May 2014

2015 Chrysler 200 launches with more than 10,000 first-day orders

(May 16, 2014) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Laying the groundwork for the future of the Chrysler brand, the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 is making its way into dealerships and onto the road with a bang with more than 10,000 vehicle orders placed on the very first day the vehicle ordering system opened on Thursday, May 8, and more than 17,000 vehicle orders have been placed in the first two days.

The Sterling Heights, Mich., Assembly Plant (SHAP) is at full production through mid-July and orders continue to roll in.

GM announces five more safety recalls involving 2.7 million vehicles

(May 16, 2014) DETROIT – General Motors said Thursday it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of five safety recalls covering about 2.7 million vehicles in the United States.

Record sales year continues for BMW Group in April

(May 15, 2014) MUNICH — A total of 162,093 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles were delivered to customers in April, a rise of 4.3% on the same month last year, making it the best April ever. Year-to-date Group sales climbed 7.5% to a new high, with 649,118 vehicles delivered in the first four months of the year.

Chrysler dedicates new plant, launches 9-speed production in Tipton, Ind.

(May 15, 2014) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — After sitting idle for years at the corner of US 31 and State Road 28 in Tipton County, Ind., Chrysler Group’s Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne officially dedicated the Company’s new Tipton Transmission Plant and celebrated the production launch of the fuel-efficient nine-speed transmission this week.

During a ceremony at the plant, Marchionne told the audience that Tipton is an operation that will play a vital role in creating prosperity for the Company and for the surrounding communities.

Rearview camera standard equipment on all 2015 Buick models

(May 15, 2014) DETROIT — Safety and technology top the lists of important considerations for Buick customers. That’s why every 2015 Buick model will come standard with a rearview camera.

In the fall of 2013 the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute conducted a study which found that vehicles with rear backup cameras have a significantly reduced rate of backing crashes based on its analysis of cras
h data. Ninety-seven percent of the backing crashes in this study involved striking another vehicle, which corresponds with U.S. crash data analyses.

321 compressed natural gas (CNG) Ford F-150 pickups out the door

(May 15, 2014) The state of Oklahoma, its agencies and the city of Dallas have ordered a total of 321 Ford F-150 pickups that can run on compressed natural gas. Since 2010, Ford CNG-prepped truck sales have increased more than 250 percent, said Jon Coleman, Ford fleet sales manager.

After 50 years, Mustang finally makes it to outer space

(May 14, 2014) As far as we know, Pegasus, the winged horse of ancient Greek mythology never actually made it to outer space, but on May 2 a Ford Mustang did just that.

On that day San Francisco-area Ford zone sales manager Michael Sego, Steve Kubitz, managing partner of Big Valley Ford in Stockton, Calif., and some friends became the first to document a Mustang leaving earth’s atmosphere.

OnStar ushering in new generation of connected vehicles

(May 14, 2014) DETROIT — OnStar ushers in a new generation of connected vehicles next month with in-vehicle 4G LTE, which launches with a trial period of three months or three gigabytes, whichever comes first.

The 2015 Chevrolet Malibu will be the first 4G LTE-equipped GM vehicle, followed by more than 30 other Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles by the end of the year.

Audi R8 LMX — Breathtaking performance, cutting-edge lighting technology

(May 14, 2014) LOND0N — A new limited edition LMX version of the Audi R8 will not only be the most powerful roadgoing iteration of the super sports car ever made, but will also be notable as the first production car to adopt laser high beam lighting as standard. The new 562 horsepower, 198 mph R8 LMX will make its United Kingdom public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed June 26-29 and will become available to order at the same time priced from £160,025 ($269,000). UK deliveries will begin in the autumn.

Cadillac celebrates V-Series with 2015 CTS-V coupe

(May 13, 2014) DETROIT — Cadillac has announced production of a limited, special-edition 2015 CTS-V Coupe, marking the last chapter of the current model before the next generation of the V-Series debuts next year.  The 2015 CTS-V Coupe will consist of 500 limited-edition cars available during the second half of 2014.

"The V-Series continues to elevate Cadillac, providing an exclusive family of high-performance luxury models that attract a new audience of elite and passionate buyers,” said Uwe Ellinghaus, chief marketing officer, Global Cadillac.