1988 Chevrolet Camaro Iroc-z Convertible 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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The Volt Dance had precedent; meet the Chevy Footlockers

Marketing in the auto industry can get weird sometimes – really quite bizarre, in fact. For example, remember the Chevy Volt dance from the 2009 Los Angles Auto Show? If not, a group boogied to a song about the electric car, and it was every bit as awkward (and hilarious) as that sounds. In fact, that innocent bit of promotion lives in infamy, as some pundits grabbed hold of it during General Motors' bailout and asked why America's tax dollars were going to such things. The Chicago Auto Show has been digging through its vault of vintage videos, and it has come up with something that might actually be worse than that Volt-themed routine. They're called the Chevy Footlockers, and they're a dance troupe somehow promoting the Cavalier at the 1988 Chicago show. The connection between the car and their routine is unclear, but it's gloriously cheesy in a Chippendales-meets-AC Slater sort of way. Also, there are props towards the end, but we aren't going to spoil them for you, because you just have to watch for yourself. As a bonus, there's another (brief) clip below showing a female dance group with the Geo Tracker at the '91 Chicago show, and they sing, too. Scroll down to watch both of these oddities. News Source: ChicagoAutoShow via YouTube [1], [2] Marketing/Advertising Chicago Auto Show Chevrolet GM Classics geo

GM raises 2023 guidance on strong sales, higher profits

General Motors beat first-quarter profit estimates and raised its full-year earnings and cash-flow guidance after vehicle demand at the start of the year surpassed expectations. Its shares rose in premarket trading. GM made $2.21 a share in adjusted profit in the first quarter, compared to a consensus forecast of $1.72 a share. Revenue rose 11% to $39.99 billion, it said Tuesday, which was more than the $39.24 billion analysts expected. The stronger results stem from rising sales in the US, even in the face of higher interest rates and inflation. GM executives said demand was strong enough to revise 2023 guidance upward, boosting profit estimates for the year by $500 million to between $11 billion and $13 billion. “We did it with strong production and inventory discipline and consistent pricing,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said on a call with journalists. “All in all, weÂ’re feeling confident about 2023.” The Detroit automaker raised per-share full-year guidance to between $6.35 and $7.35, up from $6 to $7 a share, and said free cash flow would also increase by $500 million to a range of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion.  GMÂ’s shares pared a gain of as much as 4.4% before the start of regular trading Tuesday, rising 3.5% to $35.50 as of 6:55 a.m. in New York. The stock was up 1.9% for the year as of the close on Monday.  North American Strength The automakerÂ’s sales were particularly strong in North America, where first-quarter earnings rose before interest and taxes rose to $3.6 billion. Vehicle sales rose 18% to 707,000 in the region. Jacobson said the company originally expected to sell 15 million vehicles in the US this year, slightly less than the 15.5 million annualized rate automakers foresaw in the first quarter. North American demand was enough to offset a weak performance in China, GMÂ’s second-largest market. The automaker continues to struggle in the country, where its vehicle sales fell 25% to 462,000 vehicles in the quarter. Profits from its joint ventures in the market slumped 65% to $83 million.  The market has struggled overall in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions and foreign automakers have had to overcome a growing preference for Chinese brands by competing on price, squeezing profit margins. The situation in China probably wonÂ’t significantly improve until the second half of the year, according to Jacobson. GM remains on target to sell 150,000 electric vehicles this year, the CFO said.

Pushing Back: GM expanding Chevrolet into Korea, Daewoo out

Chevrolet Camaro goes to South Korea - Click above for high-res image
General Motors decided several years ago to begin heavily promoting Chevrolet as its global mainstream brand even in markets where its existing brands like Opel and Daewoo were a dominant force. Today, at the Busan Motor Show in South Korea, GM Daewoo president Mike Arcamone announced that the Camaro would lead the way in GM's efforts to market Chevrolet in South Korea.
For now at least Chevrolet and Daewoo-branded vehicles will coexist in the Korean market. However, while we were in China last week GM officials told us that the Daewoo brand, which has been somewhat tainted by past quality issues, would eventually be phased out in favor of Chevrolet. When the new Aveo launches next year it will likely be badged as a Chevrolet even though GM Daewoo is in charge of engineering the car.