GM’s Dual Mode Hybrid System Could Be America’s Best Hope for Oil Independence!

Now I know this may sound incredible: GM’s dual mode hybrid system is on big trucks. How can that possibly save America from its oil addiction? Well, let me make a few loose suppositions. First, over 50% of vehicles on the road today are trucks and sport utility vehicles. GM’s dual mode hybrid system improves fuel economy by up to 50% on the vehicles on which it is installed. If you follow this through, if all trucks and SUVs were replaced with like vehicles using GM’s dual mode system, we could see a reduction in fuel demand of up to 25% nationwide. That would be huge!

Of course this is a stretch, but it does demonstrate that the key to success is in building fuel efficient vehicles that will do the work of America. While there is certainly a place for small fuel efficient vehicles, the biggest bang for our buck may be in large ones.

GM started the research in hybrid technology in its truck and bus division. GM felt that the market for hybrids was in mass transportation, and developed the first dual mode hybrids to run busses in America’s largest cities. This technology has been adapted for use in our SUVs and pickups, and will evolve for use in large cars and crossover vehicles.

Now for the real silver bullet: Hydrogen. You combust hydrogen and you get water. GM has a fleet of 100 hydrogen powered Equinox SUV’s running around Washington DC right now. It is going to take the will of congress and continued high oil prices to push for a hydrogen distribution system in the US. GM is the leader in this technology.

The GM GIANT has a Yukon Hybrid in stock now available for test drives. Come take a trip around the block in this impressive fuel saver. For more information about this and other GM products, visit us at www.gmgiant.com

The GM Giant Has The New Yukon Hybrid In Stock!

The long awaited 2008 Yukon Hybrid has finally arrived at the GM Giant for you to test drive. Once you do, I am certain many of you will want to order one. Initial production is pegged at about 10 percent of capacity. As demand is evaluated, GM will increase or decrease that mix between conventional and Hybrid. After driving the vehicle, I am certain it will be a hit and production will be increased.

Driving the Yukon Hybrid at slow speeds around my neighborhood was like driving an oversized golf cart. The electric engine operated this big 8 passenger truck with only the quiet whine of the electric engine and the noise of the tires popping over the macadam road surface can be heard. A more aggressive acceleration from a stop sign resulted in the engine kicking in, then the hybrid system with the engine going into 4 cylinder mode. Were it not for the display on the dash, I would not have known any of the changes in the power mode. The only time you notice a change is when you slow down and the engine cuts off, leaving you 100% on battery power. Then the only reason you know is that it gets REAL QUIET.

The hybrid version of the Yukon and Tahoe delivers up to a 50% increase in fuel economy over their standard non-hybrid version. GM announced an EPA estimated 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for the 2 wheel drive hybrid Tahoe and Yukon models. That matches Toyota Camry’s 4 cylinder model’s EPA estimated 21 mpg city and beats the 6 cylinder model by 2 mpg. All of this is accomplished without any compromise in power thanks to the world class dual mode hybrid technology. It is important to note that these estimates are using the EPA’s new, more conservative, “real world driving” ratings.

America has had a long love affair with the full size SUV. That relationship has been challenged by high fuel prices. Now you will be able to get the benefits of the full size Tahoe and Yukon with the mileage of a mid size sedan. Did I mention power? These hybrid family movers boast a 6.0 liter V8, delivering 332 horse power and 367 pounds-feet of torque.

The dual mode hybrid system allows the Tahoe and Yukon to run up to 32 mph on electricity alone. After that speed the trucks either run on gasoline alone or a combination of gasoline and electricity. GM’s fuel management system will deactivate cylinders at highway speeds under low load, increasing the fuel efficiency. What is really neat about this system is you don’t even know it is happening, and it operates flawlessly, unlike the old 2-4-8 system of the early 80’s.

GM is also planning to use the two mode system in its Silverado and Sierra pickups. GM’s two mode system can be re-sized to work on smaller mid sized vehicles, and I am told they are working on bringing out hybrid models of other GM vehicles. The nice thing about the two mode system is that it can be adapted for use on smaller vehicles, unlike Toyota’s hybrid system that only works well on smaller vehicles.

GM continues to invest heavily in alternative fuel technology. They offer the most E85 capable vehicles in the world that run on a fuel mixture of 85% ethanol, usually from corn, and 15% gasoline. The new Chevy Volt plug in electric vehicle will run entirely on electricity, with gasoline only being used to run a generator when trips exceed 45 miles. GM also has a fleet of Hydrogen Powered Equinox SUV’s, where the only emission is water vapor, running America’s roads.

I invite you to come test drive the new Yukon Hybrid and see for yourself how saving on fuel can be accomplished without a compromise on size comfort and power. For more information on this and other GM products, visit us online at www.gmgiant.com.

Did you know you can have maintenance done at your dealership as cheap as anywhere else?

The evolution of the new car dealership service departments is an interesting study in market shifts. Back in the 70’s, the typical car dealer relied on the factory payment of warranty claims to sustain the parts and service operations. The factory paid the dealer based on the rate they charged customers for maintenance and other customer pay functions. Since warranty work could represent well over 50% of the total service load to the shop, the dealership had to charge higher rates on customer pay to get the factory to pay more. Training and special tools were expensive, and these higher rates were necessary to support the expense.

This spawned a new industry in the United States. Independent shops and tire vendors began to pop up everywhere, offering lower prices on maintenance and non warranty repairs. The dealers didn’t mind because they were concentrating on completing warranty repairs.

Over time, dealership gross profits on new and used cars and trucks began to get squeezed due to competition, and quite frankly the customer’s ability to easily travel on more efficient roadways and shop. Dealers were faced with a dilemma. Dealers had to get profit from the parts and service departments to make up for lower profits on cars and trucks. They began to realize that they had chased the more profitable brake, tire, suspension, and exhaust work away to the independents. In fact, in many cases, technicians that had been trained by the dealerships were going to work for these independents or opening their own shops.

Along came a cottage industry of consultants that began teaching dealers how to get the profitable maintenance business back. Dealers had to re-price their labor and do things like variable labor pricing, and offering less expensive non original equipment manufacturer parts. But the factory came back with longer 3-4 and 5 year warranties. This had the effect of stalling the move to lower prices.

Today, even with longer warranties, the quality of the cars and trucks, at least for GM, is so good that warranty work now only represents 10 to 15 percent of total dealership service. We have to get the defectors; (those who only use the dealership for warranty and take the rest of the work elsewhere) back into dealership service departments.

The GM Giant is embarking on a new campaign to do just that. While we will make the case for Genuine GM Parts with lifetime parts and labor warranties, and work done by factory trained technicians, we will offer alternatives. The independents don’t use factory trained technicians and seldom if ever use factory parts. The reality is there is a place for both. Depending on your individual situation, we may recommend factory parts installed by our best technicians, or we may suggest less expensive parts installed by journeymen technicians, saving you money. One thing is for sure: We do not want you taking your car to anyone else but us for service, and we are willing to cut our prices to do it. You will see us advertising specials that will be as good as anything in the market. We will still offer Genuine GM Parts, and in some cases almost insist on them. But if price is the determining factor on whether you get the work done or not, we will commit to offer the same or better value than our competition. Even though we know our factory brakes will last longer and have a better warranty, we would rather see our customers buy aftermarket brakes from us than drive an unsafe vehicle. It is a new mindset, but we are determined to provide the best value for our customers.

For information on this or any GM Giant products, visit us online at www.gmgiant.com.

DID YOU KNOW THE AUTO INDUSTRY CELEBRATES PRESIDENT’S DAY FOR 15 DAYS AND WHY?

A young person once asked me what President’s Day was all about. I explained that it started off as a celebration of George Washington’s birthday. Washington was the first President of The United States of America and served from 1789 until 1797. He was offered a salary of $25,000 per year, which he refused. He was married to Martha and is generally known as “the father of our country”. George was born on February 22, 1732 according to the calendar commonly used since the 18th century. However, the old style calendar used during that era claims George was born on February 11th. . The Federal Government officially made George Washington’s birthday a federal holiday, officially setting his birthday and the holiday as the 22nd of February.

Having a holiday that doesn’t fall on a Monday really messes up the long weekends preferred by American government workers. So in 1968 Congress passed HR 15951 making Washington’s birthday the third Monday of February.

Now along comes Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Known as Honest Abe, President Lincoln is best known as the president who freed the slaves, and for being assassinated while attending a play. One of the nations most beloved presidents, he had the misfortune of being born on February 12th. Celebrating another president’s birthday in the same month as father of our country is just too hard on commerce, and his birthday never became a federal holiday, although it is a legal holiday in several states. So now, although the office of personnel management only recognizes Washington’s Birthday, we generally celebrate the third Monday in February in honor of the birth of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and every other President.

In 1928 President Herbert Hoover’s campaign slogan was, “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage”, referring to the prosperity citizens would enjoy under his administration. I guess the auto industry picked up on this, because we now celebrate Presidents day for 14 days (15 in a leap year like this year) with rebates and incentives. You will hear more about Presidents Day over the next two weeks in ads for cars to last you until Election Day.

GM is offering 0% financing for 60 months plus $1,000 in rebates on its most popular models. If you don’t want the financing you can take increased rebates. On top of this there are other incentives on some left over models along with Auto Show rebates in honor of the Baltimore Auto Show that just ended. President’s Day is the proclaimed beginning of the selling season for the auto industry, and GM is expecting a sales boom.

Vehicles like the Motor Trend Car of the Year, Cadillac CTS; the North American Car of the Year, Chevy Malibu; the Chevy Silverado, the longest lasting truck on the road; GM’s popular crossover vehicles, and the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave are being relied on heavily by GM to kick the 08 selling season in full gear. GM was the only major manufacturer to have a year over year sales gain in January, and they expect the gains to continue.

Now as for the young person who asked me about President’s day, I think I understand his confusion. For information on GM vehicles, visit us at www.gmgiant.com.

DID YOU KNOW THIS COULD BE THE BEST TIME EVER TO BUY A NEW CAR OR TRUCK?

GM WAS THE ONLY MAJOR MANUFACTURER WITH A SALES INCREASE IN JANUARY.

The US auto industry just announced that new car and light truck sales were off 8.5% from the same period of sales last year. Slumping auto sales, historically low home sales and the mortgage meltdown are evidence of a slowing economy that has the Federal Reserve Bank cutting the discount rate dramatically.

Of the major manufacturers, only GM had a sales increase. GM’s sales were up 2.8%, led primarily by retail sales. In a strategic move to boost residual and future trade in values of its cars and trucks, GM has resisted sales to rental fleets. Those sales are historically low margin and used to keep plants running.

Manufacturers reporting declines in sales include Toyota, whose sales were off 2.9%, Honda and Nissan reported sales declines of 2.9% and 7.3% respectively, and Ford’s total sales were off 3.9% including fleet, but retail sales were down a full 9%. The big loser was Chrysler who reported their sales off by 12%.

But what makes this a good time to buy, when it is clear that the trend is down? The reality is that auto manufacturers business is building cars and trucks. If consumers don’t buy, plants get idled and the manufacturers lose money. This is the point where incentives take over. Even though GM’s sales were the only ones that were up, they were still no where near levels that will perpetuate production.

Like the stock market, the best buys are when the market is down. You can take advantage of incredible incentives to buy a new car or truck now. And at least for GM, the quality of cars and trucks offered for sale are the best in history. GM, for example, is offering 0% financing for up to 72 months on some models. That represents huge savings over conventional financing. GM is also offering rebates of up to $4,000, and this is after they cut window sticker prices significantly last year. Don’t think the incentives are just on leftover inventory. GM has incentives on just about every model in the line-up, including the 2008 versions.

As the Fed continues to cut rates and the government initiates an economic stimulus package, we know eventually the market will recover and new car and light truck sales will return to normal. Until then it is a buyers market. The quality has never been better. Cars and trucks are more fuel efficient than any time in our history. This is truly the time to buy. For more information about incentives and deals on GM cars and trucks, visit our web site at www.gmgiant.com, or visit us in Easton and Federalsburg.

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN DRIVE AMERICAS FASTEST SELLING VEHICLE, BUICK ENCLAVE, AND PLAY IN A PGA TOUR EVENT?

A lot has been made of Tiger Woods and his relationship with Buick. Click on to Buick.com and get an introduction to the Buick Enclave by the number one golfer in the world, Tiger Woods. While you are there you will get a tour of the Buick Clubhouse, where membership is reserved for Buick owners and dealers.

As a member you will be entitled to discounts on greens fees at any TPC golf course in the United States. You will be offered the opportunity to play in PGA Pro Am events and to walk inside the ropes with your favorite PGA pro at specified tournaments. There are discounts available on golf equipment and many other golf related amenities.

The Buick Enclave has made its debut, and has been recognized by CNBC as America’s fastest selling vehicle. This is based on the amount of time vehicles stay on the lot after being shipped to dealers. That makes it a faster selling model than the Toyota Prius, Mercedes C Class, Honda Fit and the only other American car on the top ten list, the GMC Acadia.

What makes this Buick such a great hit? I would suggest its elegant styling and 8 passenger capacity, along with Buicks legendary quiet ride. The Enclave boasts xenon articulating head lamps, elevated heated seats, rear park assist with a rear camera, and heated washer fluid all designed to give you a clear unrestricted 360 degree view.

The enclave is quieter than the Lexus RX 350, Acura MDX and Mercedes R Class, with its exclusive Quiet Tuning. It comes with a Bose 5.1 10 speaker surround sound audio system for a concert quality sound experience.

Enclave boasts a 275 horsepower V6 engine teamed with a 6 speed automatic transmission and GM’s famous StabiliTrack, giving Enclave unparalleled performance and handling. Starting MSRP is $33,505.

Buick Enclave of course comes standard with GM’s OnStar, and has GM’s 100,000 mile warranty. Come test drive an Enclave and see why it is the fastest selling vehicle in America. For more information, visit www.gmgiant.com. To comment on this and other Did You Know articles, visit our blog at gmgiant.com.

Did You Know The Cadillac CTS Is Motor Trend’s Car Of The Year?

Well, it has finally happened. General Motors has taken home the Golden Calipers as Motor Trend Magazine’s coveted Car of the Year for the first time since the Chevrolet Corvette won back in 1998. According to Motor Trend, “GM has leapt…into the inner sanctum marked ‘The World’s Finest Cars’. For that remarkable achievement, and for making us grin like lottery winners every time we drove it, the Cadillac CTS is our enthusiastic choice for 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Not since Neil and Buzz spiked Old Glory into the lunar dust in 1969, have red, white, and blue ambition and technological prowess looked so good.”

Motor Trend Continues: “The CTS’s winning ways go far beyond its fetching façade. Not only is the CTS the star of a new GM revival, (including such standouts as the 2008 Chevy Malibu and Buick Enclave just to name two) it is a true world car, tested from the Nurburgring in Germany to China, and sold across the globe. Base price is just $32,990, including a 263 horsepower VVT V6, (a 304 horse direct injection version is optional), 8 speaker Bose Audio, 17 inch wheels, and dual zone climate control. By comparison you’ll pay over $33,000 for a base BMW 3 series sedan with just 230 horses, and north of $45,000 for the more comparably sized BMW 528i. GM’s naturally aspirated direct injection V6 enables more power than the twin turbo BMW 535i.”

Cadillac’s new CTS has a lot of things that make it stand out. A 40 Gigabyte hard drive that will play thousands of songs you have stored on it, is available. Or you could record programming directly from your Bose sound system. Ambient lighting offers the ultimate in interior lighting, making it easy to read gauges and find the controls you are looking for, while not compromising your view of the road. Adaptive forward lighting will provide the best possible view of the road ahead at night, giving you a visual lead into turns. An optional pop-up eight-inch, full screen VGA rises out of the center stack. There is also a two row, ultra view sun roof system, available infotainment system on par with the best in the world, and optional “pipe lights”, positioning lamps that deliver distinctive nighttime aesthetics. As well there is OnStar, which can save your life by calling emergency personnel and dispatching them to your location in case of an accident.

As the commercial says, “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” The CTS definitely does. I believe Motor Trend put it best when they said, “News flash to automakers in Germany and Japan: The Eagle has landed.”