Cadillac’s First Sale Of All-New 2009 CTS-V Benefits Charity

NEW YORK – The eagerly anticipated 2009 CTS-V, Cadillac’s 550-hp expression of ultimate performance and luxury, hits the streets this coming fall. However, the first sale occurred last night in New York City, where the first CTS-V earned a winning bid of $75,000 at a special charity auction benefiting the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

The auction was a major feature of “A Night to Remember,” a glittering evening of fine food, wine and cigars, hosted by Cigar Aficionado magazine and sponsored in part by Cadillac. The 17 th annual Night to Remember last night at Manhattan’s famed Four Seasons restaurant raised an estimated $1.3 million for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The winning bid was submitted by Cano Ozgener, founder of CAO International, a leading producer of premium cigars worldwide.

“Cadillac is proud of our longtime association with this great event on behalf of prostate cancer research and treatment,” says Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager. “We congratulate Mr. Ozgener, both for making a generous bid benefiting a great charity, and for joining a very elite club of new CTS-V owners.”

The CTS-V, based on Cadillac’s critically acclaimed CTS sports sedan, expresses the full extent of the brand’s dramatic design and technology. Designed to enter the stratosphere of the world’s fastest and most exclusive luxury sedans, CTS-V includes advanced performance technology such as a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine and Magnetic Ride Control, the world’s fastest reacting suspension.

More coverage of A Night to Remember can be found at www.cigaraficionado.com. For more information on the work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, go to www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.

Buick Lucerne Joins GM FlexFuel Lineup for 2009

Ability to Use Cleaner, Renewable Fuel Offered at No Cost to Customer

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The 2009 Buick Lucerne sedan will join General Motors’ industry-leading lineup of flex-fuel vehicles that can run on either ordinary gasoline or E85, or any combination of the two, GM Vice President of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery said Thursday.

The Lucerne, the first flex-fuel capable Buick passenger car, will be among more than 15 GM models with flex-fuel capability in 2009, up from 11 offerings this year.

“We continue to believe that ethanol used in high blends like E85 offers the best near-term solution to offset increased oil demand,” Lowery said at the Department of Energy’s Biomass Conference. “There are more than 7 million vehicles today that can use E85. The key is to increase the number of stations that offer the fuel.”

E85 ethanol (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), is a cleaner-burning alternative fuel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 23 percent compared with gasoline.

GM has committed to make half of its US production flex-fuel capable by 2012 providing the infrastructure is in place. GM built more than 1 million flex-fuel capable vehicles worldwide last year. It is committed to helping to speed cellulosic ethanol to market via its partnership with Coskata Inc., which can make ethanol from a range of renewable sources.

For Buick, the FlexFuel-capable Lucerne is a no-cost option for consumers.

“Using E85 fuel is an easy choice for consumers to make a difference for the environment and to reduce oil dependence,” said Buick-Pontiac-GMC General Manager Jim Bunnell.

The Lucerne is the latest vehicle announced for the 2009 GM FlexFuel lineup. The four-cylinder Chevrolet HHR was revealed at the Chicago Auto Show in February and the Hummer H2 and H2 SUT were announced in March as part of the opening of the first public E85 pumps owned by a dealership, Classic Chevrolet-Hummer in Grapevine, Texas.

HUMMER Racing Set To Compete On Two Continents This Weekend

Team Dakar USA to enter two HUMMER H3 race trucks in Central Europe Rally
Team HUMMER to enter four stock class HUMMER race trucks in Terrible’s 250

DETROIT - HUMMER off-road racing teams are making final preparations to demonstrate their off-road prowess on opposite sides of the globe this weekend. The competition begins with Team HUMMER’s entry in Best in the Desert Racing Series Terrible’s 250 at Primm, April 19, and concludes with Robby Gordon Motorsport’s Team Dakar USA’s HUMMER H3 race trucks competing in the inaugural Dakar Series Central Europe Rally, April 20-26.

The Central Europe Rally, the first in ASO’s Dakar Series, will run from Budapest, Hungary, into Romania and back to Lake Balaton, Hungary. The course will consist of a 3000 km varied and technical route providing Team Dakar USA an opportunity to demonstrate the agility, handling and suspension of the race H3s.

Making their Hungarian debut, the Team Dakar USA purpose-built H3 will be piloted by the team of Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA). In 2007, Gordon and Grider finished 8 th overall and became the first American team to win a stage in the Dakar Rally.

“At the 2007 Dakar Rally we demonstrated that HUMMER and Team Dakar USA can compete on the world’s stage,” said Gordon. “We’ve spent the last year preparing the two H3s specifically for Dakar-style racing and they are faster and handle better than ever.”

Less than 12 hours before Gordon and Grider take the green flag in Europe, Team HUMMER entries will take the checkered flag from their races on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Following their top podium finishes at the SCORE Baja 250 in March, Team HUMMER will enter their four stock class HUMMER race trucks in this year’s Terrible’s 250 at Primm.

Piloting the team’s mini-stock class H3 is team owner and racing legend Rod Hall (Reno, Nev.). The team’s full-size truck stock class H2 SUT will be piloted by the team of Josh Hall/Sam Cothrun (Reno, Nev.) and the full-size SUV stock class H3 Alpha will be piloted by Chad Hall/Thad Stump (Reno, Nev. / Phoenix, Ariz.)

Making her team debut, Emily Miller (Crested Butte, Colo.) will partner with navigator Jake Povey (Reno, Nev.), to pilot the Team HUMMER full-size SUV stock class H2.

The 2008 Terrible’s 250 at Primm consists of 252.6 miles, composed of three, 84.2 mile laps of grueling desert terrain outside Primm, Nev.

“Team HUMMER has traditionally done well in races around Primm and southern Nevada,” said Hall. “The stock-class HUMMER trucks handle the grueling desert terrain extremely well.”

Follow Team Dakar USA’s progress at www.teamdakarusa.com and Team HUMMER’s at www.rodhallracing.com.

About HUMMER

HUMMER is a division of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, which employs about 266,000 people globally. HUMMER is a premium off-road vehicle manufacturer with sales in 37 countries and a product line-up that consists of the H2, H2 SUT, H3, H3 x, and award-winning H3 Alpha. Information on HUMMER products is available at www.hummer.com.

Robby Gordon Motorsports is based in Huntersville , N.C. , and owned by Gordon. In addition to its Dakar effort, the team focuses its attention on competing in America’s biggest racing series - the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The team has run numerous seasons in various racing series, including CART, the Score International Off-Road Series, the NASCAR Busch Series, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and several one-off efforts in the famed Indianapolis 500, with Gordon enjoying success at every level of his storied career as an owner and driver. He prides himself on his meticulous nature, which includes building cars, trucks and other racing machines that are among the best in their respective disciplines. For more information visit www.robbygordon.com.

About Team HUMMER

Team HUMMER was founded by legendary off-road racer Rod Hall in 1993. Since then, Rod and his sons Josh and Chad have compiled 13 class wins at the SCORE Baja 1000; countless podium finishes in the Best in the Desert (BitD) Racing Association series; two SCORE class championships; and five BitD class championships. Team HUMMER competes with the H3, H2 SUT and H3 Alpha in the stock class, which features production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines. For more information about Team HUMMER, visit www.rodhallracing.

DETROIT – General Motors announced today that its U.S. marketing and field operations will be more strongly aligned into four retail channels: Chevrolet; Premium (Cadillac, Hummer, Saab); Buick-Pontiac-GMC; and Saturn. Each channel will be focused on continuing to deliver world-class products for their customer and build value for GM and their respective dealers.

GM announced the appointment of four new leadership positions to direct activities within this organization, effective June 1:

* Ed Peper, 46, is appointed North America Vice President, Chevrolet Channel.
* Susan Docherty, 45, is appointed North America Vice President, Buick-Pontiac-GMC Channel (BPG).
* Mark McNabb, 47, is appointed North America Vice President, Premium Channel.
* Jim Bunnell, 52, is appointed Executive Director, Channel Support Group (CSG).

Jill Lajdziak, 51, will continue to lead Saturn as General Manager, and assume sales responsibility for that channel.

Bill Powell, 61, will continue his role as GM North America vice-president, industry and dealer affairs.

Doug Herberger, 56, also continues his role as GM North America vice-president, Service Parts Operations, and global process leader for after-sales.

Docherty, McNabb, Peper and Bunnell, will report to Mark LaNeve, North American vice-president vehicle sales service and marketing, in their new assignments, as will Lajdziak, Powell, and Herberger in their current assignments.

“These changes have been designed to improve all of our brands, and achieve strongly profitable channels at both a wholesale and retail level,” said Troy Clarke, GM North America president. “We are further streamlining the organization to reduce complexity, align resources to improve the consumer experience and improve bottom line business results. We expect that the channels will work closely with GM’s global product development teams to ensure the products meet consumer needs. This is the next step in our continuing strategy to increase the effectiveness of GM North America’s operating model.”

“The past few years have yielded demonstrated success with award winning products such as the Chevy Silverado and Malibu, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn Aura, and Cadillac Escalade and CTS.” said Mark LaNeve, GM North America vice president, vehicle sales service and marketing. “Customers’ opinions of our products and brands have improved. We raised quality to world-class levels and announced our 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, the most comprehensive transferable warranty in the business.

“We also began focusing on a retail channel approach in 2002 with Buick-Pontiac-GMC. We are transitioning our portfolio to highly differentiated vehicles for each of our brands that truly meet targeted customer needs. This has resulted in stronger, more focused models in each channel portfolio, “ LaNeve added.

“A great example of this is the Buick Enclave which, within the BPG Channel, replaced the Rendezvous, Rainier, Terraza and Montana SV6. The Enclave outsells all four combined and Enclave is a true Buick in every sense of the word.

Today, the BPG channel covers a wide section of the market with distinct products like the Buick Enclave crossover, Pontiac G8 rear-wheel-drive sedan, and Professional Grade GMC trucks. Today’s announcements will build on that positive momentum by better aligning the organization to our channels . We are offering more valuable products for customers and producing better results for the business.”

Mark McNabb joins GM beginning April 21st from Nissan Motor Co., where he was corporate vice-president Infiniti and senior vice-president sales and marketing of Nissan North America. Jim Taylor, Cadillac divisional manager, Martin Walsh, Hummer divisional manager, and Steve Shannon, Saab divisional manager will report to him.

“Mark McNabb is a world-class executive with extensive experience. His background with Mercedes and Infiniti, in addition to Nissan, make him uniquely suited for this new position as the vice president of the premium brands,” LaNeve said. “He is a great addition to our North American team.”

Ed Peper, a 23 year GM veteran, has served as Chevrolet General Manager since April, 2005. He has had numerous assignments in GM’s field operations and central office, including general manager of GM’s Northeast Region and vice president of sales for Saab Cars USA.

“Under Ed’s leadership, Chevrolet led the U.S. industry in total sales two of the past three years, on the strength of great new products like the Chevy Malibu,” said LaNeve.

Susan Docherty had been the Western Region’s General Manager since March 1, 2006. She was General Manager of Hummer and had worked at GM’s Cadillac Division, responsible for launching the Escalade family of vehicles. She spent a good portion of her career in marketing leadership assignments covering Europe and Asia.

“Susan has a strong list of accomplishments supporting a variety of GM regions and brands.” LaNeve said. “Her leadership will help the BPG channel continue to gain strength and customers”.

Jim Bunnell, who had been general manager of BPG, will lead the Channel Support Group (CSG) collaborating with the channels on business strategies to provide common processes and systems to the channels. He had previously been General Manager of GM’s North Central Region.

“Jim really led the way by being the first to run a retail channel in the U.S.,” LaNeve Said, “He will use that experience to support the further development of all the channels.”

GM REWARD CARDS Expands Options to Include Saturn Vehicles

GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card now offer customers even more choices when redeeming Earnings

DETROIT - Consumers who want to use their GM Card or GM Flexible Earnings Card toward the purchase of an eligible, new GM vehicle now have the option to purchase or lease a new Saturn under expanded program guidelines.

The GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card allows Cardmembers to earn toward an eligible new GM vehicle with every credit card purchase. In the past, these Earnings could be applied toward eligible new vehicle purchases or leases offered by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Hummer. Effective April 15, 2008 Saturn vehicles will be added to the expanded program.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer potential Saturn customers another valuable tool when making their purchase decision,” said Jill Lajdziak, general manager, Saturn. “Our Cardmembers have asked for this and we’re responding.”

Saturn has the freshest line-up in the industry, having launched five all-new products in the past 24 months.

A GM Flexible Earning Cardmember’s redemption options include: 3 percent Earnings on eligible, new GM vehicles or 1 percent cash back.

“This reward card allows Cardmembers to choose the right reward for them and triples the base Earnings to 3 percent when you redeem on a GM vehicle,” said Jody Stidham, director, GM Lifecycle Management. All GM reward card Earnings can be used in conjunction with most national promotional offers.

About GM REWARD CARDS

The GM Card, one of a suite of reward card products, is one of the richest co-branded credit cards in existence, rewarding customers with Earnings on every credit card purchase. Currently there are nearly 6 million GM reward card members. Since the program’s inception in 1992, more than five million GM vehicles have been purchased or leased using Earnings. The GM Card and GM Flexible Earnings Card are issued by HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A., the credit card unit of HSBC, one of the nation’s largest issuers of private-label and general-purpose credit cards. These Cards can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and has no annual fee. New applicants can apply for the GM Flexible Earnings Card on line at gmflexcard.com.

GM Brazil Announces New Engine Plant

New modern plant will start production in Q4 2009

Joinville City, Brazil - General Motors Brazil, along with officials from the Santa Catarina State and Joinville City, announced today the company’s decision to build a new engine and automotive components plant in that city.

The new plant will require investments of approximately US$ 200 million and is scheduled to begin production in the 4th quarter of 2009 — only 19 months from the announcement. The plant will employ 500 people and is expected to generate 1,300 indirect jobs.

“The decision to build a new engine plant in Brazil is essential to our ability to expand vehicle production capacity throughout the Mercosul Region,” said Jaime Ardila, President of General Motors Brazil and Mercosul.

José Carlos Pinheiro Neto, vice-president of GM Brazil, said, “The plant is part of GM Brazil’s strategy to place facilities in the most advantageous locations and Joinville City provides a fantastic infrastructure and has highly skilled labor.”

The facility will be approximately 500,000 square meters with the plant itself comprising an area of approximately 60,000 square meters. The plant will have the capability to produce 120,000 engines and 50,000 cylinder heads per year and, when at full capacity, it will operate on 3 shifts.

The plant will include some of the most advanced processes in the area of engine machining and assembly, and cylinder head manufacturing. The machining process incorporates flexible machines with control systems that provide for rapid production changes to volume, technical changes and product improvements. In addition, the sophisticated engine test system enables operators to test engines without using fuel (gasoline or ethanol). As a result, the electrically-powered system essentially eliminates the generation of contaminants inside the plant.

Adhemar Nicolini, General Director of GM Powertrain for Latin America, Africa and Middle East, said, “An example of environmental responsibility at the plant is the closed looped system that uses water and oil, but does not create industrial waste — meaning there is zero pollution in the production process.”

As with all GM facilities in Brazil, the new plant will be built in accordance with the company’s global environmental policies. For example, approximately 180,000 square meters of land will be preserved as a natural habitat.

Challenge X Shows Off “Green” Vehicle in Detroit

Opportunity to Drive Michigan Tech Vehicle

WHAT:

General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will offer a ride-and-drive of the Michigan Technical University vehicle from the collegiate engineering competition Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, at GM’s world headquarters at the Renaissance Center. Members of the MTU team will be available for interviews to discuss the program.

The ride-and-drive will be held Tuesday, April 15, 2008 from 6 to 10 a.m.

Challenge X is a unique multi-year engineering competition that provides 17 university teams from across North America real-world engineering experience and the opportunity to follow the GM global vehicle development process to create advanced propulsion technology solutions that will increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Each team has re-engineered a Chevy Equinox with a range of hybrid, plug-in or fuel cell propulsion systems, powered by alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen. Additional information about Challenge X is available on the Web at http://www.challengex.org.

WHO:

Members of the Michigan Technical University Challenge X student team

WHEN:

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Interview and drive opportunities: 6 to 10 a.m.

WHERE:

General Motors
Renaissance Center (circle driveway off Jefferson entrance)
Detroit, MI 48243

PLEASE R.S.V.P TO:

Jeff Ormond, 586-945-3992, jormond@stratacomm.net
Melissa Clark, 248-824-8200, mclark@stratacomm.net

Saab’s Turbo X and Innovative New Cross Wheel Drive Technology Take Vehicle Handling and Control To New Levels

Oshawa, Ontario (April 9, 2008) – General Motors of Canada today announced pricing on the new, limited edition 2008 Saab Turbo X 9-3 variant. The all-black Turbo X takes Saab “back to the future,” evoking the iconic appeal of the first black 99 and 900 Turbos while introducing Saab’s cutting-edge “cross wheel drive” (XWD) technology, with pricing starting at $54,995 for the Sport Sedan version and $56,305 for the SportCombi. Saab’s advanced new XWD system is also available as an option on 2008 9-3 Aero models, in both body styles, for $2,340.

Turbo X

Saab celebrates three decades of leadership in turbocharging by launching the 2008 Saab Turbo X, a driver-focused performance car that sets new standards of performance and capability for the brand. The Saab Turbo X has enhanced aerodynamic performance and a distinctive appearance, including specially designed 18-inch alloy wheels that have a grey, titanium-like finish and draw on Saab’s classic three-spoke design. The “black turbo” theme is continued in the uniquely equipped interior which includes premium leather.

The Turbo X is the ultimate performance expression of the new Saab 9-3 range. It delivers levels of driver involvement and dynamic chassis control never experienced before from Saab. To exploit the full benefits of Saab XWD technology, the chassis of the Turbo X has been lowered 10 mm and the springs and dampers optimized to minimize body movement. To maintain a constant ride height, self-leveling dampers are fitted at the rear.

Stopping power is also increased with larger brake discs fitted: internally ventilated, 345 mm-diameter (13.6-inch) at the front; and externally ventilated, 292 mm (11.5-inch) at the rear. Standard 235/45 R18 tires ensure excellent grip for the 18-inch alloy wheels.

XWD driving experience

Developed in Sweden with Haldex of Stockholm, the Saab XWD “Cross Wheel Drive” system is designed to optimize vehicle handling and stability in all driving conditions. It is offered in the 2008 Saab Turbo X and Aero versions of the 9-3 Sport Sedan and SportCombi, in combination with an uprated 280hp, 2.8L V6 turbo which now delivers almost 15% more maximum torque (295 lbs./ft.) to exploit the greater traction available. Engine design features include a lightweight, all-aluminum construction, with a 60-degree angle between the cylinder banks for perfect balance; variable-inlet valve timing and twin-scroll turbocharging. XWD is offered with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.

The state-of-the-art all-wheel-drive system on the Turbo X includes two innovative features: pre-emptive engagement of the rear wheels to optimize traction at take-off; and an active rear limited-slip differential (eLSD), allowing variable torque transfer between the rear wheels.

Saab XWD is a fully automatic, on-demand system capable of sending up to 100 percent of engine torque to the front or rear wheels, whenever necessary. While offering drivers sure-footed handling in low-grip conditions, the system’s sophisticated operation also enhances the sporty driving experience in all road conditions. Fine balancing of the drive torque between the front and rear axles raises the threshold at which ESP throttle and braking interventions are triggered, providing more scope for closer driver involvement.

At take-off, a torque transfer device (TTD) is initially activated engaging the rear drive module. This pre-emptive function is a valuable improvement over current technology, which requires the detection of wheel slip before the TTD is activated. For the driver, the enhanced functionality gives maximum traction immediately for smooth, strong acceleration from rest without the possibility of any initial hesitation.

On the open road, drive torque is seamlessly and continuously varied between the axles by the control of a valve in the TTD. When cornering, Saab XWD rewards the driver by providing enhanced, more finely balanced chassis dynamics through the application of rear drive to balance oversteer and understeer characteristics, improving stability and road holding.

In highway cruising conditions, when traction or optimum grip is not an issue, only 5- to 10-percent of engine torque is typically transmitted to the rear wheels providing a greater measure of stability while helping to save fuel.

The Turbo X also features an electronically-controlled limited-slip differential (eLSD), which uses inputs from the rear wheel speed sensors and can transfer up to 40 percent of torque between the drive shafts, to whichever wheel has more grip. It represents the first application of an electronically controlled, rear limited-slip differential in the segment.

The eLSD also gives the driver enhanced control when cornering hard or completing a high-speed maneuver, such as a lane change, by momentarily applying more or less torque to either of the wheels to help the rear of the car more closely follow the direction of the front wheels. This yaw damping effect can keep the car better balanced and more tightly controlled, without requiring “outside” intervention from electronic stability aides.