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REPORT: Silver still king of car colors, the future looks blue

Automotive paint supplier PPG says the color of tomorrow's car is blue. According to Jane Harrington, PPG's manager of color styling, "It's one of those colors that complements vehicle shapes... It's a globally acceptable color. It doesn't have any bad connotations." The company studies trends in fashion, interior design, and consumer products to predict the tastes of fickle consumers. PPG isn't the only company predicting more blue sheetmetal on our roads and highways. An April report by chemicals giant DuPont also predicted a resurgence in the color, adding it was influenced by ecological concepts such as the sky and water. Consumers in 2008 apparently haven't caught on to the new "blue" trend yet. So far, 20 percent of the cars sold this year have been silver ("A neutral color that works on just about any car," says Harrington). White is second (18 percent), followed by black (17 percent) and red (13 percent). Although blue may be the new green, most consumers will still stick with black, white, and silver -- core colors that are always offered on nearly every vehicle.
posted : 10/17/2008 @5:35:10 PM
Tesla to build California factory for Model S sedan production

The 2011 Chevy Volt has been getting the lion's share of news on the EV front, but it could be jostling for attention in late 2010 with an all-EV sedan from Tesla. Tesla has secured $100 million in private equity and another $150 million in loan guarantees from the federal government to build a new factory in San Jose, CA. The company on Wednesday announced that the facility would build the $60,000 Model S sedan, which was originally dubbed Whitestar. The new Tesla plant will be able to produce 11,000 Model S sedans per year by the end of 2011, giving customers a much more mainstream EV entry than the $100,000 Tesla Roadster. We haven't heard too much about the Model S sedan, but earlier in the year Tesla co-founder Elan Musk said there could be a fully functioning prototype and a finalized design by the end of 2008. We're with you in hoping it looks as good as the Tesla Roadster while providing similar range in a more family-friendly package.
posted : 9/24/2008 @10:26:49 PM
GM offers early retirement to 9,000 white collar workers

As part of the ongoing numbers game between the Detroit 3, their workers and the UAW, General Motors has plans to offer more early retirement packages to some 9,000 of its white collar (non-unionized and salaried, that is) workers. For those who like to keep track of such things, that number represents about a third of the 27,000 white-collar, non-union workers who call the General their employer. If GM gets its wish, around half of those offered packages will accept and have plenty of time to keep those white collars clean and pressed for their next job interview. Employees offered the package will have 45-days to decide whether or not to accept. Although no real details of the care package have been released, rumor has it that GM has sweetened the pot a bit as compared to previous rounds of attrition by increasing the pension payments for younger workers.
posted : 9/14/2008 @4:42:50 AM
Stay away from Disney World: All of Chrysler going on vacation same two weeks next JulyA few months back, Chrysler threw a wrench in its employee vacation plans by mandating that all white collar workers take the last two weeks of July off. The move wasn't very popular due to the short notice provide, and didn't save much money, but team Pentastar has decided to do it again next year. This time, however, employees have 11 months to plan their trip to the Magic Kingdom or a fuel-saving staycation (sorry, we'll never use that term again). Chrysler spokesperson Shawn Morgan says synchronized time off is good for helping the struggling automaker to become more efficient. The idea is that cutting down on randomly timed vacation will help projects to stay on course while also keeping different project teams from getting ahead of one another. Employees actually like the idea of getting a two week chunk of time off right in the middle of summer, provided that ample notice is given to them to plan accordingly. It also helps workers from worrying about work that is being done in their absence, helping to make the time off more enjoyable.
posted : 9/2/2008 @5:47:35 PM
Tesla not planning SUV based on Model S platform

Two big British car magazines are reporting on some of Tesla's future product plans today following the latest promotional tour by SVP Marketing Darryl Siry. There isn't a whole lot new in the articles that hasn't already been reported here and on AutoblogGreen over the past year, but there were a couple of interesting items and errors. First of all AutoCar is reporting that Tesla is planning to use the platform of the Model S sedan (formerly known as WhiteStar) for future vehicles, which makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, they are also reporting that Tesla is planning an electric SUV off that platform, so we contacted Siry to check on this. Siry told ABG that there are in fact no plans to build an SUV. An SUV body style was just used as an example to demonstrate the flexibility of the platform. Helping to achieve that flexibility is a reconfigured battery pack that lays under the floor rather than upright behind the seats as in the Roadster. This will allow for a modular configuration so that that the Model S can be offered with different range options. The base model is expected to get a 160-mile range for it's $60,000 base price, while 220- or 300-mile options will cost extra. The magazines did get a chance to see design sketches of the Model S, but Siry wouldn't release them. For now he will only show them in the same room, but we do know the Model S will reportedly have a coupe-like profile on its four-door hatch body style. If Tesla can avoid the launch problems it had with the Roadster, the Model S will be on the road in 2010.
posted : 9/2/2008 @2:51:30 AM
Ex-Chrysler VP moves west to head Tesla engineering

If Tesla has learned anything from the development of the Roadster over the past five years, it's that building a production car that meets present day regulations is a lot harder than anyone in Silicon Valley guessed. The process is filled with all kinds of potholes and having some people on the team with experience navigating those craters can be a big help. During AutoblogGreen's recent conversation with Tesla Chairman Elon Musk, he revealed that the company would have several experienced auto industry people coming aboard soon. The first of those new recruits has now been revealed as Mike Donoughe, Tesla's new Executive Vice President for vehicle development and manufacturing. Donoughe is a 24-year veteran of Chrysler who resigned from his VP post there three months ago, and was instrumental in the effort to redesign Chrysler's mid-sized cars. At Tesla he will be responsible for vehicle engineering for the Roadster and Model S except for the drivetrain. Initially, Donoughe will focus on getting the Model S' engineering and manufacturing sorted out.
posted : 7/10/2008 @1:07:35 PM

Job and brand cuts from GM on the horizonFOLLOW UP: Tony Cervone, a GM spokesperson, has told Bloomberg that HUMMER is the only brand the General is considering selling or closing.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that General Motors is looking to cut thousands of white-collar jobs and sell, or stop production, of some if its brands. The General has supposedly set 2010 as a target for its return to profitability, but the automaker has never announced any details on how it plans to achieve that goal.

GM's management team will be meeting with the board early next month to discuss raising additional cash, and that could mean seriously pruning GM's bloated brand portfolio. HUMMER is supposedly already on the block, but Chevrolet and Cadillac – brands at the core of GM's business – are likely safe from the ax. However, Buick, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn, which haven't fared well during the biggest U.S. sales slump in 15 years, could possibly be sold or killed completely.

While it deserves note that all of this information comes from unnamed WSJ sources, GM's recent stock plunge and abysmal June sales numbers means something has to be done, and quick. If that entails cutting underperforming brands, so be it -- nostalgia be damned.

posted : 7/7/2008 @9:16:01 PM
GM unveils Corvette S-Limited for Japan

In celebration of GM's 100th Anniversary, GM Asia-Pacific has unveiled the Corvette S-Limited, a 30-car special for the Japanese market. priced at ¥7,980,000. The allotment is split evenly by color -- 15 in Arctic White and 15 in Black. All the cars get the full leather-wrapped interior package; a rear spoiler, mesh grillework , and screened inserts for the side coves and the plate between the exhaust outlets. 'Vettes in Japan are probably scarce enough that they still draw plenty of attention. Hey, in the land where the best-selling car's engine displaces 660cc's, a thundering, 430-horsepower American pushrod that displaces 6.2 liters is always gonna make people look. Appropriately, the Corvette S-Limited officially goes on sale on the Fourth of July.
posted : 7/3/2008 @5:26:26 PM
Blue gaining on White

Each year, DuPont does a study on color trends in the automotive industry. As the leader in supplying finishes for both the new and aftermarket auto realms, this is the kind of information that the company needs to know. Thankfully, DuPont's researchers always share their findings with the rest of us, and last year it was reported that white had taken over from silver as the color in which to be seen. This year, the pigment company decided to shake things up with a mid-year check on the multi-hued situation around the world, and it seems that blue, which is also the new green, is making a bit of a run at adding some pizazz that's been missing from simple achromatic white. Interestingly, the masses seem to be reacting just a little bit to the economic downturn that this country has been facing, choosing simple solids instead of more flashy hues. Perhaps those downers are just lacking in self-worth.
posted : 6/16/2008 @9:05:56 PM

Is Tesla Motors working with Daimler?

A few months back, Tesla Motors revealed that its upcoming WhiteStar sedan would be available in two variants, a pure battery electric like the Roadster and a range-extended electric more like the Chevy Volt. We still don't have many details on the car, although we do know that lessons learned while working on the drivetrain for the heavier sedan have been fed back into the Roadster for its updated 2.0 drivetrain.

As a small start-up with limited resources, developing a new engine for the WhiteStar would obviously be problematic. Tesla Chairman Elon Musk let slip in an interview with Fox Business News that the company has reached a technology deal with German giant Daimler (formerly of DaimlerChrysler infamy). Without any official comment from Telsa yet (we'll update you when we here something), one possible scenario for the deal is that Daimler will provide engines for the range extended WhiteStar. Daimler has always struggled to make money from Smart and the micro-car builder has a 1.0L three cylinder engine that might make a good range extender. If Daimler supplied 10,000 or so of those engines to Tesla, it could help drive down Daimler's costs. The other possibility is that Tesla might be licensing battery management technology to Daimler, but that scenario seems less likely.

posted : 6/15/2008 @3:01:16 PM
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