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GM slashes prices in China as sales falter

Buying a vehicle from General Motors' stable of brands might be a lot cheaper in the near future – at least for customers in China. The effort comes as GM hopes to keep sales there growing, and the decision alludes to yet another sign that the Asian country no longer has the booming auto market of past years. GM and its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC are slashing prices by as much as the equivalent to $8,700 on 40 models from Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac, according to The Detroit News. Across all of automaker's nameplates, the overall sales dipped in China in April by 0.4 percent to 258,484 vehicles. Among the drops, Buick was down 8.5 percent, and Chevy shrunk 5.6 percent. Caddy's numbers increased 4.6 percent for the month, though. Buick remains a popular brand in the minds of Chinese consumers, but according to The Detroit News domestic automakers there are starting to eat into the dominance of foreign companies in the market. The country remains important for GM, though. Late last year, it outlined a future strategy that included China as a major pillar, including a $14 billion investment to build five new factories and boost sales. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Alexander F. Yuan / AP Photo Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM Car Buying Car Dealers saic

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

Cadillac XT5 platform to underpin three-row crossover

Cadillac just launched the XT5 crossover to replace the SRX. But that's only the start. Speaking with Automotive News, Caddy president Johan de Nysschen confirmed that a new three-row crossover is also on the way. The seven-seater is based on a stretched version of the flexible platform underpinning the XT5, which we just drove recently. Taking that approach will give the luxury brand a larger crossover to pit against the likes of the Infiniti QX60, Audi Q7, and Volvo XC90 without having to develop one from scratch. It will also give buyers a more car-like alternative to the larger, truck-based Escalade. "It's one of the benefits of having this very flexible architecture. We can expand it, make it longer and wider. That gives us the ability to develop the car very quickly, as opposed to starting from scratch," de Nysschen told AN. "It's not running yet. It is a program request that we initiated with the engineers only last year. They are working at remarkable, record-breaking speed to get us the car." The new model would likely be called the XT7 and offer similar levels of equipment to the existing, smaller XT5. The existing mid-size model packs a 3.6-liter V6 mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and comes in four trim levels. Related Video: