Michael Fuchs, deputy head of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrat party believes GM has the financial strength to restructure Opel brand alone without the assistance of European state aid.

Fuchs has become frustrated by the ongoing situation in Germany of whether or not to grant state aid to Opel, saying, “The discussion … about financial aid for Opel must be ended once and for all.”

His comments come on the back of GM announcing on Monday, 10 months after filing for bankruptcy protection, its first quarterly profit in three years.

Revenue rose 40% to 31.5 billion, with GM earning $863 million in the first [...]

Ahead of Google's I/O event, OnStar has unveiled an improved Android app for the Chevrolet Volt.

While details are limited, the app will feature Google Maps integration. Thanks to this addition, users will be able to see their current location and the location of their Volt (so they can easily find their car). More importantly, owners can send an address to the Volt and have OnStar Turn-By-Turn have directions waiting for them when they return to the vehicle.

As we previously reported, the app will also allow users to turn on the climate control system and remotely start the car from their [...]

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz officially spent his last day at General Motors yesterday looking forward to his first official day as a retired auto executive (May 1).

Writing over at GM’s FastLane Blog, Lutz said:

"As I mark my last day at General Motors today, I want to say a special thank you and farewell to the loyal readers of FastLane. This blog would not have been the success it has become without you, and I’m sure you’ll continue to read the many interesting posts about GM and its vehicles that will follow on these virtual pages.

I [...]

It didn't take long for General Motors to turn out an ad boasting the fact that the company was able to pay back its federal loans five years ahead of schedule. The company has rolled out a new spot featuring none other than Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre strolling through an assembly plant and addressing the American public. Whitacre even opens with the fact that he "can respect" the fact that many individuals didn't want the federal government to bailout the auto industry in the first place.

If you look close, you can spot a number of upcoming models in the [...]

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is likely counting down the days until the end of this month. Come May 1, 2010, Maximum Bob will retire from his post in Detroit, supposedly for good. The guy has around twelve lifetimes of experience charting the waters of the auto industry, and as such, has a thing or two to say about his time with both The General and Chrysler, as well as some of his juicier quotes from the past. AOL Autos correspondent Kevin Ransom recently sat down with Lutz for a quick interview.

While no one will be shocked to hear [...]

With consumers worried about unintended acceleration, GM has announced plans to equip more vehicles with a brake-override system.

Set to be installed on all cars (worldwide) with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle controls, by the end of 2012, the override reduces power to the engine when the brake and accelerator are depressed at the same time. Currently, only the Corvette, Camaro V8, Malibu L4, Colorado V8, Cobalt, HHR, Canyon V8, CTS-V and STS-V have a brake-override system.

According to Tom Stephens, vice chairman of GM Global Product Operations, "News media analyses of government data consistently validates that GM's safety record on this [...]

He’s been a racing driver, is a race team owner who just won the Indy 500 for the 15th time, a highly successful and very wealthy business man, and now Roger Penske is also the proud owner of the not quite so proud General Motors brand Saturn.
 
General Motors Corporation has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group in a deal that could preserve dealerships and jobs, the companies said.
The deal will save nearly 350 dealerships and about 13,000 jobs related to Saturn, said Jill Lajdziak, [...]

And the impending buyer of General Motor's Hummer division is... China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. LTD. Sorry, never heard of them and chances are that 99.99% of those reading this post haven't either. But if you must know, GM said that Tengzhong, which is based in the Chinese province of Sichuan, is a "privately-owned company and a leading domestic manufacturer of road, construction and energy industry equipment." In an earlier statement today, GM said that the sale is expected to close by the end of third quarter of 2009 and that it will secure more than 3,000 US [...]

As reported earlier this morning, GM no longer plans on importing subcompact cars from China. The Detroit automaker said that it will build up to 160,000 units of subcompacts per year at an existing U.S. facility.
GM has now released a statement saying that it plans to build a future small car in the United States utilizing an idled UAW-GM facility.

While GM didn’t specify which vehicle it will built at the facility, it said that the new small car will join its fuel-efficient lineup including the Chevrolet Cruze and the Volt. We’re putting our [...]

GM has just released a commercial for it’s Total Confidence program that will help a buyer of a new GM vehicle who has been laid off pay for his/her car while they look for a new job.

GM’s Total Confidence plan provides up to nine months of payments on a vehicle loan or lease for up to $500 per month.
 
Source [...]

Just as the 2010 Camaro begins to arrive at U.S. showrooms, the General released four new videos of its resurrected pony car that include media reactions from the presentation and a chat with the firm's Global Vehicle Line Executive, Gene Stephanyshyn, and President of Global Design, Ed Wleburn. For the record, all films were produced/edited by/for GM so don't be surprised that even the video with the automotive journalists' reactions, is about how stunningly good and flawless the new Camaro is...
 
 
 
 
[flash http://www.youtube.com/v/Jmf419VPsnc w=375 [...]

And when we say tease we mean tease. GM Performance Parts has put together a YouTube Channel that is showing the development process the GM design team is going through to show some tricked-out 2010 Camaro’s at the 2008 SEMA Auto Show next month.

The new Camaros in Las Vegas will feature some of the latest accessories from GM Performance Parts along with some interesting “twists” from the GM Design Team.
New Camaro gets Muscle Car Makeover:

 
New Camaro Teardown:

 
New Camaro Upgrade: The Details: [...]

The debut of General Motors’ Kappa platform occurred in 2006, when the smaller Opel GT, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars were presented. The American is now said to be working on the Kappa II version which should substitute the former.According to recent reports though, Detroit has interrupted production due to high manufacturing costs and future US norms on emissions.
For the rest, the next CAFE standards have already signalled the destiny of a family of large Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac sedans based on the Zeta platform, and so sacrificing the [...]

General Motors is turning 100 and for the occasion has elected the best ten cars ever produced by the brands it currently owns. And plenty of surprises in the list are to be had.

Who would have thought, for example, that the Saab 92 from 1950 would have come out on top of the more showy first series Chevrolet Corvette or the Pontiac GTO from ‘64? Or that the Chevy Bel Air from 1955 would have to content itself with seventh place?

The cars in the list represent the future developments of the Detroit company: on one hand smaller and more humble [...]