So many other cars I'd buy for that amount of money. Christ.

Source: eBay

The Cadillac CTS-V coupe has been back on ever since GM vice chair Bob Lutz said it was back in July.

Today we learned the production 2011 CTS-V coupe will be in Cadillac's booth at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, so we'll expect full details and photos to be released in early January. And we'll expect the car to follow the CTS-V sedan in every detail, 556-horsepower supercharged V8 and all.

Source: InsideLine

It's 'bailout talk' time again as a new study that was conducted by Thomas D. Hopkins, a Professor of Economics at Rochester Institute of Technology, for the 362,000-member strong National Taxpayers Union (NTU), finds that the American taxpayer will have put up $12,200 for every GM vehicle, and $7,600 for every Chrysler, sold from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2010. Together, the taxpayer subsidy for Chrysler and GM, will theoretically exceed $10,700 per vehicle sold.

But that's only if, and we repeat if, the two companies fail before 2011 and don't repay their government loans. That's a big 'IF', if you ask us, but anyway.

Hopkins came out with these figures by making guesstimates on the 2009 and 2010 combined yearly sales of GM (5.06 million vehicles total) and Chrysler (2.3 million units total) and then dividing the numbers with the loans received by the two automakers, including GMAC's bailout money as the company now provides financing services to both GM and Chrysler. More in the jump!

The professor says that the result is a GM/GMAC bailout of $61.5 billion ($52.9+$8.6), and $17.4 billion ($13.5+$3.9) for Chrysler/GMAC, which amounts to $12,200 for GM and $7,600 for Chrysler on a per vehicle basis.

Hopkins does note however that for each year of survival beyond 2010 and as long as no additional government loans are provided, the taxpayer burden per vehicle would decline.

"Of course one could adopt a more optimistic set of assumptions, developing a scenario in which this rescue turns out so successfully that most (but certainly not all) of the taxpayers' investment ultimately is returned, perhaps indeed with some profit," says Hopkins. "In that event, most of the taxpayer burden would disappear."

"But the plausibility of such rosy assumptions is not easy to defend. For starters, some $6.4 billion of the bailout funds, in the form of loans to the former (now bankrupt) GM and Chrysler, are not legal obligations of the newly-structured GM and Chrysler," Hopkins added.

Pete Sepp, NTU Vice President for Policy and Communications, was even more aggressive in his commentary about the report:

"Every time someone in your neighborhood drives home in a shiny new Chevy Silverado, remember that it cost American taxpayers more than $12,000," said Pete Sepp.

"Between this and GM's plan to payback their bailout debt with other taxpayer funds, I wonder if all those Americans without work right now could think of any better ways to spend that money. This is a play out of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme playbook, and would be the equivalent of paying your Master Card bill with your Visa."

Leaving aside the fact that the 'taxpayer burden' per vehicle is based on the assumption that neither company will pay back any loans and that they will both fail by 2011, the report also does not take into consideration any other factors whatsoever including the cost for taxpayers if both companies went bankrupt leaving tens of thousands of workers directly and indirectly employed by GM and Chrysler without a job.

Source: CarScoop

General Motors had hoped most Camaro customers would go for the V6, but so far, most people are buying the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro with a V8. Based on Edmunds.com's own estimates, two-thirds of the 47,233 Camaros sold from April 2009 to October 2009 have been SS models.

Strong V6 sales would help raise GM's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). The V6 Camaro is rated 18 mpg city/29 mpg highway (17/29 with the six-speed manual gearbox) versus 16/25 for the V8 (16/24 with a manual).

To help encourage customers to go that route, Chevrolet priced the entry-level Camaro LS model at just $23,530 — quite the bargain for a rear-wheel-drive car with a 304-horsepower, direct-injected 3.6-liter V6. The least expensive V8-equipped 2010 Camaro is the Camaro 1SS, which starts at $31,595.

The V6 Camaros actually cost GM almost as much to build as the V8 versions, said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman. So the company has been perfectly content to sell mostly SS Camaros.

Source: Inside Line

The former director of GM's specialty vehicles division and Chris Fesler, owner of the muscle-car tuning firm Fesler Built, have joined forces to create a series of special packages for the new 2010 Chevy Camaro. The Competition package seen here is priced at $90,000 including the cost of a the new Camaro, or $50,000 if you already own the car and just want to receive the modifications.

There's all sorts of performance and cosmetic parts included in the package such as blacked out headlamps and tail lights, an adjustable coil over suspension, a carbon fiber bodykit, 22-inch alloy wheels, supercharger kit and 6-piston brake upgrades.

Furthermore, Fesler-Moss offer several options the most important being an LS7 or LS9 V8 engine swap. Details in the jump!

Fesler-Moss Competition Package Specs:

30-way adjustable coil over suspension; billet, carbon fiber or black OE replacement taillights; billet, carbon fiber or black OE replacement taillights; billet, carbon fiber or black OE replacement taillights; billet, carbon fiber or black driving light bezels; billet, carbon fiber or black reverse light bezels; stainless steel hood struts; stainless steel trunk struts; carbon fiber grille; carbon fiber body kit; painted racing stripes; carbon fiber interior accents; carbon fiber gauge pod; heat and sound barrier; sound system upgrade; upgraded, deep cycle battery; supercharger ; high performance air cleaner; 6-piston Fesler branded brake upgrade; 22-inch Fesler branded wheels and tires; car cover plus and alarm/remote start system.

Competition Package Options

Carbon fiber cowl induction hood; carbon fiber trunk lid; carbon fiber spoiler; custom paint; custom leather seating; sueded headliner; short throw shifter; custom sound system; engine swap (LS7 or LS9); dynotune, exhaust system; extreme Fesler branded, 6-piston brake system upgrade; sway bars; Bondurant driving course.

Earlier in July, Bob Lutz confirmed that the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is on the way with a possibility of a CTS-V Sport Wagon. It was later confirmed by an ‘inside source’ that CTS-V lineup will be extended to the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. Today, CARandDRIVER is reporting that Bob Lutz has confirmed a production CTS-V Sport Wagon, bringing more validity to the report.

An excerpt from CARandDRIVER:Source: eGMCarTech

That was the exact word Lutz emphasized to Inside Line when asked whether or not we'll ever see a twin-turbo Chevrolet Camaro.

It was far from an admission of intent, but it does confirm the fact that Chevrolet is looking very closely at the idea. Lutz also confirmed a production version of the Camaro Synergy concept shown at SEMA as well as an all-black special-edition model.

Leaving the door open about a twin-turbo Camaro didn't come as too much of a surprise though. It was only a couple weeks ago that Chevrolet rolled out a twin-turbo V6 Camaro for Jay Leno at SEMA. Jay said it produced around 425 horsepower, so the potential is there for a serious Z28, perhaps.

Source: InsideLine

Say hello to a new British supercar that will run you a whopping £320,000 ($533,066 USD) – the Arash AF-10.

Power comes from GM’s 7.0L V8 found under the hood of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that has been retuned to produce 505-hp with a maximum torque of 475 lb-ft. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual Graziano gearbox. No performance figures have been released as of yet, but the Arash AF-10 can hit a top speed of 220 mph.

Arash has no plans of stopping there. In the future, the firm will offer an AF-10S with a supercharged and intercooled version of the 7.0L V8 that will make 800-hp. Another top-of-the-line version is planned that will produce 1,001-hp to compete with the likes of the Bugatti Veyron.

Loris Bicocchi, the man who helped develop the Koenigsegg, Bugatti Veyron and the KTM X-Bow has been signed up to do the development work, which will kick off in 2010.

Source: eGMCarTech

Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg will terminate more than a third of U.S. Saab dealers when it completes its purchase of the premium brand from General Motors Co [GM.UL], GM said in a letter to dealers on Thursday.

The new owner will reject 81 Saab dealers in the United States, while moving forward with the remaining 137 dealers after the deal closes by a targeted date of Nov. 30.

GM notified the terminated dealerships of the decision on Thursday, GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said.

All Saab dealers signed a termination agreement in June when GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The terms of those termination agreements will go into effect for rejected dealerships, Carney said.

Koenigsegg will operate the brand through a new entity, Saab Cars North America Inc.

Source: Reuters

General Motors Co. has decided to produce the Cadillac Converj, an extended-range electric car using the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt, The Detroit News has learned.

Cadillac included the Converj, a concept car that wowed industry critics and the public at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, in a presentation made to the automaker's board of directors Nov. 2, according to sources familiar with the production plan.

A production date has not been set, and it likely will be a few years before consumers can buy a Converj. A Cadillac spokesman declined comment.

Before GM emerged from bankruptcy July 10 with about $50 billion in federal aid, company executives said there were no plans to build the angular Converj.

At the auto show, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said if the Converj was approved, the production model would resemble the concept, likening it to the Chevrolet Camaro's evolution from concept to production.

Source: Detroit News

n what we think is a good decision, General Motors said that its other plug-in hybrid offerings will not have Volt branding on them to identify with the compact plug-in hybrid that will launch later next year. By contrast, Toyota is planning to make a family of hybrid vehicles that will carry the Prius badging.

“Our thought is to take the Volt technology to other products,” Brent Dewar, chief of global operations for Chevrolet said. “The Volt was the original vehicle that we started, but I wouldn’t see that as a brand marketing direction for us.”

Dewar said that the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid would pave the way for more vehicles based on the same Voltec technology; however, the Volt name will not be found anywhere on GM’s future electric-vehicles.

Source: eGMCarTech

To create a bit of a buzz around its new line of comparatively greener and more fuel efficient crate motors called 'E-Rod', General Motors prepared an eye-catching 1955 Chevrolet for the SEMA Show. The fully restored Chevy features a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 E-Rod engine that cranks out 424 lb.-ft. of torque. The list price for the E-Rod LS3 package, which does not include a transmission nor some other necessary components such as the exhaust system behind the catalytic converters, is $9,375.

"With the E-ROD system, you're getting 160 percent more horsepower than the original small-block V-8 offered in 1955, but with emissions performance and efficiency that wasn't even dreamt of half a century ago," said Jamie Meyer, product marketing manager for GM Performance Parts.

"This is how modern hot rods will be built. They'll have the efficiency of a modern GM high-performance vehicle, be environmentally conscious and emissions-compliant – all while providing the owner with a smaller carbon footprint," he added. Press release at the source!

Source: CarScoop

General Motors may have shed itself of much of its pre-bankruptcy problems, but the automaker still has to tend to its warranty and recall duties. As such, GM is recalling 53,000 Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion models for a potential fuel leak problem that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says could lead to a fire. The problem involves 2006 Cobalt and Ion model models sold or registered in Arizona and Nevada and 2007 Cobalt, G5 and Ion models sold or registered in Arizona, California, Texas, Florida and Nevada.

NHTSA says the plastic supply or return port on the cars' modular reservoir assembly may crack, potentially leading to a fuel leak that could cause cause decreased efficiency and performance. Worse, if that leaking gasoline comes into contact with an ignition source of any kind, you could be looking at a Delta platform car-b-que.

To fix the fuel leak problem, company dealers will replace the fuel pump module of affected vehicles free of charge. GM is also providing a special coverage for 2006 and 2007 Cobalt, G5 and Ion models in other warm weather states, and you can hit the jump to read over the NHTSA press release to see if you live in a participating location. GM hasn't yet provided a time frame for owner notification, but if you have questions you can read the official press release after the jump or call 1-800-630-2438 (Cobalt), 1-800-972-8876 (Ion) or 1-800-620-7668 (G5).

Source: AutoBlog

Last year in Las Vegas, graphic designer Kevin Morgan showed off the first Trans Am rebody of the new Camaro at SEMA 2008. This year he is back with T/A version 2.0 for SEMA 2009. While the original "Phoenix" T/A 1.0 had the Bandit color combo we know and love, a few of the details were off in making it a true '77-'78 Trans Am redo.

For this year's show he's rectified that situation with a new quad-headlight front fascia and a few other changes that bring it more in line with the uber Firebirds we remember from our misspent youths. Slip into one of these black and gold Trans Ams and before you know it you'll be East Bound and Down, calling for the Snowman on your CB to help you stay one step ahead of Smokey. Built in conjunction with fabricator Todd Otto, one-off versions can be ordered to spec, and a kit version will also be made available through Trans Am Depot starting in early 2010.

Source: AutoBlog

This week at the 2009 SEMA Show, Chevrolet is showing off five new Camaro concepts, one which is a race-ready, twin-turbocharged V6 from Jay Leno and the one we’re interested in the most. As you can see from the pictures, the Jay Leno Camaro is one of the most radical looking Camaro concepts at SEMA this year – it almost makes us dream of a production Camaro Z28.

Power for Jay Leno’s Camaro comes from a twin-turbocharged version of the 3.6L V6 found in the Camaro LS and LT models. The Turbonetics T-3 turbochargers take horsepower up to 425. When the turbochargers aren’t being used, there is virtually no loss in the fuel-economy of the base 3.6L V6 engine.

“Jay’s Camaro offers style, performance and efficiency in a big way,” said Dewar. “It delivers the power of a Camaro SS on demand, but with the fuel economy of a V-6.”

Additional touches to Jay Leno’s Camaro include Brembo six-piston brake package, pedders coil-over lowering kit, new front fascia with custom fog lamps and integral brake cooling vents and air extractor-style hood.

Source: eGMCarTech