by Damon Lavrinc

One of the issues ailing domestic automakers is a bloated sales network, which sometimes includes pitting two dealers of the same brand against one another within the same market. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have been trying to make inroads into this problem over the past year, and while these efforts are for the good of the company, the effects take their toll.

According to Automotive News, the Big 2.5 cut 462 dealerships between them in 2006. So far in 2007, GM has killed off 222 of its own dealerships, compared to this time last year. Much of this effort is the consolidation of franchises that only sold a few of the automaker’s brands, to now include as many as they can handle (i.e. a GMC dealership now carries Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, HUMMER, Saab, etc.)

GM isn’t alone in their neighborhood downsizing, as both Chrysler and Ford have made significant cutbacks so far this year, with the former nixing 134 dealerships, while the latter cut 126, when compared to 2006 figures.

The upside to all of these cutbacks is more profits for fewer dealers, but at the same time, dealers that have been in the business for decades are being forced to sell their stores to local competitors. As expected, these retailers are leaving their livelihood feeling bitter and dejected.

Whether or not any of this will make a difference to the Big 2.5’s bottom line remains to be seen, but it should be interesting to see how many total dealers were lost in 2007 and how many more will be killed off in 2008.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub. Req.)]

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Wow, GM’s bringing so many Buicks to SEMA, we’re giving them a showcase post all their own. Hell bent on getting the message across that the Buick brand isn’t just for Sansabelt-wearing retirees anymore, the General has dispatched — count ‘em — eleven Lucernes prepared by different customizers. We’re still wrapping our heads arounf the idea of Buick being modded this way. Some of the cars fare better than others, but the point of the exercise is to show what the Lucerne looks like when taken in directions you wouldn’t normally associate with Buick. Mission accomplished.

The best Buick at SEMA may well be a throwback, however, as the ‘64 Electra 225 convertible (above) that will lead the pack of Lucernes headed to SEMA. Fully restored and looking bone stock save for the chromed 20″ Boss Motorsports wheels filling the cutouts. Looks, however, can be very decieving, as this Electra is anything but stock underhood, where a GM Performance Parts ZZ572 crate engine resides. Its 620 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque are more than enough to give the white ragtop a distinct advantage at any stoplight grand prix.

So, now that you’ve been briefed, check out all the cars and their associated press materials after the jump.

[Source: GM]

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By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

For sleepless car owners who decide they need to check their tire pressure in the middle of the night, General Motors has a solution.
GM (GM) plans to introduce a remote-control key fob next April that will allow drivers to not only determine the pressure in each tire, but also check the odometer reading, see if there’s enough fuel in the tank to make it to work in the morning, change the radio station settings and see if they remembered to lock the car doors, to name a few.

The device will be a $150 option on Cadillac Escalade luxury SUVs and other full-size GM SUVs, pickups and crossover-utility vehicles.

“One of the overarching themes people told us they wanted was security and safety,” GM spokesman Tom Henderson says. Being able to reassure themselves about their vehicles without leaving the house is one way to satisfy that.

The feature builds on GM’s expertise as the first automaker to introduce remote start, which made its debut in the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu and now is available from other automakers and as an add-on accessory.

GM says it will be first to offer remote two-way communication with the vehicle using a liquid-crystal display on the fob. The fob will operate at four to six times the range of competitors’ keyless entry systems, GM says.

Automakers have been giving the remote-control key fob more and more tasks beyond the ability to lock or unlock the doors from a distance. Some will operate the power windows. Others are keyed to a car’s memory settings and reset seats, mirrors, stereo and other functions to the driver’s preference after a different driver has been using the vehicle.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer systems that adjust a vehicle’s seats and mirrors to a drivers’ personal preferences not from the fob, but as soon as the driver touches the outside door handle.

Volvo is planning a keyless entry system that can detect a heartbeat and alert the driver if someone is lurking inside the car. That’ll be introduced on a new version of the S80 sedan in the USA in February. The same technology, with some changes, should eventually be able to remind drivers if they forget and leave children in the car.

GM says its two-way fob will cost less than $100 to replace if it’s lost or broken. And it should be hard to break, Henderson says. For testing, it’s been dropped, dunked underwater and sprayed with saltwater.

GM says the feature probably will be considered a bargain. Consumer test panels showed that interest in the feature rose, rather than fell, when panel members were told what GM planned to charge.

[Sorce USA Today

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