General Motors has now announced a partnership with European company PSA Peugeot Citroën. The partnership is expected to combine the powers of both companies as they embark together on a strategic and large global alliance. Both companies expect the alliance to contribute to their profitability worldwide and General Motors is hoping that the alliance will help them gain a larger customer base in Europe.
The two companies plan to focus their alliance around two main business ventures. The first important goal of the alliance is to share the vehicle platforms, components, and modules of both companies. Second, the two companies hope to combine their purchasing powers to source commodities, components and other goods and services from now joint suppliers. Despite the partnership however, the two companies will continue to market and sell independently of one another.
But the two companies will not be focusing on these two areas exclusively. The two companies have plans to use their partnership for further ventures, such as stock-related partnership prospects.
“This partnership brings tremendous opportunity for our two companies,” said Dan Akerson, GM chairman and CEO. “The alliance synergies, in addition to our independent plans, position GM for long-term sustainable profitability in Europe.”
Likewise PSA Peugeot Citroën is also excited about the partnership. Philippe Varin, who is the chairman of the managing board at PSA Peugeot Citroën, said, “This alliance is a tremendously exciting moment for both groups and this partnership is rich in its development potential. With the strong support of our historical shareholder and the arrival of a new and prestigious shareholder, the whole group is mobilized to reap the full benefit of this agreement.”
The partnership will also allow the two companies to help each other reduce their emissions. They will share some of their platforms, modules, and components. This sharing will achieve financial saving and leverage volumes and advanced technologies. They also plan to use the partnership to implement their programs in Europe on a more cost-efficient level.
The partnership actually became a much larger prospect than originally planned. Originally, the two companies were planning to work together on their small vehicles and MPVs and crossovers. But after they started talking about the potential partnership they agreed together that a partnership that incorporates all of their vehicles would be best. They are also considering working together to develop a platform for low emission vehicles. They even already have plans to launch such a vehicle in 2016.
Due to the terms of the partnership the two companies will now be making their purchases as a single purchasing entity. They will do this to take advantage of the purchasing expertise and purchasing contacts of both companies, as well as the customer loyalty benefits that each company has earned individually.
If you would like more information on purchasing a new vehicle from the General Motors side of this partnership please visit our contact us page or call 888-306-1908!
General Motors Announces European Partnership
New Technology From OnStar Eases Use for Customers
OnStar is prepared to integrate with the digital age! The company is looking to enhance its services by integrating them with the popularity of smartphones and apps. OnStar has announced that they will be giving select developers a chance to develop new apps for OnStar services.
Of course the security involved with merging OnStar services with a smartphone app can cause concern for some customers. But OnStar has made sure that the security issues will not be a problem by employing many different security techniques for the new apps.
OnStar services use OnStar’s Advanced Telematics Operating System, or ATOMS, to function as they do. ATOMS is one of the most powerful systems of its kind that are available and is able to connect to as many as six million customers. The new apps for OnStar will use the same ATOMS system to deliver the services through the phone or tablet computer.
Linda Marshall, President of OnStar, recently spoke about the functionality of the new apps. “Research shows that the amount of mobile applications for the Android and iOS platforms is likely to double in the next 12 months,” she said. “Customer demand is driving a new marketplace for a variety of automotive applications. With this step we believe we can broaden our portfolio, grow our business and enable our customers to achieve additional functionality from their vehicle using their computer, smartphone, tablet or other devices.”
Before considering the development of the app, OnStar did its research to find out what specific OnStar services are most important to customers. They found that most customers rank emergency and security services as their top OnStar priority. The next highest ranking services were navigation, vehicle information, and diagnostics. OnStar plans to utilize this information in the development of the new app, and they are also considering future apps with a more customized user interface, in which the customer may decide which services are most important to them and prioritize them within the app.
“We want to give people 1,001 reasons to keep their OnStar subscription active,” said Eric Litt, chief information officer, OnStar. “We feel that opening up our proprietary API to developers will ensure that OnStar continues to keep customers connected in ways they never thought possible.”
As we’ve blogged about here before, the first new partner that OnStar will work with in app form is RelayRides, a car sharing marketplace where people can rent out spare vehicles. RelayRides holds an exclusive partnership with GM and GM is hoping to use that partnership to utilitize this new app function from OnStar. They expect to be able to let customers use RelayRides to rent out OnStar equipped vehicles, and then allow the person renting to access the rented vehicle through the OnStar app.
“Through our work with OnStar, we are jointly defining the cutting edge of smart mobility,” said RelayRides founder and Chief Community Officer Shelby Clark. “With access to the OnStar API, carsharing has never been safer or more convenient. We are looking forward to rolling out the program in early 2012.”
OnStar hopes to get the new app up and running as soon as possible, but right now they are still searching for developers. If you are interested in getting an OnStar equipped vehicle so that you may utilize the new app when it arrives, please visit our contact us page or call 888-306-1908!
Detroit Auto Show Coming Soon
All the major car manufacturers in America gained market share last year, and overall the auto industry saw the highest volume of sales since 2008. With those hope-inducing statistics in mind its no wonder that automakers are celebrating with the Detroit Auto Show that will be held soon.
Two press preview days started on Monday the ninth and the public show will run from the fourteenth through the twenty second. With the new auto show at hand automakers are becoming more and more optimistic about the 2012 sales year. The show will be held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, and the contract for holding the auto show at the center has been renewed through 2017. Many experts believe that the showcase for this year’s show will be the best one since 2008.
The auto show has a long and rich history in Detroit, and is likely to see a new boom of visitors this year due to the new resurgence of the auto industry. The show has been held at the same center for quite a long time, although recently it was in danger of being moved elsewhere. The Cobo Center had suffered some damage back in 2009, and automakers suggested moving the show. Many automakers did not even bother to bring displays that year. But the center was repaired and many of those automakers have since returned to the Detroit auto show.
The auto show this year is likely to feature a myriad of sensible cars- mostly sedans, hybrids, compact cars and safety-focused SUVs. Many industry insiders remember when the auto show was synonymous with lavish displays and wild, daring, and impractical vehicles. GM will be presenting the new compact Buick Encore crossover sport utility vehicle, and the other automakers coming to the show are also likely to be sporting a few smaller vehicles.
It is expected that Toyota will be emphasizing its propulsion systems this year after that scare where people were accusing Toyota after problems with unintended accelerations. Toyota will likely be trying to show off the safety of their vehicles in order to calm customers down.
Automakers like GM are looking forward to another year at the show, where they can display all the hard work they’ve been doing over the past year and sometimes even longer. GM is proud to be able to show off a myriad of excellent vehicles this year, and is showing that they know how to enhance safety with new features like the front center airbag and the single crash avoidance camera that will be made available on the Terrain! If you would like more information about getting a new GMC vehicle, please visit our contact us page or call 888-306-19080!
The Auto Industry in 2012
With the new year finally hitting and 2011 being put behind us, its time to start thinking about the state of the auto industry in 2012. Most financial institutions categorize their earnings by yearly profits which means the new year brings about a clean earnings slate. Starting fresh in 2012 could mean either good or bad things for consumers this year!
With the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan back in march, many Japanese automakers and automakers with overseas plants in Japan, like Toyota, were hit hard financially. It’s no wonder they’re going to be a little more cautious with their funds this year to make up for the past damage.
Yet even though disaster struck all around in the auto industry last year, most analysts estimate that the overall 2011 sales gain is going to be a record profit increase since 2008. In fact, the auto market is showing many signs of recovery. It is estimated that in 2012 the auto industry is likely to see sales that will match the normalcy before the recession started!
And luckily enough, experts are seeing that the American automakers based out of Detroit, like GM, are seeing some of the biggest increases in sales and are likely to continue to do so throughout the new year. GM is even set in just the right position to retake the title of the world’s largest volume automaker away from Toyota. Analysts even project that Toyota’s volume may fall below fourth place.
It seems that in 2012 the new trend is going to be a massive shift into electrical vehicles. Electric vehicles and hybrids have been around for quite some time now, but they have been slow moving and have not been picking up like industry experts had previously expected them to. But this year more and more auto makers are switching to electric, or at least introducing new electric and hybrid vehicles which leads many to believe that electric cars will be popular this year.
Some private companies have taken the initiative to bolster the move to electric by attempting to build a national network of electrical vehicle charging stations. The program has been helped along with funding of more than one hundred thirty million from federal stimulus money combined with grants from the Energy Department. The goal is to provide free car chargers to those who purchase vehicles that run on electric and also to set up stations for public charging in public areas and workplaces.
But we come in to 2012 and the new electric vehicles knowing that 2011 was an interesting year. Despite the disasters that occurred the auto industry suffered only minutely. At the end of the year the auto industry saw sales in the month of December that were up so high they rivaled the spike of sales caused back in 2009 by the Cash for Clunkers program. GM looks forward to providing millions more Americans with great new 2012 vehicles as we ring in the new year. At Scott McCorkle’s Liberty Buick GMC we want to help you get a new GMC vehicle this year! For more information please visit our contact us page or call 888-306-1908!
New Two Hundred Million Dollar Stamping Facility in Texas
General Motors is excited to announce that they will be beginning production on a new stamping facility in Texas that is estimated to bring in about one hundred and eighty new jobs. The new facility will be a part of the company’s Arlington manufacturing complex, and is estimated to cost around two hundred million dollars. The facility is being built for the purpose of producing large stamping components that will be needed to continue the newest remodels of great GM vehicles like the GMC Yukon!
“Our investment in GM’s Arlington plant is one more example of GM strengthening the economy and creating jobs throughout the many U.S. communities where GM does business,” said GM Manufacturing Manager Larry Zahner.
As of right now, these vehicles receive their stamping components from GM plants outside of Arlington. Some of these components even come to Arlington from over one thousand miles away. General Motors is expecting that the new facility will be finished by 2013 and if it does it will be a great new asset for the company.
It may seem like a two hundred million dollar facility is a little extravagant if all it will be doing is building these components, but in actuality this new facility could be a lifesaver for General Motors. The production of this facility could save the company around forty million dollars a year that is otherwise spent on the logistics of having these components brought in from other plants. In a matter of only five years the facility will pay for itself. And the facility is not a new project by itself. The facility is actually just a part of the three hundred thirty one million investment that was announced last May. The investment was intended for the purchasing of tools and equipment and the expansion of the Arlington plant. This expansion has not only seen the expansion on higher profitability of the Arlington Assembly Plant but has also created around one hundred new jobs for the plant.
“Today’s announcement is further evidence that the U.S. auto industry is back. An important goal for the UAW is to increase the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States and we are pleased that General Motors has decided to make this investment in Arlington,” said Joe Ashton, vice president of the UAW representing the GM department. “We look forward to more good news in 2012 as our workers continue to build the world’s best vehicles.”
This investment is a landmark for General Motors in the year 2012. This will be the first manufacturing investment that GM will undertake in the year 2012. in the last few years General Motors has been setting its sights high on the path to reinvesting in the company. Since 2009 they have spent almost seven billion dollars in revamping the production operations of facilities in twelve states. This has led to the production of almost eighteen thousand jobs.
“This investment is possible because of the teamwork among GM, the UAW, the Arlington community and the great State of Texas,” said Zahner. “We truly appreciate the support we have enjoyed from the Arlington community over the years.”
If you are interested in supporting GM’s efforts to produce its vehicles cost effectively, saving customers money, then please visit our contact us page to see how we can get you in a brand new Buick or GMC vehicle!
How To Park Your Truck
Oh that’s right. There’s actually way to park your truck, or a large vehicle. Parking decks, lots and spaces are getting smaller and smaller. Many are designated “compact only.” And still the spaces that aren’t designated compact can be difficult park in. Most urban areas have become more congested than ever before and with heavy traffic quickly stacking up behind you, it’s important to be able to park correctly…..quickly.
And don’t under estimate the correct part. Parking correctly can save thousands of dollars. Most of the body damage that cars accumulate over the life of a vehicle come from small dings, scratches and scraps that come from close parking of other cars. Most people in a hurry can easily open a car door and do some pretty serious damage – especially if they’re in a hurry and put some power behind their push. Busy shoppers often back out of spaces in a hurry too. If you haven’t pulled up far enough in a space, you’re far more likely to get that back end ding that comes from drivers who hit the gas first and unfortunately, looked second.
Right or wrong it happens. The important thing is prevention. Why fume over the inconsiderate actions of others when you have the chance to prevent the damage in the first place? Here are a few tips to consider.
Almost every vehicle turns only at the front, so the back doesn’t move much in a new direction until the front swings around pretty far to redirect it. It’s very important to line up the back of a long vehicle before you pull into a space. Only swing it out as you finish backing out, in order not to drag it against or obstruct the side of its neighbor. So, you have to first overshoot with the front end to pull the back end more or less in place, then align the front end and pull in. Also watch where you swing the front end, particularly if it sticks out far, and as you back out, glance back at it often.
When you’re driving down a row of parking and you find a space, pull up directly behind the vehicle in the space beside it or if the space beside your chosen space is vacate, pull straight up to that spot. Now, turn your wheels to the left and back up, being careful of the cars behind you. This should position you so that when you turn your wheels back you will be positioned directly in front of the space that you wish to park your truck.
Always check after you’ve parked to make sure that you aren’t over the line on either side. It helps if you have a passenger to ask them to look out the passenger side and make sure you can see the line on that side as well, before you turn off the truck.
Of course, we’ve left off the most important step. Start by purchasing and owning a great truck or vehicle. Larger vehicles and trucks are popular for a reason! Have towing capacity on hand every day for light jobs or big moves. Be ready for a camping trip or a quick weekend off with family or friends. If you don’t have a great truck or vehicle don’t stay parked on the sidelines! Call your dealer today!
