GM to launch Chevrolet in Korea

Daewoo may be General Motors’ only established brand in the Korean auto market, but it will soon add another: Chevrolet. GM revealed today at the Busan motor show that it will begin selling bowtie-badged vehicles in South Korea in 2011.

The Alpheon is being positioned in the Korea market as a luxury model at the top of the Daewoo range. It is fitted with a 3.0-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic transmission. GM Daewoo said the car will go on sale in the second half of the year.

GM Daewoo says the "Alpheon becomes a stand-alone luxury product brand in GM Daewoo's product portfolio." Much like its Korean couterpart, Hyundai, have made inroads into the luxury sedan segment with the Genesis model.






Press Release

GM Daewoo's All-New Luxury Sedan Debuts at 2010 Busan International Motor Show

Alpheon is GM Daewoo's entry into the upper-midsize segment

Busan, Korea - GM Daewoo Auto & Technology (GM Daewoo) unveiled its much-anticipated luxury sedan, the Alpheon, at the 2010 Busan International Motor Show today.

"With the introduction of the all-new Alpheon luxury sedan, we have added another attractive model to our product portfolio and our first entry in the fast-growing upper-midsize segment in Korea," said GM Daewoo President and CEO Mike Arcamone. "I am confident that the Alpheon will surpass the demands of the most sophisticated luxury sedan buyers in Korea."

Another highlight of the GM Daewoo stand is a seven-seat compact multi-purpose vehicle, the Orlando show car, which is making its first appearance at an international motor show in Asia.

In addition, GM Daewoo has on display the Lacetti Premiere and GentraX race cars, and a Matiz mini-car artistically wrapped in pink.

With "Advancing Style" as its theme for this year's Busan International Motor Show, GM Daewoo has 18 vehicles on display that showcase its automotive industry design expertise.

Alpheon - Stylish Luxury Sedan

The Alpheon is based on the same GM global architecture as the Buick LaCrosse, one of the three finalists for 2010 North American Car of the Year.

GM designers and engineers from Asia, Europe and North America targeted the luxury sedan as a global product that would meet the highest quality and performance standards in the most sophisticated markets.

At first glance, the Alpheon's sculpting design flows in all directions, giving the vehicle a tightly wrapped appearance and a fast, coupe-like profile. Its dynamic and elegant body styling is highlighted by sharp side lines, short overhangs and fenders wrapped precisely around large wheel housings, giving it the presence of an upscale large sedan (2,837-mm wheelbase and 4,995mm body length).

With a unique emblem on its front "waterfall" grille, the Alpheon becomes a stand-alone luxury product brand in GM Daewoo's product portfolio.

The innovative design philosophy continues in the Alpheon's interior. The flowing shape of its instrument panel design offers a distinct, confident and upscale impression. The refined look is an integrated center stack design that incorporates ice-blue light-emitting diode (LED) ambient lighting along with premium infotainment features. Adding to the use of soft-touch materials and low-gloss trim panels rather than traditional wood applications is indicative of exceptional and luxurious craftsmanship.

Powered by a 3.0-liter V-6 engine combined with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Alpheon will ensure responsive performance when it is launched in the second half of this year in Korea.

General Motors is considering adding a coupe to Buick's lineup

Now that General Motors has almost completed shedding its non-core brands, the company is refocusing attention to its main brands. The company is in research and development of a new sport coupe that could be sold as a Buick.


"Buick definitely needs more product in the pipeline," John Cafaro, director of design for Buick and Chevrolet, said in an interview last week at the Chicago Auto Show.

"My role is really being a zealot for getting Buick more youthful, more spirited and probing ideas [for] coupes, more expressive vehicles. That is really my job."


The automaker is in a similar position as Cadillac had been, with only an aging market segment showing any interest. According to Cafaro, Cadillac knew that they had "to carve a new image. That is where Buick is right now," he told the news outlet.


So far, five models -- all sedans and crossovers -- have been approved for Buick. The redesigned LaCrosse went on sale last fall. The 2011 Regal sedan goes on sale this spring. A small, unnamed sedan that will share a vehicle platform with the Chevrolet Cruze goes on sale in 2011. The Lucerne will be dropped in a year or so.


"Buick definitely needs more product in the pipeline," Cafaro said, later mentioning that the company needs a new car that makes a statement. Any such car would become Buick's flagship.


Cafaro said a coupe would make a statement for Buick, "and a statement means it is going to be the flagship. All the design cues and everything would drive themselves down into all Buicks.


"A coupe is definitely where you say, 'I'm back.' "

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Farley Wants More Fords Soon

Ford is looking for ways to speed up the introduction of its next generation of vehicles, says the company's new vice president of marketing and communications.

Jim Farley, hired away from Toyota by Ford, was in the process of revamping the company's marketing effort, which he says is too centralized. He's also in the process of streamlining the presentation of option packages and dealing with Ford's dismal sales numbers for 2007.

Ford's sales dropped twelve percent last year, more than those of any other major automaker, and the company wound up yielding the number-two spot in sales to Farley's old employer Toyota, which sold 2.62 million vehicles to Ford's 2.57 million units.

The 45-year-old Farley was recruited by Ford from the fast track at Toyota, where he had blazed through a series of assignments and promotions over the past decade, presiding over the launches of the Scion brand and the new Tundra pickup truck.

Speeding up the recovery
Since joining Ford in November, Farley has gone through an immersion in Ford's corporate culture and it's clear his marketing portfolio has been stretched to give him influence on product planning and product development.

However, Farley also said the company was looking at its global product portfolio for additional vehicles that could be sold in the United States. He is particularly eager to shore up the company's position in the "B and C" or subcompact and compact car segments, he said. With gasoline prices topping $3 per gallon, subcompacts and compacts have been gaining buyers for the past couple of years and are expected to grow again in 2008 and 2009 as consumers grapple with higher fuel prices.

The upcoming North American International Auto Show is vital for Ford because it will offer a chance to show Ford's latest hardware, including the F-Series pickup truck, which has been revamped completely in face of the new challenges. Farley didn't outline any specific goals for the show but he made it clear he wants the show to leave an impression.

Still, the challenges at Ford are daunting. General Motors' turnaround appears to be gaining momentum. Ford will have to go several more months without any new products in the showroom, noted Tom Libby of J.D. Power & Associates.

© Source: thecarconnection.
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GM's Project Alpha Takes Shape

General Motors' plan for a new family of midsize, rear-wheel-drive cars is beginning to take shape, with the lead vehicle — an RWD successor to the Pontiac G6 — penciled in for a late 2010 intro, Inside Line has learned.

The platform, called Alpha, also will underpin several other models in North America and Europe, beginning in model-year 2011, according to GM suppliers. Alpha reportedly has been designed to use bits of the Kappa platform on which the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky are based.

Replacements for the front-wheel-drive Cadillac BLS sedan and wagon, based on the rear-drive Alpha architecture, are due in early 2011. At that time, the car may be introduced in North America, where it would be slotted below the CTS in size and price, with stickers starting in the high $20,000s.

In model-year 2012, Saturn is slated to get an Alpha-based sedan, which may supplement rather than replace the front-wheel-drive Aura. The RWD Saturn four-door body will be shared with Opel and Holden, GM insiders tell IL.

However, GM still has significant plans for several of its existing front-wheel-drive midsize sedans. The old W-body platform (also known internally as MS2000) is being phased out after 2010. A successor to the W-body Buick LaCrosse, rebadged as the Regal, will shift to the Epsilon 2 platform in early 2009, followed by a redesigned Aura in late 2009. The new Epsilon-based Regal, according to IL sources, will be built and sold in both North America and China, with virtually identical sheet metal.

The Malibu gets a significant redesign this fall but isn't scheduled to move to the Epsilon 2 architecture until late 2010. About the time the last of the old W-body models — the Chevrolet Impala (rebadged as the Impala Classic) — is put out to pasture, Chevrolet may create a long-wheelbase, six-passenger companion to the Epsilon-based Malibu, to serve customers and fleets who prefer front-wheel drive and may shy away from the new RWD Impala that's coming in mid-2010. Chevy reportedly would pit this large FWD four-door against the Ford Taurus (née Five Hundred).

In Europe, replacements for the Saab 9-5 and 9-3 will shift to Epsilon 2, in mid-2009 and mid-2010, respectively. Opel and Daewoo also will have future products based on the same architecture.

© Source: insideline
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