GREAT BUICK SUCCESSES!

• 2006 Lucerne: Kiplinger's Personal Finance "Best New Car" in the $30-45K category.
  Automotive Lease Guide showed Lucerne residual value significantly better than previous Buick product being replaced.
• Lucerne production is ahead of schedule and off to a good start.
• Built in the #3 Plant for Initial Quality in North and South America according to JD Power.
• Quieter than BMW 3 Series, Lexus ES 330, Acura TL and Infinity G35.
• LaCrosse: 5-star frontal crash test rating!
• LaCrosse is built in the #1 plant for Initial Quality in North and South America according to JD Power.
• BUICK IS #3, BEHIND JAG & LEXUS IN THE '05 JD POWER SSI SURVEY! WE
• MOVED UP FROM 7TH IN 2004. Moveed up 18 points in the delivery process category as well - GREAT JOB!

LUCERNE: MORE THAN JUST A BUICK!

From AUTOWEEK, By Kevin A. Wilson

Published Date: 11/7/05
On sale: Now. Base Price: $27,715. Powertrain: 3.8-liter, 197-hp, 227-lb-ft V6; fwd, four-speed automatic. Curb Weight: 3764 lbs. 0 to 60 mph: 8.4 seconds (est.). Fuel Mileage (EPA combined): 22 mpg

Ever since the Toyota Avalon arrived in 1994, car writers have called the big sedan “the best Buick money can buy,” playing around with variations on the old ad campaign that proclaimed “When better Buicks are built, Buick will build them.”
Funny stuff. If you’re toiling for Buick, though, you have to admit the ads invited satire. That has to sting.
Finally, after years of little more than wan grimaces in response, General Motors looks to be fighting back. Buick offered both a 2005 Avalon and its front-drive platform mate, the Lexus ES 330, for direct back-to-back comparison with the new 2006 Lucerne. This model replaces both the LeSabre and Park Avenue in struggling Buick’s rationalized car range, just as the LaCrosse (Allure in Canada) replaces both the Century and Regal.
The new big Buick is named for a city in Switzerland, and our passenger on this first drive of the Lucerne was a big Swiss-born fellow named Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, who began by telling us his personal, chauffeur-driven ride is a DTS, but that he is swapping the Caddy for a Lucerne.
The Cadillac and Buick are built on the same platform, the G-body that has underpinned some of GM’s best front-drive sedans for years. The Lucerne is offered with either a 3.8-liter 197-hp V6 or the 275-hp 290-lb-ft Northstar V8 (the first V8 offered in a Buick car in 10 years).
Lucerne’s body sports lines borrowed from the Velite concept car. Once you get past the Buick waterfall grille, it has a Lexus-like look to it, and the comparison goes deeper. Fit-and-finish is excellent, the standard safety equipment is world-class, and the Buick is quieter than the Toyota-built cars offered for comparison.
The cabin is up to snuff. The Lucerne uses high-quality materials and is screwed together properly, with an aesthetic appeal that, while hardly cutting-edge, is not so old-school as the LeSabre or the Park Avenue.
Then there is the driving. On GM’s challenging ride and handling test loop at Milford and then over some of the better test roads in southern Michigan, the Lucerne proved imperturbable. Like an Avalon or ES 330, it’s no sport sedan, but if you’re in a hurry you can lean on a Lucerne and it won’t let you down.
At the proving ground we sampled cars with Magnetic Ride Control, using the fast-acting, electronically controlled variable shock absorbers that damp out road-induced motions. Okay, we thought, but that old Buick float will be trouble in the twisties if you don’tget the Magnetic Ride Control. Then we hit the open road, and threw a Northstar-equipped Lucerne with the standard suspension into a couple of corners. It was unflustered. No wallow, no foul. Its back-road demeanor reminded us of the last Oldsmobile Aurora, a car that didn’t deserve to die with its marque.
Sure, we would rather be in a sports car or even a sportier sedan on that kind of road, but an Avalon isn’t any better suited to the task than is the new Buick, and the Magnetic Ride Control option would tilt the comparison toward GM’s car.
So, is Toyota still building the best Buick sold in America? We will have to offer that as an idea for our DoubleTake test folks (who tend not to leap at the chance to compare yawnmobiles), but Lucerne is a strong enough contender that the Avalon is no longer a shoo-in, and that is a big change in itself.
Lucerne is built at GM’s Hamtramck, Michigan plant. Remember, the object of comparison isn’t some Toyota at the end of its product cycle and destined to be replaced soon, but the third-generation Avalon recently introduced. Lucerne is priced aggressively, with a nicely equipped V8 model coming in at a sweet spot of around $32,000.
“The Buick loyalists, whether they trade a LeSabre or a Park, will be ecstatic,” predicted Lutz. Harder to forecast is whether the car can win back customers lost to Toyota.
Expecting to do so assumes such customers are unhappy enough to leave Toyota, and there is not much evidence on that score. Any reconquest would also depend on the buyer’s favorable impressions of the local Buick dealer’s service. Those are some big assumptions—there is more to this game than making good cars.
But making good cars is where it has to start, and the Lucerne looks and drives like a lot more than just a better Buick.

GM'S FOUR-POINT TURNAROUND PLAN!

PR Newswire

DETROIT -- Following is a brief update and summary of the other key elements of the GMNA turnaround plan beyond structural cost reductions.

On Oct. 17, GM announced a far-reaching agreement with the UAW that will introduce a series of changes to the hourly retiree health-care plan. As part of the agreement, pending court approval, active hourly employees will contribute financially to this health-care plan. As a result, GM will continue to provide competitive health-care benefits to its hourly employees and retirees, but at a significantly lower cost. The agreement is projected to reduce GM's retiree health-care liabilities by approximately 25% of the hourly liability, or about $15 billion, and cut the company's health-care expense by about $3 billion on an annualized, pre-tax basis. Annualized cash savings will be approximately $1 billion a year.

GM North America will continue with its aggressive product assault on all vehicle segments. To target key growth segments with the right products, GM earlier this year increased capital expenditures, with the vast majority of that increase going toward future car and truck programs. This increased investment will allow GM to average 15 all-new entries a year in the North American market for the foreseeable future.

We remain committed to a diversified portfolio of hybrid cars and trucks, including hybrid versions of the Saturn VUE, Chevrolet Malibu, and the next generation of GM full-size pickups and SUVs. We also will continue to lead in the implementation of other fuel savings technologies, such as Displacement on Demand and six-speed transmissions. GMNA also will expand its offerings of ethanol-capable vehicles (E85 fuel).

To help drive additional sales in the future, the product plan includes a heavy emphasis on high-growth segments, such as "crossovers," compact and luxury SUVs, large pickups and entry luxury cars.

Starting in January, GM will begin rolling out more than a dozen all-new versions of its full-size SUVs for Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, to be followed in late 2007 with the availability of GM's advanced two-mode hybrid powertrain. In the same year, GM will begin rolling out an entire new lineup of full-size pickups, another segment in which GM is the industry leader.

GM's strategy also builds on its recent move to create a single, global product development organization, which will permit the company to better leverage its considerable design and engineering resources around the globe. By taking full advantage of its unique global footprint and that of its global partners, GM will more effectively be able to address emerging trends and markets, and take advantage of its creative talent base around the world.

GM also laid out a focused strategy designed to improve significantly the company's performance in the retail marketplace.

This strategy includes strengthening GM's automotive brands, marketing that emphasizes the inherent value of GM cars and trucks, completing GM's distribution channel strategy, and aggressively targeting markets where GM has underperformed against the competition.

GM's newest products continue to attract new customers. Chevrolet introduced two new cars this year that rank among the top 10 best-selling cars in the industry: the Impala and Cobalt. The Buick LaCrosse is conquesting sales at impressive rates with 24% of its customers citing Toyota, Honda and Nissan as second choice and 50% claiming a non-GM brand as a second choice. The Pontiac G6 retail sales in October were up 100% versus October 2004. And the HUMMER brand has posted the largest% increase (up 86% in 2005) of any GM division, with the H3's successful launch.

GM brands have focused more on consumer benefits in advertisements this year, moving away from the deal-only ads that focused largely on monthly payments. For instance, Chevrolet ads spend more time addressing segment- leading fuel economy, safety and product quality.

The dealer-channel strategy is progressing well. There are over 200 Chevrolet dealers implementing the brand's image program. At HUMMER, over 70% of the dealerships will be consistent with that brand's image vision by the end of 2005. Cadillac has nearly 200 dealerships completed or in progress, representing 60% of the brand's sales, and nearly all Saab dealerships are consistent with that brand's image vision. By the end of 2005, 60% of Pontiac, Buick and GMC sales will be from combined dealerships.

As part of the move toward emphasizing the value of GM cars and trucks, GMNA will continue to adjust suggested retail prices to more closely match actual transaction prices, manage inventories and resale values more closely, and focus strongly on improving retail sales.

In addition, GM will specifically address certain regional markets in the United States in which GM's potential has not been fully realized. This more targeted approach to incentives, advertising, and promotion is expected to result in significant volume and share gains in these markets.

Source: General Motors Corp.

CHRYSLER ANNOUNCES NEW PROMOTION TO COMPETE WITH GM!

LAS VEGAS -- Opting not to increase cash incentives, the Chrysler group instead is launching a year-end promotion that offers two years' worth of free gasoline and scheduled maintenance, as well as an extended mechanical warranty.

"Customers are somewhat overwhelmed by traditional rebates," said George Murphy, senior vice president for global brand marketing. "We tested a traditional year-end campaign, a traditional year-end blowout, and it didn't cut through the clutter."
Chrysler's "Miles of Freedom" program runs from Monday, Nov. 21, through Jan. 3. It was revealed to dealers at meetings here on Thursday.

The program offers:
A debit card for $2,400 -- the amount of money Chrysler calculates is needed to buy 12,000 miles worth of gasoline for two years at the Chrysler group's corporate average fuel economy rate of 21.8 mpg. The plan is based on a $2.15 per gallon price of gasoline.
Free scheduled maintenance for as many as 24,000 miles.
A five-year, 60,000-mile full mechanical warranty, compared with the standard three-year, 36,000-mile warranty.

Excluded from the program are the 2005 and 2006 Chrysler 300; Dodge Viper, Magnum, Charger and Sprinter; and all SRT8 vehicles.

Customers can choose existing Chrysler rebates instead of the program, Murphy said. Those rebates range from $1,000 to $7,000 cash back on 2005 and 2006 models, Senior Vice President of Sales Gary Dilts said. The existing rebates are scheduled to end on Nov. 30.
The move counters new programs launched this week by rivals General Motors and Ford Motor Co. GM's "Red Tag" offers consumers vehicles at prices slightly higher than the supplier discounted price. Ford's "Keep It Simple" plan rolls discounts and rebates into a new bottom-line price on vehicle stickers.

Julie Roehm, Chrysler director of marketing communications, said TV commercials for the program start Sunday, Nov. 20, followed by newspaper ads beginning with a page in USA Today on Monday, Nov. 21.

Roehm said the plan tested well in its ability to bring new shoppers into Chrysler showrooms: "The point of this is to really drive traffic -- hopefully, driving traffic that we don't typically see."

CHANNEL 41 AND AUTOCITY OF PINECREST TO GIVE AWAY A SOLSTICE!

Autocity of Pinecrest and Channel 41 have joined forces in a special promotion in which we will give away a Solstice to one lucky viewer. The promotion will last for 12 weeks and every Wednesday a finalist will be chosen in the program ARRIBA DE LA BOLA which airs at 9 pm. Here are a few photos that we took while the producers for the show filmed a promotional spot.

GASOLINE PRICES DROP!

By Greg MiglioreAutomotive News / November 11, 2005

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline stood at $2.34 a gallon on Friday. The good news for motorists: That's 51 cents less than the month-ago average of $2.85 a gallon. The bad news: It's still 36 cents above what the average price was a year ago, $1.98 a gallon. Friday's average price was down 4 cents from the price on Tuesday, Nov. 8, according to AAA, of Hawthorne, Fla. Diesel fuel cost an average of $2.83 a gallon on Friday, 5 cents cheaper than Tuesday's price.

The average was $3.19 a gallon one month ago and $2.20 a gallon one year ago. AAA surveys up to 85,000 self-serve filling stations every day and reports its findings on
www.fuelgaugereport.com. Crude oil was trading at about $57.50 a barrel on Friday, its lowest level in four months. Santa Maria, Calif., had the highest recorded price in the United States at $3.14 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Mission, Texas, had the lowest at $1.80 a gallon, according to GasPriceWatch.com. GasPriceWatch.com uses volunteer spotters and has recorded more than 243,000 prices this week.

GM ANNOUNCES RED TAG SALE!

DETROIT -- General Motors is starting a national incentive program to run through Jan. 3 despite claims that it would hold to its value pricing strategy.

The program, called GM Red Tag Event, starts Monday, Nov. 14, auto dealers say.
A GM spokeswoman declined to comment on Friday, Nov. 11.

Under the program customers can get any 2005 or 2006 Buick, Pontiac, GMC or Chevrolet car or light truck at the supplier price plus $100, several dealers say. The exceptions to the sale are the Pontiac Solstice, Chevrolet Corvette and new Buick Lucerne, they say. The supplier price is the price offered to employees of GM suppliers.

For example, a 2006 Buick LaCrosse has a sticker price of $23,595, says a Buick dealer who asked not to be named. The supplier price is $21,996, he says. Customers also can use any applicable incentives. GM offers a $1,500 rebate on the LaCrosse. Therefore, the vehicle would cost $20,596, the dealer said.GM's last big national incentive program, Employee Discount for Everyone, ended Sept. 30.

Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, had insisted that GM would stick to a value pricing strategy for 90 days and offer no big national incentive programs. But the automaker reported a 23 percent sales drop in October from the year-ago month, and dealers have been pleading for more incentives.

Dealers asked GM executives about value pricing during a closed-circuit broadcast on Friday, Nov. 11. Executives told them that there are two big selling seasons -- summer and year end. Dealers say GM executives told them GM would be "crazy not to have a promotion" during the year end because "all the competition will."

GM's value pricing strategy consists of lowering sticker prices on the base models of certain vehicles. The program is designed to move the stickers closer to the transaction prices.

GM told dealers that it will start a national advertising campaign on Sunday, Nov.13, using the slogan, "See some red. Save some green."

GM will send red tags to dealers to hang in the vehicles' windows with the revived advertising phrase, "The price you see is the price you pay, not a penny more."

"It's not nearly as good as GM's employee pricing sale," says Ken Fichtner, owner of Fichtner Chevrolet in Laurel, Mont. "It's 2 percent higher for the customer than GM employee pricing was."

Fichtner says GM will give dealers $400 gross profit per vehicle under the promotion. He says the $400 will be less than the profit per vehicle he received with employee pricing, which was 5 percent of the sticker minus the destination charge.

But Buick dealer John Rogin says his sales staff broke into applause and cheers when GM said the salespeople's bonuses would be $150 for each vehicle sold in November and $100 for December.

GM ran a Red Tag sale at this time last year. Under it, dealers set a vehicle's price by combining previously announced incentives with a cash bonus between $500 and $2,000 when buyers financed through General Motors Acceptance Corp.

Many dealers were lukewarm about that program, and GM's December sales in 2004 fell 3.2 percent despite the program.

GM will end any other existing incentives on many of the 2005 vehicles with the new Red Tag Event.

MORE CROSSOVERS ON THE WAY FROM GM!

AUTOWEEK

Published Date: 11/7/05

A month aftershowing its all-new full-size sport/utility vehicles, General Motors announced it will launch several new car-based crossover vehicles over the next four years.
Bob Lutz, vice chairman of product development, said crossovers are becoming more popular and that the company estimates the segment will account for more than 2.5 million sales in the United States this year, and could grow to 3.5 million units by 2010.
“We see great opportunity in strengthening and expanding our family of crossover vehicles,” Lutz said.

GM offers seven (what it considers) crossover vehicles in the States now: Chevrolet Equinox and HHR, Pontiac Torrent and Vibe, Buick Rendezvous, Cadillac SRX and Saturn Vue.
GM was light on specifics regarding its crossover strategy, but Pontiac, GMC and Saturn will be the first to get new crossovers, within the next 18 months. Saturn’s will be called the Outlook, GMC’s the Acadia and Buick’s the Enclave. Other divisions will get their own by 2009, bringing GM’s total in the segment to 14 vehicles.

Meanwhile crosstown rivals at Ford announced the 2007 Lincoln Aviator (above) will premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The new crossover goes on sale late next year.

SOLSTICE MAKES SPLASH AT ACCESSORIES SHOW IN VEGAS!

The photos below are courtesy of our customer, Julio Gabay, who attended the SEMA(Accessories Show) in Las Vegas recently. Mr. Gabay was our "Apprentice" Solstice customer, and practically the first with a Solstice in Miami. Needless to say he is crazy about his Sostice! Sometimes he even sleeps in it!

We have good news for Solstice lovers. See story below about an increase in production.

Front view of Solstice at SEMA

Interior of Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

Frontview of Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

Rearview of Solstice at SEMA 

Solstice at SEMA 

GM ADDING ANOTHER SHIFT TO BUILD MORE SOLSTICES!

BY MICHAEL ELLIS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Good news for the lines of people waiting to buy the Pontiac Solstice roadster. General Motors Corp. said on Wednesday that it will add a third shift of workers next year to the Wilmington, Del., plant that builds the Solstice in order to boost output of the hot-selling car and build two additional roadsters.

During its first three months on the market, GM has sold 1,488 of the two-seat convertibles in the United States. But GM has received more than 15,000 orders for the car.

"By adding the third shift in January, we will increase the flow of Solstices to help fill the thousands of orders we have already received," said John Larson, general manager of Buick-Pontiac-GMC.

GM expects to add 550 hourly jobs to the plant, drawing mostly from the ranks of auto workers laid-off when GM discontinued production of the poor-selling Saturn L Series sedan in June last year, spokesman Dan Flores said. If needed, GM can also hire other laid-off GM workers from the area, including those in the jobs bank from the closure of its assembly plant in Baltimore.
Wilmington currently employs 1,200 hourly workers and 150 salaried employees.