Brazil not long ago, I think you will find they are talking about all of North America, Canada, United States, and Mexico. :AH-HA_wink:

Jens Dralle Automotive News December 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET SAN DIEGO - Bringing the redesigned Opel Astra to North America as a Saturn has saved General Motors about $900 million in development costs, says GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. "Its adaptation to American requirements cost less than $100 million," Lutz said at a press event here. "In the future, Opel and Saturn will share about 90 percent of their model portfolios." The front-drive hatchback goes on sale in North America in January in three trim levels: the five-door XE priced at $15,995, the five-door XR at $17,545 and a sporty three-door XR priced at $18,495. Prices include shipping. The Saturn Astra also will help boost capacity use at the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium, which will build the hatchback for both brands. About 45,000 Saturn versions are expected to be produced there annually. The new hatchback is being counted on to help Saturn continue its sales growth. For the 11 months through November, Saturn sales are up 7.9 percent over a year earlier to 221,895 vehicles - in a market off 2.4 percent. Despite the dollar's weakness compared to the euro, Lutz said importing the Astra from Europe still makes business sense. "But if exchange rate trends go on the way they have,'' he said, "the Astra will become a GM charity project." The dollar, which has fallen nearly 40 percent against the euro since 2001, is trading at around $1.43.

Jamie LaReau Automotive News December 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET DETROIT — Look for General Motors to develop more products for North America in Brazil. This year GM spent $500 million on its Brazilian unit to develop small cars and to expand its product development center there. GM also designated Brazil as its lead center for designing mid-sized trucks. The cars and mid-sized trucks are intended for emerging markets, but that could change soon. "GM will play that global engineering talent as it needs it, and it recognizes the huge amount of talent we have," Maureen Kempston Darkes, GM's group vice president and president of Latin America, Africa and Middle East, said in an interview. "When you've been designated the lead of mid-sized trucks, that also opens up new and important opportunities, so watch for that to come." Darkes said the engineering center in Brazil is very important to GM. "It's been designated as one of the six global engineering centers," she said. "We are doing global product portfolios using the GM engineers and facilities, so we will continue to play a very important role." GM's design studios in South Korea have had a heavy influence on GM vehicles, such as the Chevrolet minicar based on the Beat concept car. GM plans to begin selling that vehicle overseas in mid-2009 and is considering selling it in the United States. When asked whether Brazil's design and engineering center might have the same impact on North American vehicle development, Darkes said: "No reason why they couldn't. Right now, their plate is full doing trucks and small cars. But for certain they have that capability." Vehicle sales in Brazil and Argentina are set to end the year at record levels. Darkes said GM likely will boost production in the region next year.

I prefer an Opel Corsa based truck, and I'm sure you will all too!

I got one of those hats, it's sure to become a collector's item.

Hmmmm, let's see! - I will become a Vegan - Stop flirting, well at least not as much - Watch less porn, oops I mean eat less popcorn - No more sex with my wife until Delaware gets an NFL team - No more naked mid-day rides on my neighbor's donkey Hector, well at least not on I-95 - Try to love all GM's children equally, including the ugly red headed step child Holden, I better wait until 2011 for that

Well shucks, I never won an award before! I want to thank the GM Board of Directors, my family, and all the little people along the way ... :AH-HA_wink:

The 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP will remain in my fleet as long as the God sees fit, along with my 1969 Pontiac Custom-S. Here is the list of possible cars I will get in 2010, they are in order of my desire of ownership. 1. 2010 Cadillac CTS, diesel if I am still in Europe then. 2. 2010 Saab 9 3 Aero SportCombi. 3. 2010 Opel Insignia or 2010 Saturn Aura if I am in the States.

I like her, she is on a Bravo marathon right now.

¡Prospero Año Nuevo!

Rumor is there is a 2007 Purple Haze Pontiac Grand Prix GXP running around the streets of Switzerland and Germany!

That is a very telling statement but so was this one: RICK WAGONER, chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors Corp., was brief: * "My wishes are for an end to the housing and auto recessions in the U.S. in 2008; a comprehensive U.S. energy policy, and continued success in emerging markets that benefit both the U.S. and those markets."

Looks like a great read, but today it's not just manufacturing jobs that are vanishing but white collar jobs too. A friend of mine who works in the IT department of a larger pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia, were told back in October that all 721 IT jobs would be moved at the end of the year to Bangalore, India. Merry Christmas!

He is the all and powerful Wizard of GM!

Somehow a perfect copy of I Am Legend got on my USB Flash Drive.

Pay no attention to the Slovak behind the curtain!

Those colors have not been approved, I only showed what has been approved. :AH-HA_wink:

To bad it's not AWD, or there would be a new black one in my gated community for my wife.