As of 10 am this morning, General Motors stock was trading at about 80 cents. If you think that is a bit of a bargain, you may be a bit of crazy. With The General apparently almost finished with bankruptcy, there is near certainty that the company's common stock will mean exactly nothing in a manner of days or weeks.

GM is warning investors that the stock grab is a bad idea, releasing a statement reiterating its "strong belief that there will be no value for the common stockholders in the bankruptcy liquidation process, even under the most optimistic of scenarios."

With GM common stock scheduled for oblivion in the near future, it seems likely that any money spent on stock in the struggling company would be more useful as kindling for a bonfire. Since the new GM will be owned by the federal government, unions and shareholders, the stock-buying public likely won't have an opportunity to buy in for months – or more likely, years.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Scripophily Trader]

We can only imagine how exciting a day it would be to bring home a brand spanking new Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Genesis Owners forum member zedbuyers was feeling that love as he and his wife left a Massachusetts Chevy dealer with a spanking new Cyber Gray Metallic Z06. Zedbuyers was driving from the dealer in the rain with his wife following behind in the couples' nine-month-old Genesis Sedan when disaster struck.

As traffic slowed from 60 mph to 30 mph in the exit lane, zedbuyers applied the brakes, but his wife evidently didn't. The Genesis slammed into the hours-old Z06, thrusting the $80,000 supercar into the vehicle in front of it. Oddly, the Genesis took the brunt of the blow, and a local Hyundai dealer estimated the damage at $16,000, including nearly $2,000 for the HID headlamps alone. The Z06 damage was $10,000, including $2,000 for a carbon fiber bumper.

Luckily, nobody was seriously injured in the accident, but we're sure the owner is smarting none the less. We're guessing the insurance company is not going to react kindly to a combined $26,000 in damages only hours after the purchase of what is likely a very expensive vehicle to insure in the first place. Peruse the gallery below to check out the carnage, and click on the link below for zedbuyers' damage estimates.



[Source: Genesis Owners via Jalopnik]

Diesel's near-term prospects in America took a huge hit with the revelation that nine diesel-powered 2010 models are on hold. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have put the kibosh on rolling out more oil burners due to cost and perception issues.

Toyota's obviously on a hybrid run and doesn't want to expel the effort or expense of investing in diesel for the American market -- and having to overcome America's dirty diesel perceptions. The others, as mass market manufacturers, simply need more justification for the cost and complexity of oilburners in order to make the case for consumers to spend more.

Additionally, diesel's benefits are weighted differently according to EPA or CAFE standards. The EPA mileage numbers present diesels well, but CAFE's differing fuel mileage equation makes gas-hybrids look better than diesels, and CAFE is something all automakers are looking at. However, you'll notice that German brands aren't mentioned -- their price premium and European diesel volumes make a worthwhile case for diesels, so those diesel Jetta Sportwagons won't be going away any time soon.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Despite having fewer model variations on the market, pent up demand for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro appears to have been enough to send the bad Bowtie past Ford's redone Mustang in June. Sales figures for the month are beginning to trickle in today, and General Motors says it shifted 9,320 Camaro units last month, as compared to the Blue Oval's 7,632 Mustangs.

Whether Chevrolet's victory will be sustainable over the long haul remains to be seen, but as The General has a backlog of 10,000 sold orders to fill (equating to less than a seven day supply), the streak is likely to continue for at least the next few months. Presently, GM offers just two main Camaro models, the V6 RS and the V8-powered SS, while the Ford Mustang has more bodystyles and trims than you can shake a stick at (arguably making the Camaro's achievement seemingly that much more impressive).

Sales of the third leg of 2009's pony car table, the Dodge Challenger, trail far behind, with just 1,369 units cleared last month.

As the industry heads into the dog days of summer, it looks like America's renewed pony car war is just heating up. Who will take the crown for the whole year? Sit tight, muscle fans.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Alex Nunez / Weblogs, Inc.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

General Motors needs to move Pontiacs and pickup trucks, and the bankrupt automaker is once again breaking out some serious incentives to alleviate dealer stocks. The General is offering 0% financing for 72 months for the Vibe, G3, G5, G6 and G8, giving prospective car buyers the chance to get into one of the last Pontiacs ever made. The "72 Hour Sale" oddly begins today and runs through Monday, July 6, which is more than 72 hours – even when excluding the 4th of July weekend.

GM is also using the sales event to move some of its slower-selling vehicles. The Chevrolet Impala, Silverado and Tahoe, as well as the GMC Sierra and Yukon will also have 72 month, 0% financing. Other vehicles will have 0% financing for 60 months, but they won't be part of the special 72 hour sale.

While we're not planning to run out to the local Pontiac store for a new G3, if you would have told us a year ago that we could get a 361 hp G8 GT for about $400 a month, we'd be pretty stoked. Hit the jump to scan the GM press release.

[Source: General Motors]

According to Reuters, General Motors is on its way into bankruptcy court today in an effort to win approval and access to additional federal funding under its asset-split plan. The automaker filed for Chapter 11 protection just 30 days ago, but it will now go before Judge Robert Gerber to sell desirable assets (think: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Buick) to "New GM" and jettison various debts and negative assets by consigning them to "Old GM," which would be liquidated. If it succeeds in winning court approval, GM will receive billions in U.S. Treasury funding.

Before it can open the Fed's piggy bank, however, GM must weather challenges from bondholders and disgruntled consumers involved in certain types of product liability lawsuits. Industry watchdogs believe that both GM and the Obama administrations auto task force have learned from Chrysler's bankruptcy machinations, which could accelerate the process. For more details on today's proceedings, check out the link below. Thanks for the tip, Michael!

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo | Image: Michael Heiman/Getty]

Now that the Chevrolet Volt has progressed to the point where vehicles with near-production bodywork are running around, the time has come for the crew to begin ironing out details like the ride height and spring rates that will directly influence the plug-in hybrid's handling.

Regarding these points, chief engineer Andrew Farah has some interesting things to say about the Volt and the way GM will position it against its competitors. For instance, Farah notes (in reference to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight), "Our chassis is much more sporty than either of the other vehicles."

Farah also comments on a couple of changes to the car's exterior design that eagle-eyed parties had noticed, such as the relocation of the plug from the front fender to under a flap in the traditional location for a gas cap. Other changes, such as the headlamps and taillights, may merely be present because the Volt is still early in its development cycle and there are some pre-production bits that aren't yet necessary for testing purposes.

Spy photographers take note: Farah also says the car is set to undergo some hot-weather endurance testing out west this summer.



[Source: Inside Line]

Rumors that General Motors may get access to Toyota's proprietary hybrid technology just won't go away. Today, Bloomberg cites two unnamed sources in reports that Toyota President Akio Toyoda and GM chief Fritz Henderson will meet this August in Michigan to discuss the possibility of a GM-badged version of the Toyota Prius hybrid hatchback.

For the record, both General Motors and Toyota have repeatedly denied that any such talks have taken place in the past and have said it's unlikely that they ever will in the future. Many of these rumors indicate that the two automakers are considering building the Prius together at the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint venture in California, but GM has today announced that its involvement in NUMMI is over.

It remains a possibility that Toyota will fully take over the reigns at NUMMI to finally build the Prius in America, but even if that's the case, it's extremely unlikely that General Motors will have anything to do with the project in light of its own massive undertaking of readying the Chevrolet Volt for the market in 2011.



[Source: Bloomberg]
Photos copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

As part of its "New GM"/"Old GM" bankruptcy proceedings, General Motors has announced that it will abandon its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint venture with Toyota.

According to an official statement, GM and Toyota worked to find a future product that would work for both automakers, but they were apparently unable to do so. As a result, GM will assign its NUMMI stake to "Old GM," effectively ending a 25-year partnership with the Japanese automaker.

Over the last quarter-century, the Fremont, California plant has produced a number of vehicles for GM, including the current Pontiac Vibe, as well as the Geo/Chevrolet Prizm, and the Bowtie'd Nova that preceded it.

There is no word on what (if any) effect the deal's collapse will have on Toyota's NUMMI-made products which include the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan. According to NUMMI's official website, 5,440 workers are employed at the plant. Official press release after the jump. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: General Motors; NUMMI | Image: Hokubei]

According to the well-connected boys over at Camaro5, General Motors will indeed produce a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 after all... and they've even scored some details on the hi-po offering.

According to Camaro5 user Hiney1 who attended a special question and answer session at the Carlisle Nationals this weekend (seen above), a Z28 will arrive after the Camaro Convertible, itself expected in the spring of 2011.

The Z28 will reportedly make use of some sort of high-output LS-based engine (C'mon, guys! You're killing us!), and it will incorporate a hood similar to that of the Bumblebee edition, along with a unique grille, the usual spate of graphics and emblems, and perhaps even a tweaked rear-end. Thanks for the tip, Jay!

[Source: Camaro5]