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Chevrolet Memorabilia
Maybe I can get started on my Buick and Cadillac memorabilia?
About fifteen years ago, I was out at South Bend for an annual Studebaker weekend swap meet. There was an auction of Studebaker memorabilia, from the estate of a guy who pushed the sandwich and snack cart around the Studebaker Administration Building for 43 years! He apparently 'dumpster dived' after the Dec. '63 shutdown. There were tons of stuff...silver cups from the Mobilgas Economy Run, photo albums ("Your Visit to Studebaker", custom-made for the group visiting; e.g., "Lunch with Mrs. Egbert"), stationery from VP's with the matching envelopes (I bought a box belonging to E.J. Hardig, VP of Engineering), china from the Executive Dining Room with "Studebaker" written on them...etc. The gross take was $19K..and that was 15 years ago.
from Forbes.com
The Real Story On GM's Volt Costs
General Motors Chevrolet Volt
I was surprised to read Ben Klayman’s piece on alleged astronomical per-unit losses on the Chevrolet “Volt.” Ben is usually a solid professional who checks his facts.
The statement that GM “loses” over $40K per Volt is preposterous. What the “analyst” in whom poor Ben Klayman placed his faith has done is to divide the total development cost and plant investment by the number of Volts produced thus far. That’s like saying that a real estate company that puts up a $10 million building and has rental income of one million the first year is “losing” 9 million dollars, or several hundred thousand per renter.
Listen, Ben and Micheline: that’s not how car business cost accounting works.
Let me provide a look at how a car company tracks profitability of a product program: measured are material cost and labor, and these are deducted from the selling price. The positive difference is called “gross margin.” Then, one allocates per-unit “fixed cost” (advertising, general overhead, etc.) plus per-unit depreciation and amortization of the initial investment, based on the TOTAL NUMBER TO BE PRODUCED OVER THE LIFETIME of the product. If the margin, after all deductions, is still positive, then we call it a “fully accounted profit,” and the car is a winner.
The Volt “variable cost” (labor and materials, without revealing any confidential GM information), looks very roughly like this: A Li-Ion battery today runs about $350 per KWh. The Volt’s is 16KWh, so that’s roughly $6000. Add $4,000 for the battery pack structure, the cooling, the high-voltage wiring, the motor and the power electronics. So, that’s the electric portion. Add about 20 hours of assembly labor which we’ll round to a very generous $1000. The dealer net price is, say, $37,000. We now have $26,000 left for the rest of the car, which, cost-wise, is about equal to a Chevy “Cruze” which sells for around $22,000 retail! (And the Volt has no costly conventional transmission.) Thus, the “Volt”, by my estimate, is either close to “variable break-even” or may be on the cusp of a positive gross margin. Deduct the per-unit allocation for all fixed cost, depreciation and amortization and it is, surely, still “under water” .but not by much, and less and less so as the volume builds and other, higher-margin GM cars, like the Cadillac ELR, piggy-back off of the Volt’s initial investment.
Maybe the Volt, a first-generation technology masterpiece and the most-awarded car in automotive history, will never make a really decent profit.
But succeeding generations of the same technology will. Meanwhile, the happy Volt buyers (most satisfied owners of any nameplate in the market) are getting more that they paid for. (Is that so bad?)
We won’t even factor in the profound halo effect the introduction of the Volt has had on GM’s reputation as a leader in environmental automotive technology; it’s priceless, and could never have been achieved without it.
So, once again, the knee-jerk Volt bashers, devoid of any real knowledge, have had their usual joyous verbal catharsis, but the car doesn’t care: The volumes are building globally and it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
A glance at the 2014 Chevy Silverado before production (Detroit Free Press)
Yeah, I think they have to considering Ram and Ford use 24v v6's with 8 and 6 speed transmissions for base models. The 4.3 has to be put out to pasture. Plus the Ram and F150 seem to perform well with their respective v6 powertrains.
As for owning a v6 pickup, as long as your not planning on towing or hauling a bunch, it probably would be fine. I know the Ram and Ford are rated to tow around 6k lbs, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to tow that much with them on a regular occasion. It would likely be fine around town and for short trips though.
My boat is about 6k lbs, my expedition has 3.73 gears, 6 speed, and while the 3v 5.4 isn't the most powerful v8, it does produce 365 ft-lbs of torque and 85% of it is available under 2k rpm, and I really wouldn't want to tow much more for long distances or up grades. It gets the job done, but I couldn't imagine only having a v6 with a torque deficit of nearly 100 ft-lbs. Basically you'd have to spin 5k+ rpm any time you need useful amounts of power or while trying to maintain speed up any kind of grade (that gets old fast).
Ford is now selling about 50% of f150's with v6s, if GM does use a turbo 6 like Ford's ecoboost, they likely could have a 50/50 mix too with the 3.6 as a base engine. But it likely will come down to pricing and performance.
"The current Chevy Impala will be the last passenger car in production in North America to feature three-across-the-front seating.
Chrysler Group LLC's last cars with front bench seats were the 2004 base-model Chrysler Concorde and Dodge Intrepid sedans. Last year, Ford Motor Co. discontinued the last of its bench seat cars: the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car.
While bench seats might bring back fond memories for many, few Impala buyers chose the option last year, GM said. One in 10 requested a bench seat — for an additional $195, the automaker said.
Chevrolet will continue to offer bench seats on pickups and SUVs."
Automakers kick bench seats to curb (Detroit News)
Downsizing almost always ensured a larger transmission hump and a more intrusive dashboard, which would compromise the center seating position. Throw in a split bench seat, and that spot became almost uninhabitable.
I think the newest car I had that had a fairly comfortable seating position was a 1979 Chrysler Newport. While it was downsized from the 1978 mastodons, Chrysler didn't have much money by then so what they really did was take their old 1979 midsize and make it a touch LARGER, so it still had a fairly small transmission hump. And the dashboard slopes away as it drops, rather than stick out like some of them do. Plus, it was a cheap model with the standard, non-split bench. It had a big armrest that came down in the center, but wasn't split.
My '76 LeMans isn't *too* bad in the center spot, although the part that houses the radio and ashtray does drop down a bit. And the right side of the instrument housing juts out a bit as it drops down. Here's an example.
My 2000 Park Ave has a split bench seat, but I wouldn't want to put a person in the center spot.
I'm surprised at that percentage. When I browse new Impalas at my dealer lot (not often), I'd guess I'd see one bench for every three Impalas in inventory.
My friend with an '08 Impala has the bench seat and was actually thinking about getting a '12 with the 6-speed and 3.6 and bench seat, but he hates how only the seats are beige and the rest of the interior is black. When he bought his '08, he found one that had been in inventory before Chevy changed the bench seat from standard to an option!
I'm aware of a dealer via a friend, in the midwest who said they had ordered many of their '13 Impalas for inventory with bench for the very reason that they are going away.
Personally, I'd probably seek out the bench if I were buying one. I think there's a perception of added room, you can slide across the seat if you need to, and it clears up space on the floor (no console). I think GM might be downplaying the numbers a bit to make it seem like 'eh, no big deal'. Plus...I've never felt a console cover that felt as good as a cloth center armrest.
Considering most Impalas are sold to fleets, that may skew the results a bit.
Same with pickups. I know Ford and GM still offer split benches, but a friend of mine who's been a salesman at the same chevy dealer for over 20 years told me to stay away from them as they are a hard sell and few customers want them. His point being I'd take a hit at trade in time.
I prefer bucket seats, but it would be nice to be able to seat six in a pickup, so I've been considering the bench. The few times I've looked at trucks with crew cabs, you'll find maybe 1 out of 10 with a bench.
The auto king allegedly limited his Model T's seat length to 38 inches so as to inhibit lovemaking in Tin Lizzies," it said. "If that was Ford's intent, he failed, for a thirty-eight-inch seat was ample for determined coupes, the more so when the seat was removed from the car." (Inside Line)
Maybe that was just a Midwest thing.
Mrs. Cunningham was not amused. And neither was Father Dowling. :P
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121008/AUTO0103/210080340/
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Mizrahi's Malibu line to go on sale (Detroit News)
The 2014 Corvette will be significantly overhauled.
GM did not issue any teaser shots of the car, but revealed the Corvette's new Crossed Flags emblem, said to "symbolize the new car."
I still remember the articles in Motor Trend during the 1970s, which would always feature a photo of the mid-engine showcar/prototype with the title, "Is this the 197X Corvette?".
For some reason, it sticks in my mind that the magazine ran that same headline with accompanying photo at least three or four times!
"There's an all-new generation of General Motors Co.'s legendary small-block V8 just around the corner and it's a major deal. Not only is the LT1 6.2-liter version unveiled here today the power plant for the coming C7 Corvette, but a high-volume version of this V8 architecture extends to the pending new generation of GM's pickups launching in early 2013.
Enthusiasts concerned there might be turbos or downsizing or some sort of general retreat in engine performance can rest easy: The new LT1 6.2-liter V8, which still uses an overhead valve design with pushrods and two valves per cylinder, makes a good bit more power than the LS3 V8 it is replacing. "
Chevy Unveils New LT1 Small-Block V8 (Inside Line)
GM donates pickups, vans to Red Cross to aid Sandy recovery efforts
"General Motors Co. said Tuesday it has produced 1 million GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox vehicles since their debut in 2009 as 2010 models.
The small SUVs have been big sellers for the company, as combined sales of the two vehicles in the small SUV segment have grown every year, doubling from 138,248 in 2009 to 283,491 sales in 2011."
GM announces production of millionth GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox (both links from the Detroit News)
That's a true US company. :shades:
I Don't find anything about what Honda and toyota donated to the disaster.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
GM reports superstorm Sandy-related closure (mlive.com)
Video of Camaro chasing a U2 doing practice tough and go. Normally the car is used to facilitate landing as well as take offs.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/awesome-video-captures-spy-plane-landing-from-a-- unique-perspective/
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's investment arm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., acquired another 5 million shares in GM raising his stake in the company to 15 million shares in the quarter ending Sept. 30.
And David Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital hedge fund, boosted his stake in GM to 21.6 million shares from 17.4 million as of June 30."
Buffett, Einhorn boost stakes in GM (Detroit News)
"General Motors will explore freshening Buick's famous tri-shield logo, a top executive said.
Redesigning a brand logo is an extremely sensitive process that can send enthusiasts and longtime customers into a frenzy. But Buick has been repositioning itself as an attractive choice for younger affluent consumers."
GM considers revamping Buick logo (Detroit Free Press)
This will be interesting.
Is there anything actually wrong with the trishield now used? It has evolved to an all chrome insignia now. Would a different insignia keep me from buying a car? I was behind a Mercedes today with no insignia, no model marque on the trunk. The trunk was held down by two straps symetrically spaced from the top edge down under the rollunder of the bumper. It was odd to see NOTHING on the vehicle trunk. Maybe that's what Buick needs--an extreme minimum.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I don't know if a car with a trunk held down by straps would be a good example for Buick. In Europe, I would say a huge amount if not a majority of MB and BMW cars are debadged - they have the maker badge, but no model badge. Might not fly in NA where ostentation is more of a cultural norm.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I kinda like the Buick tri-shield. They'd need to have a really nice design to replace it. If not, leave it as it is.
Point of order. Rocket was the Olds V-8, Fireball was Buicks inline 8. I know, I bought a '49 Super Sedan for my son this year!!!!
That's the plan anyway, according to a reliable source who spoke to Edmunds.
Grand National, GNX and T-Type Are Returning to Buick (Inside Line)