American Cars 1

False Rumor: The Corvette ZR1 is Not Dead... Rumors are "Not True"

Yesterday DigitalCorvettes started a rumor that GM had stopped production of the Corvette ZR1 and that the car had been killed. Well today those rumors have been put to rest by Terry Rhadigan ), Chevrolet’s manager for global communications.

Rhadigan recently told Autoblog that the rumors were "Not True." GM still has orders for the ZR1 and production is going to start up again next week.

GM Unveils Bare Necessity Car and Truck Concepts with Videos

In addition to the announcement about the Volt and the 25 new models that GM is planning on releasing, the automaker also announced the launch of "The Lab," a microsite featuring future projects by GM's Advanced Design team. The microsite currently features two new concepts that are being developed, the Bare Necessities Truck and the Bare Necessities Car.

The theme of the two concepts is to offer buyers what they want and nothing more, hence "bare necessities."

Next Corvette Could Become a Hybrid

GM may consider putting a hybrid powertrain in the Chevy Corvette if the car's existence is in jeopardy. The new CAFE standards, which dictate that an automaker's entire fleet has to average 35.5 mpg by 2016, could force GM to be more creative with the Corvette in order to squeeze out extra gas mileage.

Tesla Roadster Sport Starts at $128,500...0-60 MPH in 3.7 Secs

Tesla has announced the new Tesla Roadster Sport, which is a "high-performance" version of the Tesla Roadster.

The Roadster Sport gets an upgraded suspension, adjustable dampers, anti-roll bars and Yokohama’s Ultra High Performance tires. Additionally the Sport comes with an hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque.

The upgrades help shave off .2 seconds off the car's 0-60 time from 3.9 to 3.7 seconds.

The Tesla Roadster Sport will be available this summer starting at $128,500.

GM Has a Buyer for HUMMER, but Buyer Not Revealed

Following yesterday's bankruptcy announcement, GM has announced that the automaker has entered "into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for Hummer."

GM stopped short of revealing who the buyer is, but stated that the sale is expected to close by the end of the third quarter this year. GM also stated that the buyer is committed to aggressively funding future HUMMER vehicles, hopefully like the H3T and that 3,000 jobs are now secure.

GM Officially Kills Pontiac...To be Phased Out by the End of 2010!

As was rumored last week, GM has officially announced the death of the Pontiac brand this morning.

General Motors released an updated Viability Plan this morning that focuses on speeding up the reinvention of GM's U.S. operations. GM hopes to become more leaner, more customer focused and a more cost-competitive automaker.

GM is going to continue to focus on its four core brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, which unfortunately for G8 fans means the death of Pontiac. Pontiac is going to be phased out by the end of 2010. In 2010 GM plans on offering a total of 34 nameplates, which is a reduction of 29 percent from 48 nameplates in 2008.

The updated plan also moves up the resolution of Saab, Saturn and Hummer to the end of 2009, at the latest, which is two years earlier than expected for Saturn.