General Motors To Add Diesel Option For Commercial Vans

The Chevy Express and GMC Savanna commercial vans have been in production with virtually no changes for 20 years and General Motors seems in no hurry to replace them. The vans have proved to be durable in commercial use, a feature that tradespeople value highly. They do have a problem, though. They get lousy gas mileage. The 6.0 liter V-8 most of them come with is rated a measly 11 mpg in the city, 16 on the highway. and 13 mpg overall.

Despite competition from new commercial vans from Ford and  Dodge, the Express/Savanna twins continue to sell well. 100,000 were sold in 2014 and another 85,000 in 2015. “The Express and Savana still have a lot of legs,” GM fleet boss Ed Peper said in an interview last month. He says there are plenty of customers who prefer GM’s “tried and true” vans to the Euro offerings, according to Automotive  News. I know that is true. I have a neighbor who is a carpet installer who just retired his Chevy Express after 11 years of service. His van has 394,567 miles on it.

In order to extend the life of its commercial vans a little further and address the fuel economy issue, GM now says it will offer its 2.8 liter Duramax diesel in the 2500 and 3500 versions of the Express and Savanna starting with the 2017 model year. That one move will nearly double the fuel economy of these workhorses. The Duramax is rated at 22 mpg city, 31 highway and 25 mpg combined when installed in the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickup trucks, according to Pickup Trucks.com.  That’s even more than the small Renault designed Chevy City Express van GM introduced last year.

The baby Duramax uses an iron cylinder block with dual overhead camshafts. It generates 181 horsepower at 3,400 rpm and 369 pounds-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm. Once fitted to the larger commercial vans, the engine will be backed up with GM’s 8 speed automatic transmission. GM’s mid-size pickups and its commercial vans are all assembled at the Wentzville, Mo., plant, near St. Louis.

How long will GM be able to continue building these ancient commercial vans? Ed Peper says, “We’re always looking at opportunities to be disruptive.” Nothing says “disruptive” like building the same product on the same line every day since the Clinton administration, does it?

GM to build solar array at transmission plant

General Motors will help make energy in Michigan a little greener thanks to a partnership to create the company's largest solar array in the state. Covering 4.25 acres of land leased from the automaker next to the Warren Transmission factory, DTE Energy will construct the 800-kilowatt site by the end of the year. The 2,800 panels there will generate an estimated 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which will be enough to power about 135 homes.

This site won't exclusively be for the plant's energy needs, and the electricity from the solar panels will flow back to the grid. DTE Energy will own the actual array, as well. "By supporting this project and making renewable energy commitments globally, we will surpass our goal to promote 125 megawatts of clean power by 2020," GM global manager of renewable energy Rob Threlkeld said in program's announcement.

With 46 megawatts of solar power sites around the world, GM is already no stranger to using the sun for energy. Just last year, it added new panels elsewhere in Michigan, and the automaker built thelargest array in Ohio in 2013.

General Motors and DTE Energy Partner on Solar Array

New 800-kilowatt array at Warren Transmission will be GM's largest in Michigan
2015-10-19

WARREN, Mich. – General Motors is partnering with DTE Energy to build a new 800-kilowatt solar array at its Warren Transmission plant that will be GM's largest solar installation in Michigan.

"By supporting this project and making renewable energy commitments globaly, we will surpass our goal to promote 125 megawatts of clean power by 2020," said Rob Threlkeld, GM global manager of renewable energy. "This new array, along with our solar array at the nearby GM Technical Center in Warren, makes GM's commitment to clean energy visible to the Warren community.

The 2,800 solar panels will generate clean electricity that will go back to the grid. DTE Energy will own the array on 4.25 acres of land leased from GM. Warren Transmission builds front-wheel drive transmissions for a variety of GM's most-popular cars, crossovers and SUVs, as well as the drive unit for the new 2016 Chevrolet Volt.

The solar array will generate approximately 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, the energy equivalent to powering the annual electricity needs of about 135 homes in southeast Michigan.

"DTE is proud to be the state's largest investor in solar and wind," said Irene Dimitry, vice president of business and development for DTE Energy. "The GM Transmission partnership is part of a broader, long-term plan to move us toward a cleaner, more diversified energy portfolio."

In addition to the solar array, Warren Transmission recently met the EPA ENERGY STAR® Challenge for Industry by reducing the energy intensity of the facility by 12.3 percent in just two years. The facility is also landfill-free, meaning it reuses, recycles or converts to energy all waste from daily operations.

GM currently houses 46 megawatts of solar power at 19 facilities globally. When the Warren Transmission array is complete, the global footprint of solar projects at GM sites will be equivalent to the size of nearly 125 American football fields.

For more information on GM's environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and environmental blog.

About General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio includes non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE Energy is a force for growth and prosperity in the 450 Michigan communities it serves in a variety of ways, including philanthropy, volunteerism and economic progress. For more information about DTE Energy, visit dteenergy.com twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.

BREAKING: GM Confirms New Compact Pickup for 2014

Compact pickup fans, rejoice! GM has confirmed that they’ll be updating their compact pickup line-up for next year! Details are scarce, but expect the 2014 Chevy Colorado and 2014 GMC Canyon to be aerodynamically smoother, have smaller shut lines, and take interior styling cues from the excellent Chevy Spark, Sonic, and Cruze compacts that will likely share demographics with the new pickups.

Mart Padgett, senior editor of the Car Connection, was among the first to post GM’s teaser photo – which seems to indicate a legitimately modern truck that should make the pain of missing out on Ford’s diesel Ranger a bit easier to bare … especially if it gets an Ecotec turbo!

GM confirms #GMC Canyon, #Chevy Colorado pickups begin production next year, releases teaser: http://t.co/NdriBMTEaJ

— MartyPadgett (@MartyPadgett) August 8, 2013

Source | Photos: GM, via Marty Padgett.

GM Tops Ford EcoBoost With More Efficient 5.3 L EcoTec3 Engine

GM’s new 2014  GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck comes with a 5.3 liter V8 engine which, according to GM, offers better fuel economy and towing capacity than Ford’s F-150 equipped with the EcoBoost V6.

Ford has invested a lot into their EcoBoost engines, which replace displacement and cylinders with turbochargers. Rated 16 city and 22 highway, the EcoBoost-equipped F-150 has proven popular with consumers, though GM is looking to usurp the throne.

The GM 3.5 L V8 EcoTec3, which was initially announced in December 2012, has now surpassed its fuel economy by one highway MPG, but the city MPG is the same. The EcoBoost engine that the EcoTec is being compared to is the 3.5 L with 365 HP, and 420 foot-pounds of torque, which far exceeds that of the EcoTec3′s 383 foot-pounds. However, the EcoTec engine has 355 horsepower, and can tow 200 pounds more than the Ford, for a total towing capacity of 11,500 pounds.

There are two other new EcoTec3 engines. One is a 4.3 L V6, and the other is a 6.2 L V8. All three engines are matched with six-speed transmissions, and are equipped with direct-fuel injection, variable valve timing, and cylinder deactiviation, all of which are designed to save fuel. While 23 mpg in a V8 pickup is great, the V6-powered Ram 1500 remains the undisputed mpg king, capable of 25 mpg highway.

Ford is betting consumers won’t mind a downsized engine, so long as it is capable. But the EcoBoost motor comes at a premium price, whereas the GMC Sierra is arguably most cost effective. Consumers have more powerful and fuel efficient pickup options now than they ever did before. But will GM’s new engine pay off? Or will the Ford EcoBoost continue to dominate? And will Ford really up the ante by 3 mpg with their next-gen trucks?

Source: Green Car Congress

GM introduces CNG bi-fuel Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups

Bi-fuel Chevrolet Silverado. Click to enlarge.

General Motors is introducing compressed natural gas (CNG) bi-fuel versions of the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 HD extended cab pickup trucks. Fleet and retail consumers can place orders beginning this April.

The vehicles feature a CNG-capable Vortec 6.0L V8 engine that seamlessly transitions between CNG and gasoline fuel systems. With both CNG and gasoline tanks full, the trucks offer a range of more than 650 miles. The Silverado and Sierra will be available in standard and long box, with either two- or four-wheel drive.

The Vortec engine features hardened exhaust valves and hardened intake and exhaust valve seats. Bosch supplies the fuel injection system. The trucks use a 17-gallon Type 3 CNG tank made from composite material with aluminum liner and carbon fiber wrap. GM placed a collar around the head of the tank for further safety.

Fuel tank and fuel door. Click to enlarge.

GM mounts the tank through the bed of the truck to the frame; the fuel door is high up and out of the impact area. All of the high pressure fuel lines run inside of the frame rails.

The trucks always start on gasoline, then switch over automatically to CNG after a few minutes once the appropriate temperature is reached. The trucks continue operating on CNG until the CNG tank is depleted, and then it automatically switches back to gasoline. The driver can switch from CNG to gasoline using a switch on the dashboard. An LED system on the switch monitors the fuel in the CNG tank.

Horsepower and torque are identical to the base truck when running on gasoline. On CNG there is “minimal” loss of horsepower and torque, according to GM. The bo-fuel truck offers comparable towing capability. The CNG system adds 450 lb. to the total weight of the truck.

GM is the only manufacturer to offer a single-source option for its gaseous fuel vehicles. The bi-fuel trucks are built with a specially designed engine, the fuel system is installed by GM’s Tier One supplier (IMPCO) and the completed vehicle is delivered directly to the customer. This process makes ordering the bi-fuel option as seamless and efficient as a standard vehicle.

The bi-fuel commercial trucks will be covered by GM’s three-year, 36,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty and five-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty and vehicle emissions warranty, meeting all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission certification requirements.

Source: Green Car Congress

Chevy, GMC Announce CNG and LPG Vans for Fleets

PRESS RELEASE:

DETROIT, Mich. – Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) powered versions of the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans will be offered to fleet and commercial customers beginning later this year, General Motors Co. announced Monday.

The vans have specially designed engines for the gaseous fuels and come direct to the customer with the fully integrated and warranted dedicated gaseous fuel system in place.

“We’re listening to our fleet customers and dealers about offering options that help them achieve their business objectives”, said Brian Small, general manager of GM’s fleet and commercial operations. “The industry commitment to expand the CNG and LPG infrastructure in key fleet markets was an enabler to allowing us to introduce these options now.”

Going beyond the competition, GM’s proven Vortec 6.0L V8 engine receives hardened exhaust valves and intake and exhaust valve seats for improved wear resistance and durability for gaseous fuel systems. Along with dedicated gaseous fuel injection and fuel storage systems, both the CNG and LPG systems are fully integrated into the vehicle, and will meet EPA and CARB certification requirements, and be fully compliant with applicable motor vehicle safety standards.

The initial CNG offerings will be available on 2011 model year cargo vans and built at GM’s Wentzville assembly plant with the specialized Vortec engine installed. The vans are then completed at a separate facility with the dedicated gaseous fuel system and related vehicle calibrations before shipment to the Special Vehicle Manufacturer (SVM), Fleet Customer or GM Dealer.

Both CNG and LPG vans will carry GM's limited new vehicle warranty including the 5-year/100,000 mile transferable GM powertrain limited warranty.

“We’ve made choosing a CNG or LPG van easier for our customers,” said Joyce Mattman, director of GM’s commercial products and specialty vehicles. “No other manufacturer offers a commercial CNG or LPG option that provides a solution with this level of support and availability.”

Leveraging the same Vortec 6.0L V8 with hardened, durable components, a dedicated LPG gaseous fuel system will be offered on 2011 model year cutaway vans to fleet and commercial customers. The cutaways are then configured into cube, delivery, and shuttle bus vans depending upon the customer’s final requirements.

“We recognize the value in providing our fleet and commercial customers with a range of fuel saving and alternative fuel technologies,” Mattman said. ”The CNG and LPG additions are part of GM’s expanding alternative fuel portfolio including more than 17 E85-capable and five hybrid models in our fleet and commercial vehicle lineup.”

About General Motors: General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 217,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, FAW, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

GM Reaches Deal For Sale of SAAB to Koenigsegg

General Motors has finalized the deal that transfers ownership of the SAAB brand to supercar maker, Koenigsegg. Koenigsegg is a small Swedish company with about 45 employees who came out of nowhere to be the front runner in the bidding for SAAB. It is estimated that the transaction will close in the third quarter of this year.

This adds to GM's housecleaning list of brands that it wanted to sell. Hummer has been sold to an overseas company, Saturn has been sold to Penske and now Saab is a done deal. Pontiac will be phased out over time leaving Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac. These four brands will be the core of GM's new company emerging from bankruptcy. Whether or not GM can succeed remains to be seen.

What we would like to see is General Motors being committed to producing alternate energy vehicles and shedding the old paradigm of the internal combustion engine. They have a good start with the Chevy Volt, but they need many more models, including EV's, better hybrids, CNG and even biodiesel.

GM Will Use its Plug-In Hybrid Technology in One of its Four Core Brands

Good news for alternate energy vehicle fans! From Green Car Congress:

Prototype Saturn Vue PHEV plugging in to a Coulomb Chargepoint (earlier post) in San Jose, CA. Click to enlarge.

In a post on GM’s FastLane blog, Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said that the company will apply plug-in hybrid technology to one of the four core brands remaining after the restructuring: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Saturn currently sells two hybrid vehicles (VUE and Aura with GM Hybrid System) and was scheduled to begin initially offering a two-mode hybrid Vue (earlier post), with a Vue plug-in two-mode hybrid version (earlier post) due in 2011 for use in a cooperative demonstration test fleet with the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) and nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). (Earlier post.)

In 2008, Stephens, then GM Group Vice President Global Powertrain and Global Quality, had said that the Vue two-mode hybrid would deliver about a 50% increase in combined fuel economy compared to the non-hybrid Vue XR and that the two-mode plug-in hybrid would have a battery-powered driving range at low speed of about 10 miles, and could double fuel economy compared to the conventional vehicle on short trips.

Based on the current restructuring plan, GM is accelerating the wind-down or sale of Saturn to the end of this year. (Earlier post.)

Although Saturn’s future is likely not to be within GM now, I can assure you our commitment to hybrid, plug-in hybrid and advanced battery technology is a key element of GM’s reinvention. I’m pleased to let you know the plug-in hybrid technology will be applied to one of GM’s four core brands. Stay tuned for which one, and in the meantime, I’ll enjoy reading the speculation.

Stephens said that GM is still planning initial delivery of plug-in hybrid vehicles using a modified version of the GM front-wheel drive two-mode hybrid system (earlier post) in 2011 to the DOE and EPRI for use in fleets.

The Volt and plug-in hybrid vehicle are two of 14 hybrid and electric vehicles GM plans to offer by 2012. So while it may seem at times we’re taking a step back, we’re really taking two steps forward.

General Motors Will Have Four Brands and Three Sales Channels

The Pontiac Brand Bites The Dust




Pontiac is out. Hummer will be sold soon and Saturn has one year left. These are the drastic measures GM is willing to take to meet the guidelines for their Federal bailout funds.

In a revised viability plan filed with the government today, General Motors said it will market its four core brands through three channels.

GM also has mapped out which dealers are likely to be eliminated in its 163 major U.S. markets, says Troy Clarke, GM's president of North America.

"We have an understanding of how we want each market to look," said Troy Clarke, GM's president of North America. "We will spend the month of May talking to dealers about how we plan to develop the appropriate (dealer) support for each market."

GM said Chevrolet will have its own channel and be GM's foundation brand. Cadillac will be the luxury channel. Buick-GMC will be the third channel and be considered an "upper-premium" brand.

In major markets, Chevrolet and Cadillac will be stand-alone channels, GM said in its government report. Buick-GMC will stand alone or be aligned with Chevrolet or Cadillac with a "separate sales operation depending on market penetration and real estate costs," GM said.

A GM spokesman said that in big markets there might be some superstores consisting of all four brands and that stores could be realigned to carry three brands.

In mid-sized and small-town markets, GM said, "in many cases Chevrolet and Buick-GMC will be aligned with one dealer operator."

GM will "dramatically lower" the number of Cadillac dealerships it has in small markets.

GM announced it plans to reduce its dealership count to 3,605 by the end of next year. GM ended 2008 with 6,246rooftops.

About half of GM's upcoming cuts will be of dealers who have very small volumesand dealers who have other brands and do not get the bulk of their sales from a GM brand, said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicles sales, service and marketing, during a press event here.

"I don't want to cut any dealers," LaNeve said. "It's tough stuff. The key to this plan, though, is to have 3,600 really strong dealers."

Chevrolet dealer Larry Dimmitt is one of the dealers in a major market who thinks he'll be OK given GM's sales channel strategy.

"We're going to come out stronger," said Dimmitt, who owns Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater, Fla. "This should have been done years ago. The pace and urgency just wasn't there."

GM's Clarke said that single-line dealers of the brands that GM plans to discontinue likely won't be given new franchises. GM has 35 stand-alone Pontiac stores. Saturn, which GM is hoping to spin off, has 384 dealerships as of April 6.

GM is close to a deal to sell its Hummer brand, CEO Fritz Henderson said today. It is restructuring Saab in an effort to sell it, too.

Source: Automotive News

General Motors to Keep GMC and Pontiac

GM CEO, Fritz Henderson




GM disputed the claims from the previous post, going on record as saying both GMC and Pontiac will remain. Look for updates today as CEO Fritz Henderson holds a press conference to delineate further plans.

From Automotive News:

A senior General Motors executive today denied reports that President Barack Obama's automotive task force has pressured the automaker to dump GMC and Pontiac.

Company sales chief Mark LaNeve also denied rumors that GM plans to terminate the franchise agreements of poorly performing dealers before June 1 to accelerate its dealership consolidation campaign.

"The strategy we laid out for you [in February] is still the strategy," LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, said today in an interview with Automotive News.

"Are we working it, tweaking it, examining every aspect of it? Yes, but nothing has changed with our strategy," he said. Reports that "GMC is going away are just unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue," LaNeve said.

In a Feb. 17 report to the U.S. Treasury Department, GM said it planned to go to market with four core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac would remain as a much smaller brand. GM is trying to sell Hummer, Saab and Saturn.

And that is still the plan, LaNeve said. "They're not pressuring us to give up on anything," he said. "Buick and GMC are very profitable brands, and we have plans to make them even more profitable."

Targeting metro markets LaNeve confirmed that GM will target metro markets to consolidate dealerships, but the company does not have a June 1 timetable to do so. As part of its consolidation effort, GM will consider such criteria as operator's effectiveness, location and working capital when it targets those stores for closure. Meanwhile, GM's new CEO Fritz Henderson has scheduled a conference call with journalists tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. to update the company's restructuring plans. "We anticipate that this will be the first of a series of updates designed to provide perspective on GM's situation, decisions and actions," according to a statement released by GM.

Pontiac and GMC May Bite the Dust as GM Continues to Streamline

What a shock it would be if GMC suddenly ceased to exist. The demise of Pontiac would not be as surprising as GM has already stated it would strip the brand down to specialty vehicles. It would be hard to imagine General Motors without GMC trucks though.

From Automotive News:

Facing a June 1 deadline to restructure under U.S. government oversight, General Motors may drop its Pontiac and GMC brands as part of broader cost-cutting moves, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two brands are being studied as part of talks with an Obama administration task force assessing whether GM can be restructured without bankruptcy, sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

GM's Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands are likely to be safe, the news agency reported.

GM had said earlier it would keep Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Pontiac while selling or closing Hummer, Saab and Saturn.

An investor group including private equity firm Black Oak Partners has approached GM about buying its Saturn brand assets and dealership network, both sides said on Wednesday.

GM's Hummer brand has received interest from three bidders, none of them automakers, sources told Reuters on April 8.

The current offers for Hummer range from $100-$200 million, the sources said. GM has taken $13.4 billion of U.S. government loans since the beginning of the year.

A decision is yet to be reached on what would happen to Pontiac or GMC should GM opt not to keep them, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources.

The GMC brand has a better chance of surviving than Pontiac, one of the sources told the agency.

A GM spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the report.

GM Announces Layoffs and Deeper Production Cuts

More bad news today for our ailing US economy. General Motors stated that it will lay off 2,000 workers at two of its plants and will further cut production in response to continuing sluggish sales. All of the jobs will be cut from two facilities, one in Lordstown, Ohio and one in Delta Township, Michigan.

General Motors has received about $13 billion in federal loans over the past month or so but it appears uncertain how they intend to prove to Washington that they can reverse the current sales trend. Could it be that the US populace has lost its infatuation with the automobile? Certainly in hard economic times, the last thing people really need is a new vehicle. At any rate, these announcements will affect production for the first two quarters of 2009.

From Automotive News:

"General Motors will cut about 2,000 jobs at two plants and plans periodic shutdowns at about half of its 19 U.S. factories as consumers continue to shun new vehicles.

The automaker will eliminate one shift at the end of the quarter at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant and its Lansing Delta factory in Delta Township, Mich.

The cuts mean a loss of about 800 jobs in Lordstown, where workers make the compact Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5. The Delta Township plant will lose about 1,200 workers, who make the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers.

In addition, GM will stop production intermittently at nine other U.S. plants and one Canadian factory for "some number" of weeks in the first and second quarters, GM spokesman Chris Lee said today.

The production cuts stem from depressed sales, Lee said. This month GM lowered its 2009 industry sales forecast to 10.5 million vehicles from a projection as high as 12 million in December.

"We're just aligning production with market demand," Lee said. "Nobody was able to buy any cars," he said, referring to the credit crunch that has deepened the U.S. recession.

The Lordstown plant ramped up from two shifts to three last summer as soaring gasoline prices increased sales of compact cars. But in November GM said it would return the plant to two shifts Feb. 2.

The changes announced today mean Lordstown will drop to one shift April 6, with the first and second shifts working alternate weeks starting Feb. 9.

The Delta Township plant's two shifts will alternate starting Feb. 2, with the reduction to a single shift going into effect March 30.

GM began 2009 with a 102-day supply of new vehicles, down from a 139-day stock Dec. 1. GM's figure is higher than the Jan. 1 industry average of 94 vehicles, which in turn is 50 percent higher than the level considered normal.

GM sold 3 million vehicles in the United States last year, down from 3.8 million in 2007. The industrywide total last year was 13.2 million, following fourth-quarter sales rates that dropped to 26-year lows."