In an article by US News, with gas prices climbing past the $4.00 dollar per gallon mark nation wide, SUV trade in values and sales have fallen over 14 percent in March alone, compared to the same time one year ago. The SUV used car sales have been so bad, that some dealers have been forced to sell them overseas, facing expensive transportation costs and little profit. Al Johnson of AutoNation's Maroone Nissan in Pembroke, Florida said "the dealership had been exporting about one car a month" in recent years, but this year they average roughly 10".
Did you have to wake your ass up at 6am every morning last week to do the drywall at the new McDonalds? Just like Lawrence from Office Space did? If so, that means you missed our best blogs from last week! Check them out below.
General Motor’s Hummer division and the nonprofit organization Tread Lightly! announced today the launch of a new partnership called Hummer’s Recreation Rescue, which will provide grants to outdoor recreation sites. The grants will be dedicated towards land use education, management and trail maintenance.
General Motors Corp.’s role in helping Coskata Inc. bring its next-generation cellulosic ethanol to market traces back a quarter of a century to technology developed for a GM iron foundry in northwest Ohio. Coskata announced Friday that its pilot plant will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center in Madison, the current site of a pilot-plant gasifier.
In an article by BusinessWeek, Americans are now consuming less gasoline, resulting in less vehicles on the road due to high gasoline prices. In a study conducted in Palm Beach County, Florida, for the past 20 years, workers have been counting vehicles with special sensors to monitor their activity. Nearly every year since the study started, the number of vehicles on the road has risen at least 2 percent annually. However in 2007, traffic levels noticed a decline, and so far for 2008 are down 7.5 percent.
GM intends to meet the tough, new national CAFE standards of 35 mpg for cars and trucks combined by 2020, a dramatic increase of 40 percent. NHTSA’s proposed rule lays out the first set of standards toward this target. GM will work with NHTSA throughout its rulemaking process on the yearly targets and the sensible mechanisms needed to meet this challenge. GM has an established track record of innovation and a commitment to improving the fuel economy in its cars and trucks.
Andrew Posner of TreeHugger.com says that the price for a gallon of gas is selling for around $3.00 per gallon in New Jersey, a price that is lower than the nations average of $3.51. Why, you ask? Here's your answer. "New Jersey has the nation’s third-lowest gasoline tax, at 14.5 cents a gallon, and it hasn’t gone up in almost two decades".
Team Hummer earned first place in every production class in Saturday’s Best in the Desert Racing Series Terrible’s 250 at Primm, marking the first time the team has earned three victories in a race. In addition to the stock class wins, Emily Miller earned a Safari Pre-Runner class second place finish in her inaugural race, driving the Team Hummer H2 SUV.
“Go Ahead Punk… Make My Day!”… Imagine this familiar voice sounding out from under the hood of your ride; or you pull up in front of your girlfriend’s house and announce your arrival with “I Got You Babe”, or you are out on your boat and you press a button on your FX-550 and – all around you can hear the theme song from “Jaws”. With Horntones the possibilities are endless.
Check out the YouTube video inside! Install article and full review, coming soon.
The USA Today has published an article about automotive manufacturers producing more cars that run off premium gasoline, at a time when prices at the pump are breaking records every day. In an analysis by Kelley Blue Book, the number of new vehicles that need premium gasoline has risen from 166 vehicles in the 2002 model year to 282 vehicles this year, almost double the amount at a time when fuel efficiency is of great importance.
Hummer off-road racing teams are making final preparations to demonstrate their off-road prowess on opposite sides of the globe this weekend. The competition begins with Team Hummer’s entry in Best in the Desert Racing Series Terrible’s 250 at Primm, April 19, and concludes with Robby Gordon Motorsport’s Team Dakar USA’s Hummer H3 race trucks competing in the inaugural Dakar Series Central Europe Rally, April 20-26.
General Motors announced today that its U.S. marketing and field operations will be more strongly aligned into four retail channels: Chevrolet; Premium (Cadillac, Hummer, Saab); Buick-Pontiac-GMC; and Saturn. Each channel will be focused on continuing to deliver world-class products for their customer and build value for GM and their respective dealers.
PX3 Xtreme Oil Booster, released by PX3 Lubricants, has dynamometer tests confirming an increase in Horsepower and Torque up to 5% or more; offers protection against heat and cold dry starts; and reduces friction and engine wear. Additionally, users have reported improved fuel efficiency resulting in significant increases in gas mileage. Dynamometer tests on the Powerblock television broadcasts confirmed PX3 Lubricant’s statements.
Sunpro, "The Performance Legend," has an exciting offer for car and truck owners who want to add a performance tachometer and gauges to their vehicle. The Sunpro Sport ST Value Pack (CP7931) features Sunpro's new 5-inch Sport ST Tachometer and includes a StyleLine oil pressure gauge, water/oil temperature gauge and a trim-to-fit universal double gauge pod to mount them in.
Texans with flex-fuel vehicles gained easier access Friday to E85 ethanol at the first public biofuel pumps in the nation owned by a new car and truck dealership. Classic Chevrolet/HUMMER, which sold more Chevrolet trucks than any dealer in the nation in 2007, spent more than $500,000 to install nine pumps dedicated to E85, E10 and biodiesel at the new Classic Clean Fuels station adjacent to its Mr. Good Wrench Quick Lube Plus and HUMMER dealership in suburban Dallas.
As an update to our previous blog, Hummer H3T Pickup Truck Put To The Test, Mike Levine has now posted his full review, as well as an video interview, of the new 2009 Hummer H3T Alpha in action. Check out the video inside.
Let's Go Aero (LGA), manufacturer of innovative Gear Management Solutions for the automotive, recreation and commercial trade industries, has introduced the GearCage Cargo Rack System - the ultimate cargo management system featuring LGA's GearCage with its GearBag and Bike Mount hardware accessories.
TEN Magazines, ex-publisher of "Ford Truck World" magazine, "TEN Trucks" magazine (plus several others) and publisher of far too many automotive websites, has sold the remains of its operation to a private company in Mesa, Arizona. Last year TEN cited "Print is dead" after canceling all of their print publications--the first sign that big trouble was ahead for this struggling print/online publishing company.
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SIRIUS Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has informed the companies that it has ended its investigation into the pending merger of SIRIUS and XM without taking action to block the transaction.
Mike Levine over at Pickuptruck has been busy once again, this time posting a review of the new Hummer H3T pickup truck. Did the H3T's 5.3 liter V8 engine leave a big enough foot print out on the trails, where true Hummers are tested? Check out the results so far, via this link.
Giving props to DiamondBack, the new Hummer H3T is sporting a HUMMER-branded DiamondBack tonneau cover. This one of a kind H3T cover will be available directly through Hummer dealers when this vehicle is launched in late August, early September. It will also be available through many aftermarket sources and you can choose from the traditional diamond plate style or a new LINE-X XTRA option shown in the pictures.
Hummer, the world's most iconic boy's toy, has converted the new right-hand drive H3 into the ultimate gadget for grown ups - a life sized remote controlled car that definitely won't be available in your local toyshop. The hardy on/off road vehicle has been converted to make life a little less dull – those lucky enough to have a play, will experience the unrivalled agility and off-road capability of the new H3 from the palm of their hand.
Let's Go Aero (LGA), manufacturer of innovative Gear Management Solutions, now offers the LittleGiant Trailer Xpand (LGT Xpand) - a fully-enclosed trailer offering all the cargo space of a Chevrolet S-10 or Ford Ranger pickup bed.
Improving the fuel efficiency of vehicles is a key topic in the minds of consumers and manufacturers. While auto companies make progress in technology, there are quite a number of tips that any driver can employ to achieve world-class fuel economy.
As another key element in its overall global strategy to improve fuel economy and reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions, General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner announced today that GM will introduce a second-generation version of the GM Hybrid System with a new, more powerful lithium-ion battery.
After already shutting down four assembly plants, General Motors is now facing even more havoc over the American Axle strike with the temporary shut down of two more assembly plants. The first plant is in Moraine, Ohio which produces SUV's, including the Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy. The second is a plant in Mishawaka, Indiana which produces the Hummer H2 SUV.
In an article by USA Today, the 2009 Nissan Murano performed the best out of 9 SUV's, in new crash tests of mid-size SUV's, released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
If you have a "case of the Mondays", just like Peter Gibbons did from the 1999 comedy, Office Space (a Truckblog favorite), then we've got some TPS Reports...I mean, blogs, for you! Here's a wrap up of our best blogs from last week.
In an article from the USA Today, General Motors is having to re-brand it's Hummer platform into "purpose built" vehicles, and not the common gas-guzzling image they have been labeled with. Six years ago, the Hummer H2 was unleashed to the public and since its revilement, environmentalists have attacked the Hummer brand from every direction.
Just in case you were trapped in that corporate meeting last week, or you did not have enough time to check out the blog, here is a list of our top blogs from last week.
So you are probably thinking by now, "Oh great, more Hummer news- what's the deal Truckblog?". Well, today is unofficially, Hummer Friday. Why, you ask? Well, we found a handful of articles regarding Hummer and their vehicles, and decided to post them all today. And that leads us to our Beerblog, "The 110k Hummer H2".
Edmunds Inside Line has really stepped it up a notch, placing a 2008 Hummer H3 Alpha to the test and pushing its capabilities. As you will see in the video, the H3 Alpha was taken off-road and pushed through mud, trails, and more. There are not many times where you see a vehicle be truly tested, and Edmunds pushed the H3 Alpha to do wheelies. You can view the video here, within their review of the 2008 Hummer H3 Alpha.
Hummer will bring the HX Concept, a nimble, reconfigurable off-road concept vehicle, to the Geneva Motor Show next month. With unmistakable Hummer design cues and a compact, go-anywhere attitude, the HX is an entry-level, open-air vehicle that packs the off-road acumen for which Hummer has become legendary into an easily convertible body that acclimates to trail conditions, cargo needs or passenger whims.
Billy Boat Performance Exhaust have recently launched their 2007 to 2008 Hummer H2 high-performance dual exhaust catback systems. The new H2 system is a direct replacement exhaust, built of T-304 stainless steel and utilizes 4 inch, double wall stainless steel tips. For more information about Billy Boat's Performance Exhausts, visit www.bbexhaust.com
With the economy currently unstable, prices of metals have been rising, and thieves are beginning to target your vehicles exhaust, going for the catalytic converters which hold three expensive metals.
Attention all Off-Road enthusiasts! Flowmaster Mufflers have designed and developed their new Super 44 Off-Road series mufflers proven for the trail. Offering a massive improvement of crush resistance over previous mufflers, these heavy-duty off-road series mufflers utilize the same technology as used in the Super 44 series mufflers, found on our most popular model vehicles.
Every Monday morning we give you a re-cap of last weeks festivities, from automotive manufacturer announcements to the hottest (and sometimes worst) products available. Below is a list of last weeks top stories:
Whether you were screaming for the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl or not, we all saw this years round up of funny, and sometimes controversial, Super Bowl commercials. Check out our poll and vote for your favorite automotive Super Bowl commercial this year. Just in case you missed our blog last week, click here to see our preview of this years Super Bowl Commercials. Click full story to vote!
With the release of the 2009 Hummer H3T Photos we blogged about earlier this week, General Motors has now released video on YouTube of their 2009 Hummer H3T pickup truck. The following video shows the bright orange Hummer truck playing in the snow.
HUMMER is bringing its unmistakable style and unmatched capability to the truck market with the 2009 H3T. It is based on the architecture of the popular H3, but features a five-passenger crew cab and a separate five-foot-long (1.5 meters) bed. The H3T is bigger than a midsize truck and smaller than a full-size truck, creating its own niche in the market.
XtremeMac today announced its InCharge FM™ transmitter and car charger for Apple’s iPod. InCharge FM will charge an iPod while simultaneously transmitting audio from the iPod wirelessly to any FM radio. InCharge FM incorporates PureFM™ technology by Quintic and proprietary audio enhancements by XtremeMac to deliver unmatched performance. This means a consistently clean signal and excellent dynamic range for wireless transmission of near CD quality sound.
