GM's Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC Record 19.7% Increase in April Sales

GM's big four survivors (Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC) are on a roll: April sales have increased 19.7% over last year and calendar year sales are up 31%.

The Detroit automaker gives a lot of credit to its launch vehicles: Chevrolet's Camaro/Equinox, Buick's LaCrosse, GMC's Terrain, and Cadillac's SRX. According to the General, the "new" GM's launch vehicles account for a quarter of all GM retail sales.

However, GM's overall performance is not so great when you include Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac (brands either discontinued or sold) as year-to-date sales were up only by 12.9% (661,319 units in Jan.-April 2010 vs 585,910 units in Jan.-April 2009).

Steve Carlisle, U.S. Sales Operations VP, had this to say: "Clearly, our launch vehicles are hitting the mark with consumers who are looking for bold styling, quality, safety and fuel efficiency. But our results aren't limited to just our newest vehicles. Sales of our full-size pickups and our mid-sized crossovers continue to strengthen."

For a full breakdown of the important stuff, scroll on down:

• Chevrolet: total sales up 17 percent compared to a year ago; retail sales up 32 percent; Chevrolet Equinox retail sales increased 276 percent; Camaro retail sales continued to set the pace for the sport segment with 7,830 deliveries; Chevrolet Traverse retail sales were up 30 percent for the month, and are up 10 percent for the year; Silverado retail sales were up 23 percent, the second consecutive month with a retail sales increase of 20 percent or more.
  
• Buick: total sales up 36 percent; retail sales up 42 percent; Buick LaCrosse retail sales rose 237 percent and are up 154 percent for the year; Buick Enclave retail sales rose 29 percent in April and are up 11 percent for the year.
  
• GMC: total sales up 18 percent; retail sales up 37 percent; GMC Terrain retail sales were up 537 percent for the month and 313 percent for the year; GMC Acadia retail sales increased 20 percent for the month and are up 26 percent year-to-date
  
• Cadillac: total sales up 36 percent; retail sales up 31 percent; Cadillac SRX retail sales were up 504 percent for the month and 405 percent for the year; Cadillac CTS had its best month of the year, with retail sales up 9 percent vs. March.
  
• Fleet sales for GM's four brands were 58,000 for the month, down 2 percent vs. the prior year.
  
• Crossovers for GM's four brands doubled sales in April compared to last year.
  
• Combined Total and Retail sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac have increased year-over-year for seven straight months.
  

By Phil Alex

»»  read more

GM: Only 0.1% or 193 Buyers Have Returned a Vehicle Under the 60-Day Guarantee

So far, from the 222,000 customers that opted for GM's aggressive 60-day Money Back Guarantee on new vehicle purchases, only 193 of them (about 0.09 per cent) have returned or are in the process of returning their new Chevy, Buick, Cadillac or GMC, the firm's Vice President of Global Product Engineering, Mark Reuss, announced on Thursday.

More specifically, Reuss said that up until now, 53 cars and trucks have been returned and about 140 others are in the process. GM plans to interview those customers that initiate a return to ask them about their experience.

"People are not satisfied and we're going to find out why," Reuss said. "This is about the best unfiltered consumer feedback we've had, and it was suggested by Mr. Whitacre. We've got all the (customer) data. We've gone to see some of them and we're calling some of them at night as well."

Among those buyers that returned their vehicle and are on Reuss contact list is one customer that is said to have been dissatisfied with the paint quality and interior roominess of a Chevy Silverado pickup.

According to the GM exec, there is no need for a new quality initiative in the company as all the processes needed are in place. "The so-called perception gap is a result of what we do," said Reuss. "We need to hit the ball with the center of the bat in everything we do."

Reuss also revealed that 653 customers used the company's 60-day return guarantee to get a $500 discount on another vehicle purchase, meaning they exchanged it another GM model. As an example, he told of a Cadillac SRX buyer who traded up to a more expensive version of the SRX.

»»  read more

VIDEO: New Cadillac Spot Previews Production CTS Coupe

General Motors has released a new 60-second spot for its Cadillac brand called "Re-ignition", which showcases the firm's forthcoming models including the CTS Sport Wagon, the new 2010 SRX crossover and most importantly, at the final segment of the clip, the production version of the CTS Coupe that is due to arrive in U.S. showrooms the summer of 2010.

We only get a quick glimpse of the two-door sports coupe, but from what we can tell, the vehicle's exterior styling has remained remarkably close to the concept car that was shown at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.

According to a recent announcement from GM, the CTS Coupe's range will include a BMW M3-challenging (we doubt that it will target the more expensive M6 Coupe) "V" model boasting the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 556-horsepower as the CTS-V Sedan.

»»  read more

Cadillac, Hummer and Saab Chief Mark McNabb Resigns from General Motors

After being at the helm of GM's premium Cadillac, Hummer and Saab brands for just over a year during which time the automaker took the decision to sell two of the three brands, Mark McNabb decided to jump ship resign from his position. The 48-year-old Vice President will be replaced on June 1st on a temporary basis by Stephen J. Hill, general sales manager of the autmoaker's premium channel since 2008. "He elected to pursue other career opportunities," said Cadillac spokesman Klaus-Peter Martin. "A big part had to do with he wanted to be closer to his family in New Jersey," he added.

Before joining the ranks of General Motors, McNabb served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan North America Inc.

Via: Detnews

»»  read more

GM Recalling Nearly 1 Million Vehicles Worldwide on Electrical Issue

General Motors will be sending letters to more than 944,000 owners worldwide, 857,735 of which are located in the U.S., due to voluntary recall that affects 16 cars and SUVs from 2006 to 2008. The huge recall involves vehicles fitted with a heated washer fluid system that could short circuit causing other electrical features to malfunction and lead to smoke or even fire. According to GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson, up until now, there have been three reported fires related to the problem. GM said that its dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. See the affected models after the jump. -Continued

MAKE / MODEL - YEAR

• BUICK / ENCLAVE -2008
• BUICK / LUCERNE - 2006-2008
• CADILLAC / DTS - 2006-2008
• CADILLAC / ESCALADE - 2007-2008
• CADILLAC / ESCALADE ESV - 2007-2008
• CADILLAC / ESCALADE EXT - 2007-2008
• CHEVROLET / AVALANCHE - 2007-2008
• CHEVROLET / SILVERADO - 2007-2008
• CHEVROLET / SUBURBAN - 2007-2008
• CHEVROLET / TAHOE - 2007-2008
• GMC / ACADIA - 2007-2008
• GMC / SIERRA - 2007-2008
• GMC / YUKON - 2007-2008
• GMC / YUKON XL -2007-2008
• HUMMER / H2 - 2006-2008
• SATURN / OUTLOOK - 2007-2008

»»  read more

Duke Of Hazzard Boss Hog’s Cadillac Eldorado for Sale

The 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible that was used in the 2005 film version of the Dukes of Hazzard featuring Burt Reynolds as “Boss Hog” is up for sale on eBay. As an incentive, the current owner of the car says that he’ll take the bull horned Eldorado to “Dukefest” this weekend to get it signed from as many of the cast members of the original series as possible including John Schneider and James Best. -Continued





Link: eBay

»»  read more

A Caddy That Purrs: Man Dresses Cadillac Deville Coupe in Jaguar Fur

Nothing beats a shiny new Jaguar. Well, maybe except a 1975 Cadillac Deville Coupe covered in “Jaguar fur”. According to Costume Blog.com, this guy gave up trying to save his pennies for a Jag and decided to economically dress his Caddy up to serve his purposes. The only problem is, when it rains, the Jag will quite literally smell like one. -Posted by Dani

One more image after the jump

Via: costumeblog

»»  read more