Posts Tagged ‘GM’s’
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Buick Verano, GM’s bite-sized luxury
Posted on October 30th, 2011 by admin
p>Base price: $ 23,470
Fuel economy: 21 city / 31 hwy.
A Buick that shares its basic engineering with the Chevrolet Cruze compact car sounds like a throwback to the bad old days when GM’s idea of a new model was to clip a new badge onto a tired old design.
Fear not, though, this car is not a return to that.
Instead, General Motors engineers took the bones of the Cruze and created, on that skeleton, a proper luxury car with little resemblance, other than its size, to its cheaper relative.
The Buick Verano looks, feels, drives and sounds like a perfectly decent luxury car, albeit a small one.
But is America ready for an itty-bitty Buick?
NEXT: Powerful upgrades
…CNN
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GM’s OnStar debacle: Lessons from Facebook
Posted on October 1st, 2011 by admin
p>By Doron Levin, contributor
FORTUNE — General Motors Co. decision to back down from a change in the terms covering OnStar customers shows that the automotive giant — no less than Facebook — has readily learned the lessons of other firms’ mistakes when it comes to the touchiness of consumers when it comes to privacy concerns in cyberspace.
GM (GM) inadvertently stirred a hornets’ nest by amending a user agreement that would allow its OnStar telecommunications link, used in about six million vehicles, to gather data about those vehicles even after customers’ subscriptions expire. GM made the change in part to make it easier to renew contact with car owners who had allowed their subscriptions to lapse or had sold their vehicles.
The change was generally overlooked by consumers, who rarely read the fine print on such agreements. But at least one miffed OnStar subscriber did notice and blogged about his decision to end the service:
I canceled the OnStar subscription on my new GMC vehicle today after receiving an email from the company about their new terms and conditions. While most people, I imagine, would hit the delete button when receiving something as exciting as new terms and …CNN
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GM’s holds line on labor costs with new contract
Posted on September 28th, 2011 by admin
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Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters file
Workers install parts on the new Chevrolet Cruze car as it moves along the assembly line at the General Motors Cruze assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in July. Unionized workers at GM have ratified a new four-year labor contract.
By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer
In their first new contract since General Motors undertook a massive restructuring as part of a government bailout, members of the United Auto Workers have approved a new four-year deal with the company that pays cash bonuses in place of automatic annual pay raises.
GM executives said Wednesday the agreement means the company will maintain its current “break-even” point, which allows the company to remain profitable with annual global sales of about 10.5 million vehicles. Last month, the carmaker reported that second-quarter profits nearly doubled, boosted by higher vehicle prices and strong sales overseas.
In return for agreeing to flat wages, most workers will get a series of bonuses totaling at least $ 11,500 over the next four years. The centerpiece of the bonus plan includes a profit-sharing formula for hourly workers based on the company’s reported earnings.
“This agreement aligns the interest of hourly and salaried …MSNBC
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Is China the key to GM’s future?
Posted on August 29th, 2011 by admin
p>FORTUNE — The cars General Motors sells in the U.S. are increasingly influenced by customers 7,100 miles away: the residents of the People’s Republic of China.
The 2012 Buick Verano, a stylish compact sedan (seen above), isn’t in U.S. showrooms yet, but a similar vehicle has been on sale since June 2010 in China, where it is known as the Buick Excelle GT. The Chevrolet Sonic hatchback that will hit dealers in September was designed in Asia by a joint venture run partly by GM’s Chinese partner.
When asked to explain GM’s eastward bias, Steve Girsky says, “It’s simple: Do the math.” GM’s joint ventures sold in excess of 2 million vehicles in China last year — more than GM (GM, Fortune 500) sold in the U.S. — and the company expects to double that number in five years.
The tastes of Chinese customers are beginning to influence cars designed and sold in the U.S. The interior of the popular Buick LaCrosse was executed in GM’s Shanghai design studio.
Ed Welburn, who visits China four times a year, says a Chine …CNN
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GM’s autonomous pod cars await the future
Posted on August 11th, 2011 by admin
div id=”mainart” class=”hmedia art grid-4×2″ about=”http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/X10CO-SV032.grid-4×2.jpg”> Courtesy of General Motors / Wieck
EN-V, which is short for Electric Networked-Vehicle, is a two-seat electric vehicle that was designed to alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability.GM’s Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V) was an instant hit when it was first unveiled last year; the electric, autonomous (no steering wheel!) pod-like car is nothing if not futuristic and friendly-looking. It’s like GM finally offered us the Jetsons future that we’ve all been waiting for.GM denies the recent rumors that it has set a production date for the EN-V, but rest assured, it’s coming. We spoke to Sam Abuelsamid of GM’s advanced technology communications team to get the details on …MSNBC
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GM’s surprising success story in China
Posted on July 25th, 2011 by admin
p>FORTUNE — Here’s a fundamental question whose answer should generate case studies for a generation of business school students: How could one company — General Motors — meet disaster on one continent and achieve explosive growth on another at the very same time?
It is a fascinating paradox. GM (GM, Fortune 500) slid from domination of the Western automotive world in three decades, yet made itself into a leading automotive producer in China in less than two.
The answer has enormous consequences for car buyers on both continents. China, the world’s single largest auto market, has become GM’s largest market, too. GM sold more cars in China in 2010 than it did in the U.S., and the difference will only grow in coming years.
Although China’s profit contribution is relatively small, Chinese customers’ product preferences are already showing up in cars for American buyers. Some Buick models and some small Chevys are designed for the China market first. China is already thought to have a lead in battery development and electric vehicles. How long will it be …CNN
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GM’s Whitacre gets $5 million for 9 months work
Posted on April 24th, 2011 by admin
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Edward Whitacre, the former chief executive of General Motors, received over $ 5 million in total compensation for his nine months of service at the automaker last year.
Whitacre, who stepped down in September, received $ 1.1 million in base pay, stock awards valued at more than $ 3.5 million and over $ 300,000 in “other compensation” for 2010, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, GM became a publicly traded company again in November, raising a record $ 20.1 billion in its initial offering. That was over two months after Whitacre had left the company.
Whitacre, a former CEO of AT&T, took the helm at GM in December 2009, five months after he joined the company as chairman. For his services in 2009, Whitacre was paid $ 181,308, according to the filing.
Dan Akerson, who replaced Whitacre, was given total compensation worth over $ 2.5 million last year, including $ 566,667 in base pay, as well as stock awards valued at $ 1.7 million. Akerson also got $ 194,088 in other compensation for his service as a company director through August, according to the fil …CNN
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GM’s financial chief to step down
Posted on March 14th, 2011 by admin
div id=”mainart” class=”hmedia art grid-6×2″ about=”http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/110310-gm-cfo-hmed-0656p.grid-6×2.jpg”> Ted S. Warren / AP
A little more than a year ago Chris Liddell was CFO of Microsoft Corp. before being named GM’s finance chief. Now he’s stepping down from that post too.General Motors Co. finance chief Chris Liddell, who was passed over for the top job at the automaker last year, is leaving the company.
Liddell, 52, who joined GM last year from software giant Microsoft Corp, will leave on April 1, the company said on Thursday. Its shares fell as much as 4 percent to their lowest price since GM’s initial public stock offering.
Liddell saw GM through the record $ 23 billion IPO last November, after the company emerged from a government-sponsored bankruptcy. Replacing him is former Morgan Stanley ban …MSNBC