Automotive The Racket

General Motors assumes that you have the platform, at least for now, developing a luxury hybrid vehicle, so it is said that it has canceled plans to develop the base of Cadillac SRX crossover plug-in formats.

According to sources in the trade publication Automotive News, and engineers involved in the development of this project were reallocated to other projects, so it becomes increasingly difficult to see that the Detroit giant inroads in this segment.

It’s funny how within 6 months, GM went from “casting” rumors of a hybrid Cadillac crossover to talk about “probabilities” and after “the future of technology can be there”.

While Dan Akerson (head of GM since last September) who showed favorable to the company of a shift to green cars and low-power, it takes more than a few months and much couching to make a maker of octane-eating “(and its loyal audience) believes awareness of the new direction that the automotive world. Read the rest of this entry →

Definitely, Hummer has closed. We smelled it and more from the Chinese government approved the purchase of Hummer by Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery worth 150 million dollars.

Today was the deadline, and there are no other offers, Hummer, known for its mammoth models, a symbol of excess and ostentation (pictured, if it was not clear), check your blind. Jim Taylor, CEO of Hummer will have to find another job and dealers will have to purchase the concession for another brand or simply stop selling these tragagasofas if they sell more than one brand. Although the worst part is carried by the 3650 employees of the firm will not know what the future holds.

With this there are now four companies, one way or another, have disappeared from General Motors. Saab has recently been sold to China Geely Group, while the legendary Saturn and Pontiac have suffered the same fate as Hummer.

If you want a Hummer this may be your chance, because GM has about 2,200 units in stock to settle with some juicy discounts like $ 4000 H3 variant 2010, or 5000 of the H3T, 2009 or 6000 of the H2 and H3 also 2009, in addition to finance the vehicle to 72 months without interest. The existing safeguards are respected and a lot of parts.

If the intention is very nice and the look of the Volt is reminiscent of attractive five-door Malibu Maxx, but I think Chevrolet is still far from providing a really sensible proposal for an electric car.

It seems that GM did not want at all to market an electric vehicle, but it does so many people buy a BlackBerry, although he does not see the utility and do not believe in his performance, is fashionable and others already have one.

If GM really believed in the concept of an environmentally friendly vehicle from zero or low emissions, would focus on raising the battery life achieves only a measly 60 km, but the real irony is that the Volt relies on a motor of 1.4 internal combustion to rotate a generator that feeds the battery once it is downloaded.

That’s where people are asking (not the people of GM, of course):

* Why not just a gasoline engine 1.4 and you? It would save space and weight of the battery and the car would perform better!

* Why not reduce the gasoline engine to 1 liter or less and is used in electric rear axle configuration and gasoline in front? Read the rest of this entry →