Flybrian

SPY SHOTS! 2009/10 Vauxhall Insignia Link to Original Article @ CAROnline The Vauxhall Insignia, you say? I thought it was the new Vectra They're one and the same, we hear. Eager to spruce up its repmobile's reputation, Vauxhall and sister firm Opel are planning to drop the Vectra tag in favour of the Insignia name, harking back to the executive-style concept from a few years back. We've already scooped the new Vectra, and it's destined to follow the sleeker shape of the GTC concept car. It seems that the family car segment is finally throwing off its dull-as-ditchwater reputation, with the arrival of the classier Mondeo and the like. Concept car looks you say? Seems neat enough... Ignore all this development hack's testing gear littering the cabin and you're left with exactly how the new Insignia will look inside. And as well as the new design, Opel/Vauxhall hope to raise the quality of the Vectra to move it away from its workaday roots. It's not alone in that pursuit, of course; every manufacturer from Ford to Renault makes similar claims, but those who've seen the car claim it is indeed a step in the right direction. Our shots were snapped during high-altitude testing in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado; this car will be sold in the US as well as Europe. How similar to the show car is it inside? The basic architecture is identical. The instrument binnacle ahead of the driver is the same, with two small fuel and coolant gauges flanked by the larger speedo and tacho. Even the switchgear is the same as in the GTC concept car (picture on left, above). The centre console is dominated by a digital display mounted high up, and Vauxhall is finally moving away from the fiddly little buttons that spoil many current Vauxhall interiors. Expect it to be roomy, too - the new model will grow to around 4.8m long, freeing up more space for luggage and limbs.

GM Lordstown future vague as strike looms Saturday, September 15, 2007 3:37 AM | By M.R. Kropko | Link to Original Article @ Columbus Dispatch CLEVELAND -- General Motors Lordstown workers faced a possible strike yesterday, just as they have been trying to urge the company to commit to producing a new car model that would keep the northeastern Ohio plant operating past 2009. The workers were among those at plants across the country preparing to strike as a midnight deadline loomed in contract negotiations between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers. "We are preparing ourselves for a strike (tonight), in the event things don't work out up in Detroit," Jim Graham, president of UAW Local 1112 at GM Lordstown, said yesterday. "We're ready." The UAW represents about 2,400 workers at the Lordstown assembly plant, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland. The union also represents about 1,200 at an adjacent fabricating plant and about 500 in nearby feeder plants, Graham said. Local 1112 covers the assembly workers. "We're not making any more comments until we find out what's happening," Graham said. Lordstown union leaders separately have been negotiating local issues at the plant with management and hoping that union bargainers in Detroit can win the plant a commitment from GM regarding a new car model. The GM Lordstown products are the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 small cars, but those are expected go out of production after the 2009 model year. Last year, GM ended an overnight shift at its Lordstown car-assembly plant but increased production on its other two shifts. About five years ago, GM made a $500 million renovation at the assembly plant and about $50 million worth of improvements for the metal-fabricating plant. Michael Chaffee, mayor of Lordstown, a village of about 3,800, said yesterday there have been rumors GM Lordstown might land the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle powered by electricity and gas. Lordstown workers know they must strike, if that's their union's intent, Chaffee said. "What choice do they have? They are not going to not strike when everybody else in the country is striking," he said.

If you're interested in reading the latest news regarding the current GM-UAW contract negotiations, keep checking back here. The latest news will always be towards the top. Thanks! GM-UAW Contract Negotiation Updates September 21, 2007 UAW, GM closing in on health care deal Bill Vlasic and Sharon Terlep | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers have agreed on a framework for a retiree health care trust, but are still negotiating financial commitments, people close to the talks said on Friday. A breakthrough in the negotiations came after a tense, two-day face-off over shifting $50 billion in retiree health care obligations to the union through a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, or VEBA, that would be funded by GM. Sources familiar with the talks, however, cautioned a deal can't be finalized until the two sides agree on key aspects of the trust, including the level of funding GM will contribute, where that money will come from and what happens if the fund goes dry or health care costs drop significantly. Resolving those issues is tied to cutting deals on other significant economic matters, such as wages and GM's investments in U.S. plants, according to sources close to the talks. A sizable, one-time cash bonus for active workers that has been on the table for days also is expected to play into the final deal. The two sides plan to tackle the remaining issues during weekend bargaining, which was expected to resume Saturday after wrapping up around 9 p.m. on Friday. "In negotiations, they can get on a single issue and they get enveloped in all the details of that issue -- that's what happened with the VEBA," said labor expert Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "It started to unravel for them, then they realized that if there's going to be a settlement, they have to learn to settle on something." A week has passed since the UAW granted GM an hour-by-hour extension of its contract, which expired just before midnight Sept. 14. After days of morning-until-night bargaining, talks stalled earlier this week on the issue of creating a company-funded, union-run trust to fund retiree health care. The industry is watching closely as GM works to craft a pattern-setting deal for U.S. automakers. In all, 180,000 active U.S. autoworkers and 400,000 retirees will be covered under UAW contracts with GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. Ford and Chrysler have been given indefinite contract extensions while the UAW focuses on GM. September 20, 2007 UAW, GM resume contract negotiations Sharon Terlep | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News Contract talks between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers resumed this morning, with the two sides preparing for days of tough negotiations ahead.Talks wrapped up around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, capping a fifth day of bargaining since the contract expired on Friday. The union and automaker have yet to settle on the linchpin issue of this year's talks: creating a company-funded, union-run trust to pay for retiree health care. GM and the UAW on Wednesday decided to temporarily set aside talks about the retiree trust fund, known as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, or VEBA, to focus on other key issues, sources close to the talks said. The industry is watching closely as GM works to craft a pattern-setting deal for U.S. automakers. In all, 180,000 active U.S. autoworkers and 400,000 retirees will be covered under UAW contracts with GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. For now, the union has given GM an hour-by-hour extension on the contract. Ford and Chrysler have been given indefinite contract extensions. Late Monday in a letter sent to presidents of plant-level union locals, UAW leaders said they may set a formal deadline to the talks. September 19, 2007 GM proposal in talks has 401(k)-style plan Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:42am EDT | Link to Orginal Article @ Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors Corp would give new union members 401(k)-style retirement plans instead of traditional pensions for the first time under a proposed United Auto Workers contract, Bloomberg News said on its Web site, citing people with knowledge of the talks.GM also has proposed freezing cost-of-living raises to help pay for a union-run fund that would take responsibility for retiree health care, the report said. After breaking off talks at around 9 p.m on Tuesday, GM and UAW negotiators were prepared to return to the bargaining table on Wednesday morning, a person familiar with the talks said. Spokespeople for GM and UAW were not immediately available for comment. September 18, 2007 UAW execs tell members that 'major issues' still unresolved Sharon Terlep | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News UAW executives, in a letter to local union presidents and chairpersons dated Monday, said the union and General Motors Corp. have made progress in many areas but still face significant differences.The memo signed by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and by Cal Rapson, the lead negotiator for the UAW with GM, also said that the union may be forced to establish a firm deadline with the company. "We have made progress in many areas of the discussions with GM but there are several major issues separating the parties that must be resolved," said the letter, which was obtained by The Detroit News. "However, we do not take your patience for granted." The letter warned members against giving credence to so-called leaks, saying it had committed with the automakers to a "media blackout" about the substance of negotiations. "It is because of your support that your national negotiating team has stayed at the bargaining table in an attempt to make every possible effort on your behalf to reach an agreement without a strike," said the letter, which was signed by 13 executives in all. The two sides have been working on an hour-by-hour extension since the previous contract expired on Friday. Talks are expected to resume this morning. September 17, 2007 UAW, GM tangle on key issues Retiree health care, wages top list of unsettled issues Sharon Terlep | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News Contract talks between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers union will resume later this morning, GM spokesman Dan Flores said. The two sides talked until around 3 a.m. before agreeing to take a break. GM and the UAW agreed to extend their labor contract on an hour-by-hour basis. The current labor pact expired on Friday. Workers were told to report for work as usual today, according to several union locals. Negotiators from General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers tackled a number of hot-button issues Sunday, including the possibility of giving workers cash bonuses to sign off on a deal, sources close to the talks said. Job guarantees, health care, wages and so-called competitive operating agreements for individual plants were among the unresolved matters as bargaining continued past midnight. Two days after the contract between GM and the UAW expired and the two sides agreed to extend talks on an hour-by-hour basis, the pace of talks was frustratingly slow, with bargaining going in fits-and-starts, and indications that the two sides are hung up on some issues, people close to negotiations said. As the UAW and GM work to hammer out what is expected to be a historic and pattern-setting labor contract for Detroit automakers, the central sticking point remains GM's proposal to shift more than $50 billion in retiree health care obligations to a company-financed fund controlled by the UAW, known as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, or VEBA. Meanwhile, the threat of a strike seemed to have minimized. Only a few people, mainly local union officers, remained at some of the UAW halls that had been packed with members on Friday and Saturday. Workers calling several strike hotlines Sunday evening were told to report for work today. "All these issues are interlocking -- what you win in one place might mean you have to sacrifice in another area," said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California-Berkeley. "You've got a lot on the table. For the company, the bottom line is, 'What is their operating cost going to be?' For the union the bottom line is, 'Will they preserve middle-class jobs and will they ensure that retirees are protected?' " Making the process more arduous is a litany of factors GM and the UAW must consider when weighing each proposal, Shaiken said. GM must ensure that any deal it accepts won't compromise its fledgling and fragile turnaround. The UAW needs a deal it can sell to members who already have made difficult choices, including approving health care concessions in 2005. As the lead company, or strike target, GM is poised to craft a groundbreaking contract with the UAW that reduces labor costs and closes the competitive gap with the Detroit Big Three's Japanese rivals. In all, 180,000 active U.S. autoworkers and 400,000 retirees will be covered under UAW contracts with GM, Ford and Chrysler. Ford and Chrysler have been given indefinite contract extensions. GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally and Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli had a joint phone call Saturday to discuss negotiations. The call was not their first and was described as standard procedure during this stage of negotiations. VEBA terms a struggle A signing bonus would not be unusual; the 1999 and 2003 contracts included them.GM and the UAW are struggling to agree on how to structure a VEBA fund, which also is being sought by Ford and Chrysler. The two sides generally agree such an arrangement makes sense, but remain divided on safeguards for both sides. The UAW wants GM to promise additional funding in the event prescription drug costs and other medical bills rise faster than projected. GM wants the opportunity to reduce VEBA contributions if, for example, national health care legislation is passed that affects UAW retirees. Also undecided is how much money GM would contribute. People close to GM have said the automaker is willing to contribute at least 65 cents on every dollar owed for future health care costs. The union wants more. At odds on job security While the VEBA is likely to be the core of a new contract, bargaining teams grappled to resolve other issues that will determine how much workers are paid, how GM factories operate and how many U.S. jobs will remain.The union's key focus has been to stem the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, both through plant closures and outsourcing work to non-union labor. GM has been reluctant to agree to demands for job security because it wants to be able to downsize should demand for vehicles fall. GM is pushing to implement money-saving rules in plants, from getting workers to take on more jobs to outsourcing work not directly related to building vehicles. Such deals are known as competitive operating agreements. Changing long-accepted work practices is a delicate and politically charged task for automakers and union leaders. Wages also are a contentious matter. GM is pursuing two-tier pay that would allow the company to pay new hires less than veterans -- an idea traditionally opposed by the UAW. Both sides keeping mum Workers and plant-level UAW officials remained mostly in the dark throughout the weekend, as bargainers on both sides were exceptionally tight-lipped about what's going on in the negotiations. Against that backdrop, conflicting reports emerged in the media and among UAW local leaders about whether the talks were progressing or breaking down. One UAW local leader in Texas said he had been told negotiators expected to get an agreement Sunday night, or the union could declare an "impasse."The lack of information frustrated a number of workers. And some critics of the UAW leadership and the VEBA concept tried to use the silence to stir up opposition to the trust fund idea. A trio of former UAW officials sent a letter to the bargaining team arguing that a VEBA contradicts the union's long-held principles. Others saw the hushed nature of the talks as a sign that good progress was being made. Several local union officials said they felt it was best to limit the information until they have a tentative agreement. In Flint, hundreds of UAW members belonging to Local 598 at the Flint Truck and Bus Plant left a meeting Sunday about the talks with few details, but heard enough to feel good about the progress being made. "As long as we got UAW behind us, we'll be OK," said retiree Dave Ballard, 64, of Lennon, who left the company in 1997 after 33 years.

I'd suggest Yucca Mountain, but the ecological effects of all that garbage hasn't yet been studied.

Well, there was the total and complete shock among some here and pretty much every one of my non-C&Ger friends that I have that '76. Speaking of enthusiasts, it gets a little old hearing how "if you have an automatic, you're not an enthusiast" or "if its front-wheel drive, you're not an enthusiast." Wrong. If you have an M3 that you bought because your junior executive friends all have one with a centimeter of brake dust on the wheels, dents on the panels, and a thrashed clutch because you suck at shifting, you're not an enthusiast; you're a poseur.

Imagine something Verona-sized, but actually good. This is supposed to be Suzuki's flagship in a little while. I like the dynamic look of it, though the grille will certainly be more reasonable in production. And though we may mock the Daewookis, they not only got people thinking a bit 'higher' up of Suzuki, but kept them alive. This'll be an interesting vehicle to see come to fruition.

Nope. Just Dodge and its fans. Huh? Mitsubishi lot having a garage? Isuzu dealer having a lot? Using 'and/or' to imply there may be both dealers existing on seperate locations? You're just being silly now.

Could've bought a salvage wreck about a year or so ago!

You realize an unintended side effect of drinking, anger, and vehicle restoration may be waking up with a bad hangover and a front-wheel El Camino somehow.

And this is why I feel real bad about wrecking your Maserati. Might as well say it now. I did. Sorry. At least you have that Ridgeline I left, and since you've been drinking, it should look a lot better.

The best solution is to hook up with some who shares a quality level of automotive taste. This past Thursday, I was driving with my girlfriend back from class when a dark red Lucerne CXL with chrome wheels and pillar trim passed us. Out of nowhere, she said, "Damn, that's a sexy looking car. That's something I want when I've made it in my career, that or a nice DeVille, Monte Carlo, Charger, or something like that. But no, I really want a truck." Right then, a dark red Acadia passed us on the other side. "Like that right there. Its not a truck, but its a GMC and that's better than a minivan. If I couldn't buy a GMC truck or a Dodge Ram, I'd have that." I wanted to buy a ring right then.

Did you steal one and test drive it?????

You know, that's another thing. As a person, I've always tried my best to keep my word, especially promises I keep to those around me. If I promised to do something and have attempted to keep my promise but just couldn't for whatever reason, I say so...plain and simple. I've had people similarly promise x, y, and z to me and just kept up with the lie as time went on. Hey, guess what? If you can't do it, tell me. If you can't keep your word, fine...tell me before time passes so much that I depend on you doing so. It seems like more and more this dishonestly and lack of committment is not necessarily out of maliciousness, but of fear. People seem to be afraid that they cannot do what they said they would, so they lie about it instead. It ends up hurting more people far worse than the truth.

That's a good idea, XP. However, you're not the first person to think of buying a large parcel of land, building a repair shop, paint booth, and garage and stock it with unwanted vehicles. Its called your five-star Dodge dealer.

Ybor City is 'EE-bore', not 'WHY-bore'. O'lando instead of Orlando.

So...this would be an even worse time to tell you I found out the El Camino will ride Epsilon II........? Bob, if I see pictures of a restored El Camino with twin .50s mounted in the bed and a camouflaged Malibu with BATTLE WAGON Krylon'd on the side, we're doing an intervention.

Perhaps this is not the time to say that I really won't be bringing the Maserati back tomorrow.......

Look, I can't do anything about it tonight. So, if you really don't want the Ridgeline, just leave it in that ditch where I found it and I'll bring your Maserati back tomorrow.

Keep it up man and good luck! A friend of mine smokes way too much; up to three packs a day now and he's younger than me by a year or so. My father also smokes (I don't), but admittedly not much. He told me simply, "Don't smoke unless you can afford it." Nowadays, that's reason enough.

They still suck in the powertrain department. No question about it, though it really doesn't matter.

PCS personally violated each and every one

No. This time, its worth it. Annnnd, no.

The sun must've gotten to you.

Some guy down the street traded his older Tundra for this new one...and put Buick portholes on it. Again, not the JC Whitney square-shaped generics, but Buick aftermarket tack-ons. I'm actually not so sure what I find less attractive anymore - Tundras or vehicles that don't deserve portholes with portholes. Oh, I nearly forgot. Its a TRD Tundra, so he has a personalized plate reading TRDMAN. I gotta take a pic sometime.

See, the problem with your argument is that you rhetorically ask what has GM done for me lately, yet what has any one company done for anyone lately? All of the above innovations have come from industry suppliers who worked with OEMs to foster development and implementation. Very rarely today does one company bring forth such an innovation by themselves at once without other manufacturers also producing similar innovations. Your statement infers that GM hasn't done jack $h!, yet everyone else has. Who is everyone else exactly? Please name names. Again with my ABS argument - who gets credit, Mercedes for making it first available, BMW for first standardizing it, or GM for making it affordable? You write off the EV1 as a failure so easily that I don't think you fully grasp what an achievement it was. They didn't throw two dozen Duralasts in the bed of a Ranger; they bult from the ground up a fully electric car that was stylish, efficient, quiet, reliable, and practical for daily usage. They improved on it shortly after with NiCad batteries. They pioneered inductive charging in something larger than a Schick razor with MagnaCharge, making it safe to recharge a car in any weather. The car ended up being so symbolic and pioneering that it was to focus of a major motion picture chronicalling the disdain, anger, and frustration of thousands and thousands of people who couldn't own one for good. This isn't even going into the diesel parallel hybrid, CNG, and fuel cell prototypes. Just because a technology doesn't take with the public or that some echelons of management is so scatterbrained and shortsighted to see into the future doesn't mean it wasn't "fantastic" or an "innovation." *Also, with the airbag thing 91z mentioned, I'm not sure of the history on that, but General Motors pioneered the modern, accurate, responsive crash test dummy with the Hybrid I in 1971 and freely gave away that technology to everyone. But, that's 6 years outside of your artificial threshold, so it doesn't matter anyway.