GM

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a formal investigation into the safety of the battery packs in the Chevy Volt following a series of collision tests.

In three tests since May, the NHTSA has found that damage to the Volt's battery resulted in a fire after a side collision and a rotation of 180 degrees, a test meant to simulate impact with a pole or tree followed by a rollover. In each case, the line which carries coolant to the batteries was ruptured.

In the initial test, battery temperatures rose following the simulated crash and rollover, … Read more

General Motors has announced it will invest $61 million to update equipment in its Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plant and retool the facility.

According to the automaker, the plant is being retooled for new products and will be capable of producing a variety of products. The investment will also create 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions.

The Spring Hill plant will begin production of the Chevrolet Equinox in the second half of 2012. Power train and stamping operations for the Chevrolet Traverse are still operating at the plant.

GM will also invest $183 million for midsize vehicles to be … Read more

General Motors today announced the opening of an assembly plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. GM opened the power-train plant with local venture partner UzAvtosanoat.

According to the automaker, facility is GM's first engine plant in the Central Asian country. The plant is tasked with producing more than 225,000 new fuel-efficient Ecotec 1.2L and 1.5L engines for use in GM small passenger cars.

The new plant will produce finished machined components such as cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, and crankshafts. The plant has been equipped with the latest technology and has the flexibility to switch between production of engine … Read more

GM ended up in the hot seat after a Chevrolet Volt caught fire three weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-tested the vehicle, reportedly leading the transportation organization to question the safety of lithium ion batteries.

The fire, which damaged several vehicles parked near the defunct Volt, may have started in the plug-in's battery. The NHTSA subsequently launched an investigation into the safety of electric battery technology. GM released a statement this afternoon responding to the news and concerns that its vehicles could be fire hazards.

"First and foremost, I want to make this very clear: … Read more

Storing data outside vehicles could reduce clutter inside.

Access to the "cloud," through a wireless Internet connection in a car, has automakers thinking out of the box.

Potential features go far beyond present uses of in-car Internet access. With the expanded data storage available, a car could become a highly customized personal assistant connected to the owner's home, smartphone, and computer.

For example, a car could automatically tailor ride and handling characteristics for an individual driver on an individual route, instead of having the driver choose from a limited number of modes such as "sport" … Read more

General Motors' latest investment will provide tools and equipment to support production of future electric vehicle components. The company announced on Friday that it will invest $325 million in its Warren, Mich., plant and create or retain 418 jobs.

The plant's current 679 employees produce transmissions for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The 2.1-million-square-foot plant, equivalent to the area of 15 city blocks, produced more than 338,000 transmissions in 2010, the company said in a press release.

"This investment in the future recognizes the excellent work force … Read more

The cars of the future will use vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication for advanced safety technology that will help them avoid accidents, but what about the old clunkers sharing the road with them?

To make sure all cars have this new capability, GM is working on an aftermarket device that could work in all cars to communicate road and traffic hazards with other vehicles.

Unprotected turns, inclement weather, and road hazards are scenarios that can lead to automobile accidents. But V2V technology could help avoid these and up to 81 percent of all traffic accidents, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF).

Using sensors already installed on the vehicles, the system gathers information about traffic and weather and transmits this information to other vehicles, so drivers have more time to react to road obstacles. The system can also activate a vehicle's accident avoidance technologies, such as electronic stability control. … Read more

Self-driving vehicles may seem cutting-edge, but they could be commonplace sooner than you think, according to GM.

GPS, sensors, cameras, and wireless technology are available in many cars currently on the market, and are used in lane-departure, crash-avoidance, and navigation systems to make vehicles safer and more convenient for consumers to drive. But they're also the building blocks of autonomous platforms, and when used in concert with car-to-infrastructure communication, they open the door to vehicles that can operate on autopilot--a technology leap that isn't that far off from becoming a reality. … Read more

DEARBORN, Mich.--Electrification is the biggest change to hit the auto industry in decades. But with little clarity on how the technology will play out in the future, automakers are laying down multiple billion-dollar bets.

After years of talking about plug-in electric vehicles, automakers can finally point to actual products, actual customers, and the beginnings of a charging infrastructure.

Yet automakers still don't know which products will resonate with consumers. The result is a spate of all-electric cars and a spectrum of hybrids built around different-size batteries.

What combination of battery and gas engine will be most popular with … Read more