Tag Archives: General Motors

GM Say Tariffs are Bad for Business and Bad for People

Automobile Industry, , , , , ,

General Motors explained to the US Commerce Department that broad tariffs such as the

Fábrica de General Motors en Rosario. Photo courtesy Baglieto.

kind the Trump administration is threatening to impose, could “lead to a smaller GM, a reduced presence at home and abroad for this iconic American Company, and risk is less-not more- U.S. jobs.” GM is the country’s largest automaker.

Back in May the Trump administration started an investigation to see if imported vehicles are a threat to U.S. national security. President Trump as many times stated that he would be happy to place a 20 percent import tariff on vehicles.

GM produces some of its cars overseas now for the U.S. market, including in Canada and Mexico. GM warned that tariffs could dampen sales and raise prices. Even if the company decided not to pass on their higher costs to consumers, this “could still lead to less investment, fewer jobs and lower wages for our employees. The carry-on effect of less investment and a smaller workforce could delay breakthrough technologies,” GM said.

The company employees about 110,000 people throughout the United States in 47 manufacturing plants. It purchases tens of billions of dollars’ worth of car parts from US suppliers annually. They have invested more than $22 billion in US manufacturing infrastructure since 2009.

The overbroad and steep application of import tariffs on our trading partners risks isolating U.S. businesses like GM from the global market that helps to preserve and grow our strength here at home,” GM said.

Also filing comments in opposition to the Tariffs was Toyota Motor Corp. They said that tariffs would, “threaten U.S. manufacturing, jobs, exports, and economic prosperity.”

GM Launching Car-Sharing Service in US and Germany

Companies, Transportation Industry, , , ,

General Motors introduced Maven, a car-sharing service designed to attract people who would prefer not to own a car, but prefer not to use a ride-sharing service either.

Maven, which means ‘expert’ in Yiddish will begin with small fleets of autos in Ann Arbor, Chicago, New York, Frankfurt and Berlin. It will at first stay close to large cities and college campuses. GM will be testing the market for this service, with plans to expand to additional cities this year, although GM did not announce which cities or to what extent they would like to expand.

President of GM Dan Amman emphasized that this is a completely different service than Lyft Inc, a ride-sharing service that GM invested $500 million in. Ride-sharing allows people to call taxis; they do not need to drive themselves. Car-sharing customers use a smart-phone or other device to get access to cars and drive them themselves.

The use of a small car can be bought for as little as $6 per hour, while larger cars will go for about $12 per hour. Amman stated that today around the world there are about 5-6 million people who are utilizing some kind of car-sharing service. He expects the service to expand 4-5 times in the next five years.

GM Remaining in Korea: Labor Force Still Uncertain

Automobile Industry, , , , ,
GM CEO Dan Akerson
GM CEO Dan Akerson

Due to on-going tensions between North and South Korea, CEO of GM Dan Akerson said last month that the US-based car manufacturer is considering moving output away from this important production center.

Last week Akerson addressed a meeting with GM Korea’s union leader in Detroit, saying GM is not planning on leaving Korea, but will need to discuss his labor problems with South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye when she visits the US this week.

“We are upset by his remarks. We did not go all the way to the U.S. to hear that,” Choi Jong-hak, Korea’s union leader said.

Choi added that Akerson’s original statements on the possibility of a change in venue for GM’s facilities was an empty threat meant to calm down the union before talks commence on a possible restructuring of production systems.

“GM cannot withdraw from South Korea. We have technology to make good cars and our wages are only about one third of those in the United States and Europe,” Choi remarked.

GM Introducing Latest Corvette Stingray After Nine Year Hiatus

Automobile Industry, , ,
Corvette Stingray C7 2013

It has been nine long years since Chevrolet came out with a new model of their iconic Corvette Stingray, and this week the latest model will be unveiled at the annual auto show held in Detroit.

This is the seventh incarnation of one of the world’s most popular luxury sports cars, and is therefore labeled as the C7. General Motors already previewed the car to the media this past Sunday, and plan on making photos and videos of their new design available to the public soon.

Some people, however, are more invested in this latest Stingray model: one hundred members of the southeastern Michigan branch of the Corvette Club are anxiously awaiting the arrival of January 19, when GM will allow them to touch and view the great car one hour before the official opening of the auto show.

Social director of the club Peter Shilland, owner of an exclusive 2009 Corvette Callaway, said:

“We want to hear from the engineers and see how far they’ve come with the C7.”

According to GM the car has a totally new design, and will be on sale beginning this coming summer.

Chevy Volt Electrifies Consumers

Automobile Industry, Tech News, , ,

A Consumer Reports customer satisfaction survey puts the Chevrolet Volt at the top of its list, showing a whopping 93% of those polled saying they would “definitely” buy this car again if given the chance.

CR however released the results of their survey with this caveat: at the time when the survey was taken the Volt was only available in a few states, and had only been purchased by a few thousand customers. The car has only been in car dealer showrooms for one year, since December, 2010.

The Volt is a plug-in car, requiring electricity from an outside source to recharge its battery. Chevy says customers can expect to be able to drive about 40 miles on one charge, and for trips requiring longer drives there is a gasoline engine as a back-up.