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BLOG: Mike Colias

Silverado hand-wringers should relax -- for now

Posted 12:15 pm U.S. ET, May 9
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The exterior changes on the 2014 Silverado, which hits showrooms by early June, are striking when parked aside the outgoing model.
SAN ANTONIO -- There was hand-wringing, even some flat out panic, when General Motors unwrapped its next-generation Chevrolet Silverado in December.
Many dealers, enthusiasts and writers questioned whether the pickup's design went far enough. There was also disappointment at the lack of a sexy technology to hit back at the Fo ...
     Continue reading "Silverado hand-wringers should relax -- for now" » May 9, 2013 12:15 pm U.S. ET
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Why the Stingray's $52K sticker should come with an asterisk

Posted 1:55 pm U.S. ET, April 26
DETROIT -- General Motors resisted the urge to jack up the price on the 2014 Corvette Stingray, despite major enhancements on the seventh-generation sports car.
The $51,995* sticker for the coupe, which is expected to hit showrooms by September, is just 1,400 bucks more than the current model, even with its more powerful engi ...
     Continue reading "Why the Stingray's $52K sticker should come with an asterisk" » Apr 26, 2013 1:55 pm U.S. ET
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Why GM might rename its new mid-sized pickups

Posted 1:08 pm U.S. ET, April 18
Mark Reuss says the next-generation Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-sized pickups will be so much better than the bland outgoing models, General Motors might come up with new names.
"We're targeting a new generation of buyer with a new truck," the GM North America president told reporters this week.
Continue reading "Why GM might rename its new mid-sized pickups" » Apr 18, 2013 1:08 pm U.S. ET
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Cadillac tries to overcome walk-on status

Posted 10:01 am U.S. ET, April 2
When I was in college, I walked onto the football team. It didn't take long for me to grasp a cold reality: I couldn't just be as good as the scholarship players, who already had the reputation and name recognition. To get the coaches' attention, I had to be better.
That's where Cadillac is today in its quest to play on the s ...
     Continue reading "Cadillac tries to overcome walk-on status" » Apr 2, 2013 10:01 am U.S. ET
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Why the LaCrosse facelift is sorely needed

Posted 2:00 pm U.S. ET, March 25
Buick is showing a refreshed LaCrosse sedan this week at the New York auto show. And it's not a moment too soon.
The LaCrosse has been the workhorse of Buick's recovery. The sedan, launched just weeks after General Motors' mid-2009 bankruptcy, was deemed by many as the most important debut in decades for Buick, which was figh ...
     Continue reading "Why the LaCrosse facelift is sorely needed" » Mar 25, 2013 2:00 pm U.S. ET
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Why sales of the new Impala must come the hard way

Posted 10:59 am U.S. ET, March 12
SAN DIEGO -- Here's a prediction for a headline you're likely to see this fall: "Impala sales slide."
Not because the 2014 Chevrolet Impala, redesigned for the first time in eight years, is a bad car. It's a leap over its predecessor and should be plenty competitive with the Toyota Avalon, Ford Taurus and other big sedan riva ...
     Continue reading "Why sales of the new Impala must come the hard way" » Mar 12, 2013 10:59 am U.S. ET
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Why Corvette in Europe faces a tough road

Posted 2:00 am U.S. ET, March 5
GENEVA -- By unveiling the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible in Europe, General Motors is signaling that it believes this generation of the 'Vette can stretch its halo beyond American shores.
Much has been made of the hints of Euro-flavored styling found on the coupe, interpreted as Chevy's bid to appeal to younger ...
     Continue reading "Why Corvette in Europe faces a tough road" » Mar 5, 2013 2:00 am U.S. ET
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Is Buick next in line for Opel's new convertible?

Posted 7:22 am U.S. ET, March 5
GENEVA -- Could the Opel Cascada convertible unveiled at the show here today be headed to Buick showrooms in North America?
General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky wouldn't say for sure, but offered this grist for the rumor mill:
"The Cascada is dynamite -- it looks great. That's what [GM ...
     Continue reading "Is Buick next in line for Opel's new convertible?" » Mar 5, 2013 7:22 am U.S. ET
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Why Corvette in Europe faces a tough road

Posted 2:00 am U.S. ET, March 5
GENEVA -- By unveiling the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible in Europe, General Motors is signaling that it believes this generation of the 'Vette can stretch its halo beyond American shores.
Much has been made of the hints of Euro-flavored styling found on the coupe, interpreted as Chevy's bid to appeal to younger ...
     Continue reading "Why Corvette in Europe faces a tough road" » Mar 5, 2013 2:00 am U.S. ET
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Here's the deal behind Shaq's Buick commercials

Posted 10:54 am U.S. ET, March 4
You might have seen the new commercial over the weekend that has Shaquille O'Neal's 7-foot-frame folded into a Buick LaCrosse.
The 15-time NBA All Star appeared last year in another LaCrosse spot. But no, he's not Buick's first official celebrity endorser since parting ways with Tiger Woods in 2010.
...
     Continue reading "Here's the deal behind Shaq's Buick commercials" » Mar 4, 2013 10:54 am U.S. ET
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Why Chevy's new advertising road looks promising

Posted 11:22 am U.S. ET, Feb. 11
ORLANDO -- Opinions on what flavors and themes should infuse Chevy's brand messaging are as diverse as its sprawling vehicle lineup.
Play on heritage, and you signal that your best days are behind you. Identify Chevy with technology like the Volt, and risk appeasing the greenies at the expense of your core pickup owners. Some ...
     Continue reading "Why Chevy's new advertising road looks promising" » Feb 11, 2013 11:22 am U.S. ET
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Why millennials are a double-edged sword for dealers

Posted 12:24 pm U.S. ET, Feb. 8
ORLANDO -- There's been a lot of ink spilled about why car dealers must go out of their way to court young people.
So-called millennials -- people in their teens to early 30s -- are more fickle. They're not necessarily turned on by cars. And oh yeah, there are 80 million of them in the U.S., more than the baby boom generation ...
     Continue reading "Why millennials are a double-edged sword for dealers" » Feb 8, 2013 12:24 pm U.S. ET
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Why one Chevy dealer REALLY loves the new Corvette Stingray

Posted 1:27 pm U.S. ET, Jan. 30
Many people liked Chevrolet's decision to badge its next-generation Corvette with the throwback Stingray name. Steve Hurley really liked it.
He's dealer principal at Stingray Chevrolet in Plant City, Fla.
"It plays into our hands perfectly," says Hurley. "When people hear there's a dealersh ...
     Continue reading "Why one Chevy dealer REALLY loves the new Corvette Stingray" » Jan 30, 2013 1:27 pm U.S. ET
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Why Caddy has 2 ways to play the ELR pricing game

Posted 2:47 pm U.S. ET, Jan. 17
DETROIT -- The most common question on the lips of onlookers who saw Cadillac unveil its flashy and fuel-sipping ELR plug-in hybrid at the auto show was: "How much?"
It's too early for General Motors execs to discuss price. The coupe won't hit showrooms for about a year. But the guessing has begun.
...
     Continue reading "Why Caddy has 2 ways to play the ELR pricing game" » Jan 17, 2013 2:47 pm U.S. ET
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Mark Reuss' good day at the office

Posted 8:11 am U.S. ET, Jan. 14
DETROIT -- When you're the highest profile car guy at General Motors, there aren't many days at the office better than a Corvette reveal.
Sunday was a good day for Mark Reuss.
"I'm very happy," the GM North America president gushed Sunday while talking with reporters after introducing the s ...
     Continue reading "Mark Reuss' good day at the office" » Jan 14, 2013 8:11 am U.S. ET
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Next-gen Impala's sticker shows GM means business

Posted 4:07 pm U.S. ET, Nov. 28
DETROIT -- It's hard to think of a recent vehicle that took a bigger leap to the next generation than the upcoming Chevrolet Impala.
The 2014 Impala is sleek and sculpted, its plush interior loaded with technology. The lone redeeming quality of the outgoing '13 Impala, built on a platform that dates back to the '90s, is its ...
     Continue reading "Next-gen Impala's sticker shows GM means business" » Nov 28, 2012 4:07 pm U.S. ET
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Cadillac to give ATS breathing room by trimming CTS output

Posted 1:38 pm U.S. ET, Nov. 21
DETROIT -- We've heard a lot about how Cadillac's new ATS compact sedan was built to lure buyers away from the BMW 3 series and other German luxury juggernauts.
That might yet happen. But, at least early on, the ATS is poaching buyers from its older and larger sibling in the Cadillac lineup: the CTS.
...
     Continue reading "Cadillac to give ATS breathing room by trimming CTS output" » Nov 21, 2012 1:38 pm U.S. ET
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Why Ford is more profitable than GM

Posted 12:16 pm U.S. ET, Nov. 6
DETROIT -- It has been more than three years since General Motors emerged from bankruptcy liberated from much of its bloated cost structure. So why is GM still far less profitable than archrival Ford Motor Co. in the bread-and-butter North American market?
An equity analyst sprang that question on GM's top brass last week d ...
     Continue reading "Why Ford is more profitable than GM" » Nov 6, 2012 12:16 pm U.S. ET
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Dealer cash juices Volt sales boom

Posted 2:54 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 18
DETROIT -- The record month for Chevrolet Volt sales in August surely pleased General Motors brass, green-car believers and perhaps even the Obama administration.
But the folks at Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet in Rockville, Md., likely are even happier.
The Washington-area dealership haul ...
     Continue reading "Dealer cash juices Volt sales boom" » Sep 18, 2012 2:54 pm U.S. ET
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Next-gen Escalade to keep the bling, brawn in Caddy lineup

Posted 3:30 pm U.S. ET, Aug. 28
DETROIT -- Cadillac is rolling out its lightest car ever, the ATS compact. Next year it will launch a sporty plug-in hybrid coupe, the ELR.
But before you begin thinking that the brand historically known for floaty boats and tailfins had lost its go-big roots, there’s this: We’ll see the next-generation Escalade ...
     Continue reading "Next-gen Escalade to keep the bling, brawn in Caddy lineup" » Aug 28, 2012 3:30 pm U.S. ET
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Volt sales target is red meat for the bashers

Posted 11:23 am U.S. ET, Aug. 16
DETROIT -- General Motors sold 10,666 Chevrolet Volts in the United States this year through July, a clip that should translate to around 19,000 for 2012.
In Europe, through June, GM sold 2,861 of the Volt's sibling, the Ampera. And GM recently began selling the car in China, tallying a modest 18 Volt sales there through Ju ...
     Continue reading "Volt sales target is red meat for the bashers" » Aug 16, 2012 11:23 am U.S. ET
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Get ready for the Cadillac ZTS?

Posted 4:24 pm U.S. ET, July 25
DETROIT -- Cadillac rolls out its ATS compact sedan next month. A redesigned CTS is due by late next year. The new XTS large sedan bowed in June.
Now, what if Cadillac one day decides to slot a long-awaited flagship sedan atop the XTS, as Automotive News reports ...
     Continue reading "Get ready for the Cadillac ZTS?" » Jul 25, 2012 4:24 pm U.S. ET
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When is a good time to call out a rival? For Cadillac, it's now

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, July 21
ATLANTA -- In one of the commercials that Cadillac plans to run as part of next month's launch of the new ATS compact sedan, a driver gushes that the car "outmatched the BMW 3 series!"
Now, there are two schools of thought on calling out a dominant rival in an advertisement. One theory: Doing so simply reinforces who's the ...
     Continue reading "When is a good time to call out a rival? For Cadillac, it's now" » Jul 21, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Why manual gearboxes are making a comeback

Posted 3:17 pm U.S. ET, June 29
DETROIT -- At Major League Baseball's All-Star game next month, Chevrolet will set up four fans with tickets to the game, the home run derby and driving lessons with "celebrity" instructors.
All that, simply for expressing some love for the stickshift.
The Chevy promotion, called "Stay ...
     Continue reading "Why manual gearboxes are making a comeback" » Jun 29, 2012 3:17 pm U.S. ET
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Dealership gift cards? GM CEO likes the idea

Posted 3:09 pm U.S. ET, June 12
DETROIT -- Reporters rarely venture to a company's annual shareholders' meeting expecting big news to break out.
They are almost always staged affairs. The chairman gives prepared remarks about all the progress the company has made during the past year. Votes are cast for directors, with little doubt about the outcome. Past ...
     Continue reading "Dealership gift cards? GM CEO likes the idea" » Jun 12, 2012 3:09 pm U.S. ET
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