Category: GM

The Place: The Capitol, Washington D.C. The Players: Three captains of industry (Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford and Bob Nardelli of Chrysler), one union leader (Ron Gettelfinger of the UAW) and a big angry Congress.
And then there’s me, your humble chronicler, the only person left behind at Vehicle Voice World Internet Headquarters and Decorative Bamboo Plantation to tell this story, because everyone else is at the L.A. Auto Show. Follow me behind the cut, and let’s talk about the Detroit 3 (plus one)’s adventures in Washington.

That’s…ominious.

The latest: Will GM buy Chrysler? We think not.

Last week, General Motors wrapped up its centennial celebration. If one thinks about GM’s prominence on the world landscape, it’s easy to see just how significant of an event this is. Even if you’ve never owned a GM vehicle yourself, think about the company’s impact on the American and global economies and its products’ impact on popular culture. Can you imagine an America where Chevrolet didn’t exist? What if there had never been songs about GTO’s or Cadillacs? How about a world where the word Camaro was simply French slang for “friend” or a Corvette was just a small gunboat used to escort convoys?

Imagine a world without GM. It’s harder than it sounds.

Another day, another mess of press releases clogging the inbox here at Vehicle Voice World Internet Headquarters and Half-Price Seafood Buffet.
Let’s see…Corporate community outreach: I’ll pass. Buy 14 tires, get the 15th free: To the Recycle Bin! Exciting new car air freshener: This isn’t news.
Oooh, here’s one: “GM launches new site to clarify misconceptions about the company.” Sounds like fun; let’s roll.

This is gonna be like Mythbusters, but without the explosions or the entertainment.

Another day, another mess of press releases clogging the inbox here at Vehicle Voice World Internet Headquarters and Half-Price Seafood Buffet.
Let’s see…Corporate community outreach: I’ll pass. Buy 14 tires, get the 15th free: To the Recycle Bin! Exciting new car air freshener: This isn’t news.
Oooh, here’s one: “GM launches new site to clarify misconceptions about the company.” Sounds like fun; let’s roll.

This is gonna be like Mythbusters, but without the explosions or the entertainment.

Last week, GM loudly trumpeted the pending arrival of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, to be officially unveiled at next month’s Mondial de l’Automobile (that’s Paris Motor Show to us ‘Murricans). First, they unveiled photos of the car and then revealed the real thing at the Lordstown, OH plant where the car will be built for American consumers.

This is a US-market Chevrolet compact? Yes, and you’ll see it in Paris next month. Sacre bleu!
As earlier spy photos had suggested, the Cruze, which in the US will effectively be the next generation Cobalt, is a very handsome compact sedan. It’s as appealing as the Cobalt is appliance-like. There’s some real design going on here with a sleek profile and great surface tension and great interaction between the exterior’s various design elements. GM also promises a very intriguing efficient powertrain choice in the form [...]

A terrific way to spend an August in Sunday: Meadow Brook Concours d' Elegance in Rochester, Michigan.

A terrific way to spend an August in Sunday: Meadow Brook Concours d' Elegance in Rochester, Michigan.

One town looks to stretch the definition of the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, and bring a little future into this annual nostalgia drip.

What a disappointing day today turned out to be. I was supposed to represent VehicleVoice at Chevrolet’s unveiling of the long-awaited new Camaro up in North Hollywood this afternoon. Unfortunately, a three-car pileup on the I-5 North brought my northward progress to a halt, effectively making it impossible for me to get to the press conference. Beaten, I turned around and drove back to the office.

I tried to go to Hollywood to see this…
But instead all I got was this. Bummer.