By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

Here’s something that arrived in my e-mail inbox recently from an old friend. I thought I’d pass it along to the FastLane crowd, because I know you’ll find it as interesting as I did. The Big Three has taken a lot of heat in recent years over falling sales in the domestic auto industry. But, as this little quiz reminds us, there’s plenty that the U.S. automakers in general – and GM in particular – are doing right.

The correct answers, along with sources, are after the jump.

1.) Which mid-size sedan has the highest initial quality?
a. Accord (Honda)
b. Altima (Nissan)
c. Camry (Toyota)
d. Malibu (Chevrolet)

2.) Which large sedan has the highest initial quality?
a. Avalon (Toyota)
b. Grand Prix (Pontiac)
c. Sable (Mercury)

3.) Which mid-size pickup has the highest initial quality?
a. Dakota (Dodge)
b. Ranger (Ford)
c. Tacoma (Toyota)

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By Greg Martin
Director, Policy and Washington Communications

My apologies for the title. As a Hunter S. Thompson fan, I couldn’t resist the play on words upon my return from the Democratic National Convention. And yes, at times the week took on a level of surrealism that matched one of the gonzo-journalist’s great books. At one point, as the elevator doors to my hotel opened to drop me off at the lobby, I was staring face to face with actor Sean Penn. While I wanted to congratulate him on his adaptaion of Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild,” the only intelligible thing I could manage was, “Oh, you’re Sean Penn.” And, if there was a cause to be advocated, it was on display in Denver. From Code Pink to PETA to the assorted bandana-masked anarchist, they were there. Regardless of your political leanings, the street and convention scene was an affirming testament to our nation’s exercise of democracy and free speech. Also, the city and its police force deserve high marks. The Denver-based volunteers were helpful, gracious hosts and, despite the level of security, the police demonstrated great patience and restraint…they were always nearby but at a distance to allow whatever protest was occurring to run its course.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Democratic Convention because I’m the GM spokesperson on public policy issues and we were the official vehicle provider for the convention. We’re also the official vehicle provider for the Republican convention in Minneapolis. We’ve been providing vehicles to both conventions since 1980, but this time was especially important as we showcased a line up of hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles. In Denver we had 450 vehicles, of which 300 were hybrids (a mix of the 2-mode hybrid versions of the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade and the hybrid versions of the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura and Saturn Vue) and the remaining 150 were flex-fuel vehicles running on E85 ethanol. In an interesting twist, the E85 was produced from beer waste donated from Molson-Coors. Read the rest of this entry »

By Anna Kretz
Vehicle Line Executive

Yesterday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) posted on its web site that the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook have earned its TOP SAFETY PICK award.  While there are many different measures to consider a vehicle’s safety, IIHS may be one of the more recognizable organizations that conduct such testing.

As with other vehicle programs, when we began to develop these vehicles, we established high targets for safety and included a comprehensive safety system designed to protect passengers before, during and after a crash.  We started with a safety cage using high-strength structural steel components to help maintain occupant space and included such safety technologies as an electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation technology and Panic Brake Assist.  It’s no surprise that these vehicles are leaders in safety ratings, and this award from IIHS underscores that.  In fact, it complements the highest possible ratings of five stars that these vehicles received from the National Highway Traffic Administration New Car Assessment Program for front and side crash tests.

Very soon, we’ll be launching the Chevrolet Traverse, which has the same level of safety content and introduces a few new features like blind spot mirrors.  Traverse also will offer other conveniences like a rearview camera image that appears in the rearview mirror and the ability to send travel directions from your computer to your vehicle’s OnStar system.

We recently invited the automotive media to drive and compare Traverse to competitive vehicles at our Proving Ground in Milford, Mich.  Without giving away their impressions, I’ll simply say we’re looking forward to seeing more of their reviews.  And as soon as Traverse arrives in Chevrolet dealerships, I look forward to hearing what customers have to say.

We’ve seen some comments on appearances by GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz the Charlie Rose’s PBS interview program earlier this week.

In case you missed the shows, here’s a chance to download Rick’s and Bob’s interviews. Take a look to get a very interesting perspective and to hear a frank, open dialogue about GM and its place in the global automotive marketplace.

Head over to FYI for a follow-up to Jamie Hresko’s post on “One Million Miles and Counting” and meet Mike Popescu, owner of the Chevy Express 3500 cargo van, for yourself.

By Ed Peper
North America Vice President, Chevrolet cruze2

The Chevrolet Cruze won’t be officially revealed until the Paris Auto Show in October, but when the opportunity arose to give a sneak peek today to the people of Lordstown, Ohio who will be assembling the vehicle, we felt the occasion couldn’t be more perfect. This new global compact car will build on the already successful Chevrolet Cobalt, Cobalt XFE and Cobalt SS – and we’re also proud to be harnessing GM’s global design and engineering expertise. The Cruze was designed and engineered by our global teams in Europe and Asia Pacific and will be manufactured in those regions, as well as at the assembly plant here in Lordstown.

The early look accompanied an announcement by CEO Rick Wagoner that GM plans to invest more than $500 million to prepare for the Cruze product program for the U.S., including more than $350 million into Lordstown.

I look forward to sharing more details in the months to come, but for now, enjoy the newly released photos. And for even more images, check out LeftLaneNews.com.

View the complete release here.

By Bob Boniface
Director of Design for Chevrolet Volt, GM

Earlier today, I spent some time discussing the development of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich. My team has put a lot of effort into creating a beautifully designed, fun-to-drive vehicle – inside and out. The beauty of the Volt’s design is much more than just surface deep, the interior and exterior design is an important element of the vehicles overall mission to be one of Chevrolet’s most energy efficient vehicles - ever.

Why are our efforts in the design studio so important? When you’re driving down the road, it takes energy to slice through the air that is pushing against the car. That force is known as drag and it can account for up to 20 percent of the energy consumed in an average vehicle. One of the challenges as a designer is to reduce aero drag, while still creating a design that is compelling. We do that by experimenting with different angles and curves and then testing the car in our wind tunnel, which blasts air at the car to measure the effect of drag.

Aerodynamics is extremely important for an electric vehicle like the Volt, which is designed to drive up to 40 miles using only electricity to power the car. By minimizing aero drag, we can maximize the range of the battery. So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that my exterior design team spent countless hours in the wind tunnel with our aerodynamicist to refine the Volt’s exterior. We believe this was time well spent - when you’re trying to extend gas-free driving of the vehicle, you’ll take all the efficiency you can get.

(Take a look at this video, which you can also see in our video sidebar, inside the wind tunnel.)

We believe the Chevrolet Volt’s exterior design is an attractive balance between aerodynamic performance and styling. Included below is a detailed image of the driver-side front quarter of the vehicle. If you look closely, you can see the rounded and flushed front fascia, tapered corners and closed grille are aesthetically beautiful and functional, enabling air to move easily around the car. In the end, we believe the vehicle is both aesthetically pleasing and extremely efficient.

The pictures below also showcase many of the exciting styling elements and design themes carried over from the concept vehicle to the production model design. Let us know what you think of the photos by leaving a comment.

Today at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich., Bob Boniface, director of design for Chevrolet Volt at General Motors, showcased how aerodynamics is shaping the design of the Chevrolet Volt. According to Boniface, \

Chevy Volt Front

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

Wednesday night, I watched Phil LeBeau’s hour-long special on CNBC, which was titled “Saving GM.” And I must say, I came away impressed — and not just because they got my name right (although, not quite my title — I am, after all, vice chairman of global product development, not global quality).

No, I was impressed with the balance, the fairness, and the journalistic integrity of the entire piece. Our story is there, warts and all, but so are the things we’re trying to do to help this company survive and thrive in the future. The missteps we’ve made in the past were clearly spelled out, as are the challenges we face today. It’s no puff piece, that’s for certain.

After everything I’ve seen written about GM in the past couple of weeks — some of it fair analysis, but a good bit of it irresponsible speculation or uninformed opinion and bias — it was refreshing to see someone pointing out that we’ve been getting a lot of things right, too. And CNBC’s conclusion is much like our own, that we need the words “smash hit vehicle from GM” to make more people think of cars in showrooms, not museums.

If you’re interested in seeing an unflinching but unquestionably fair look at General Motors — not to mention getting an inside look at some of our design studios and test tracks — you should check out “Saving GM” when it re-airs on Sunday evening, August 10, on CNBC at 10 pm EDT. And for those of you who saw the program, let us know what you thought.

By Jamie Hresko
GM Vice President, Quality

Type “one million miles” into a Google search and you know what comes up? Honestly, one of the first things on the list are Wisconsin residents Peter Gilbert and Frank Orsenick reaching one million miles in a 1989 Saab 900 SPG and 1991 Chevrolet Silverado, respectively. Pretty amazing stuff. What’s more amazing is word is spreading around here, GM, that another customer is about to reach one million miles in his Chevy Express. Call me superstitious, or a huge baseball fan, but I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’ll wait to mention the actual name of this Milford, Michigan resident… I also know that this guy is associated with a group of about 10 Chevy Express or GMC Savana drivers who all have more than 500,000 miles on their vans.

Obviously, because I’m closely connected to the quality world, I know that GM quality is good and getting better. I know this because in 2006 and 2007, we experienced a 13 percent reduction in warranty repairs each of those two years, and we’re on track to reach a similar number in 2008. Additionally, we back up our products with the industry’s best transferable powertrain warranty, five years/100,000 miles.

Why should the numbers matter to you? It means more time behind the wheel of your car or truck. It means we build vehicles that last. It means the real gap is not between GM quality and that of our competitors, the real gap lies between perception and reality. Who knows, maybe someone reading this is about to make the one million-mile milestone. The numbers are necessary, they help up keep focused and drive real improvement. The numbers also help to verify what a guy like me is saying. However, the numbers don’t tell the stories. Tell me your story … and maybe we’ll be hearing from another one million mile driver soon.

By Larry Burns
GM Vice President, Research & Development

Volatile oil prices have been dominating the news lately, underscoring growing unease about the automobile’s heavy dependence on petroleum. As these concerns reverberate from Main Street to Wall Street, General Motors is working toward new solutions that will answer the growing demand for personal transportation in an affordable and sustainable way.

Because GM believes there is no single technology solution to displace petroleum, we are aggressively pursuing biofuels such as E85 ethanol and leveraging other efficiencies such as advanced engines and hybrids. We also are developing entirely new technology solutions that do not rely on petroleum, such as the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicles.

Another alternative, natural gas, is enticing because it is abundant, affordable and relatively clean. This week in Washington, D.C., the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming listened to testimony on the role natural gas can play in our nation’s transportation sector.

In the near term, we can use compressed natural gas (CNG) in internal combustion engines. Mid term, we can leverage natural gas to create electricity for the Volt and future variants. In the long term, natural gas could be an excellent source for making hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles, either at the filling station or in people’s homes.

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