Photo: © GM Corp.

Crossovers have become a staple of the automotive industry, as buyers migrate away from traditional minivans or larger SUVs. Crossover vehicles seem to be the perfect fit for families – enough room to bring the kids, the dog and all the trappings of modern life, yet they’re more car-like to drive and to park. Unlike large SUVs, you don’t need to own an oil company to afford gas for one either. Crossovers can be had in any flavor, from vanilla (like Chevy’s Equinox) to jalapeno with a scotch bonnet pepper sauce reduction (like Infiniti’s FX50); in other words, you can get them with differing amounts of luxury and performance. Cadillac saw this as an opportunity for their revamped SRX; rather than offer a “one size fits all” V6, Caddy opted to give buyers the choice between a 3.0 liter V6 (good for 265 horsepower) and a 2.8 liter turbocharged V6 (good for 300 horsepower).

Thirty five horsepower isn’t a huge difference when you’re moving nearly 4,400 pounds of vehicle, but the Turbo may still have had a chance if it were only a few thousand dollars more than the normally aspirated V6. Instead, the price gap between the V6 and the turbo V6 was staggering: a 3.0 liter V6 SRX Performance stickered at $41,850, while the turbo 2.8 liter V6 SRX Performance stickered at $49,315. That’s a difference of $7,465, or $213.29 per horsepower in case you don’t have a calculator handy. Even the Premium trim level maintained the same additional cost for the turbo, so it’s no wonder that buyers consistently opted for the normally aspirated SRX over its pricey Turbo sibling.

Maybe the Turbo was doomed from the start. It’s first foray into the media spotlight came when a California journalist blew up a press fleet SRX Turbo, after filling it with non-premium fuel and tackling a mountain pass. This prompted a recall of SRX models, presumably to reprogram the ECU with additional knock control. Telling people to use premium fuel is one thing, but telling them their new $50,000 crossover could potentially throw a rod if mistakenly filled with regular unleaded is something else entirely. As crossovers go, the SRX Turbo wasn’t a bad vehicle; I think it was just misunderstood and more than a little overpriced.

Source: 4 Wheels News

No doubt that the majority agree that GM filing Bankruptcy would not be such a bad thing. Many support the idea that bankruptcy would “force” them into restructuring and emerging as a better and much more profitable company. Lately GM set into preparation to give a new offer to bondholders for a debt restructuring critical turn around that could be worse than the previous terms set by the automaker.

GM is actually preparing for bankruptcy as the outlook points more towards them doing such a thing. Restructuring alone is simply not good enough says the majority of tax payers who do not wish to bail them out mainly because of the poor decision making over several years of operation.

What will they do? It is possible GM will file and then eliminate several brands. Don’t worry, your GM car will still be covered under the current warranty terms and agreements if GM files for bankruptcy, even that part is backed by President Obama. What do you think GM should do at this point? File bankruptcy and restructure? Sell off a few brands? Eliminate a few brands? Build better cars? Close shop? Apologize to the customers? Build a bunch of Chevy Volts?

Tell us what you are thinking! Post your comments below!

Today is my “what to do in case of Automotive Industry emergency” news day. All of the major news networks are steadily reporting today updates of the Obama administration’s plans for the automotive industry. It seems they already want federally regulate everything else so why not do it with the Automotive industry. I mean, heck, they already gave Rick Wagoner, GM’s CEO, the boot and now they will guarantee the federal government paying for any warranty repairs on a General Motors or Chrysler vehicle if either company can’t because of financial problems or a bankruptcy filing. That’s actually good news now that I think about it because all my neighbor has to say about his Chevy Tahoe other than it is gas guzzler is that GM may not be able to fulfill their 100,000 mile warranty if they go under.

This has been the topic of discussion for thousands who happen to drive a GM or Chrysler vehicle currently. Many of these cars are still under warranty considering the 100,000 mile warranty offered in the past couple of years by both GM and Chrysler.

“Given where the industry is, these highly unprecedented actions are consistent with the unprecedented times we’re in,” Standard & Poor’s analyst Robert Schulz told Reuters today.

Let’s face it, bankruptcy is a very feasible option for Chrysler and GM and many are finally realizing this. We all knew it may come to this. I guess for now it is good that the government and/or Obama administration is on our side… or are they?

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner will step down from his position immediately as recently reported by various news associations. This comes about maybe as a slight surprise on the eve of President Barack Obama’s expected announcement of a deadline for Chrysler and General Motors to finalize their terms for restructuring or deciding on a Chapter 11 bankruptcy package.

As the economy shows no apparent signs of improvement except for the recent stock market rallies the auto industry continues to suffer and look for some type of outlet. The outlet for Rick Wagoner was specifically requested by the Obama administration.

Rick Wagoner spent 32 years with GM and in part over-seeing the operations of General Motors all through its better days and recent slump.

Below after the jump is the official message from Rick Wagoner and GM’s board restructuring announcement.

[source: Associated Press]

GM Message from Rick Wagoner

On Friday I was in Washington for a meeting with Administration officials. In the course of that meeting, they requested that I “step aside” as CEO of GM, and so I have.

Fritz Henderson is an excellent choice to be the next CEO of GM. Having worked closely with Fritz for many years, I know that he is the ideal person to lead the company through the completion of our restructuring efforts. His knowledge of the global industry and the company are exceptional, and he has the intellect, energy, and support among GM’ers worldwide to succeed. I wish him well, and I stand ready to support him, and interim Non-Executive Chairman Kent Kresa, in every way possible.

I also want to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone who supported GM and me during my time as CEO. I deeply appreciate the excellent counsel and commitment of the GM Board and the strong support of our many partners including our terrific dealers, suppliers, and community leaders. I am grateful as well to the union leaders with whom I have had the chance to work closely to implement numerous tough but necessary restructuring agreements.

Most important of all I want to express my deepest appreciation to the extraordinary team of GM employees around the world. You have been a tremendous source of inspiration and pride to me, and I will be forever grateful for the courage and commitment you have shown as we have confronted the unprecedented challenges of the past few years. GM is a great company with a storied history. Ignore the doubters because I know it is also a company with a great future.

GM Statement on Officer and Board Announcements

GM is announcing the following changes in the corporate officers and the board of directors:

• Rick Wagoner is stepping down as chairman and CEO, effective immediately. Wagoner, 56, was named president and CEO in 2000, and assumed the role of chairman in 2003.
• Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief operating officer, will serve as CEO. Henderson, 50, was named to his current position in 2008. He was previously vice chairman and chief financial officer.
• Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus, Northrop Grumman Corporation, has been named interim non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Kresa became a GM director in 2003
• GM is awaiting further announcements by the President and the Task Force on Automotive Reconstruction, and we will have additional comments at that time.

GM Board of Directors statement, attributable to Kent Kresa, Chairman

“The Board has recognized for some time that the Company’s restructuring will likely cause a significant change in the stockholders of the Company and create the need for new directors with additional skills and experience. The Board intends to work to nominate a slate of directors for the next annual meeting that will include a majority of new directors taking into account the addition of new directors, retirement, and decisions by individual directors not to stand for re-election, although the specific individuals who will be nominated or choose not to run or leave the board are not yet known.”

One of the highlights of the delivery that President Obama gave to the joint session of congress was a vow not to walk away from the automotive industry. The tone seemed directed at the American infrastructure of the automotive industry which directly includes the suffering Big 3.

The points that were brought out by autonews and others in the automotive industry were the positive inspirational parts of the speech saying, “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” Then later a specific address was directed towards the automotive industry having an obvious effect on the economy where the President said, “As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”

The speech will be critiqued among the media and other officials and a new wow factor may be brought out by those in the automotive industry where the President said, “We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.”

With those words it gives the automotive industry a positive and supported hope, one that the President spoke of during his campaign and now lives it out as President of the United States. Others may remain skeptical of his economic remedies but a good portion of America, especially in the automotive world, woke up today with a new inspiration to rebuild, retool and bring this country back to where it needs to be.

[sources: autonews, whitehouse.gov]

The Big 3 are not the only car makers to suffer during this economic downturn or what some call it, a recession. Many manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mercedes Benz have to lease out additional port space to stock pile their unsold vehicles. These cars have not even made it to the dealerships mainly because the dealerships are full of inventory and simply cannot stock any additional vehicles. Yes, it is that bad!

Some manufacturers have ceased production of some vehicles for now. The deals on 2008 model year cars may become “unbelievable” very soon so they can start to move some cars. We can now only pray that the state of our economy gets better so they do not have to start stacking Toyota Camrys on top of Benzes. Then again, who would really care if a $100K Benz gets trashed, it would not make it to the dealership anytime within the next 6 months anyway.

Automotive industry analysts have said today that an Obama Presidency is going to help US automakers in many ways.

Union leaders will have an Employee Free Choice Act put in place making it easy to unionize the foreign automakers plants in the USA. Think of it as more Toyota-GM type set-ups where a larger portion of the foreign automakers set up shop here in America to produce cars for America. A win win situation to help many automakers get back on their feet.

We have heard the many speeches during the presidential election from Obama where plans will be put in place to move the automotive industry in a new direction. We can only hope that this plays out in the near future to stimulate the economy starting with more American produced vehicles that could create jobs instead of laying off employees.

We need some answers and results soon! Show us the money Obama! _ The Automotive Industry