General Motors has announced recalls of Pontiac Vibe vehicles from the 2005-2008 model years following complaints of engine stalling.  GM will recall 200,000 Pontiac Vibes in total, including 162,000 in the United States, after a “handful” of complaints, according to GM spokesman Alan Adler.

The Wall Street Journal reports the General Motors and Google are discussing a deal that would link cell phones using Google’s Android operating system with the automaker’s OnStar driver information service.  The Journal says that users of Android-based smartphones will likely be able to use OnStar features from their phone while not in their car.  One example, users could get information about their vehicle’s maintenance needs through the Android phone.

Owners of a Chevrolet Volt (GM’s upcoming plug-in electric vehicle) may be able to use the technology to help an owner keep track of the car’s battery charge from a distance, the paper said.  Partnerships like this are yet another indication of how electronics and in-car information systems are becoming of utmost importance  for carmakers.

Toyota dealers sold 31,090 certified pre-owned vehicles in April, up from 21,646 in April 2009.  With the same number of selling days (26) as last year, TCUV sales were up 9,444 units.  That’s more than all European brands combined for the month.  The previous monthly sales record for Toyota Certified Used Vehicles of 27,114 units sold was set in March 2008.  Toyota certified sales are up 13.1 percent year-over-year.

Overall CPO sales rose to 144,117 in April from 133,449 in April 2009. GM saw a major decline across all its brands, with the total for the GM Certified Used Car program falling to 22,789 from 28,722 in April 2009.  Chevrolet, once the industry leader, fell to 14,297 from 19,054 in April 2009. It is now the third best-selling brand behind Toyota and Honda.

As reported by Used Car News

General Motors unveiled a new electric concept car in China, aiming to bolster its image as a supplier of non-polluting cars tailored to the crowded mega-cities of the future.  GM showcased the EN-V, short for “Electric Networked-Vehicle,” in China with its joint venture partner, SAIC Motor Corp.  It will be shown during the World Expo to be held in Shanghai from May through October.

The two-seater EN-V, which would communicate with other cars to help avoid accidents and ease traffic in congested major cities like Shanghai, is only at the conceptual stage — it would not hit showrooms for another 10 to 20 years, and would require regulatory changes for it to be allowed on roads.

GM Seeks to Reinstate 661 Rejected Dealerships

General Motors said it plans to reinstate 661 of the 1,160 rejected dealerships that applied for arbitration to get their franchises back, scrapping a nine-month plan to reduce its showroom network by 40 percent. The decision to begin settlement procedures as early as next week stemmed from a desire to avoid the rigors of congressionally mandated arbitration, GM executives said.

Letters of intent are scheduled to start going out as early as Wednesday, March 10. The process could take just a few weeks for some dealers and as long as several months for others, they said. GM hopes to have the effort completed by mid-summer. “By doing this we save a lot of time and energy and dollars,” Jim Bunnell, GM’s general manager of dealer network support, said during a conference call with reporters. Susan Docherty, GM’s U.S. marketing chief, said the company decided “it would have been impossible to arbitrate 1,100 cases in a 120-day period.” Read the rest of this entry →

General Motors will wind down its Hummer brand after a proposed sale to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. fell through.  GM said in a statement that Tengzhong “was unable to complete the acquisition.”  Reports have indicated that the company failed to win Chinese government approval of the sale.  GM has said it will honor warranties, provide spare parts and will support service for Hummers worldwide. GM currently has 153 Hummer dealers in the United States.

The failed deal likely seals the fate of the last of GM’s four unwanted U.S. brands. GM is winding down Saturn after its sale fell through in September. Pontiac is also being phased out. GM yesterday completed the sale of Saab to Dutch niche carmaker Spyker Cars NV.  GM is open to receiving other bids for Hummer as it winds down the brand, the source said. The sale of Saab arose out of a similar situation: Spyker entered a bid after a proposed sale of Saab to another party fell through in November. Many believe the chances of resurrecting Hummer are viewed as slimmer than they were at Saab.

General Motors will produce the Cadillac Converj plug-in concept car that was introduced at last year’s Detroit auto show according to Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. The two-door Converj uses the same technology as GM’s Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric vehicle, due to be launched late this year. No definite timing for introduction of the Converj has been given, but it has been said it would be after 2012.

At least 100 GM dealerships will be reinstated, Whitacre says
By: Chrissie Thompson, Automotive News

DETROIT — Ed Whitacre, General Motors Co.’s chairman, expects at least 100 GM dealerships will be restored in the arbitration process mandated by a new federal law. “I think a large number will get reinstated,” he said today in a meeting with reporters. “I think that’s a given. It’s in the hundreds.” The law, signed by President Obama last month, sets up a six-month period in which dealers can appeal their rejection to neutral arbitrators. Dealers have until Jan. 25 to give notice that they intend to file for arbitration.

An arbitration judgment must be handed down by June 15. In bankruptcy last year, Chrysler rejected 789 dealerships, while GM said it would wind down 1,350 through October 2010. GM used a “pretty arbitrary” cut-off point in choosing which dealers to reject and probably made some mistakes by cutting some good dealers and leaving some bad ones, Whitacre said. “The way it came out, if you fell above or below a line, you were removed,” he said. “But you had to do it that way. You can’t just go around flipping coins, so you had to have a process.” It was impossible for GM to have a perfect process, he said.

Arbitration could restore good and bad dealerships, Whitacre said. “The bad thing would be if they’re a lousy dealer that has a lousy storefront and through some process they’re put back in arbitrarily,” he said. “If they’re a good dealer and would really push GM in a classy manner, like we want it done, then it would be really good.”

Won’t hurt profits
Restoring dealers won’t jeopardize GM’s profits, Whitacre said. He thinks GM will be profitable in 2010. “You want to be a profitable company, and I think everything else just sort of flows from that — numbers of vehicles, how many fleet, how many in retail,” he said. “We’ve kind of restructured, put our priorities in the right place.” He said he does not feel pressure to take GM public this year. If the company does have an initial public offering in 2010, it would be late in the year, he said.

Web site will allow consumers to haggle with dealers over new vehicles

updated 1:06 a.m. ET, Mon., Aug 10, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – General Motors and eBay Inc. are expected to announce Monday that hundreds of the auto maker’s California dealers will let consumers haggle over the prices of new cars and trucks through the online marketplace, as part of a previously disclosed trial.

About 225 of California’s 250 GM dealers are set to take part in the program, which will begin on Tuesday. They will be selling Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac vehicles on cobranded Web sites through eBay’s online auto marketplace, eBay Motors, until Sept. 8. The cars will also be searchable through eBay Motors and eBay’s main site.

The trial is part of Detroit-based GM’s turnaround plan, making more official a practice some of its dealers had already participated in on their own. It expands an existing partnership covering GM certified used vehicles sold through eBay.

Read full story at MSNBC