Poll: Which Previous Generation Camaro Should Inspire the Design of the Next Model?

While it's true that the Ford Mustang is the vehicle that reheated the pony car segment, forcing both GM and Chrysler to resuscitate two of their historic nameplates, it's the Chevrolet Camaro that has taken the sales lead grabbing 42 percent of the rear-wheel drive performance coupe market in 2011 with 88,249 deliveries.

The Ford Mustang comes in second with 70,438 units and the Dodge Challenger third with 39,534 deliveries. This year, the Camaro has about 40 percent of the market with Ford trying to catch up with approximately 35 percent.

This makes planning its successor all the more difficult as Al Oppenheiser, Camaro's chief engineer, admitted to Automotive News Product Editor, Rick Kanz.

The fifth generation of the Camaro was launched into the market in 2010 and a replacement is due in the fall of 2015. According to Oppenheiser, the team involved in the development and the design of the sixth generation Camaro, has many issued to solve, one of which is weight reduction.

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Days of Going Under: Chevy to Retire Impala from NASCAR, will Race With a New Nameplate

Ford isn't alone in planning to race a new car at next year's NASCAR Sprint Cup series. General Motors announced today that development of its 2013 stock-car racer is well under way.

However, the record-setting Impala, which has won 79 races in the last four years, will be retired. Chevrolet will instead race another nameplate based on a new production car that will join its line-up.

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Drive me to the Moon: GM's Robo-Glove Promises to Make Auto Workers' Lives Easier

With each passing year, the lines keep blurring between science fiction and reality. This week, General Motors revealed its latest toy in the form of the 'Human Grasp Assist device', also known as the 'K-glove' or 'Robo-Glove.

The robotized glove can help auto workers and astronauts operate tools by assisting their grip and therefore, reduce the amount of hand pressure needed to be applied.

The device was jointly developed by GM and NASA, and is a spin-off of their recent Robonaut 2 (R2) project, which put the first human-like robot into space last year.

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Carved in Limestone: Cadillac Dealer Accuses GM of Breaking Federal Law by Withholding Incentives

This past January, Norman Braman, a billionaire owner of auto dealerships, filed a lawsuit against General Motors at the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. Brenan accused GM of 'two-tier pricing' in implementing its Essential Brands Elements program.

According to a report from Automotive News, on March 6, Braman’s attorneys modified the lawsuit, claiming that GM has violated not only Florida law when it stopped paying incentives at his Miami Cadillac dealerships, but also the federal Robinson-Patman Act.

“Are we back to the old philosophy ‘if it’s good for General Motors, it’s good for the country?” asked Braman. “That philosophy died a long time ago. This whole situation has just reached a point where dealers have to do something about it," he added.

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European Carmakers Must Deal with the Crisis Fast or Face the Consequences

A number of European carmakers are facing the same problem: they have more facilities and employees churning out more cars than they can sell.

Automotive CEOs acknowledge the fact and understand that something needs to be done about it. Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne has often said that European carmakers must consolidate or risk going down and he is constantly trying to tie-up the Fiat-Chrysler group with another carmaker.

GM’s Dan Akerson has stated that he's fed up with losing money with Opel and Vauxhall. However, the recently formed alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen could provide a solution to this problem.

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2013 Chevrolet Malibu gets New 259-Horsepower 2.0-liter Turbo Engine, does 0-60mph in 6.3"

About a couple of months after it confirmed the availability of its new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Ecotec gasoline engine on the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu sedan, General Motors today released the performance numbers.

The force-fed engine produces a maximum output of 259 horsepower (193 kW) and a peak torque of 260 lb.-ft. of torque (353 Nm), which is sustained from 1,700 to 5,500 rpm.

According to the Detroit automaker, the direct-injection engine can propel the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu from zero to 60mph (96km/h) in just 6.3 seconds, which is a fairly impressive figure for a mainstream car of this size.

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Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car of the Year Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points.

Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.

The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.

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GM Launches Gasoline-CNG Bi-Fuel Versions of 2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Pickups

Starting from next month, U.S. buyers will be able place their orders for the new bi-fuel versions of its 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

Both models are equipped with a 6.0-liter Vortec V8 engine that has been modified to run on either gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG), offering a combined range that exceeds 650 miles (1,045 km). The bi-fuel engine will be available on standard and “long box” models in either two- and four-wheel drive configurations.

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GM to Halt Chevy Volt Production for Five Weeks Because of Low Sales

Dismal sale numbers and a rising inventory which at the end of February, stood at 6,300 vehicles, enough to cover 154 days at the current rate it sells cars, are to blame for General Motors decision to stop production for both the Chevy Volt and its European cousin, the Opel Ampera, for five weeks until April 23.

"We need to maintain the right inventory levels and continue to meet demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee told Automotive News.

On Thursday, General Motors told the 1,300 workers building the Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan that the shutdown would take place on March 19.

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GM and PSA Peugeot-Citroen Officially Form an Alliance, Fiat Still Wants In

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? Only a week after the first report that General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen were discussing a possible alliance in order to cut their costs and improve their performance in Europe and other regions, the two companies announced today that they have reached an agreement.

The global alliance between the world’s number one car manufacturer and Europe’s number two automotive group involves two main topics: the sharing of platforms, powertrains and modules, and a joint venture for the sourcing of US$125 billion worth of parts and services from suppliers.

GM will acquire a 7 percent stake in the French group, which is slightly higher than the 5 percent originally reported, but still enough to make it the second largest shareholder behind the Peugeot Family Group.

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