Corvette SS

Review: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox sets the tone for New GM

2010 Chevrolet Equinox

It's fitting that General Motors has a vehicle named after an astronomical phenomenon that marks the seasons. The first Equinox came from the "old" GM during the autumn of its long slide. Since then, the General has emerged from a government-funded chrysalis, and the Equinox has followed suit with a redesign. Hopefully, the freshening signifies a springtime in GM's fortunes; a future desperately in need of a green infusion of the cash variety. Its products need to not only compete – but exceed – what's available from the competition. That figures to be a tall order, because the opposition is in rare form.

Just across town, Ford isn't sitting around – the Escape gets tweaks and updates seemingly every year. The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 also crowd the top of the family CUV class, with the Mazda CX-7 and Hyundai Santa Fe playing supporting roles. Into this company of A-students wades the Equinox, fresh from reform school. Have the model's rough edges and troublesome behavior been smoothed out enough by remedial study? Follow the jump to find out.

SEMA 2009: Badass Chevy Chevelle isn't as fuelish as it seems

1970 Duramax Chevrolet Chevelle custom

The clean exterior of this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle hides a wicked little secret – if you take a look at the photo above, you'll see what we mean. The bundle of plumbing you see spilling out of the engine bay tells only part of the story – that's no overworked Chevy small block in there, it's a Duramax diesel that has been pushed to new heights thanks to an outrageous custom twin-turbo setup. The stripped-out interior and racing slicks out back show the true purpose of this ride.

The Chevelle was built by Mike Racke and was recognized as one of Popular Hot Rodding magazine's Top Ten Builds this year. We couldn't agree more.

Source: Autoblog Click Here For Article

SEMA 2009: 1962 Corvette C1-RS is a worthy Goodguys Street Machine of the Year

1962 Chevrolet Corvette C1-RS

It takes a lot to win the the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award, but this custom 1962 Corvette convertible you see here easily deserves the honor. The car not only looks incredible, but it posted the fastest time at the Goodguys autocross track as well! Every single one of the body panels on the car has been modified, and the majority of the components are constructed either of aluminum or carbon fiber.

Powering the C1-RS is an LS7 V8 putting out more than 600 horsepower, but we were most impressed with the eight carbon fiber intake trumpets on either side of the engine that bring air into the intake manifold. The interior was beautifully crafted as well, with a custom fabricated aluminum dash and console and Alcantara and leather seats.

Source: Autoblog

SEMA 2009: Mid-engined Ghepardo is one part Corvette, one part Camaro, 100% SEMA

Caccia Custom Cars Ghepardo

Here's what we know: Caccia Custom Cars took a 2002 Chevy Camaro and a 2002 Chevy Corvette and created the Ghepardo. The car uses the Camaro's frame and the Corvette's motor and suspension. The motor is mounted amidships, albeit backwards (note the throttle body). And the House of Kolor paint is called Pagan Gold. Also, you should not confuse this SEMA all-star Ghepardo with the 2006 Bizzarrini Ghepardo concept.

As for this Ghepadro... it's not that bad looking. In fact, the longer we stare at the exterior, the more we like what we see. Obviously we can't get past the gaudy chainmail armor covering up every single vent and opening. And we'd prefer if the five-slot wheels weren't chromed. That said, in profile, it's a nice looking mid-engine coupe and the rear is quite muscular. The front even has a touch of new Lexus, which while sacriligious for a Chevy-on-Chevy mashup like this, ain't bad at all.

The interior, on the other hand, is a house of horrors. Everything is covered over in prison-grade Alcantara or carbon fiber-look fiberglass. Even the fire extinguisher!! Also, we're pretty sure a 15/16" cutting tool isn't the smartest Dremel attachment to use for a show car. In fact, in this Autoblogger's mind, the Ghepardo is now in the running neck-and-neck with the Masonry Vitesse Rose for having the worst interior ever – quite a distinction! Additionally, the Ghepardo fills our minds with the delightful image of Corvette and Camaro fans/owners beating each other to pulps with giant oversized cartoon hammers. Perhaps that's just the food around here talking...









Source: Autoblog

VIDEO: Chevrolet Camaro attracts all types, including 101-year-old Virgil Coffman

Close your eyes and try to envision the typical 2010 Chevrolet Camaro owner. We're guessing there weren't many of you imagined a cane-touting Centenarian, but that didn't stop Virgil Coffman from picking up a 400 horsepower Transformers Edition Camaro SS as his new joy ride. Coffman purchased his bright yellow pony car from Miles Chevrolet in Decatur, Illinois, but only after talking to dealer management. The dealership wanted to make sure Coffman was sharp enough to operate the modern muscle car, and management went away feeling that their elder was still "bright eyed and bushy tailed."

We're thinking that it would be pretty unlikely that any dealership is going to pass up on a $35,000 sale given the state of the industry, but after watching the video recreating his trip to the dealership, Virgil sure seems to be on top of things. Hit the jump to hear why Coffman purchased his hot new Camaro. We're thinking we need to eat what this guy is eating.



Source: Autoblog

GM Stock Offering: Worth It?

Sometime next year, you may be able to invest in General Motors again. Should investors even consider doing that? Let's first look at some recent history.

If we believe that the New GM is leaner, more efficient, and better managed -- and there are reasons to believe just that -- I would suggest one financial number to watch before investing in the company. That number is revenue. If revenue is rising, there is hope. If revenue plummets, there isn't.

Sometime next year, you may be able to invest in General Motors again. Should investors even consider doing that? Let’s first look at some recent history.

Last July, a newly formed company called NGMCO bought the brands and business we knew as General Motors in a bankruptcy sale. NGMCO promptly changed its name to New General Motors Company. The creditors and stockholders--bag holders might be a better term--found themselves looking to Motors Liquidation Company, another new entity which holds those GM assets not transferred to NGMCO, for satisfaction. There won‘t be much of that.

Motors Liquidation Company shares are valued at 65 cents but are not available for sale to the public, nor are shares in the New General Motors Company.

New GM Stock

Would you buy stock in the new GM?

Yes
No
Not sure

All of that was part of what we call the bailout of General Motors, and depending on whose figures you use, it cost taxpayers here and in Canada about $60 billion. The new GM will set performance targets in December of this year and if it shows signs of meeting those targets, it may issue stock to raise capital on which to operate and with which to reduce the approximate $48 billion in debt that the new company has.

A first-time issuance of stock to the public is called an Initial Public Offering or IPO and should GM do one, it will not likely occur before mid-2010.

Once, when Masters of the Universe roamed the earth, investors fought over the right to be first in line to buy shares in an IPO. An IPO share back in the day could rocket from $10.00at mid-morning coffee break to $75.00 at lunchtime.

During the recent unpleasantness which began spreading over the financial world in the closing days of the Bush administration, IPO activity all but ceased, and in any case shares are now allocated using a complicated formula aimed at reducing rampant speculation.

Let’s assume that the New GM Company announces that it’s pressed the button on a 2010 IPO and that you can now buy into it. Should you?

We asked Eddie Guillot, a wealth management and syndication specialist with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney how an investor should evaluate an IPO opportunity. “You’re evaluating a company, not a stock issue,” he said. “You look at the overall health of the company, its earnings record, debt service obligations and whether it has a clean balance sheet.” Excellent advice, and we can apply it to the new GM.

The overall health of the company has been improved by reducing its number of divisions from eight to four: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab have or are in the process of following Oldsmobile into history.

Among other factors that a broker will examine before recommending an IPO investment to a client are demand for the product, future prospects and the price/earnings ratio (P/E).

Demand for the product is down, despite a remarkably good product lineup. At the end of September, GM had sold 1.5 million vehicles, a year-over-year drop of 36 percent. The industry, meanwhile, dropped 27 percent. It is therefore difficult to argue that GM is on tap to pace the industry.

Future prospects depend in large measure on the future of the entire industry, which still looks gloomy.

We don’t know what the New GM Company’s market capitalization is. Market cap is arrived at by multiplying the outstanding stock shares by the stock price. Since there are no shares and no price, we’re left wondering about the perceived value of the company.

Toyota‘s market cap is $135 billion, and there are discreet rumors among the New York investment community that the New GM IPO could be as large as $10 billion. Assume that the company issues 100 million shares at an offering price of $100 (equaling the $10 billion), those shares would have to rise by a factor of 13.5 to equal Toyota’s market cap.

But market cap does not matter as much as market share and profits. That is, will the new company work?

The U.S. government now owns 60.8 percent of the new GM; Canadian and Ontario governments together have 12 percent; the United Auto Workers health care trust fund owns 17.5 percent, and the remaining 10 percent is owned by unsecured creditors, mostly bondholders. These creditors also hold warrants for an additional 15 percent, which will probably come out of the government’s share. The percentages are approximate.

The New GM board has almost no holdovers, and the company has a new chairman, former AT&T boss Ed Whitacre Jr., and an experienced president, Fritz Henderson. Whitacre and Henderson are capable men. As is Bob Lutz, the former product guru now in charge of marketing and advertising. But can they smite the side of the Renaissance Center and bring forth profits? Perhaps someday but with the automotive industry in the trough its in, and with the buying public nailing its collective billfold to the floor, the situation looks anything but festive.

I am admittedly skeptical of any entity controlled by the government turning a profit or even breaking even. It did not help my attitude when Ron Bloom, the Obama Administration’s car czar, told the 6th annual Distressed Investing Forum in 2008 that the free market system was “nonsense” and added, “We kinda agree with Mao. Political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun.” Do sentiments like those sound as if profits are high on the czar’s priority list?

And it doesn’t end there. Steve Rattner, the original car czar who helmed the bailout of GM and Chrysler, told Automotive News that he was astounded by the poor quality of management at the automakers. GM had “perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company." He later elaborated on this theme in an article he wrote for Fortune.

GM would like to capture and hold about 19 percent of the U.S. market (its share was once as high as 54 percent), but some pundits, including Rattner, think that 16 percent might be more realistic. Whatever the share, the company’s ultimate profitability depends upon the size of the total market, which is now about 10 million vehicles per year as opposed to 16 million a couple of years ago.

If we believe that the New GM is leaner, more efficient, and better managed--and there are reasons to believe just that--I would suggest one financial number to watch before investing in the company. That number is revenue. If revenue is rising, there is hope. If revenue plummets, there isn’t.

Oversimplification perhaps, but it works for me.