| Pricing: 2007 GMC Acadia Starts Under $30K | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 6:47:06 AM by Blog57 Team | | DETROIT — General Motors said its all-new 2007 GMC Acadia crossover vehicle will be priced from $29,990, including shipping, when it goes on sale late this year. The Acadia is a sister vehicle to the 2007 Saturn Outlook and the 2008 Buick Enclave. The triplets are full-size eight-passenger people movers built on GM's new Lambda platform, which will also underpin the 2009 replacement for the Chevrolet Uplander. The Acadia, like its siblings, will be marketed in front- and all-wheel-drive variants. The base FWD model gets a 275-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic transmission. It is rated by the EPA at 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 26 mpg on the highway. Standard safety equipment includes stability control, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and six airbags — front and side bags for the first row and side curtains for all three rows.... | |
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| | | GM Expands OnStar Services to All Mobility-Adapted Vehicles | | Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006 2:46:23 AM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors today announced that customers who purchase any new 2006 or 2007MY GM vehicle equipped with OnStar and eligible adaptive mobility equipment will receive two additional years of standard OnStar service at no charge (in addition to the first year of included service). The GM Mobility Program was launched in 1991 to assist people with disabilities with their transportation needs. Under the terms of the program, GM reimburses customers up to $1,000 when they buy or lease a new GM vehicle and adapt it with one or more of the 35 eligible aftermarket mobility equipment modifications such as hand controls, scooter hoists or wheelchair lifts. GM brands in the program include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC HUMMER, Pontiac and Saturn. Under the new offer, a customer purchasing any GM vehicle equipped with the Sit-N-Lift power seat, new OnStar TTY equipment or aftermarket adaptive equipment through the GM Mobility Reimbursement Program will receive two extra years of OnStar service.... | |
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| | | DeKalb Business Briefs – National Linen sold, GM-Doraville moves ... | | Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 12:46:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | Kelly Capital announced last Thursday, August 31 that it sold the assets associated with its National Linen & Uniform Service company to Alsco Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Doraville-based National Linen & Uniform Service processes about 1.3 billion linen items each year, serves over 16,000 customers, and employs about 2,500 people. Its 16 plants generate $150 million in annual sales and provide fresh linens to companies such as Outback Steakhouse, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's, HCA hospitals, and the Hyatt and Westin families of hotels. National Linen operates 16 facilities mainly in the Southeast US, all of which were included in the sale. In addition to the Doraville location, facilities include those in Florence, Alabama; Atlanta and Savannah in Georgia; Shreveport, Louisiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston and Columbia in South Carolina; Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville in Tennessee; Lubbock, Texas; and Alexandria, Portsmouth, and Roanoke in Virginia.... | |
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| | | Autos Insider Sneak Peek | | Posted Wednesday, September 20, 2006 10:46:12 PM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors' GMC brand will roll out its first minivan in the 2009 model year. Based on the automaker's Lambda architecture, the as-yet-unnamed minivan will be a sibling to the next-generation Chevrolet Uplander, as well as a companion to the upcoming GMC Acadia crossover vehicle. While the Acadia is aimed at upscale SUV buyers, including empty-nesters and affluent younger couples, the GMC minivan will be targeted more at families. To some extent, it will help fill the void left by the discontinued Safari van. GM hasn't officially announced the new minivan, but it is expected to begin production in early 2009. .... | |
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| | | What's in a name? Only automakers know | | Posted Monday, August 21, 2006 12:45:47 PM by Blog57 Team | | Are you confused by automotive model designations? It is challenging to sort through them all when shopping for a new car and there are certainly experienced automotive writers who couldn't recite some of the more complex model ranges, one product after another, for a good wager. Without attempting an industry-wide exploration of every name out there, I'll try and set out how some randomly selected automakers deal with model designations and offer a few tips on sorting out which model is which. Of course, model names have always been a challenge to automakers. A great deal of thought and research goes into a model name, even if it's alphanumeric, rather than being a "proper" name. Does it have the right image for the product? Is it something that will catch on with the targeted buyer demographic? Is it a name that sounds fine in English, but becomes absurd in French or German? For buyers, it can be difficult to figure out -- especially when they discover that the "Vindicator Coupe" they fancied has become "GRT3," or something like that.... | |
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| | | worst American cars of 2006 | | Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 4:45:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Corvettes and Cadillacs demonstrate that American carmakers are building the best vehicles they have ever built. But some of their output, such as Buick's Terraza minivan, still leave a bit to be desired. Consumer Reports, which generally avoids opinionated reviews, complains on its Web site of the Terraza's "stiff ride and noisy interior." "Handling is reluctant," writes the organization. "The interior trim is insubstantial. The new snout can't disguise the fact that these are outdated minivans that are not competitive in their class. First-year reliability has been much worse than average." So much worse, in fact, that the Terraza is included in the slide show (see box below)- a list of the worst American cars. By "American cars," we mean vehicles built by American brands and sold here, not cars that are built by foreign companies in the U.S.... | |
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| | | GM Foundation Donates 3 Vans to SE Michigan United Way | | Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 2:45:47 AM by Blog57 Team | | DETROIT - For the third year, General Motors Foundation has donated three Sit-N-Lift equipped Saturn Relay sport vans to United Way for Southeastern Michigan. GM's exclusive Sit-N-Lift feature provides a fully motorized lift-and-lower passenger seat to help people with limited mobility get in and out of the vehicle with greater ease. Jill Lajdziak, general manager, Saturn, gave the keys to Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO, United Way for Southeastern Michigan at a ceremony held today at Saturn of Warren. The vans were presented by Brennan to three nonprofit agencies serving individuals in metro Detroit: Black Family Development, in Detroit; Oakland Family Services, in Pontiac; and Turning Point, Inc., in Mt. Clemens. "The ongoing commitment of General Motors and the GM Foundation to helping individuals in southeast Michigan is evident by their generosity in donating these vehicles," said Brennan.... | |
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| | | Walgreens may be eyeing Glenbrook Basin site | | Posted Thursday, July 06, 2006 4:45:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | Plans have been sent to the city of Grass Valley that could lead to the development of a Walgreens at the location of Jim Keil Chevrolet, which is expected to close in July. The sale of the Glenbrook Basin property has also sparked a lawsuit by former employee Thomas Rubino, who claims Keil defrauded him of $700,000 he invested to shore up the flagging auto dealership. Keil is in Mexico and unavailable for comment, according to the auto dealer's office manager, Jackie Campbell. "He'll be back sometime before the first of August," Campbell said. "He's in Puerto Vallarta, and he told me he's the only one who can give out a statement." Two employees at the auto dealership at the corner of Brunswick Road and Sutton Way told customers Tuesday that the business will be open until the end of next week.... | |
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| | | GM will cut a shift at minivan plant | | Posted Wednesday, July 05, 2006 10:45:55 AM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors Corp. has told employees at its Doraville, Ga., plant where it builds its poor-selling minivans that it will eliminate the second shift of workers on or after Sept. 5. Sales of GM's minivans, including the Chevrolet Uplander and the Saturn Relay, have dropped by about 18% so far in 2006, less than two years after the current models with SUV-like styling went on sale. While GM's minivans have faltered, Chrysler Group and Kia Motors Corp. have posted gains with their models, while Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have reported slight increases. GM spokesman Dan Flores said it was unclear how many workers would be affected by the shift elimination because some workers at the plant have signed up for GM's early retirement or buyout offer.... | |
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