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.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Pushing Back: GM expanding Chevrolet into Korea, Daewoo out

Pushing Back: GM expanding Chevrolet into Korea, Daewoo out originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sixteen days after the Lexus GX 460 landed on Consumer Reports “Do Not Buy” list and Toyota issued a stop-sale on the luxury ‘ute, Lexus has developed a fix for the stability control issue discovered by CR and has begun rolling out the fix.

In a statement issued by Mark Templin, the Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager says that the automaker’s engineers were able to recognize and develop a remedy for the stability control system which CR deemed unsafe during its “Throttle Lift Off” test.

In addition to resuming sales, dealers began contacting customers yesterday to start issuing the software update and Lexus owners can expect their GXs to be reprogrammed within a week. For owners who still don’t wish to drive their affected SUV, Lexus will continue to offer a courtesy vehicle free of charge. Full details in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Lexus resumes sales of GX 460, software update available to owners

Lexus resumes sales of GX 460, software update available to owners originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese automaker Brilliance is pulling out of Europe with no plans to return, according to Autoweek. The company began selling both its BS4 and BS6 sedans in the old country back in 2007, though sales have been beyond dismal. As of the end of 2009, dealers only managed to move a paltry 502 units – a figure that fell well south of the 158,000 cars the company had planned to sell over a five year period. Throw in the fact that Brilliance refuses to price its products any lower to get its foot in the European door, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

The company fought an uphill battle with consumers after both models had trouble getting past crash test standards in 2007, and things didn’t improve from there. For the time being, production has completely stopped, and the company has no timetable for bringing the business back on line.

If Brilliance does decide to jump back into the European market, it will be looking at some pretty hefty engineering costs. The current BS4 and BS6 are only designed to meet Euro 4 standards, and with Euro 5 coming down the pike, the platforms would need to undergo significant updates. Naturally, the news also means that Europeans won’t be seeing the lovely BS4 Wagon anytime soon, either.

[Source: Autoweek]

China’s Brilliance reportedly retreats from Europe after ‘cool reception’ originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Tesla EYE design concept we saw in at the Geneva Motor Show was just an experiment some students at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin did with the Tesla brand. But the idea that we will see more and new vehicle models from Tesla Motors is a fact, as CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed this week during his acceptance speech for the Automotive Executive of the Year Innovator Award. AutoWeek was on hand and reports that Musk said that, after the Model S arrives in 2012, Tesla will introduce a crossover utility vehicle and other models starting in 2013. There’s been talk about a Tesla SUV since at least 2008.

On the smaller side of things, Tesla’s alliance with Daimler is moving forward with supplying electric vehicle technology for a Mercedes A-Class and the next Smart. For those of you who think Musk has a big ego, he said something in his speech that minimizes the impact of cars like the Tesla Roadster: “The smallest effect Tesla will make will be the cars we make ourselves. The biggest effect will be the cars they [other companies] make.”

Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: AutoWeek]

Report: Tesla’s Elon Musk says new CUV model due in 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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