GM’s Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM will invest $370 million in a new manufacturing plant, located in Flint, Michigan. The 552,000-square-foot plant is expected to be ready in 2010, will create 300 jobs and will build a 1.4 liter turbo engine for the recently announced Chevrolet Cruze and a 1.4 liter engine for the Chevrolet Volt.

Wagoner said “We are confident that Flint is exactly the right place to build our all-new powertrain plant,” while Gov. Jennifer Granholm added “Our competitive business climate, outstanding work force and aggressive strategy to diversify our economy put us in a strong position to win this project and be the state that helps GM produce the cars and trucks that will help end our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.” Actually, things aren’t going very well for the Flint community. Currently, GM employs about 6,000 workers in five facilities located here, but that’s a huge drop, considering that once there were 60,000 GM employees here.

With this investment, GM (which will receive millions in tax incentives to build the Volt) totals $9 billion invested in Michigan in the last 10 years and more than $42 billion in the U.S.

Read More: "GM to invest $370 million in Volt engine plant"

After two weeks ago one of the largest Hummer dealers closed down, today, the largest Chevrolet dealer in the United States, Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., announced that, under the current economical situation, they cannot continue their business anymore. The Columbus based company has 2,700 employees and owns thirteen dealerships (five in Georgia and eight in Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas) and a fourteenth one in Scottsdale, Arizona, which closed on September 12.

GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said that all Chevrolet warranties will be honored by GM at other nearby dealerships, and GM and Heard will do some research to see if some of the dealerships could be reopened. “Wherever it makes sense to keep a point open, and it’s attractive enough for other dealers to take a look at it and keep it operating, we’ll be doing that,” she said.

Read More: "Largest US Chevrolet dealer closes its doors"

Looks like the folks from GM are really busy these days. After unveiling the new Volt a few days ago, today they released details on another new car for the United States, the 2009 Pontiac G3. Basically a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Aveo, the G3 will be powered by the 106 hp (79 kW) 1.6 liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine, mated to a five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic transmission.

“The small car segment has literally exploded in recent months, with sales up nearly 33 percent in the first six months of 2008 alone,” said Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC. “With its proven success in other markets, we felt the time was right to bring the G3 into the BPG portfolio for our U.S. customers.”

The 2009 Pontiac G3 will be available in the US starting with spring 2009 as a 2009 model and will be backed by GM’s five-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.

Check out more photos after the jump. Read More: "GM announces the 2009 Pontiac G3"

Last month, when GM made the official announcement regarding the Chevrolet Cruze, everyone, including us, was pretty excited, because the car promises to be a good one. However, time passes and we find out more details about the cars, that kinda ruin our initial excitement. And we’re talking about the car’s pricing. Though no official prices were released so far by GM, Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper implied that, when it will enter the US market in 2010, the car will cost more than its Japanese competitors, the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla.

“Value and price are offshoots of what consumers think about them, what they’re willing to pay for the products,” Peper said. “It’s obviously in our best interest if people think more of our products, the more the value that we provide.” Guess we’ll have to wait and see what exactly he’s talking about, before saying anything, but the pricing difference will probably be substantial, and this might hurt Cruze sales a lot.

Read More: "Chevrolet Cruze’s pricing not so attractive"

You’d expect a little more competition from the two Detroit giants, but actually Ford’s gesture is really cool. On GM’s 100th anniversary, Ford decided to congratulate their rivals by strategically opening and closing specific blinds on the south side of the WHQ building, to show the message “Happy 100 GM”. Like we said, it’s very cool to see, that in these special moments, big companies like Ford decide to let rivalry aside and show their appreciation. Congratulations, Ford, and Happy Birthday, GM!

Read More: "Happy Birthday GM from Ford"

After last week a set of official photos of the new Chevrolet Volt leaked on the internet, today, during GM’s 100th anniversary, the Detroit giant released the first official images of the production ready hybrid. “Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century,” said Rick Wagoner, GM Chairman and CEO. “The Volt is symbolic of GM’s strong commitment to the future … just the kind of technology innovation that our industry needs to respond to today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges.”

Because aerodynamics play a very important role in this type of vehicles, the Volt’s design changed a lot comparing it to the concept car that was shown at last year’s Detroit show. Changes include the rounded and flush front fascia with tapered corners and closed front grille, rear design graphics with a carefully designed spoiler, outside rearview mirrors and an aggressive rake on the windshield and back glass help reduce turbulence and drag. These plus the 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery which can be charged from a standard household 120v outlet or 240v, help the Volt achieve a driving range of up to 40 miles (based on EPA city cycle) without using gasoline or producing emissions.

On the interior the Volt will be available with a variety of interior color, lighting and trim options, modern controls, two informational displays, and a touch-sensitive infotainment center with integrated shifter.

The Volt will be built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, and production is scheduled to begin late 2010 for the United States. So, the big question, will the Volt manage to save GM? A lot can happen in two years, but things look good for the Detroit carmaker. What do you think?

Check out more official photos of the production ready Chevrolet Volt after the jump. Read More: "Production ready Chevrolet Volt unveiled"

We’ve already seen spy shots and some sketches of the new Opel/Saturn/Vauxhall Astra and now GM has decided to tease us a little more, by releasing a photo of the car covered with a semi-transparent veil. Now I don’t know why everyone says that the car will make its debut next year at Frankfurt, because the car seems ready to take off and, who knows, maybe we’ll get to see it in Paris next month. I mean, why would you release a teaser one year before the launch, just doesn’t make sense. Just as a reminder, the new Astra borrows a lot from its bigger sister, the Insignia, such as the exterior styling and a series of features like the Front Camera System or the Adaptive Front Lighting (AFL).

Read More: "Teaser photo of the next generation Opel Astra"

General Motors announced today that one of their premieres for the upcoming Paris Motor Show will be the Chevrolet Orlando, a “seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle with sport utility-like design”. Based on the recently announced Cruze, the Orlando is powered by Chevrolet’s 2.0 liter turbo diesel engine that delivers 150 hp and 320 Nm of torqure. GM says that the crossover will offer dynamic ride and handling and excellent fuel efficiency. More details will probably be available after the Paris debut. Meanwhile, check out more pictures after the jump. Read More: "Chevrolet Orlando concept car to be unveiled at Paris"

We’ve seen the teaser photos, we’ve even seen the video of the car from the Transformers 2 set and now, after several months of mistery, the Chevrolet Volt finally shows up, but definitely not how GM planned. Because what you see here is a set of official photos that broke loose on the net and were published by the guys from The Car Connection. The car looks good, but, to be honest, thought we’ve got nothing against Lutz and co, we definitely would’ve loved some more attractive models standing by the Volt. So, what do you think of the car? Read More: "Chevrolet Volt official images break loose"

Recently General Motors have put on their site the first official render and performance data of their top-spec SS (standing for Super Sport) version of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. And this version really deserves the Super Sport badge, being powered by a 6.2 litre V8 which comes with a choice of either manual or automatic transmission, both with 6 speeds.

Here start the differences, if you opt for the manual transmission, you’ll be getting the 6.2 litre V8 LS3 engine which can deliver up to 422 hp with 553 Nm of torque (or 408 lb.-ft.). Instead, if you choose an automatic gearbox, you’ll be gettin the 6.2 litre V8 L99 engine, which has, besides the standard LS3, GM’s Active Fuel Management system, which enables the engine to run only 4 cylinders on normal driving conditions, like in the city. This engine is capable of 400 hp and 535 Nm (395 lb.-ft.) of torque. Coupled with the automatic transmission, the SS will achieve an average of 23 mpg or 10.2 l/100km.

Read More: "New render and details on the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS"

According to Automotive News, GM is considering moving design for some of its non-US models to the United States. And don’t think that they’re planning on doing that because the US designers are awesome, but because they’ve got a lot of spare time, with GM canceling or delaying a lot of US models, such as the Chevrolet Impala or the Buick sedan. Unlike their US colleagues, employees from the German and Korean design departments have their hands full, especially with GM’s recent small car programs, so some design work for Opel, Vauxhall, Holden and Daewoo might be done in the future in Michigan.

“We have had a couple studios where some projects have been canceled,” said Ed Welburn, GM’s design vice president. “We have other studios that are totally overloaded. We just need to level that work around the globe.”

Read More: "GM USA to handle design work for European models"

On Friday we showed you the first photo and video of what everyone thought to be the production ready Chevrolet Volt. However, questioned by Inside Line, GM spokesman Rob Peterson said: “It’s obviously different from the original (2007 Chevrolet Volt concept), but this is not the final version at this stage. I’ve never seen that vehicle and I’ve never seen that color. You can tell it caught me off guard. I didn’t even realize it (the Volt) was out of the state of Michigan.”

The prototype we saw in the video matches the teaser photos released some time ago, so we can assume that Peterson was really caught off guard and didn’t know exactly what to say. On the other hand, Inside Line suggests that the Volt (which was on the set for a day or two and it’s not going to be a Transformer) is actually a Chevy Cobalt or Malibu in a Volt body shell and the real thing won’t be like this. So, if you thought that the Volt starts shaping up, actually things got even more complicated. Is that the real Volt, is that only a concept car, is Peterson BSitting us? What do you think? Drop a comment here.

Read More: "The Transformers 2 Volt is not the real thing?"

GM has tried to be very cautious with its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which is expected to debut in 2010. Some time ago they released a couple of teaser photos, however, the mistery has now been revealed, because one of Transformers Live’s readers managed to get some photos and a video of the Volt on the set of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. First, he only managed to take a photo where we can see half of the Volt, but then he got a real good look at it and took this video. So, what do you think about the car? Should Toyota fear? I think so, because if it’s as good as it looks, the Volt is definitely going to be a hit for GM.

Read More: "Chevrolet Volt caught on the Transfomers 2 set"

The opportunity to get Hummers H3’s and drive them through a tough desert route is a true delight for those of us who are into off road driving, and GM is offering this chance to them, through the Hummer Driving Academy that will take place in Morocco from 7 to 12 November 2008. This event will be made up by 14 cars, each driven by a team of two people, pilot and co-pilot, and it’s route will have about 1300 km or 800 miles, taking it through one of the toughest deserts, the Sahara.

The cost for attending this Academy is about €3.995 or $5,870 per team, and in those money are included the rights to drive the H3 and accomodation at a luxury hotel, how you get there is your problem though. The Hummers participating will not be modified radically, only survival equipment, desert tires and a GPS will be added to the regular 3.7 litre H3. This will not be the first and last event in the history of the American manufacturer, GM stating that events similar to this will continue in 2009.

Read More: "Want to drive Hummers through the Sahara? Here’s your chance"

A few minutes ago, GM released a teaser photo of the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse, whose design is heavily influenced by the recent Buick Invicta and which is scheduled to make its world debut at this year’s LA Auto Show. That’s about all the info GM released so far, but stay tuned as we’ll let you know once we get more.