on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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

Weekly Recap: Volkswagen moves forward under Muller

Most stunning was the speed of it all. On the morning of September 18, Volkswagen AG stood atop the automotive world. It was profitable and sold more cars than Toyota and General Motors, its two main rivals for global supremacy. By nightfall, the company would be embroiled in scandal. Revelations the German auto giant cheated on diesel emissions testing in the United States reverberated from Washington to Wolfsburg, Germany. What started out as a problem with 482,000 VWs and Audis in the US exploded into an international scandal. Millions of vehicles have the rigged software, meaning VW broke environmental rules as its cars spewed pollutants all over the world. The fallout began immediately. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn – one of the most respected and capable executives in the business – apologized on Sunday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he resigned. As the week progressed, the company's stock took a beating and credit agencies threatened to drop their ratings. VW dealers and owners said they felt betrayed. The automaker hired a law firm that defended BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The EPA is already extending its testing procedures to look for "defeat devices" like the ones used by Volkswagen. On Friday the company announced a major restructuring. Matthias Muller, Porsche's chief for the last five years, took over as CEO of Volkswagen and is charged with picking up the pieces of a shattered company facing regulatory action and lawsuits. With GM, Toyota, and Takata scandals still fresh, Volkswagen will likely experience unprecedented levels of scrutiny. Additionally, VW's markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be combined into a North American region under the leadership of former Skoda boss Winfried Vahland, though US chief executive Michael Horn will stay on. The company is also realigning its brands by specialty and streamlining its board. Firings, government action, restructurings, and international outrage – things that usually build up over months or years – all occurred in about a week. With dizzying speed, Volkswagen's future has changed dramatically. It all happened, it's still happening, so fast. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Buick Cascada to start at $33,990 Buick hasn't made a convertible in 25 years. That's a whole person who can drink plus a kindergartner. So it's been awhile. Enter the 2016 Buick Cascada. It has top-shelf Opel engineering, slinky design, and it's reasonably priced.

The new Buick Regal looks like a Mazda, and we're totally cool with that

Yes, this undisguised Opel Insignia, which will be brought here as the next Buick Regal, looks a lot like a Mazda. You can see it in the grille and headlights, especially – in fact, if you look at one of the photos with tape blocking out the badge in the middle of the winged grille, you might think this is a new Mazda6. The thing is, Mazdas look pretty darn good, so no one's complaining. And when you look at the rest of the car, there's a fair amount of originality going on. Aside from the GM-generic taillights (they look like they could fit on a Chevy, right?) the lines and details are all pretty fresh, and there are some design elements pulled from Buick's gorgeous Avista concept. A sweeping roofline leads to some healthy shoulders at the back, creating a coupe-ish profile with a very abbreviated rear deck. This appears to be a hatchback model and not the four-door sedan, but the general look should carry over. This is definitely a big improvement over the somewhat bulbous current-generation Regal, which also started life out as an Insignia. The car shown here is the Insignia OPC model, with Brembo brakes, big wheels, side skirts, and a front end with big (likely fake) intakes. It will most likely translate to a Regal GS for our market, as is the case with the current OPC and GS. The new Regal/Insignia is expected to use the same platform as the new Buick LaCrosse, which is also shared by the Chevy Malibu and Impala. They should once again be available with front- or all-wheel drive and a choice of turbocharged four-cylinder engines. Rumor has the Opel versions debuting at the Geneva show March, and the Buick would likely follow, possibly in New York in April. View 13 Photos And then there's the wagon. All signs point to Buick finally bringing the most practical Insignia to our market as a Regal. We got wind of a focus group testing the idea, Buick has trademarked the name Regal Tour X. That version would likely go up against the Audi Allroad in the classy, slightly lifted all-wheel-drive wagon category, basically acting as an almost-crossover for people who want a wagon but won't admit it to themselves. The Insignia wagon caught here is also an OPC, and we think it looks even more handsome than the hatch-sedan shown above. The trim piece stretching from the base of the A-pillar all the way up and back down to the tail is a nice touch in profile view, although we're not so sure about how it terminates abruptly at the taillight.