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Rumormill: DeLorean Motor Company considering rescuing Pontiac Solstice?
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 DeLorean Motor Company Pontiac Solstice renderings - Click above for high-res image gallery
General Motors has made a science out of sharing platforms. So when the company's Kappa platform was introduced for a new rear-drive roadster to be distributed across three different motor divisions, you'd have figured the program was pretty safe, right? Unfortunately for the workers at the Wilmington Assembly Plant which manufactured the Kappa roadsters, those three divisions were Pontiac, Saturn and Opel - three units which the General has either sold or shut down. Which is a shame, because a perfectly good rear-drive roadster platform is a heck of a thing to waste.
In one of the strangest rumors we've heard recently, however, our compatriots over at Jalopnik report that the DeLorean Motor Company (yes, that DeLorean Motor Company) is considering buying the plant and the platform from GM and putting it back into production as a new DMC.
VIDEO: Saturn's demise? We blame Jim Gaffigan*
Fri, 02 Oct 2009
Click above to view the video after the jump
When the deal to sell Saturn to Penske Automotive fell through, there were likely a lot of surprised people at General Motors' Detroit, MI headquarters. Penske released a statement saying that the reason the deal fell through after months of good faith negotiations was that a suitable post-GM supply of vehicles could not be found. However, after reacquainting ourselves with over eight minutes of outtakes from Jim Gaffigan's old Saturn commercial, we're thinking the comedic pitchman is to blame.
Aim Higher: GM Daewoo reportedly suing TagAZ over fears they are planning to copy the Lacetti
Wed, 23 Sep 2009In what looks like a serious-but-probably-the-norm case of industrial espionage, General Motors' South Korean Daewoo division is reportedly alleging that the Russian automaker TagAZ has tried to copy its Lacetti sedan. Backing up those allegations are the arrests of two TagAZ engineers - former Daewoo employees who are said to have taken computer files from one company to the other. A third former Daewoo employee, an executive, left notes proclaiming his innocence and then committed suicide.
The two engineers reportedly copied at least 6,000 documents outlining designs and key technologies used in the Lacetti. That information, according to Daewoo, was used by TagAZ in the creation of a car it launched this past summer in Russia. South Korean prosecutors are still investigating the case, after which Daewoo will decide if it wants to pursue the matter for criminal damages. TagAZ hasn't said anything in response to the allegations. If nothing else, this could be good practice for GM - it will now know what to do if it happens at Opel...
[Source: Drive.com.au]
Spy Shots: Chevy Spark spotted as Daewoo Matiz
Mon, 29 Jun 2009Daewoo Matiz spy shots - Click above for high-res image gallery
The folks at Noticias Automotivas have scored shots of what looks to be the next-generation Daewoo Matiz, the subcompact hatch that we know better as the Chevrolet Spark.
The budget runabout is clearly very similar to General Motors' 2007 Beat concept and is in fact bang-on the Bowtie-badged production-intent model we saw displayed at this year's Geneva Motor Show, albeit with a Daewoo-specific upper and lower grilles, less stylized fog lamps and discount looking wheels.
Vauxhall sans Opel could reallign with GM Daewoo, Holden
Sun, 03 May 2009
Chevrolet Aveo, a.k.a Chevrolet Kalos/Daewoo Gentra/Holden Barina/Pontiac Wave - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Eyebrows raised at reports that General Motors could hold on to its British subsidiary Vauxhall even if - or, more likely, when - its German counterpart Opel would leave the family. With the model ranges of the two European GM divisions intertwined, a Vauxhall without Opel would seem like an empty shell. New reports suggest, however, that instead of re-plastering Opels with the griffin badge, the British marque could instead continue operations under GM ownership by importing products made by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology.