All Entries Tagged With: "GM"
Yes, It’s Your Grandfather’s Olds. But It’s Not What You Think.
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via Hemmings ::: Oldsmobile Toronado
BY the time GM had wound down the storied Oldsmobile division in 2004, the name “Oldsmobile” and loving moniker “Olds” had been reduced to rent-a-wreck status, oldtimer-mobile, and in the case of the upmarket Aurora – a car with more gremlins than that horrid namesake film franchise from the 80s.
But back in the day, namely the 60s, Oldsmobiles could actually be considered – gulp – sexy. That’s right, Raquel-Welch-grade hotness. And the model that swaggered to the front of the line was the front-wheel drive Toronado.
Now in a modern context, the idea of putting a 375 horsepower V8 under a long bonnet with the power flowing to the front wheels might seem like torque steer lunacy. That’s likely why Leno made his restoration project Toronado rear-wheel drive.
And guess what? Apparently, the original Toronados were handfuls on the road (and sometimes off, I’m sure). But that didn’t stop the Toronado from blazing an engineering trail (first post-war US made FWD auto) and looking cool doing it.
So when we spy one such fine looking example online, it jogs the memory that, yes, Oldsmobile was once a damn fine car that your grandfather was proud to own.
Thanks, Jim!
Shock! BMW Stolen In Detroit! And Other Stories…
by Gunnar Heinrich
READ about thieves making of with one of BMW’s press 760Li’s? The MSRP starts at $137,000 not $90K, ahem, Jalopnik. Or that bit about how the filthy practice that is crude speculation is raising the cost of everyone’s trip to the pump? Reuters. Then there was that recent bit the Globe and Mail about an orphan named Saab stuck outside the Cobo Center in the freezing snow. Have you no heart, GM? So cold. So very cold.
GM Posts Q1 Profit. Sign of Brighter Days Ahead?
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: GM posts profit
LOVE or hate the General and its tightened stable of four core brands, it seems universally encouraging that the automotive sector and GM that the car company propped up by American and Canadian tax dollars is turning a profit rather than bleeding more red. A sign of brighter days ahead?
According to GM: [our] first quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was $1.7 billion, after adjusting for the favorable impact of the sale of the Saab brand.
That means $865 million Q1 profit, according to the BBC and GM’s press release.
Regarding the Saab sale, Saab CEO has said GM sold the Swedish car maker to Spyker for about $74 million. That figure differs from GM’s which is stated at $123 million.
Around that same period, Beijing Automotive paid $200 million for the old 9-3 and 9-5 assemblies which according to SaabSpyker CEO Victor Muller were funds that Saab banked – not former parent company GM.
This suggests that the General is gaining ground on the back of a stronger product line.
Following Our Press Car’s Untimely Death, GM To Update All 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbos
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: IMG ADLX ::: 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo
IT’S nighttime and I’m rather unnerved.
I’m on the 101 halfway up some mountain outside Ventura, California in a 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo that has just died in the narrow meridian.
I’m barking at some nonplussed 9-1-1 dispatcher on the cell, OnStar’s on hold, and I’m ready to jump the jersey barrier if some dazed motorist drifts my way.
They all seem to brush by at light’s speed.
This broken press car is one of Cadillac’s latest midsize crossovers – a plush, Lexus RX fighter – that had just lapped its two thousandth mile before the car’s engine bought the farm.
In no time at all I had dropped from a comfy 65 mph cruise into a sputtering stop with black smoke billowing from beneath the silver hood and a long oily trail in my wake.
And now I’m awaiting rescue.
Minutes tick by endlessly. But the state police do arrive. The officer spies my precarious position and proceeds to snake his patrol car back and forth across the freeway- side-winder style.
Only then, does traffic slow to a grudging halt.
“If you can start your car, move it across to the right side.” The officer coolly broadcasts over the loudspeaker.
Now, all of Ventura seems to be waiting behind him. The cars are like greyhounds at the gate and I feel like the rabbit as – rattled and frozen – I climb behind the Caddy’s helm and press the start button.
Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-Thunk goes the mortally wounded motor.
Into drive.
We’re on borrowed seconds!
The SRX c-r-a-w-l-s across the freeway to the far side. The go pedal’s level with the carpet.
I reach the right side and the Caddy quits.
Traffic resumes its F1 pace, a discussion with the officer ensues, and ten minutes later the tow truck shows.
The driver shakes his head and says that only days prior some poor guy had similar trouble with his bike. When he tried crossing to the breakdown lane he got hit in roughly the same spot where I’d landed. He died.
So, what caused this fresh new Caddy to breakdown?
The answer arrived yesterday afternoon in a conference call with GM. Their findings are triggering a model-wide update to go into effect directly.
DAMAGE REPORT
On the phone is Tom Sutter.
Mr. Sutter is GM’s chief engineer for the automaker’s V6 engines. Also on the line is David Caldwell, Cadillac’s press manager.
Mr. Sutter leads headlong into a thorough explanation of the wheels that were set in motion following the incident.
“We took this very seriously,” he says. His tone is direct and earnest.
“As soon as it happened, we expedited the vehicle’s shipment back to our test center in Warren, Michigan. We’ve been at this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
He and his team “tore down” the motor, analyzed the car’s black box data, and sent a fuel sample to a third party lab for analysis. Additional tests on a dyno replicated the failure, but they’ve yet to duplicate the incident in real life testing.
The SRX Turbo uses a 2.8 liter, 300 hp V6. This same engine has served for five years in Saabs including the upcoming 9-4X. The engine also powers Germany’s Opel Insignia.
THE BREAKDOWN
Mr. Sutter is describing my incident as a “Mega knock event.”
“We have a high degree of confidence that we’ve sourced the problem,” he tells me, getting down into the gory details.
What happened is as follows and was, apparently, a fluke:
The V6 in the Cadillac requires a minimum 91 Octane.
Lab tests had shown that the SRX was running on regular which meant that yours had inadvertently fed the car 88 Octane gas and not the factory mandated premium.
At some point during travel, between 2000-2500 rpm – or normal highway cruising speed – the engine’s management system had adjusted the air fuel mixture to work too lean causing a retarded spark – but crucially – it allowed for a simultaneous turbo boost which led to a catastrophic pressure build up in the cylinder chambers.
This caused cylinder six to fail quickly -leaving yours stranded.
Mr. Sutter’s team concluded that the resulting pressure in the chamber was four times greater than the stress during full throttle acceleration.
“We’ve been working on a new calibration which should be implemented in coming days,” he says, indicating that this will ensure proper engine management going forward during what we might describe as “lean times” during the fuel consumption of a given SRX Turbo.
Mr. Caldwell stresses that what happened was an extremely rare event and that they’ve had only a couple of incidents that resemble what happened to me in California.
He suggests that the low Octane gas could be considered a contributing factor and not the primary cause of the engine’s failure. But not everyone is careful with their choice of gas (as evidenced by this writer) and high Octane gas isn’t always available in some rural areas.
Surely the car must be engineered to compensate?
Both acknowledge this aspect and say that the SRX’s management system should have adjusted to accommodate for the lesser grade petrol and their system fix will ensure that it does going forward.
Nevertheless, Mr. Sutter maintains that the low Octane gas was the primary trigger in my car’s failure.
“Ever since we’ve switched to low displacement, turbocharged engines, we’ve noticed a sensitivity [to Octane levels].”
The 2.8 liter, turbocharged V6 was created at GM’s Pontiac, Michigan center in tandem with Saab staff in Sweden who engineered the turbo.
While most Saabs require only regular unleaded, the Cadillac SRX Turbo’s V6 represents the highest output version of this particular powerplant, hence the requirement for higher grade fuel.
NEXT STEPS
As this article posts, GM is conducting field tests on six SRX Turbos in Death Valley to ensure that the recalibration they’ve devised will prevent a repeat of the failure when the vehicle runs on regular unleaded.
Once finalized, Cadillac will implement the engine management adjustments to the SRX assembly line so that new SRX Turbo units rolling off the line going forward will benefit from the update.
Current SRX Turbo customers will receive the update at their Cadillac dealer during service, though the company has not yet decided how it will inform customers on the need to getting their car updated.
We should receive word on their customer plan within the week. Also, GM will provide Automobiles De Luxe with another press car to complete our review. Expect our full take on the 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo next month.
Here’s hoping for a smoother road test.
—-
Ed. Note: Special thanks to OnStar, Chris at Page One, and California Highway Patrol for their greatly appreciated help.
After Spike, Spyker Shares Drift Back To Earth
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG LensOnLeeuwenhoek.net
INVESTORS, it seems, were looking to make a quick buck euro.
As of Friday, Jan. 22nd, one share of Spyker Cars, NV (AMS: SPYKR) could be had publicly for 2.15. Fast forward to Monday’s close, and the stock was up again to 3.80 on much higher volume due to rumors that Spyker could clinch a deal with GM to buy Saab.
On Tuesday, share price rose again and then settled at 3.91 before the exchange halted trading in advance of the announcement that Spyker had, in fact, pulled off the deal.
When trading resumed on Wednesday, the price peaked at 6.80 a share before some investors rushed to sell; for some that meant locking in a gain of more than 200%. The sell off dropped the share price to 5.21 before rallying again to 5.75.
But as financial reports from Bloomberg and others have started trickling in on the enormity of the hurdles Spyker faces in revitalizing Saab, as of this article’s posting, Spyker’s price now stands at 4.05 per share on a day when the stock’s price started at 5.14 a share.
Historically, those who invested in Spyker’s initial public offering back in ’04 are still seeing red: that offer was 14.83 per share. But there is a positive note: if the past any indicator, there could be stronger highs in the future.
Spyker’s stock peaked to an all-time high in April, 2006 @ 22.35 a share.
[Source: Google Finance]
Spyker Announcement Re: Saab. Live Video Link
By Gunnar Heinrich
GOT this one courtesy SaabsUnited.com
Spyker’s set to hold a press conference which should take place in the Netherlands directly.
Here’s the link: www.rtl.nl
Saabists remember: if the sale with GM falls through, Genii Capital is reported to be waiting in the wings with a new offer.
It looks as though our dear Saab will find a new home!
Saab Sale Announcement Likely Today, Spyker Shares Up
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Flickr via SaabsUnited
MUM’S the word, but expect an announcement from the General or Spyker later today on the sale of Saab Automobile AB.
With the Saab community a-twitter, and some likely breathing into paper bags – including Spyker’s own CEO – the intense anticipation is palpable as negotiations with GM climax.
At the moment, trends are delicately positive. Spyker’s shares rocketed yesterday on the whiff of good news that the Dutch exotic manufacturer would pull it off.
According to Google Finance, if you bought early yesterday morning (AMS: SPYKR) and sold before trading halted, you would’ve pretty much doubled your money within eight hours.
Griffin Up New York! Save Saab Rally to Times Square
By Gunnar Heinrich
RECOGNIZING that the automotive world’s a better place with Saab in it, the following are the details for the upcoming Save Saab rally in New York that’s set to take place this Sunday, January 24th. At present, NOAA’s forecasting rain. But when did that ever stop committed Saabists?
Per SaabsUnited.com
The Save Saab New York Rally
Meet @ 10am: Exit 5S off the Palisades Parkway (near US Army Reserve, Orangeburg)
Depart for Times Square @ 11am. Arrive by noon.
The New York event will coincide with same-day rallies in Paris, Washington, Chicago, St Louis, and Denver. Visit SaabsUnited’s “Save Saab” page for further details on those events.
Griffin up!
