Filed under: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Earnings/Financials

As the last of the Detroit automakers to check in with its first-quarter earnings in 2013, General Motors has announced that it saw a net income of $0.9 billion, which, according to Automotive News, is rounded up from $865 million, to go with Q1 revenue of $36.9 billion and a pre-tax profit of $1.8 billion. These numbers are all slightly lower than Q1 2012 in which GM posted a $1 billion net income, $37.8 billion in revenue and a pre-tax profit of $2.2 billion.

In North America, GM's pre-tax income was $1.4 billion (down from $1.6 billion last year), which, says AN, is being attributed to fullsize trucks with excessive rebates on existing models and idled plants retooling for the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. GM Europe was the only division in which the automaker lost money with a pre-tax loss of $0.2 billion.

In comparing GM's Q1 earnings with its Detroit counterparts, Ford just posted a net income of $1.6 billion - and its highest quarterly pre-tax profit since 2000 - while Chrysler brought in $166 million. All three Detroit automakers posted a market share gain in the first quarter, which is an accomplishment that hasn't been achieved since Q1 1993. Scroll down below for the official announcement from GM.

Continue reading GM nets $865M in Q1, down 14%

GM nets $865M in Q1, down 14% originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 May 2013 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are many vehicle infotainment systems on the market today but Cadillac is setting a luxurious standard with its industry-leading technology. The Cadillac User Experience (CUE) debuted last year in the XTS and ATS luxury sedans and SRX luxury crossover.

Unlike other in-vehicle user systems, CUE is designed to reduce complexity and be unique to each driver, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user”. For example, most of today’s luxury cars have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions. CUE reduces that to just four buttons.

You’ll immediately feel comfortable with CUE’s design because its home page resembles your smart phone or tablet screen and functions like them with the familiar click-and-drag functions. Along with its clean, uncluttered design, CUE provides Natural Voice Recognition and responsive touch-screen technology. Similar to many smart phones and tablets, CUE is mostly computer-driven so drivers can update their system to get the latest offerings no matter how old their Cadillac is.

CUE’s app-like approach to accessing a vehicle’s traditional features allow for settings to be tailored to specific tastes, also known as “favorites”. Users can save their favorite locations, phone numbers, or customize and save radio tone settings for a personalized music listening experience. CUE interaction designer Cody Hansen discovered this technology comes in handy when you have a sleeping child in the vehicle.

“I’ve used this feature to create a “baby mode”,” Hansen said. “I set the fade all the way to the front and turned down the bass so it won’t wake my daughter when she’s napping.  When she wakes up and wants to hear music, I just tap my “regular” favorite and all my settings go back to normal.”

Another benefit, there’s no hassle when it comes to the navigation system. With CUE, users can manually or verbally input the entire destination address on one screen, which saves time and keeps drivers focused on the road. In some cases, the driver can input the partial address and CUE will help fill in the rest. Engineers even addressed security concerns in the development process.

“With ‘Valet Mode’, users can enter a four-digit pin and lock access to the center stack, steering wheel controls, and the storage cubby behind the center stack,” said Hansen.

CUE is elegantly displayed on an 8-inch LCD touch screen, seamlessly integrated into the top of the central instrument panel. A motorized capacitive faceplate is below, concealing a 1.8L storage area.

Last year, China’s vehicle market, the world’s largest, reached a record 19.4 million units. Analysts expect China sales to grow another 7-8 percent in 2013, and to continue growing strongly for many years to come.

At GM, we and our joint-venture partners are capitalizing on this growth by introducing 60 new models or major upgrades in China between 2011 and 2015, including 17 this year alone.

At the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, which runs through the end of April, we’re showcasing our strong product pipeline by displaying a record 53 production and concept vehicles under six brands: Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Opel, Baojun and Jiefang. Products range from small cars to luxury passenger vehicles to light-duty trucks.

One of the products on display is the new Buick Riviera concept vehicle, which is making its global debut at the Shanghai show. Designed jointly by GM’s Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) joint ventures, the Riviera concept offers a preview of Buick’s future design trends and a range of advanced technologies, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicle propulsion.

Among the vehicles making their debut for sale in China are the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback and Cadillac Escalade ESV.

The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback complements the Cruze sedan, which is one of the most popular Chevrolet models we offer in China. The hatchback is a great example of how we’re using our assets as a global company to serve customers in multiple markets.

The Cadillac Escalade ESV is one of 10 Cadillac models on display in Shanghai. Also on display are the new locally produced XTS featuring the revolutionary Cadillac User Experience, as well as the refreshed SRX luxury SUV, which is Cadillac’s best-selling model in China. Our plans are to bring Cadillac’s entire global portfolio to China, adding one locally produced model per year through 2016.

We’re also showcasing three new Opel models that are coming to China this year: the Zafira Tourer, Astra GTC and the newly launched Insignia Sports Tourer, which will go on sale nationwide early next month. Opel is also displaying its most popular model in the China market, the Antara SUV.

From the Baojun passenger car brand, we’re showcasing the new 2013 Baojun 630, featuring dynamic design, a spacious interior and great performance, as well as the Lechi, a high-performance mini-car that joined the brand’s lineup in 2012.

Finally, the Jiefang brand is displaying two new additions to its growing light-duty truck family: the new Jiefang S230 and Jiefang F330. Both models go on sale in China later this year.

Going forward, we are focusing on two of the fastest-growing mainstream segments in China, luxury vehicles and SUVs. GM currently offers five SUVs in China: the Buick Encore and Enclave, Cadillac SRX and Escalade, and Chevrolet Captiva. We plan to introduce another nine new or refreshed SUVs in China within the next five years.

GM has been the sales leader among global automakers in China for the past eight consecutive years. Coincidentally, we sold our millionth vehicle in China during the Shanghai Show. Last year, we reached the one-million milestone on May 7. This year, we hit it two weeks earlier and the fastest in our history.

GM and its joint-venture partners have enjoyed remarkable success in China in recent years. At Auto Shanghai 2013, we’ve made it clear that we intend to continue our journey and remain a leader in China for years to come.

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Mary Barra was named Senior Vice President, Global Product Development effective February 1, 2011, responsible for the design, engineering, program management and quality for General Motors’ vehicles around the world. She is a member of the Executive Operations Committee and serves on the Adam Opel AG Supervisory Board.

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Cadillac, GM, Luxury

Remember when the Cadillac CTS Coupe debuted, and we were all like, "Oh hello there?" Well, don't expect the same thing to happen when the new ATS Coupe is unveiled - these brand new (overexposed) spy shots show a two-door that's decidedly more sedate than the angular yet curvaceous and all-around good-looking CTS Coupe. This isn't to say that the smaller Caddy Coupe won't be attractive - the four-door version is plenty pretty, to be sure - it just likely won't have that extra somethin'-somethin' to truly set it apart from the sedan.

Fine, then. We don't doubt that the two-door ATS will be just as enjoyable to drive as its sedan sibling, with a lot of the mechanical stuff likely carrying over unchanged. That includes the powertrain options, meaning buyers will be able to choose from the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-four, turbocharged 2.0-liter four, or larger free-breathing 3.6-liter V6.

Look for the 2014 ATS Coupe to enter production in January of next year, meaning a reveal later this year (LA Auto Show, perhaps?) would be in order.

Cadillac ATS Coupe spy photos show more sedate two-door originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: China, Cadillac, GM, Earnings/Financials, Shanghai Motor Show, Luxury

Despite some hiccups, China remains the auto industry's great hope for new vehicle sales, with significant sales gains and a huge upside. Nowhere is that hope more fervent than at General Motors, which offers eight different marques in the Asian nation. China has been GM's single biggest market the last three years running, and is unlikely to give up that title anytime soon. Yet its premiere brand, Cadillac, has remained essentially stagnant, selling just 30,000 units in China last year. That's in a segment where sales of luxury vehicles has outpaced that of the larger Chinese market. So what gives?

According to Cadillac officials Autoblog spoke with in China this week at the Shanghai Motor Show, it's been a problem of product - they haven't had the right ones. Displacement taxation issues, import tariffs and currency fluctuations have all conspired to make the brand's products less appealing than they might otherwise have been. But GM is stepping on the gas with Cadillac, and executives are eyeballing 100,000 sales by 2016 - more than triple the Wreath and Crest's current volume. And the expectations for the brand only get more ambitious from there - they're shooting for 10 percent of the luxury market by 2020. Bob Socia, President of GM China, promises that there will be a new Caddy launched in the market each year from now through 2016 and most will be built in China. Characterizing the company's efforts to revive the brand's fortunes as a "relaunch" of sorts, Cadillac also figures to gain dealers as GM expands its sales outlet footprint westward.

New products like a made-in-China XTS sedan (with a market-specific 2.0-liter four-cylinder to avoid heavy displacement taxes) will help, and Socia hinted that the ATS sport sedan could be next in line for in-country production. The SRX crossover - currently the brand's best-selling model in China - will also likely get a long look for future local production when the next-generation model is introduced. In the meantime, Cadillac unveiled the Escalade ESV Hybrid (shown above) as its latest model addition to capitalize on the market's white-hot luxury SUV segment.

In addition to new products, GM China is also investing in developing market-specific technology at its facilities in Shanghai. Much of that will come in the form of apps for its infotainment systems like Cadillac's CUE, including connectivity for popular social media utilities like Weibo, which executives described as China's Twitter.

Cadillac still planning for big things in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: SUV, Cadillac, GM, Luxury

Following the introduction of the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, we're expecting General Motors won't wait too much longer to show off the next-generation fullsize SUVs that share this platform - including the Cadillac Escalade. It's still not clear if the next Escalade will debut for the 2014 or 2015 model years, but Carscoops has what it claims to an exclusive first look of the new Cadillac, revealing a portion of the headlight, front fascia and wheel.

Judging from this small picture, it looks like the Escalade could incorporate styling cues that we've seen on new Cadillac models like the ELR and the 2014 CTS, but that article says that other design details could include tall, vertical taillights similar to the CTS Wagon, staggered-width wheels and a narrower daylight opening for the side windows. The last time we saw the fourth-generation 'Slade back in October in spy shots, the heavy camouflage prevented us from getting an idea of the luxury SUV's appearance, but this image and description gives us something to look forward to. Head on over to Carscoops for more potential information as well as a full rendering from back in January.

Is this the 2014-15 Cadillac Escalade? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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