KAMPANYE GENCAR SI PINTAR

Bocoran desain masih dalam sketsa

muncul di tengah-tengah kejuaraan gambarnya pun hanya dalam bola voli pantai di Timmendorfer sketsa. Penasaran ya? Jadi, untuk sementara mau tahu mengapa mobil imut ini smart (pintar)? Isu kian pa­datnya lahan parkir ru­panya jadi awal perhatian utama smart GmbH. Produk perusahaan yang bernaung dalam grup DaimlerChrysler ini pun enggak jauh dari urusan efisiensi lahan parkir.

Setelah sukses dengan beberapa varian smart, seperti fortwo, roadster dan forfour, ki­ni pabrikan yang bermarkas di Boblingen, Jerman ini meluncurkan model anyar fortwo.

Selanjutnya...

The Best Used Cars

JULY 5, 2006

Autos

By Matt Vella

Certified pre-owned programs offer as-good-as-new cars for less. No wonder they now account for 41% of all used-car sales

Used car salesmen may have a bad reputation, but that sure doesn't seem to keep U.S. consumers from buying used cars. In 2004, we bought 13.6 million new cars and light trucks and leased 3.3 million new cars and light trucks—but went home with 42.5 million used cars and light trucks, an increase of just under 12% from 1990, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

But these days, used cars are better than ever, thanks to certified preowned, or CPO, programs, which were created by auto makers to resell cars coming off lease. The manufacturer cleans and inspects each car, slaps on a warranty comparable to one found on a new car, and sells it at a premium—although still for much less than the cost of a new car.

Best of all, for the manufacturer and dealer at least, these CPO cars can only be sold, not leased, so they put no drag on inventory.

Introduced in the 1980s, CPO programs have proved so popular that a study by J.D. Power & Associates stated that, by 2005, they accounted for 41% of all used-car dealership sales, an increase of 4% over the previous year.

WEAK ECONOMY HELPS. To get an idea of the numbers: As of last month, year-to-date CPO sales were up 2% at General Motors (GM), where slowdowns at Saturn and Saab were offset by growth at Cadillac and Hummer. Sales also rose 7.8% at Mercedes-Benz, 14% at Chrysler Group, 23% at BMW, and 105.6% at Toyota (TM), exclusive of Lexus.

Read the full story...

Ali Aydin Pandir : tepati janjimu!

SATU-SATUNYA ORANG TURKI YANG 'PUNYA JABATAN' DI GENERAL MOTORS. TUGASNYA : MEMBUAT NAMA CHEVROLET KEMBALI BERSINAR DI INDONESIA.
(Motor Trend Indonesia - Oktober 2006)

PUNDAKNYA MEMIKUL tanggungjawabberat kelangsungan hidup pabrikan mobil terbesar di dunia, General Motors, di Indonesia. Pria kelahiran Istanbul, 50 tahun silam ini baru menggawangi GM Indonesia sejak akhir tahun lalu. Tapi, is sudah siap dengan sederet program untuk mendongkrak posisi Chevrolet di pasar otomotif nasional. Mulai peluncuran model-model terbaru seperti Estate dan Kalos, hingga program spin-off untuk mendorong merek Chevrolet menggantikan nama GM yang kurang populer di sini. Ia juga siap meneruskan euforia Blazer yang sempat kondang di segmen SUV di sini dengan Chevy Captiva, dan akan menawarkan sensasi big American pick-up melalui Colorado. Dialah Ali Aydin Pandir, President Director PT GM Indonesia.

Pemegang gelar MSc dalam bidang Mechanical Engineering dari Technical University of Istanbul ini juga mengemukakan rencana GM untuk membuat mobil kelas entry level seharga Rp60jutaan bagi mereka yang ingin naik kelas dari sepeda motor. Kepada kami, pria penyuka seafood dan penggemar olahraga bersepeda ini meluangkan waktunya secara khusus.

Baca lanjutanya...

Cadillac is going to South Africa

GM's Cadillac brand will open for business in South Africa early next year, the company announced on Wednesday. The launch of the brand will begin with three vehicles-the European-bred BLS sedan (based on the Saab 9-3), the SRX crossover, and the STS sedan. GM says it's heading to the country because "South Africa is one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world, and with our distinct portfolio of luxury vehicles, Cadillac is ready to further its expansion on the African continent." Cadillac is trying to expand its brand name globally and is pushing big sales increases in places like Europe and China.

www.thecarconnection.com
GM fastlane BLOG

The Hummer H3 is going Global

I’m writing from Port Elizabeth, the heartland of South Africa’s motor industry, where we’ve just launched production of the Hummer H3, to be exported around the world.

Until now, the H3 has only been available in North America. This launch will bring the H3 to Europe, Asia and Latin America before the end of 2006, and to South Africa and right-hand drive countries like Britain next year.

Continue reading "H3 Goes Global"...

By Ed Welburn
GM Vice President, Global Design

Chevy WTCC Concept at the Paris Scow

General Motors' Chevrolet brand is one of Europe's fastest-growing nameplates, targeting Europe's younger, more price-sensitive buyers. The WTCC Concept suggests they don't have to settle for econoboxes. Short for World Touring Car Concept, this bold 4x4 "signals our intent to add more emotional design to Chevrolet in Europe," explained Dave Lyons. He's GM's head of design in Asia, where the WTCC originated - though Chevy may be the classic American brand, European Chevrolets are from Korea . Lean and muscular, the goal is to give a new interpretation to the classic rally car proportions. There are no immediate plans to produce a version of the WTCC.

GM quality ?

Here's another problem. GM's quality is much better. In some cases it’s better than the Japanese companies like Nissan and Subaru that coast on a great reputation even when their cars turn up glitches. But GM has, at best, reached parity in quality with chief rivals Toyota and Honda. And in long-term testing, which measures cars made three to five years ago, GM still isn’t on par with those two vaunted carmakers.

GM has been climbing up J.D. Power's initial quality rankings for about five years. Warranty costs have fallen 40% during that time, says sales GM sales boss Mark LaNeve. But consumer surveys show that buyers still think GM ranks near the bottom in quality. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said at the press conference that the perception gap is still a big challenge.

Read the full story...

Because We Can

September 06, 2006

Because We Can

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

As I hinted last week, we have a major consumer initiative coming to light this afternoon. GM Chairman/CEO Rick Wagoner today is announcing that GM, beginning with the 2007 model year, is expanding its powertrain warranty in the United States and Canada to five years or 100,000 miles.

The warranty is completely transferable...

Read the complete article...

"Hotwheels"-style concept from Chevrolet : WTCC Ultra

The latest Chevy concept to be presented at the Paris Motor Show

The trend is "toys". Following the Barbie Beetle from VW, now the Hotwheels Chevy. This is a concept prepared for the Paris Auto Show.

Read the full article at leblogauto.com...

Next stop... Cadillac masuk Indonesia ?

GM Exporting Caddy to South Africa

General Motors Corp. will begin exporting Cadillacs to South Africa in the fourth quarter, along with a small number of Cadillac models to Australia in late 2007. The vehicles exported to South Africa will hail from the GM assembly plant in Lansing, Mich., and will be outfitted with right-hand drive to comply with South African regulations.

Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager, said the push comes as part of Cadillac's continuing effort to build up its sales in markets in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in the world. The effort will require patience, he said. Nevertheless, Cadillac sales in China, where GM started selling its luxury brand in 2005, have more than doubled this year. Taylor added Cadillac sales in Russia also have picked up significantly this year.

Taylor said GM is making a concerted effort to re-establish Cadillac as a global brand. European luxury brands are now all over the world and Japanese luxury brands, such as Lexus and Infiniti, also have been expanding into new markets. Cadillac's expansion into South Africa is being helped by GM's decision to build a South African assembly plant for right-hand versions of the HUMMER H3, he said. New Cadillac dealerships in South Africa have showrooms for selling HUMMERs as part of GM's strategy to sell both Cadillacs and HUMMERs in the same dealerships outside of North America, Taylor said.

Joe Szczesny (the carconnection.com)

Chevy launches 2007 Aveo sedan in the US (Kalos in Indonesia)

During a webcast that will begin shortly, Chevy GM Ed Peper will officially launch the new 2007 Chevy Aveo sedan for the US market. (The car's page is already up at the Chevy website, if you're interested in checking out the specs in detail.)

The new Aveo gets a dose of panache with a restyle that bestows some chunky good looks on Chevy's low-priced econocruiser. The beefy nose, with it's raised, V-shaped center section is very evocative of the VW/Audi look out there today -- this is not a bad thing at all. The lower fascia gives the car a mildly aggressive appearance, with nicely integrated foglights available as an option.

Read the full article...

Getting Juicy with Fallon and Senn

The Fallon Worldwide ad agency founders talk about their new book, Juicing the Orange, and how to jump-start creativity
Juicing the Orange is all about advertising strategies. But they seem like strategies that execs could apply to any number of business problems.
Fallon: When Fred and I started this project, we didn't want it to just be relevant for the ad community. The goal was to present ways to attack ideas and think about creativity.

We were in Seattle recently and gave readings at both Microsoft (MSFT) and Starbucks (SBUX). We were surprised pleasantly when people came up to us from their HR and production departments and said: "we can apply your principles to our disciplines right now."

The full article...

Suzuki Plots Expansion

Suzuki Motor Corp. is planning to build a new $500 million factory in Japan and expand production in places such as Hungary and India to cash in on the rising demand for fuel-efficient, small cars created by soaring global gasoline prices.

"Strong sales of Swift, SX4 and Grand Vitara in Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania, etc. has caused significant backorders, and thus constant request for increasing production from all over the world,'' Suzuki said in statement announcing the plans.

The company also said it expects sales to top 3 trillion yen or about $26.1 billion in the coming fiscal year.

The new plant, the first the company has built in Japan in 25 years, is expected to start operations in late 2008 with a capacity of about 240,000 vehicles a year. The project will boost Suzuki's production capacity to about 3 million units annually. Demand for small cars is being fueled not only by high gasoline prices but also by Suzuki's broadened alliance with Nissan Motor Co. Suzuki supplies Nissan with minicars with engines of less than one liter, which are popular in Japan because they get tax breaks.

Suzuki also said it is planning to increase production in Hungary, India and Pakistan. Output at the Hungary plant will rise to 300,000 units a year by 2008, from 160,000 now, while production in India is seen climbing to 960,000 vehicles by 2009, from 630,000. In Pakistan, Suzuki plans to raise output to 170,000 units by 2009, from 110,000 now.

Joe Szczesny (www.thecarconnection.com)

GM : Latest Models

Most Satisfying Cars 2006

Vehicles Feature Forbes, Dan Lienert, 08.08.06, 12:01 AM ET

Mini Cooper drivers like to name their cars. If a buyer enters his or her car's name in the "Owners' Lounge" section of Mini's Web site, both owner and car will be addressed by name when they come into the dealership--but that's not the cause of the naming craze. "Customers treat their Minis like their pets,"

Read the full article...

Robert Manurung : Jatropha Curcas oil as biodiesel

Robert Manurung: Inventor of renewable green fuel

T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

There is good news and bad news about research development in Indonesia. First, the bad news is that Indonesia often lags behind other countries. And now, the good news: An Indonesian researcher has applied pure jatropha oil as an alternative bio-diesel fuel.

The oil, which is produced from castor oil plants or Jatropha curcas, locally known as jarak pagar, is environmentally friendly and cheaper than fossil fuel, thanks to the hard work of Robert Manurung and his team at the Biotechnology Research Center, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Read the Story at the Jakarta Post

General Motors Hadirkan Chevrolet Kalos

Jakarta, KCM - Beberapa hari menjelang berlangsungnya International Motor Show 2006, PT General Motors Indonesia mengungkap produk unggulan yang akan dipasarkan pada pameran otomotif terbesar tanah air itu.

Bertempat di Hotel FourSeasons Jakarta, Selasa (18/7), GMI memperkenalkan kendaraan small sedan bernama Chevrolet Kalos kepada para wartawan media cetak dan elektronik Ibukota.

Kalos sebenarnya sudah pernah diluncurkan di Shanghai Motor Show 2005, namun sedan kompak yang diimpor dari Thailand itu baru masuk ke Indonesia pada tahun ini.

Baca Lengkap...

custom products and customizable experiences

"Nike's Riley on the World of "Custom" Today: As consumers start to expect custom products and customizable experiences how should product design evolve to provide relevant executions that engage consumers' desires? Everything from design flexibility, one-off manufacturing, streamlined distribution and consumer interaction will need to be analyzed and revolutionized. We are approaching the era where the consumer truly decides what form, what features and what aesthetic their individual product will embody—not the designer, not the brand planners, not the marketing team and definitely not the focus group. The Microsoft/IDSA Designer Spotlight Series presents Ray Riley, IDSA, senior director of advanced innovation for Nike's Global Footwear Division, Wednesday, July 19, at 1:00 pm ET. This session will be an open ended exploration of the world of custom today, the possibilities for tomorrow and the rules that will need to be broken to get there.



Co-authoring at Philips

According to Green, the conventional industrial model is under increasing pressure and will ultimately no longer be able to sustain itself. This creates a whole new set of challenges for companies like Philips. People are becoming more empowered, and want to 'co-author' by demanding a greater say in the products and services they choose. How do you cater for this sea of change?

Philips does so by regarding people not as consumers of technology, but rather as living side-by-side with it. "Our focus is to understand people's everyday lives rather than letting technological roadmaps dominate the direction of future developments," says Stefanie Un, Senior Research Consultant at Philips Design in Eindhoven.

Design control : Companies that "get it"

As customers become producers and take more and more control of the design of their products and services, the revolution (and make no mistake, it is a serious change in power and that is a revolution) they are generating is bound to unnerve those on the losing end. Companies that "get it" and begin to integrate consumer input into the actual making of stuff and experiences will find enormous opportunites. Those that don't will lose and get mad.

Check out some of the Blogs :
Buzzmachine Blog
Businessweek design : Crowdsourcing
Philips : Making the future more tangible

Quoted from :
Businessweek : Nussbaum on design, July 19 2006

GM to enter alliance talks with Renault and Nissan

GM to enter alliance talks with Renault and Nissan

(Monday, July 10, 2006) General Motors will enter "exploratory discussions" with Renault-Nissan on a potential alliance, the U.S. automaker said Friday following a board meeting. GM cautioned the discussions were preliminary and non-binding and that implementing its massive restructuring program remained the automaker’s "top priority" French car maker Renault welcomed GM's decision to discuss the possible alliance first proposed last week by the U.S. automaker's largest private shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp.

"Following GM's board decision, we look forward to starting the discussion process soon," Renault said in a statement issued in Paris. GM chief executive officer Rick Wagoner will lead the discussions and has already arranged to meet with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive officer of Renault-Nissan, the American automaker said. 'We periodically receive interesting proposals and we owe it to the company and its shareholders to explore how they might work, and to objectively weigh the potential benefits and issues that each might present.' Wagoner said in a statement. "That is exactly what we recommended to the GM board in this specific case, and exactly what it has agreed we should do" Wagoner contacted Ghosn before the proposed alliance was made public June 30, a GM spokeswoman told AFP. although she would not confirm reports that a meeting was set for July 14. Reports have circulated in Detroit that Wagoner and other GM top executives are opposed to the idea of a merger, despite the interest expressed by Renault-Nissan and the warm welcome issued by the stock market.

Hints of caution were evident in Wagoner's statement. "Given the complexity of any potential relationship, it has to be carefully considered on its merits before coming to any conclusion. We are committed to an objective and thorough review of that potential," he said. "We will enter into discussions with the managements of Renault and Nissan with an open mind - eager to hear their ideas of how an alliance between our companies might work to our mutual benefit." Tracinda issued a statement which belied some doubts as to Wagoner's openness to the deal. These talks are "a good first step," Tracinda said in a statement. "but a full and objective evaluation of this unique opportunity will require establishment of a board committee that receives independent financial and legal advice."

While news of the potential alliance has given GM shares a massive boost last week, some analysts said it may not result in long-term gains. Dennis Virag, head of the Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said GM's decision to study the proposal was prudent. "They have a fiduciary duty to look at the proposal," he said. "But in the end I don’t see those two getting together They're both troubled companies in a way. They both have significant internal problems they have to address before they take on outside issues" General Motors remains focused on implementing a massive restructuring program that involves the shuttering of 12 plants and the elimination of 30,000 jobs. Wagoner is battling to restructure the U.S. car giant following its loss of US$10.6 billion last year.

Joseph Szczesny, Agence France-Presse (Detroit, Michigan)

Chevrolet Europe : results 1st Half 2006 (Fr)

Chevrolet Europe: bilan semestriel

Par Patrick Garcia le 9 juillet 2006 | (2) Commentaires | Permalink

Chevrolet Europe dont tout le monde sait (ou devrait savoir) que les productions proviennent de feue Daewoo (constructeur coréen moribond repris par General Motors) continue sa progression en inscrivant un record de ventes sur les 6 premiers mois de l'année. Avec une hausse de 11.2% par rapport à la même période 2005, Chevrolet vient d'atteindre les 1.42 % de parts de marché (1.33 en 2005) en Europe. Une progression qui s'explique par la multiplication des points de vente (2000 à ce jour) et une politique tarifaire agressive bien dans la continuité du précédent logo. la nouvelle génération de voitures débarquant à peine, les records devraient s'aligner sur les feuilles comptables encore quelques années.

Ce sont 160.732 véhicules qui ont été vendus de Janvier à Juin 2006. Dans ce chiffre est inclus 19.548 automobiles produites par Avtovaz GM pour le marché russe (le marché européen incluant la Russie) et aussi 546 véhicules issus des lignes de production américaines.

Il faut noter que ce pays, paradoxalement avide de logos américains, réalise des scores importants. 44.760 Chevrolet y ont trouvé preneurs durant les 6 premiers mois de l'année, le tout représentant 4.9 % du marché local.

Les autres pays adeptes du Chevrolet coréen sont l'Italie (20.487 autos: +23.3 %), l'Espagne (15.028 autos: +10.6 %) et la Grèce où la marque occupe 2.2 % du parc de voitures neuves.

Etonnament, la France résiste malgré l'engouement latin manifeste. Les Chevrolet Captiva et Epica Diesel devraient inverser la tendance assez rapidement.

Chevy Captiva Test : Part 4 - Each market its catalogue

Essai Chevrolet Captiva (4) : à chaque marché son catalogue

Par Olivier Duquesne le 4 juillet 2006

Link :
http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/07/essai_chevrolet.html#more

GM Daewo Tuntut Chery Auto

GM Daewo Tuntut Chery Auto
Jumat, 13 Mei 2005

PERUSAHAAN mobil raksasa AS, GM (General Motor) pemilik GM Daewo (Korea) secara resmi awal pekan ini (9/5) mengajukan tuntutan pada perusahaan industri mobil Cina, Chery Automobile di pengadilan Beijing, ibu kota RRC atas tuduhan penjiplakan mobil Daewo Matiz dan Chevrolet Spark oleh Chery Automobile dengan nama Chery QQ yang dilakukan tahun 2004 lalu. GM Daewo menurut Fox News menuntut Chery Auto membayar ganti rugi sebesar 6 juta dolar AS (50.000 yuan) atas penjiplakan secara keseluruhan bentuk luar dan dalam Chery QQ yang ibarat fotokopi Daewo Matiz dan Chevrolet Spark. Menurut Jubir GM Daewo, hampir 80% komponen Chery QQ bisa dipasang di Daewo Matiz.

(bk/fox news) ***


Foto

MENCOBA BAHAN BAKAR PENGUNDANG LAPAR

Preview Jatropha Expedition
(Majalah "Otomotif")

Kok, seperti bau gorengan? Wah, kalau begini sih, seperti bau ikan asin! Begitulah komentar orang-orang yang sempat mencium asap yang keluar dari knalpot Mitsubishi L200 Strada yang berbahan bakar minyak dari biji Jarak (Jatropha Curcas), pada Inter­city Trial, Jakarta-Bandung-Jakarta hari Kamis, (22/6) lalu. OTOMOTIF menjajal kendaraan berbahan bakar pengundang lapar ini.

TES AKSELERASI

Sebenarnya Intercity Trial ini me­rupakan langkah awal dari ekspedisi yang akan dilakukan pada tanggal pada mesin diesel stasioner (generator) dan traktor (low speed engine), kali ini akan dicoba pada mesin mobil yang putarannya cukup tinggi. Langsung pada tunggangan dengan bahan bakar 100% minyak jarak, OTOMOTIF sempat melakukan pengujian 'kecil-kecilan' dengan membejek pedal gas di lintasan tol Cipularang. Terasa, ada perbedaan pada putaran menengahnya, tarikan lebih enteng ketika putaran mesin berada di kisaran 2.500-3.200 rpm. Ternyata memang, hal ini juga dibuktikan dengan hasil uji di dynamometer yang menghasilkan grafik dengan bandwidth tenaga maupun torsi lebih besar di putaran segitu. Padahal, mesin tak perlu dilakukan perubahan, kecuali menamBAHKAN bahkan tangki untuk Jatropha serta konverter dan mikrokomputer

Tak ada perbedaan dengan diesel biasa

12-20 Juli nanti. Melalui rute Atambua, Nusa Tenggara Timur, hingga berakhir di Jakarta. Rencananya, be­berapa mobil akan diuji dengan menggunakan komposisi bahan bakar 100% minyak jarak, 50:50 (minyak jarak:solar) dan 100% solar.

Nah, dengan jarak tempuh 325 km, bolak-balik Jakarta-Bandung, merupakan 'simulasi' akan proses pe­ngujian nantinya. Jadi, semua pengu­jian, baik kecepatan serta performa pada mobil akan diukur. Termasuk konsumsi bahan bakar hingga peng­ujian kebisingan suara yang dihasilkan oleh mesin dengan bahan bakar yang berbeda tadi. Menurut DR Robert Manurung dari Institut Teknologi Bandung yang me­nemukan membran untuk memeras biji jarak menjadi minyak mengatakan, minyak jarak ini sudah pernah dipakai ­untuk mengubah aliran bahan bakar dari solar ke minyak jarak. Maklum, ketika mobil pertama kali dinyalakan mesin perlu 'dipancing' mengguna­kan solar terlebih dulu.

Begitu mesin menyala, sirkulasi pendingin mesin (ra­diator) digunakan sebagai pemanas untuk minyak jarak yang akan digunakan berikutnya. Begitu sudah panas, minyak jarak pun mengganti­kan solar sebagai 'minuman' mesin. Selain speed test di jalan tol, ada juga uji coba yang melibatkan peralatan khusus. Kali ini Vericom VC3000 dipa­kai untuk mengukur akse­lerasi. Baik mobil dengan ba­han bakar murni minyak jarak, 50 persen solar maupun full solar. Tentunya, hasil lebih lengkap bakal dimuat di tab­loid kesayangan Anda ini setelah Jatropha Expedition dilakukan nanti. Wuzz...,

jangan heran kalau setelah disalip Anda pengin makan!

• Ben Otomotif benny@gramedia-majalah.com

Chevy Captiva : Geneva or Jakarta Motor Show ????

Is this possible...? An image already from the Jakarta International Auto Show...?

We will have to see at the end of July, won't we?








Chevy Captiva : Specifications (UK)

Captiva Testdrive with Seven on board

We could have brought the bicycles with us to do a bit of cycling along the way. But we had preferred it more traditional, a picnic. this choice was made to enable us to evaluate the cars flexibility with respect to the use of the rear seating as a dining area . we did not do this purely from professional considerations but also due to the somber weather forecast which caused us to cancel previous plans.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, we had the opportunity to better check out the possibilities offered to the occupants of the second row. After the weather cleared we tried out all the different seating arrangements possible.



Read the full story (in French)

GM Daewoo Boosts Production

South Korea's third-largest automaker GM Daewoo has started two-shift operations at its second plant in Bupyong near Seoul to meet rising demand for its first sport-utility vehicle, the Winstorm, and its mid-size Tosca passenger car.

The two-shift operations, coming after the rehiring of the automaker's fired workers, signals that the automaker is on the right track now following GM's takeover of then-bankrupt Daewoo Motor in October 2002.

The daily production capacity of Bupyong's second plant will rise to 620 units from 310 units as the automaker is trying to meet rising sales in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific countries and the Middle East.

The SUV will be sold overseas as the "Captiva" by Chevrolet and Holden. With CKDs to ChinaMiddle East counted, GM Daewoo exports more than 90 percent of its vehicles. and the

This year, GM Daewoo expects to sell a total of 1.5 million vehicles from last year's 1.15 million in 2005.

Bupyong's second plant has been on one-shift operations since August 1999 while other plants, including those in Gunsan, Changwon and Bupyong's number-one plant in South Korea, have been on two-shift operations.

- Peter Chang at www.thecarconnection.com -

Testing the Chevy Captiva : Diesel's latest Glory

We have been waiting for it, and here it finally is :
A diesel engine in a Chevrolet. Everything comes to those that wait. But it certainly was about time.

GM developed a totally new engine for this Korean. It exists of a second generation, 4-cylinder, common rail diesel of the same generation as the second generation variable geometry turbo. Production started in March this year in Gunsan, South-Korea.

Original text (French)...
If you are interested in a further translation of the original text, don't hesitate to leave me a comment.

The 24hrs of Lemans : The Corvette myth

Sunday 18 june 2006 - 17h28
2004, 2005, 2006... Corvette doesn't stop to decisively conquer the laurels at the 24 Hours of LeMans.

To read the full article ...

Chevy Captiva telah tiba (Bahasa Perancis)

Atterrissage à Poprad, en Slovaquie, pour découvrir la Chevrolet Captiva en mettant le cap sur Zakopane en Pologne. La grande nouveauté avec cette voiture, ce n’est pas tant l’arrivée d’un SUV dans la gamme, mais plutôt celle du premier moteur Diesel pour le constructeur. Enfin ! Il s’agit d’un moteur à injection directe par rampe commune d’une cylindrée de 2.0 litres avec une puissance de 150 chevaux. Ceci dit, en présentant un véhicule de loisirs, Chevrolet s'attaque à une clientèle qui n'aurait jamais poussé les portes d'un showroom Daewoo.

Continue...

Chevy Concept : Outdoing Aston?

Chevrolet Indonesia





Is this in answer to the Aston Martin or the Maserati Quattroporte?
One thing is sure, this baby could most definitely get people excited.

Captiva : Some more pics

indofastlane
The Chevy Captiva :
When you open the bonnet,its diesel engine would look like this :

Chevrolet Captiva : List Price (Holland)

indofastlane


Chevrolet Captiva: Listprice (Europe)


Quoted from Patrick Garcia (Translated by SV) , 22 May2006



Reading certain comments following the long-awaited appearance of the Chevrolet Captiva gives the impression that the excitement generated is real. This is even more emphasized since the unveiling of its close relative the Opel Antara caused far less of a stirr. For everyone who already started drooling at the presentation of the Korea-American SUV, following are tthe quoted listprices for Europe :

In both 2 and 4-wheel drive the Captiva is available in 2 engine configurations. A 150HP diesel engine (A 4-cylinder 2.0L Turbo-diesel) and a 230HP V6 gasoline-powered alternative. two different finishing styles are available : The LS, the base model and the luxury model, the LT. Note the 7-seat configuration of the Comfort Pack as well as automatic transmission and parking sensors.


-Captiva 2.0 VCDI LS : 25 900 €

-Captiva 2.0 VCDI LS Pack : 28 900 € (LS+4WD, ESP, 17" wheels)

-Captiva 2.0 VCDI LT : 30 750 € (LS Pack+Automatic windshield wipers and foglights, On-board computer…)

-Captiva 2.0 VCDI LT Pack : 33 900 € (LT+ 6-disc CD changer, Electric heated leather seats…)

-Captiva 3.2 V6 LT Pack : 36 900 €

http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/05/chevrolet_capti.html#more

Drifting Aveo !?!

indofastlane

Drifting -– the art of defying a car’s traction into a controlled slide sideways around corners at breakneck speeds -– is still below the radar for a lot of Americans, but the sport continues to grow nonetheless. Sound confusing? Take a look at this.

Tracing its origins back to underground races on Japan’s winding mountain roads in the 1960s, drifting was a full-fledged and heavily funded motorsport in Japan by the 1980s. It arrived in the United States in the late 1990s, and has been gaining in popularity ever since, boosted by the cult following of the Japanese Manga/Anime series Initial D. This summer, American movie-going audiences will get hit with a full dose of the drifting phenomenon with the third installment of The Fast and The Furious trilogy, subtitled Tokyo Drift.

Continue reading "Drifting Champ’s Hot New Ride? The Pontiac Solstice GXP"

Quoted from "fastlane", GM Vice-President Bob Lutz's Blog

World Keeps Getting Bigger for Chevrolet

By Dee Allen
Chevrolet Indonesia
indofastlane

Staff Director Global Product & Brand Communications Integration

Say “Chevrolet” in the United States, and people think of everything from a turquoise and white 1957 Bel Air to a 2006 Corvette Z06; from a heavy duty Silverado to an Aveo. What most people don’t think of is Chevrolet’s global expansion: in China (up 180 percent in first-quarter 2006), Venezuela (up 57 percent), Italy (up 33 percent) and Brazil (up 26.8 percent).

How is Chevrolet doing it? With great cars and trucks designed and manufactured around the world – in Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Russia, Mexico, the United States and elsewhere. An especially big boost has come from Chevrolets manufactured in South Korea at GM Daewoo. There, Chevrolets such as the Aveo, Matiz and Epica have made GM Daewoo the second-largest Korean auto manufacturer in April and contributed to a 27 percent increase in production in 2005.

Continue reading "World Keeps Getting Bigger for Chevrolet"

Quoted from the GM-Blog "Fastlane" : http://fastlane.gmblogs.com

In the US Nissan Dealers Still Getting REDI (Retail Environment Initiative)

In the US, Nissan Dealers Still Getting REDI

Nissan's initiative to bring a fresh image to its dealerships - to correspond with the brand's resurgence - is coming along, report Nissan

North America officials. Nationally, about half of Nissan's 1100 dealerships have decided to participate in the NREDI (Nissan Retail Environment Design Initiative) program; more than 300 of those facilities are complete, while another 250 are in the design stage. NREDI began in 2001, when brand-strategy and design experts at Lippincott Mercer were hired to help develop Nissan's global brand image. One of the main aims of the program was to give the dealership the same brand identity that was being projected through marketing and promotions. But it calls for a whole new layout for dealerships, not just cosmetic details. Under the new plan, the sales, service, and parts departments are fully integrated, with parts and service no longer out in back. Many dealers have opted to build new stores; an example is Cool Springs Nissan, an NREDI-completed dealership that will be less than two miles from Nissan's new national headquarters in Tennessee. Windows and open floor space are an important part of this initiative - customers can now see the service check-in area from the showroom, and the parts department is directly adjacent to the showroom. The program remains optional for dealers, with some money available from NNA, though most of the bill is footed by the dealerships themselves. Nissan says that NREDI dealerships are showing evidence that the formula works, though: in 2004, NREDI-completed dealerships showed an average 57 percent sales growth, versus 33 percent nationwide for the entire sales force.
-Bengt Halvorson (The carconnection)

Chevy reality show in Indonesia ?

Could a reality show be accomplished for Chevy in Indonesia?

The below-mentioned excerpt from "The carconnection" made me wonder if it would be possible to use the following idea to increase awareness of the Chevrolet brand in Indonesia. What if Chevy participated in a TV reality show in which participants work on developing concepts for modifying their favorite Chevy?

Capitalizing on a trend of not only reality TV, but also a practice becoming more common where advertisers offer to produce a program that is as much brand advertising as entertainment content and assume most of the production costs.

/The Fairway Gourmet/, which runs on PBS, will in its second season be produced by the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, and all the golf courses in next season's series of program will be in Hawaii. Unilever put together two specials built around its AXE Shower body wash: /The Gamekillers/ on MTV and /Exposing the Order of the Serpentine/ on SpikeTV. Going back further, Bob Vila's/Home Again/ series was produced by Sears and ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, and featured Sears Craftsman tools.

Captiva to muscle in on Ford's Territory ?

By Cameron McGavin
March 15, 2006

The Captiva was recently unveiled at the Geneva motor show and is expected to go on sale in Australia from the second half of the year.

As the photo shows, the production Captiva stays true to the theme established by the S3X concept car shown at last month's Melbourne motor show. Pricing, model line-up and final specifications are still some time off, but Holden has scratched out a basic picture.

For further info check out the Holden link : http://www.drive.com.au/click_thru/log_clickthru.asp?type=Editorial_masthead&address=/know

The Captiva is 4635 mm long, 1850 mm wide and 1720 mm tall - slightly smaller but well within shouting distance of its Ford competitor.

Power will come from a 3.2-litre version of the all-alloy Global V6 made in Melbourne and used in the Commodore, with drive sent to the ground via an active 4WD system that swaps between front- and all-wheel-drive, depending on conditions.

Like the Territory, the Captiva will be available with flexible seating for either five or seven occupants.

Holden says standard equipment and quality will be strong points, with electronic stability control part of the package.

The Captiva is a global vehicle for General Motors that will be built in Korea but Holden has had a big hand in its design and says it has been tested thoroughly in Australia to ensure it measures up to expectations.

Visit drive.com.au for all the latest motoring news and reviews.

Aveo : Modification

Modifikasi lagi. Kapan ada foto2 dengan modifikasi Indo? Untuk pameran Otomotif bulan Juli?

Aveo : Modifikasi

Aveo dengan Body kit

Chevy Optra : Modifikasi dari Filipina

Contoh modifikasi Chevy Optra dari teman2 di Filipina.

Bagaimana kalau kita mengadakan kompetisi modifikasi Chevy pada Pameran Mobil bulan Juli mendatang. Untuk Aveo, Spark, Optra, Blazer...

Chevy Zafira : Modification

Ini adalah hasil modifikasi dari Jerman

Chevy Captiva : would this be a viable argument for production in Indonesia?

Hybrids Lose Lifetime Energy Battle, Study Says

Hybrid advocates trumpet the environmental benefits of the gas-electric vehicles.

But a new study says that the overall energy picture for hybrid vehicles isn't as favorable as it seems. CNW Marketing Research, of Bandon, Ore., says that when the total cost of hybrids to the environment is calculated, including factors like recycling batteries into a "dollars per lifetime mile" figure, hybrids come up short against gas-powered vehicles.

CNW's energy cost per mile driven figured that the most "energy expensive" vehicle from 2005 is the Maybach at $11.58 per mile, while the Scion xB checks in at the bottom of the scale, at $0.48 a mile. Some hybrids, like the Honda Accord Hybrid, actually get higher lifetime costs than their gas counterparts: the Hybrid Accord has an energy cost per mile of $3.29 while the gas version's is $2.18. CNW accounts for the differences by citing the investments in lightweight materials along with the cost of recycling batteries.

Maybach : $11.58/Mile

Honda Accord (Hybrid) : $ 3.29

Honda Accord (Reg.) : $ 2.18

Honda Civic : $ 2.42

Hummer H3 : $ 1.95

Toyota Scion xB : $ 0.48

The auto industry as a whole, CNW says, has an average dollar per lifetime mile of $2.28; GM's HUMMER H3's figure was $1.949 per mile, lower than the Honda Civic at $2.42 a mile. "If a consumer is concerned about fuel economy because of family budgets or depleting oil supplies, it is perfectly logical to consider buying high-fuel-economy vehicles," says Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, Inc. "But if the concern is the broader issues such as environmental impact of energy usage, some high-mileage vehicles actually cost society more than conventional or even larger models over their lifetime."

Now, could we consider this a viable argument for seriously considering the production and further development of the Biodiesel-powered Chevy Captiva in Indonesia?

Could the diesel-powered Captiva mark the rebirth of Chevrolet in indonesia?

Based on a number of seemingly unrelated events in the past few months
I would like to launch the idea of a rebirth of the Chevrolet brand in
Indonesia under the name of the Chevrolet Captiva.

In the past few years, the condition of the planet have finally made
people re-evaluate their contribution to pollution and global warming.
After clearly visible effects to our environment, most visibly in
natural disasters such as the tsunami in Aceh, heavy rain and floods in
Europe and tornados in the US, just to mention a few. Even up to this
moment the intensity of nature's wrath does not show any sign of calming
down.

Due to the world-wide increase in fuelprices the Indonesian Government
finally decided, after long debate to raise the price at the pumps by
over 100%. This in order to reduce the heavy cost of gasoline subsidies
to the national budget. As a result of these fuelprice hikes in October
2005, national automotive sales received a heavy hit, with the no.1
automaker in the country, Toyota losing up to 40% in volume.

A few days ago, the Audi R10 demonstrated at Sebring that diesel-powered engines are an alternative to be considered and in no way inferior to gasoline-powered vehicles by winning the 12-hour endurance race at Sebring in preparation of the 24hours of Lemans.

In short, I would like to conclude that in looking for efficient,
environmentally friendly power, diesel is an alternative that deserves
serious consideration. Placing all this into the Indonesian context
results in an even stronger argument. Indonesia located on the equator
with its tropical climate and very fertile soil is begging to be made
into a powerhouse of biomass production. In the automotive context,
biodiesel presents itself as an efficient and a potentially very
lucrative option in answer to the above-mentioned issues. Tying this all
into the Chevrolet product line is the "Chevy Captiva" launched last
month at the Geneva auto show.

It has been heavily tested and researched locally that biodiesel is an
economically viable and very tempting alternative to diesel-fuel to
power personal vehicles. I would like to suggest the idea of
introducng the GM-developed Captiva in Indonesia as a base of
production for ASEAN and a launchingpad in presenting Chevrolet as a
global corporate citizen living up to its responsibility in promoting
environmental awareness in an economic attractive way. By presenting the
diesel-powered Captiva as the flag-bearer for the relaunch of the
Chevrolet brand as an economic quality name involved in the development
and sale of a fuel-efficient SUV operating on low-cost (biodiesel :
Rp.3.500/L compared to diesel : Rp.4.500/L) fuel, resulting in
far-reaching savings to the consumer while at the same time promoting
the development of a new industry, biodiesel.

Biodiesel during combustion results in lower polution levels. Added to
this the abundant availability of the basic ingredients to produce
it in Indonesia (examples : recycled frying oil, Crude Palm Oil
(CPO) or even "Biji Jarak" all of whch have their individual benefits to
the environment) with the direct, visible effect of lowering
transportation and maintenance costs to the consumer.