Flybrian

Two of the first ads for the 2008 Malibu, courtesy of Jalopnik. Jogger Robbery

Bob Lutz and the New Malibu GM FastLane Blog Click here to comment on GM's FastLane Blog.

Miami dates added above.

Chrysler set to ax models Up to 5 that compete with other company vehicles are likely to go October 17, 2007 | BY TIM HIGGINS | Link to Original Article @ Detroit Free Press Chrysler LLC could cut as many as five nameplates within the month as part of its quick and dramatic makeover as a newly private company. It's "highly likely" Chrysler's top brass will approve plans to kill vehicles this month, a person familiar with the situation told the Free Press. About five vehicles are being considered for elimination, but the source would not reveal which ones. The boardroom drama could help explain why the UAW was unable to win the same sort of future-product guarantees in its tentative labor deal with the Auburn Hills automaker as it did in its deal with General Motors Corp. The product review comes as the automaker is seeking to get its tentative agreement with the UAW ratified by rank-and-file union members. GM has already won ratification of what analysts see as a potentially transformational contract that can give Detroit automakers nearly equal labor costs to Toyota Motor Corp.'s nonunionized U.S. factories. But Chrysler union local leaders have complained that unlike the GM contract, the proposed Chrysler deal fails to reclassify lower-paid temporary workers as permanent hires and lacks the kind of plant-by-plant outline of possible future products listed in the union's description of the GM agreement. Bob Nardelli, who became Chrysler's chief executive officer in August, shortly after Cerberus Capital Management took majority control, indicated in a September speech that the company could reduce its model offerings. Once Chrysler's product evaluation committee makes its decision about eliminating nameplates, it's believed the decision will be sent to Cerberus management for approval. Chrysler officials say the company has been meeting about the product lineup, assessing the vehicles sold by the company and contemplating what needs to be cut. "We have models that overlap, where we have two or three vehicles that serve the same market segment and maybe the same customer and actually compete with each other to some extent," Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Jim Press told reporters last week. "We also have markets where we have insufficient coverage. Where we don't have enough product." Press did not discuss specific model eliminations. A Chrysler spokesman declined to comment. The likeliest models to go Auto industry analysts predict the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Dakota, and Jeep Commander and Compass could face elimination. A company insider included those vehicles among a list of vehicles facing review. The source and another familiar with Chrysler's design pipeline also questioned the future of the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Durango. The Chrysler Sebring is being considered for a complete makeover, though if that is not feasible, the car will probably be eliminated, the company insider said. Yet another person familiar with Cerberus' thinking said the private equity firm questions why Chrysler's lineup includes the Dodge Durango SUV, which has seen its U.S. sales slide 30% this year. A Cerberus spokesman did not respond to an inquiry regarding this story. The number of eliminations "could go higher in the sense that products as we know them today, but something will take their place, just not a direct next-generation replacement," analyst Catherine Madden of Global Insight said. The Durango is built at the Newark, Del., assembly plant, which will be closed in 2009. "I think the Durango is dead in the water. I won't order a Durango anymore. I told my guys don't ever order another Durango," said Carl Galeana of Galeana Automotive Group, which includes Van Dyke Dodge in Warren. The UAW's summary of the tentative labor agreement with Chrysler says the automaker's next generation crossover will be built at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, where the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Commander are currently made. The idea of fewer Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep nameplates in North America was first hinted at in February when then-CEO Tom LaSorda unveiled the company's plan to stop losses. The plan called for avoiding nameplate redundancies. Looking for a new image Chrysler lost $680 million last year and $2 billion in the first three months of this year. Its U.S. sales are down 3% so far this year while its market share has remained steady -- something its Detroit rivals can not claim. The automaker wants to recast its brands' images, Press said, making Chrysler seen as upscale; Jeep as rugged and off-road capable; and Dodge as high-volume cars and trucks. "There are probably a lot of things being rethought at Chrysler right now," said Erich Merkle, director of forecasting for IRN Inc. "Just because you have a platform doesn't necessarily mean it has to go across all three divisions." Upset at UAW Several local UAW leaders are unhappy that the tentative agreement does not give specific future-product guarantees at many of the assembly plants -- including the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which makes the Sebring, and the Belivdere Assembly Plant in Illinois, which makes the Jeep Compass and Patriot. The UAW's summary of the agreement says only that vehicles at those plants will continue through the product lifecycle. "Virtually no Chrysler plant received commitment beyond the scope of their current product," Bill Parker, president of Local 1700 and chairman of the union's Chrysler bargaining committee, wrote in an opinion against the deal. The Chrysler Sebring was redesigned and launched last year. Its convertible sibling followed with a launch earlier this year. Both were widely panned by automotive critics. The week Nardelli was made Chrysler's CEO, Los Angeles Times critic Dan Neil welcomed him with a review of the Sebring convertible, recommending that he drive a 2008 Limited model with a retractable hardtop. "See, Bob, that's a bad one. "Not just bad, but a veritable chalice of wretchedness, a rattling, thumping, lolling tragedy of a car, a summary indictment of Chrysler's recent management and its self-eradicating product planning, all cast in plastic worthy of a Chinese water pistol." Jim Hall, vice president for industry analysis in the Southfield office of consultant AutoPacific, said Chrysler could be looking to just recoup the expense of tooling for the Sebring -- something that takes three years from the vehicle's launch. "If they are planning on integrating their retail outlets into a single Chrysler -- large C -- dealership, then they've got to trim the overlap in the product," Hall said. Chrysler has already made one high profile change to the product plan this year. In July, about two months after the Cerberus acquisition was announced, Chrysler pulled the plug on plans for the Chrysler Imperial, which was going to be a full-size luxury sedan built on the same platform as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and Magnum.

Toyota crashes in reliability rankings Automaker slips to fifth from first place, and some versions of Camry, Tundra and Lexus GS no longer recommended By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer | October 16 2007: 12:01 PM EDT | Link to Original Article @ CNN NEW YORK, CNNMoney.com -- The Toyota brand has lost its top position for iron-clad reliability, according to an influential Consumer Reports survey released Tuesday. The survey dropped Toyota from first to fifth place - behind Honda, Acura, Scion and Subaru - in average vehicle reliability. The rankings are based on average predicted reliability for all models sold under a given brand. Brands made by Toyota Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. still dominate the rankings: Scion is Toyota's low-priced car brand and Acura is Honda's luxury car brand. Consumer Reports said it no longer recommends V6 versions of Toyota's Camry or V8 versions of its Tundra pick-up because of poor reliability. In the past, because Toyota products have so consistently proved reliable, the magazine would assume at least average reliability for Toyota's brand new cars, without waiting for survey data from owners. But from now on, the magazine will wait for a full year of reliability survey data to come in before it recommends a Toyota product - as it does with most other manufacturers. Manufacturers were not immediately available for comment. Toyota recently passed Ford in sales and is now the second best-selling car company in the United States behind General Motors. Domestic manufacturers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler continued to improve in the Consumer Reports reliability rankings. But only Buick, GM's near-luxury brand ranked number 10, made into the top ten. Among individual models, GM's closely related GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook SUVs earned a Consumer Reports recommendation based on their first full year of data. The Dodge Charger also earned a recommendation after its reliability showed substantial improvement from previous years. Ford, in particular, is improving in quality, according to Consumer Reports. In all, 93 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles showed average or better reliability in the most recent reliability survey. Among overall brands, Ford's Mercury brand ranked 11th, the Ford brand ranked 13th and the Lincoln luxury brand ranked 14th. Other than Buick, they were the highest-ranking domestic brands. Ford's quality has tended to be more consistent, with steady improvement year over year, than that of other domestic manufacturers, said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "GM and Chrysler have been more hit-and-miss," said Champion. Of the 39 cars rated "Most Reliable" in Consumer Reports new list, four are by domestic manufacturers. They are the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, two-wheel-drives Ford F-150 V6 and GM's Pontiac Vibe. The Vibe is built in cooperation with Toyota and shares its engineering with the Toyota Matrix. But 20 of the 44 "least reliable" models named by Consumer Reports were also from domestic manufacturers. The least reliable car of all, according to Consumer Reports survey, is General Motors' Pontiac Solstice sports car. Its reliability was calculated to be 234 percent worse than average. It was followed closely by GM's Cadillac Escalade EXT, which is calculated to be 220 percent less reliable than the average vehicle. European manufacturers showed some of the biggest improvements in overall brand rankings. Porsche rose 20 places since last year's survey to finish ninth, for example. Meanwhile, Mini rose 16 places and Jaguar rose 17. Consumer Reports' reliability rankings differ significantly from those released recently by J.D. Power and Associates. In the J.D. Power most recent "Vehicle Dependability Survey," five of the top ten brands were domestic and Buick tied Lexus for first place. One major reason for that difference: J.D. Power only surveys owners of three-year-old vehicles. But Consumer Reports surveys its subscribers about vehicles from all three of the most recent model years, unless the vehicle has changed significantly. If the vehicle has changed in that time, only vehicles built since the change are included. Consumer Reports' rankings are based on survey responses from subscribers to the magazine and its Website. Responses included information on almost 1.3 million vehicles. Over the past few years, both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power surveys have showed similar trends, however, with domestic car brands improving in quality with European brands generally lagging behind.

Please tell me what an 8-speed transmission in the LSwhatever represents besides a weak dick-measuring contest.

In all seriousness, I'm glad you're okay.

GM: Eight-Speeds on the Way New gearboxes being studied by Joseph Szczesny | (2007-10-15) | Link to Original Article @ TCC General Motors isn't giving away any of the specifics just yet, but it does have a seven- and even an eight-speed automatic transmission tucked away in its product development cycle. Jim Lanzon, executive director of GM Powertrain's Transmission Engineering, acknowledged last week GM is looking at the transmissions that have begun showing up on luxury models such as the BMW M5. "I can't give away any new product news but we're looking at everything," he said. One of the issues GM is wrestling with now is whether a seven- or eight-speed transmission will produce the kind of gains in fuel economy that would justify the cost of engineering them into a vehicle, Lanzon said. "There is more to making a seven- or eight-speed transmission than adding more modules. You've got to be concerned about the parasitic losses that neutralize the fuel-economy gains," he said. Lanzon emphasized GM already has the skills needed to put a seven-speed or eight-speed transmission into production very quickly and at relatively low cost. In the past four years, GM, with the aid of computerized tools, has launched nine new six-speed transmission models. In the past, GM would spend a decade developing three or four new transmissions. The new technology utilized by GM has shaved as much as six months and $15 million from the typical development of a transmission, Lanzon said. The technology also saved the company more than $100 million during the latest development cycle, which has put six-speed transmission in everything from the Chevrolet Corvette to mid-size crossover vehicles, he said. The technology also has helped boost the quality and dependability of the new units, which have had few changes, Lanzon said. Not only are the costs down, but the quality has improved, he said. Lanzon said GM's transmission engineers are using sophisticated math modeling, among other advanced tools, to not only design the transmission components, but also to predict and test their reliability, analyzing functions such as oil pressure and flow, lubrication distribution and shift quality.

Camino can tell ya about it. In short, its a working concept designed and built outside GM (but sanctioned by Buick's special vehicle manager) using lots of original and historic Buick parts. Press Release And, yes, it runs...

What? That doesn't sound like my vision of Canada at all. Ahhh...that's better, eh!

No, I'm seeing only positive GM news on the frontpage. Can't be them.

Just making everyone aware of this again. Join, damnit! http://www.frappr.com/cheersandgears

I'm not saying Chrysler didn't have ABS back then, but they sure didn't include it on many models until rather recently. Better than the Asians though.

I think people are still a little bit wishy-washy on the transmission deal. To elaborate and clarify, I wouldn't consider 2008 a real first-year for the Challenger people want. Look at it as a members-only presale for the fools willing to pay $5-10k over sticker just to have it first. With its limited powertrain selection and potential early build issues, its the automotive equal to waiting in line to get the first iPhone...or buying a Prowler. Look at 2009 as the true first year for the Challanger - three engine choices, two transmission options, probably countless little but meaningful improvements in option packages, trimout, and feature content, plus a larger number produced means less reason for FYDR (First Year Dealer Raping).

ABS? What? GM popularized that back in the early-90s. Hell, Chrysler didn't have brake-shift interlock until a handful of years ago on some models. Its neither here nor there, but man... Anyway, Chrysler may have lead at times, but there is a serious stick-to-ittiveness problem over in Auburn Hills. It seems rare that Chrysler follows up a significant model with continued improvement and, sadly, it shows. They left the fullsize market in 1981 ('78 if you care about good fullsizers), the luxury market in the 70s, and haven't returned to either yet. I have no doubt the Challenger will sell out - artificially production ceilings and its begging-for-a-Stars-and-Bars styling guarantees that - but what's next? There is zero long-term strategy at Chrysler these days and it shows.

And the winners are... 1st Place tie Z28luvr (19pts) 1st Place tie Gizhost (19pts) 2nd Place MarioBro88 (17pts) 3rd Place MRDETROITMETAL (10pts) 4th - MRDETROITMETAL - (0pts) Another bit of a barn-burner here with three very close entires. First-place and congratulations go to both Z28luvr and Gizhost for their top-notch entires. While Z answered the question we've all been asking - seriously, why not a -360 pickup? - Gizhost took a different approach and modernized the Trailblazer with GMT-900 styling and it looks very handsome. Thanks also to MRDETROITMETAL and Mariobro88 for their great entires. Hope to see you all (and more!) around in our next competition! Now its time to use your choppin' skills on Saturn's most anticipated car in forever in our current Saturn ASTRA competition that ends this week. There's some time left and only one entry so far, so let's see those great Astra variations you've dreamed about! The 1st-place winner receives a GM-related prize as well as having their concept featured on the Cheers and Gears homepage and Design Showcase! Check out the Showcase for all out past winners. Congrats and thanks again!

I'm extending this competition 'till Friday, October 19th for more entries. Let's see those Astras!

Welcome to Sketch Competition #22! While its been confirmed that we'll see another version of the Cobalt in 2010, the future of its HHR companion isn't so cut-and-dried. The popular retro-influenced wagon has seen several variations already in its lifetime, including a panel wagon and the hot upcoming SS and we think its sales will certainly justify its continutation. Therefore, the largest problem with the HHR is where does it go from here. Retro is constantly said to be hard to update and it seems the only way that retro has survived as been to just wither on the vine (PT, Beetle). Time to prove them wrong. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design the next-generation Chevy HHR for 2010/11. Luckily for the HHR, it doesn't sell on retro styling alone; rather, utility is its hallmark. So whether you want to continue the retro styling or evolve it into something else is completely up to you. Remember, though, it should remain a front-drive compact with lots of cargo room for its size. If you'd like to see a two-door or convertible a la Chrysler's PT Cruiser, go ahead and explore those bodystyles in addition to the four-door we see now. Panel wagons and SS variants are also encouraged. Again, we highly encourage you to design interiors along with multiple exterior views to really give a complete feel to your design. In these cars especially, interior design is paramount and we'd love to see awesome interiors with awesome exteriors. The only restriction aside from being a compat utility is that this must be a Chevrolet! Please include at minimum 2 (two) of the following: -3/4 Front View -3/4 Rear View -Interior View **Entries without two perspectives will still be accepted, but will incur a 2-point penalty at the end of voting** Remember, people will be voting based on the overall presentation of your entry, so the more views, the better, including ones not specifically listed above. Aside from 800x600 size guidelines, remember this should be a Chevrolet vehicle. The winner will recieve a GM-related prize! Deadline is Tuesday, November 6th @ 11:59PM your local time. Good luck!

Totally disagree. Remember, the majority of early-adopters probably don't care if its a stick or not, they just want a bad-ass car. Plus, some of these will be auctioned and still not everyone wants a manual.

First Glimpse: 2008 Dodge Challenger Link to Original Post @ Ontario Street Car The wheels and grille have been altered from the concept. An inch has been added to the rear bumper to meet federal standards. Yes, Virginia, it does have a B-pillar. The Challenger debuts in March as a 2008 model with a limited production run. Only 5500 will be built for the first year, all SRT-8s with six-speed automatics. 2009 model year production begins in July, 2008 with a full range of engines - 3.5l V6, 5.7l, and 6.1l Hemi V8s - and a choice of the aforementioned 6-speed automatic or 6-speed T-56 manual.

CTS: Answering Your Interior Questions By Eric Clough | Director of Design, Cadillac Interiors Thank you to all who responded about the new CTS interior. I appreciate the feedback and enthusiasm. I’d like to answer a few of your questions and topics that have been posted here on FastLane. Radio and screen The radio is usable with the navigation screen retracted. In fact, the only time the full screen is necessary is for nav use. Wood The Sapele wood is a species of African mahogany and is nursery grown for consistency, sustainability and to avoid rainforest depletion. Serviceability One of the most challenging requirements we have designing interiors is ease of assembly and service. As was noted, cars in general are easier to assemble and disassemble than ever before. We try to eliminate as many screws as possible, since every one is labor and time intensive and prone to marring the surrounding surface during installation. Unlike aircraft, which are largely fabricated (machined and bolted together), cars have the luxury of higher production volume which affords more sophisticated tooling and manufacturing techniques so we can hide the fasteners, reduce the errors and improve the quality at the same time. Park brake location Not having a handbrake in the center console was a conscious decision to enable dual cup holders and air ducting to reach the rear passenger outlets. An electric park brake will be in the car starting in model year 2009, located just behind the shifter. It was unfortunately not fully developed in time for this launch, but along with the obvious interior space-saving benefit, will also be lighter than the mechanical system it replaces. French Stitching French stitching is a type of seam that has a line of stitching on both sides of the seam. The excess material from each piece being joined is folded back under and secured by the lines of stitching. This keeps the seam flat and greatly improves the quality of the surface because the excess can’t wobble back and forth underneath. Click here to leave your comments on GM's FastLane Blog!

Hyundai's House of Pain David Kiley | Link to Original Article @ BusinessWeek Hyundai is definitely a brand with growing pains. The Korean company has taken a hard, and embarrassing step in idling its Alabama assembly plant an additional week. The truth is that the company has been parking cars on the fence at the factory all year long. That means they have been building thousands of cars at a time with no dealer orders for them. Hyundai makes the Sonata sedan and Santa Fe crossover at the plant. The Sonata is most of the problem. A very good car, in my opinion. But the competition in the mid-sized sedan market is brutal, especially in a softening market. My God. To get to a Sonata, you have to bypass a new Accord and Altima, as well as the freshened Camry, Ford Fusion, etc. Everybody does a pretty good job in this category (except Chrysler: see Sebring). And as a story I did last May showed, Hyundai’s brand image just isn’t there yet—the imaginative new campaign from Goodby Silverstein notwithstanding. Recently, Hyundai COO Steve Wilhite left the company after just a year. Hiring Wilhite last year was an indication that Korean management understood that Hyundai needed to do some serious brand spade work if their investments (see now idled plant) are going to pay off. I think Wilhite left when he realized the bar was being set higher than any mortal could reach. Here’s the mistake. Hyundai has asked marketing to justify huge investments Hyundai has made in product and manufacturing. It should be the other way around. Your successful marketing should drive production schedules and capital investments. The executive who understood this best was a mostly forgotten car executive named Paul Hahnemann, who led BMW AG’s sales and marketing in the 1960s. It was Hahnemann, by holding an extraordinary amount of influence at BMW, who led the company’s surge by marketing a focused brand. As the payoffs came from his plan, growth through investment in manufacturing and new product categories followed. Hyundai has said to a succession of U.S. executives: We are setting this enormous stretch goal for sales, and spending all this money on a U.S. plant, so you had better figure out the marketing issue. That’s like saying to your child: I have spent all this money to build you your own tennis courts, now, by God, you had better learn how to play this game. I think most people would only build the private court if the kid had demonstrated a love and great skill for the game in the first place. Idling a plant that is so new is a huge slap in the face for the Korean company that has solved so many of its quality issues. I don't think Toyota has ever actually idled a U.S. plant.

Know what hurts more? Looking at that. Hope you heal up well enough to continue flipping off Tundras. It was your middle finger, right?

A maroon sedan - alloys, etc. Obviously very new, but with far too many barcodes. Yup. It was a rental. I attempted a picture with my cell phone camera that didn't come out well, but it was definitely a rental. My evidence: Four barcodes (two windshield, one on each quarter window) Hotel parking pass Hats and beach gear on the rear parcel shelf An Enterprise rental contract on the dash Just thought it was interesting.