GM to Incorporate Daytime LEDs into More Cars

GM will use LED daytime running lights as a way to add visual distinction to its vehicles, according to a conversation Car and Driver’s Steve Siler had with Jim Federico, GM’s vehicle line executive for midsize cars like the Chevy Malibu and Cadillac CTS.

The LEDs appear in the new Buick LaCrosse and give the headlamps an opportunity to distinguish GM products. It’s a design strategy that can be seen on most Audis, and will now be a trend across GM’s four remaining brands.

What do you think of vehicle designs that incorporate LED taillights and headlights? Will it help?

GM Design Future Looking Bright Thanks to LEDs (Car and Driver)

GM Leaves Bankruptcy: Where Do the Brands Stand?

In the tumult of GM’s lightning-quick journey through bankruptcy, you may have lost track of what will happen to all the individual brands. Therefore, here’s a quick and handy guide to where each brand currently stands as the new taxpayer-owned GM emerges from Chapter 11.

Saturn: Purchased by the Penske Automotive Group, which owns NASCAR and IndyCar racing teams, as well as the U.S. distribution arm of the Smart car brand. Saturn’s five models will become the property of Penske but will still be built by GM on a contract basis. According to reports, GM will continue production of the three best-selling Saturn models for the next two years: the Aura, Vue and Outlook. It will discontinue the Sky and Astra. By 2011, GM will stop producing Saturn vehicles, and Penske will have to find a new manufacturer — possibly Renault Samsung Motors of Korea, according to Automotive News.

Saab: Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg led a consortium to purchase the ailing brand from GM. The deal is contingent on $600 million of financing from the European Investment Bank to be guaranteed by Sweden. The deal is supposed to close sometime in the third quarter of this year, but analysts have questioned whether Saab is big enough to survive regardless. It sold only 93,000 cars last year and has been unprofitable for a long time.

GM 72-Hour Sale: 0% for 72 Months

Maybe GM’s math skills got them into the trouble they’re in. Their just announced 72-hour sale starts today and runs through July 6, which is 144 hours by our count. Maybe they wanted to tie the sale name in with the sale terms, namely 0% financing for 72 months on select models for those buyers who qualify.

Included 2009 and 2010 models in the 0% for 72-months term are: Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra regular, extended and crew cab light-duty pickups; Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL SUVs; Chevrolet Impala; and the Pontiac Vibe, G3, G5, G6 and G8.

Other models have separate incentives you can find here.

Pricing Announced for 2010 GMC Terrain

The 2010 GMC Terrain will start at $24,250, while the all-wheel-drive version will begin at $26,000. These prices do not include a destination charge of $745.

Not bad for an SUV that gets an EPA rating of 32 mpg on the highway. If you want to go for the top-of-line trim, you can get an SLT2 with leather seating, a Pioneer sound system, a sunroof and other amenities for $29,250.

How does this compare with certain competitors? The slightly pricier 2009 Ford Edge starts at $26,635, while the 2009 Dodge Journey undercuts both with a beginning MSRP of $20,925. It should be noted that neither the Edge nor the Journey is rated higher than 25 mpg on the highway.

Will Consumers Miss the Old GM? Not Likely

There’s been a lot of talk about “good GM” and “bad GM” and what the closure of Pontiac and sale of Saturn, Saab and Hummer will mean to the new company. We thought we’d recap the impact GM’s restructuring will have on car shoppers.

General Motors remains the largest producer and seller of cars and trucks in the United States, already selling 777,785 vehicles this year, through May.

Nearly one of every five cars purchased in the U.S. comes from GM through the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac brands.

Pontiac will be shut down completely by the end of 2010, with Saab, Saturn and Hummer expected to be sold off.

Those four brands combined have 18 nameplates on sale. Together, those models comprised 2.4% of the new-car market in April. That’s a drop of about 1% from the same time last year (3.6%).

GM Extends Incentives Through Wednesday

As GM winds its way through bankruptcy court, current incentives that were set to expire yesterday have been extended through Wednesday. The company announced late Monday that the court has authorized GM to maintain incentive plans while in the bankruptcy process, which could last up to three months.

We expect new incentives to be released Thursday. If GM's bankruptcy-level incentives follow Chrysler's, we won’t see any major increases in the cash-back amounts offered on new models. In Chrysler's case, many models’ cash-back offers were reduced once the manufacturer went under bankruptcy protection. However, that didn’t stop dealers slated to go out of business from adding their own discounts.

Chevy is offering 0% financing for 72 months on many models to qualified buyers. On the cash-back side, there's $2,500 off the 2009 Chevy Malibu, Chevy Cobalt and Chevy HHR in most regions. If you’re a current GM owner, there are also loyalty offers of up to $1,000 on top of the standard cash-back deals in some regions.

Check GM's consumer sites for Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac and GMC to see detailed offers, or check Cars.com's incentives page for more details. 

Recall Alert: 27,188 GM Vehicles

GM has issued a recall for 27,188 vehicles from the 2009 model year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Affected models include the Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; the Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Suburban and Tahoe; and the GMC Canyon, Yukon and Yukon XL.

The recall is due to a problem in the fuel system control module, which has a vulcanizing seal that may separate, allowing water to seep into the module. The water could cause a short circuit, possibly making the engine hard to start or causing it to not start at all or stall while driving.

Dealers will install a new fuel system module for free. Owners may contact Cadillac at 866-982-2339, Chevrolet at 800-630-2438 and GMC at 866-996-9463, or NHTSA’s hotline at 888-327-4236.

2010 GMC Terrain Video

While the 2010 GMC Terrain may be a rebadged Chevy Equinox, Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays notes that may not be such a bad thing. After all, he likes the Equinox. The question then becomes, is there anything else about the Terrain worth looking at? Follow Mays on his tour of the Terrain at the 2009 New York auto show.

GM and Chrysler SUVs: More of the Same?

With all eyes on ailing GM and Chrysler, their main debuts at the New York International Auto Show may have offered some hints about their futures. Chrysler president Jim Press spoke in New York of “the new Chrysler,” but amid the politicized tangle of shotgun mergers and bankruptcy speculation, both Chrysler and GM chose to unveil more SUVs. Both companies have long been criticized for their truck-heavy lineups, something that left them in the bottom tier of major automakers in Cars.com’s True Mileage Index. Are models like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and GMC Terrain  going to help either company get moving in the right direction?

2010 GMC Terrain: Up Close

Tastes vary, but in the past few years I think GMC has been getting the better of Chevrolet in terms of exterior styling. That's a little perverse, because GMC is a parasite that feeds off Chevy, offering typically better-equipped and better-appointed versions of their vehicles at a higher price. (I say parasite in the most clinical sense, not really as an insult. If there were no Chevy, there would be no GMC — and some say there doesn't need to be.) The GMC Envoy, Canyon and Sierra have been better-looking than the Chevy TrailBlazer, Colorado and Silverado, respectively. Not this time.