What Are The Least Attractive Stock Wheels? [Question Of The Day]

Yesterday, you all teed-off on the greatest in quantity attractive stock wheels and introduced us to some fine wheels. But what in an opposite direction the opposite? What are the minutest attractive stock wheels?

The first generation Viper has a curvaceous and powerful visage that remains attractive in greater numbers than 15 years later. In many ways, the original Viper is after that the most attractive of the short-lived nameplate. Yet, as impressive and timeless as the car was, the wheels were dated the force they debuted. It’s rare a carriage be able to pull the three-spoke look off (we’re looking at you Saab) and the sharp angles of the wheels, rather than contrast by the round shape, merely draw your eyes away. Another car to carry a similar design is the mid-90s Pontiac Grand Am and, honestly, they look better without ceasing the Pontiac.

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day’s most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you’ve got a suggestion on the side of a good “Question Of The Day” send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

1124 GM Dealers Served Termination Notices

Thousands of General Motors dealers have been wondering if they were to be among the group of dealerships to be terminated by the automaker, with 1124 receiving confirmation from GM today that they were getting the ax. FEDEX and U.S. Mail notices were sent out to each of the affected dealers who learned that their franchise agreements wouldn’t be extended beyond October 2010.

This news follows on the heels of yesterday’s announcement by Chrysler that 789 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships would be shuttered. Unlike Chrysler, which plans to have most of these dealerships closed out by June 9th, GM is giving their dealers nearly eighteen months to wind down operations. They can also appeal the automaker’s decision.

Automotive News reported that GM’s Mark LaNeve, who is North American sales vice president, said that the impacted dealers only accounted for 7% of the automaker’s sales totals in 2008 and currently hold just 8% of the company’s unsold inventory.

An Immediate Wind Down Of Operations Expected

Though an appeals process is available LaNeve indicated that only if a mistake was made, one based on bad data, they aren’t anticipating that many of these decisions will be reversed. In addition, GM wants these dealerships to begin winding down their operations by selling off their current inventory.

LaNeve expects that some of the 65,000 vehicles sitting on the lots of affected dealers may end up being taken back. However, he stressed that the automaker wants as much inventory sold as possible to avoid holding costly auctions.

Saab, Saturn and Hummer Spared…For Now

GM’s move doesn’t include 470 Saab, Saturn and Hummer dealerships who will also lose their franchises unless a buyer steps forth for one or more of those brands. In addition, GM identified 35 Pontiac-only dealerships who are also getting the ax, franchises who aren’t fortunate to be part of the current Buick-Pontiac-GMC sales channel and are poor performers. GM had said earlier this month that they would shut down Pontiac by the end of 2010.

Once the smoke clears, there will still be 4300 dealerships remaining who will then have to compete for the 3600 dealership slots GM says will be adequate to sell its product line going forward.

Decision Day Looms

June 1st looms as an important day for GM as that date is when the automaker must convince the Obama administration that they have the tools in place to reorganize. If not, President Obama can order GM to declare bankruptcy, a move that current GM CEO Fritz Henderson says looks “probable.”

Roger Penske To Buy Saturn?

Well, it’s the month of may, and to me and every other racing fan on the planet, that means the Monaco Grand Prix, the Nurburgring 24 hours, and of course, the Indy 500. And right on cue, and no doubt much to the dismay of his competitors, Roger Penske, The Captain as he is known, puts his two cars at one and two on the grid.

Penske will be going for an unprecedented FIFTEENTH win at the speedway, but while poking around for info on the upcoming race, I came across this odd little rumor that seems to be gaining traction: Roger Penske might buy Saturn from General motors.

I’ve met Roger on several occasions, and have known about him my whole life. At it’s pretty obvious now, as it was since he was an up and coming driver (this was before he moved into team ownership), that you underestimated The Captain at your own peril.

Not only is Penske one of the best team managers in the history of racing, with successes and domination up there with the likes of Enzo Ferrari and Colin Chapman, but he is a startlingly effective businessman; a real “balls to the wall” type as Waring Hudsucker would say. Back in the 1980s Penske bought the ailing Detroit Diesel engine manufacturing concern and turned it around, and later sold it for a considerable profit. And when I say “ailing” that’s a polite, corporate speak way of saying, “They were at death’s door, within months if not weeks of folding.”

Penske is, in addition to being a racer, a businessman. Consider this, he was one of the first racing team managers that was able to turn racing into a money MAKING proposition. Before Roger came along, most people, and most auto manufacturers, looked at racing as a loss leader. It was something you’d do for R & D or promotional purposes. You went racing to spend money. Roger Penske went racing and MADE money.

So, along comes GM, limping from pillar to post, beset by problems that the Chevrolet Bros. could barely conceive of. Bleeding red ink like a hemophiliac after falling down a flight of stairs, GM is selling off divisions left right and center. Pontiac is gone. Hummer will be gone as soon as possible, Saab is on the block, and word comes that they’ve axed over a thousand dealerships from their once massive roasters of sales locations.

Also on the sales roster is Saturn, one the darling of the (former) “World’s Largest Automaker” is now up for grabs … and in walks Roger Penske.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the CEO of Penske Automotive Group (Roger’s car dealership business) is a possible bidder for Saturn. The WSJ didn’t cite anyone beyond “people familiar with the situation.”

“We look at things all the time. We have been offered an opportunity to look at Saturn. It’s very premature to assume anything will be done. I can confirm to you that we are looking at it,” said Tony Pordon, a spokesman for Penske Automotive Group, to the Detroit News.

Sounds like Roger is in the hunt.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Photo from Flickr user cmakin

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Cadillac SRX Pictures and Full Info

For the 2010 model year, Cadillac will introduce an all new SRX based on the Provoq concept vehicle. The production car will share the front-wheel drive GM Theta Premium platform with Saab which will get its own CUV, the 9-4X; the same platform will also produce the GMC Terrain and second-generation Chevrolet Equinox. The V8 is largely dropped on this model. Expected competitors include the Acura MDX, Lexus RX and Lincoln MKX.

The first official pictures of the production vehicle were released on August 15, 2008. The car was officially unveiled in January 2009. It comes with either a 3.0 liter V6 with direct injection derived from the 3.6 liter unit in the Cadillac CTS, or a 2.8 liter turbocharged V6.

The base 3.0 liter V6 produces 250 hp (190 kW) and 221 lb·ft (300 N·m) of torque while the 2.8 liter turbocharged V6 has 300 hp (220 kW) and 295 lb·ft (400 N·m) of torque. Both engines are paired with 6 speed automatics.
Cadillac SRX Pictures

Cadillac SRX Pictures

Cadillac SRX Pictures

Cadillac SRX Pictures

Cadillac SRX Pictures

Saab Turbo X specs and Pictures

Saab Turbo X is a limited edition special version of the 9-3 revealed at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. It is made to celebrate SAAB's 30 years of turbocharging. All Turbo X are offered in metallic jet black with matte grey trim. The Turbo X is SAAB's first production car with the XWD all-wheel drive system from Haldex Traction and eLSD. It is powered by a 2.8 litre V6 producing 280 PS (210 kW) mated to a six speed manual or automatic gearbox. It also has larger brakes as well as stiffer springs and shocks. The dash, shift lever and door panels have carbon fibre look and the turbo boost gauge draws its inspiration from the Saab 900
Saab Turbo X

Saab Turbo X

Saab Turbo X

Saab Turbo X

Saab Turbo X

Auto Sales: Looking For Signs of Recovery

April 2009 new car sales in the U.S. market were down once again, a drop of 34.4% over April 2008. Moreover, nearly 40,000 fewer new vehicles were sold in April compared to March 2009, even with one more selling day for April.

Finding Good News Amongst The Carnage

Reading some of the news releases from the manufacturers and you would think that April was a good month. Not surprising, since PR folks are looking for every possible ray of light and when they find one are eager to reflect the good news.

Take Ford: As the Blue Oval continues to map out its future, one where they’ll likely pass its chief rival, General Motors, sometime this year or next, the company was quick to emphasize the acceptance of their all-new mid-size sedans — the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ and the hybrid variants offered with the first two models. According to Autodata, Ford sales were off 31.5%, but the company sold more midsize vehicles than expected while also picking up market share. Best news of all, Ford passed Toyota in sales for the month.

Chrysler continues to struggle as its current bankruptcy state and pending relationship with Fiat unfolds. Although Mitsubishi posted the worst month over month loss of any full line manufacturer at 55.9%, Chrysler showed the biggest drop amongst the Big Six, falling 48.1% for the month. That bad news hasn’t stopped Chrysler from touting its good news which included both the Dodge Challenger and Chrysler Town & Country seeing a sales increase over the previous month while the Jeep Wrangler saw its sales increase by 7% over April 2008. Chrysler was also one of the most vocal in claiming that the market may have finally stabilized.

More Good News To Report

Among the other manufacturers offering their reports the following good news could be found:

• Kia says that its all-new Soul, the Scion-like urban utility vehicle sold 3,228 units for April.

• The Audi A5 increased 40% in sales over April 2008.

• Sales for the luxury Hyundai Genesis continue to climb, reaching 2,076 units for the month.

• Honda had the best performance of all Big Six automakers, dropping 25.3% for the month, its best month so far in 2009.  Sales of the redesigned Acura TSX are up for the year by nearly 6% over 2008.

• Wounded GM continues to lead all manufacturers maintaining a 38,000 vehicle cushion over its closest competitor which for April was Ford. Monthly sales for April were actually up 11% over March. With Pontiac winding down and with Saab, Saturn and Hummer all expecting to be sold or closed down before the year ends, GM’s hold on the top position looks precarious at best.

Looking Forward to the Coming Months

The months ahead are a big question mark for all manufacturers as future sales hinge on two events: an economic recovery as well as a “cash for clunkers” program now being considered by the U.S. Congress.  An improvement in the former and the implementation of the latter could go far to stimulate sales, perhaps bringing about a sustained recovery.

Related Reading — Sales Data Shows Promise Amid The Gloom

Playing Hardball, GM Dealers Strike Out

Pity the poor GM dealer who may just now be coming to terms with how weak their relationship is with the once might automaker. Healthy dealerships, particularly those operating in areas of the country where competition between dealers selling the same GM brand isn’t so tough aren’t affected, but smaller dealerships, particularly those located in markets where there are too many dealers to justify the numbers will soon be left out in the cold.

Rolling Out Government Union Motors

Now that GM is effectively being transformed into Government Union Motors (GUM) — owned by the U.S. government with secondary ownership in the hands of the United Auto Workers, lots of dealers will be given walking papers and ordered to shut down between now and the end of 2010.

In a bid to shrink its bulging dealer network from over 6200 dealers to around 3600 dealerships over the coming twenty months, GM says that they’ll terminate their relationship with low performing dealers and do that without compensation. The automaker says that they’ll buy back new car inventory, car parts, special tooling and some signage, but if the dealerships are looking for compensation ala Oldsmobile, it won’t be coming.

Abandoned Brands Will Lose Out Too

Quite a number of dealerships have been vulnerable anyway, particularly those selling Saab, Saturn and Hummer vehicles. Stand alone Pontiac dealers will also go away, but for those fortunate to have a combined Buick Pontiac GMC dealership, they’ll manage to soldier on with one less brand.

Next month, GM will send notices out to as many as 1200 dealerships that they will not be part of the reinvented GM.  500 dealers will be closing due to normal attrition, 500 more will go away when Saab, Saturn and Hummer finally disappear while the automaker will seek to close or combine an additional 500 dealerships in overcrowded markets.

Dealers Not Leaving Without A Fight

Lest the Obama Administration, General Motors and even Chrysler think that dealerships can be shut down without compensation, The Wall Street Journal ran a story on Wednesday suggesting otherwise. In, “GM, Chrysler Dealer Groups Retain Law Firms,” the newspaper reported that large dealer networks have retained the services of several law firms to help them fight back.

The lawyers have been retained to make sure that the dealers receive payments owed to them, especially if either automaker files for bankruptcy. Regarding the work of one law firm, the WSJ reported, “The firm will participate in negotiations with GM on dealers’ behalf and work with lawyers retained by individual dealers. Dealers operate under contracts with auto makers that require the company to cover obligations, ties to warranty repairs, inventory buy downs and floorplan assistance payments.”

The road to remake GM as well as Chrysler isn’t as simple as some might believe that it’ll be. Contracts cannot be automatically dimissed and litigating parties are allowed their day in court. No matter what happens, GM will be slicing and dicing its dealer network, but perhaps they’ll have to put some money on the hood to compensate aggrieved dealer franchise holders.

Related Reading — Checking In On The GM Bazaar

Checking In On The GM Bazaar

Day by day we are learning a little bit more about the direction that General Motors is taking, moves being made to return the company to profitability at some future date. Already, Pontiac has been given the ax as soon will Saturn, Saab and Hummer, the latter three likely to be sold off or shut down.

But, these brands aren’t the only ones in the news nor do they tell a whole lot about which models may go away regardless of the fate of a particular brand. Rumors, speculations, and hints being made by GM itself are revealing what few people have come to accept: when all is said and done, GM will be a much smaller company, likely trailing Toyota and Ford in US sales and finding itself much further down the global pecking order.

Among the “other” GM stories of note include the following:

• GM’s business relationship with Toyota — NUMMI or New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. — will continue although it does mean the end of the line for the Pontiac Vibe.  GM says that the Vibe will be discontinued when Pontiac closes up at the end of 2010, but a new, not yet disclosed model will be sold by one of GM’s surviving divisions which are Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Chevrolet. Read more….

• Holden, which is GM’s Australian brand, will suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in losses with the demise of the Pontiac G8 sedan. Earlier this year, Holden learned that GM would not import the Holden Ute to the United States a car truck that was to be sold as the Pontiac G8 ST. With Holden facing steep losses and likely layoffs, will GM decide that Chevrolet would be the next beneficiary of the Holden Commodore based G8 or will GM simply continue with the Chevy Impala as its flagship sedan? Read more….

• Opel will probably continue to operate as GM’s top European brand, selling Opels and Vauxhalls throughout its many markets. However, there is a distinct possibility that a significant interest in Opel may go to the highest bidder as Magna International and Fiat seek to get a share of the German automaker. Read more….

• Asia rising? One of the few bright spots for GM is its Asian operations thanks mostly to continued strong demand for its Buick models in China. In addition, the automaker has several partnerships in China which means the company is able to sell more than one million cars annually in the world’s most populace nation. No word yet on GM Daewoo, the automaker’s financially troubled Korean arm. With the Pontiac G3 coming to a quick end, Daewoo will still have the Chevy Aveo to fall back on. Read more….

Of course, additional GM subsidiaries could also find themselves being sold off, especially if cash flush buyers step forward to acquire control or at least a significant investment in that business. AC Delco remains an attractive unit for any company, the aftermarket and replacement parts arm of GM.  OnStar provides navigation and communications technology for more than six million GM drivers while GMAC could eventually be offloaded completely to Cerberus who bought controlling stake in GM’s financing unit in 2006.

So if you have the money to invest (or burn) and are so inclined to shop at the GM bazaar, then why not submit your bid while the bidding is in your favor?

2010 Jaguar XJ Spotted Taking The ‘Ring [Spy Photos]

The 2010 Saab 9-5 wasn’t the only car on the Nurburgring. Shooters spotted the highly-anticipated all-new 2010 Jaguar XJ taking a spin in military-grade camouflage. We can’t wait for the July 9th reveal.

Okay, let’session exist real frank for a moment, we love the Jaguar XJ line. Loved it since the original 1968 archetype with its goofy grille, loved the XJ Coupe, loved it during the dark times of square lights and reliability hell, and in fact loved it when Ford brought it into the modern age. The 2002 XJ-R is high on our list of must-have cars judgment death. So it’s with mixed emotions we await the all-new, traditional-shape-abandoning XJ. Is it exciting to have something which forges a unaccustomed path, sets new paradigms, takes pot shots at convention? You bet. But a little party of us last will and testament sorrow over the passing of the old-world Jaguar.

We’ll miss the beautifully proportioned shape which defined Jaguar for over four decades. The long, low, lithe silhouette is simultaneously elegant and yet influential, delicate yet commanding, masculine and feminine. Did it be delivered of a helluva lot of faults? You bet, nevertheless faults give character, and British cars have always worn their faults as badges of honor. The next XJ will be a unstained sheet, and it’s admittedly time to take a different direction, if it were not that on July 9th, when the car is formally unveiled at a especial event in London, a little gun of a great motoring after will die, but if we’re lucky, an exciting new future will replace it. [MotorAuthority]

2010 Saab 9-5 Spotted Tuning, Testing On The ‘Ring [Spy Photos]

The 2010 Saab 9-5 hit the Nordschleife Nürburgring as antidote to some tuning, which expedient new photos to sate your need for Swede. The car looks much bigger, and what’s that we experience? A hatch?

The nearest generation 9-5 will be putting more space between it and the minute 9-3, with a considerably longer wheelbase, more powerful engines and (Saab saints be praised!) an honest-to-God hatchback. It seems a proper 9-5 will come to fruition despite Saab being on GM’s auction block. [WCF]

A Buyer For Saturn? Maybe.

One of the worst franchises to own in 2009 is a Saturn dealership, thanks to GM’s stated plan to no longer build vehicles for the brand after 2011.  That move plus GM’s likely bankruptcy restructuring has put Saturn dealers in a terrible position of trying to sell cars that not many buyers want. Indeed, as word continues to spread that Saturn is on a short leash, buyers are shopping elsewhere for new cars.

Now word has surfaced that a buyer for the Saturn brand may be stepping forward, an entity known as Telesto Ventures. Made up of private equity investors including people associated with Black Oak Partners LLC, based in Oklahoma City, Telesto is interested in acquiring Saturn from GM perhaps including current dealers among its investors.

Selling Multiple Brands Under One Roof

According to Automotive News which is running the story, Saturn dealers would continue to sell GM products through 2011 and then sell a number of different overseas models thereafter.  The publication suggested that a “Best Buy” model of selling several different brands under one roof would be the goal of Saturn who would likely no longer have Saturn branded cars of its own to sell.

Of course, this move leads to all kinds of speculation as to who might have cars for Saturn. A number of foreign makes would love to set up shop here including vehicles currently built by Chinese firms.  However, any vehicle sold in the US would have to conform to American safety and emission requirements which would make it difficult for a low volume budget brand to make a profit. Currently, nothing from China’s major producers would be roadworthy in the US, but that could change.

Bringing Additional Brands Stateside

Other brands who might be a good fit for Saturn could include Renault and Peugeot (plus Citroen) from France, Skoda from central Europe, India’s Tata Motors and perhaps even Malaysia’s Proton Motors. Should the Fiat-Chrysler deal fail, then Fiat’s brands could also be a candidate for Saturn dealerships. Finally, GM could still be a participant in the new Saturn by importing Opels and/or Vauxhalls from Europe.

Should Telesto Ventures succeed in acquiring Saturn, it would free GM from its dealer obligations and allow it to concentrate on dumping Hummer and Saab next. The Telesto model is a big gamble, but it could pay off especially if the product mix is the right one for Saturn dealers.

Related Reading — Taking Saturn Private Is One Option