KARL Chevrolet HUMMER

GM EXPANDS XM AS STANDARD ON ALL 2008 BUICK, HUMMER AND SAAB MODELS

XM Also Standard on Many of GM’s Most Popular Saturn, Chevrolet, Pontiac and
GMC Vehicles

WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2007 - XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), the
nation’s leading provider of satellite radio, today announced that XM Radio
is a standard feature for the first time on all General Motors 2008 model
year Buick, HUMMER and Saab vehicles.
XM is also now widely standard across many of the most popular vehicles in
the Saturn, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac lineups, including: the all-new 2008
Chevrolet Malibu, Silverado, Tahoe, Cobalt, Corvette and Impala; Saturn VUE,
OUTLOOK, AURA and SKY; GMC Acadia, Yukon, and Sierra; and Pontiac G5 and
Solstice models among others. Read more »

GM is considering a hiatus from in-game advertising during the next Super Bowl. Mark LaNeve, GM’s VP of vehicle sales, service, and marketing, said that the timing simply wouldn’t be right. With no new cars or launches, there would be no reason to spend the $2.6+ million necessary for thirty seconds of air time during the big game.

Last year GM ran one 30-second spot and two 60-second spots. One of the 60-second commercials promoted GM’s 100,000 mile warranty featuring a robot that, in what turned out to be a dream sequence, committed suicide. It was actually one of four suicide-themed commercials that came out around that time, all of which generated a fair bit of publicity and discussion about advertising standards. Under pressure from a variety of organizations, GM altered the ad’s finale (see altered version here).

LaNeve didn’t completely rule out any advertising during this year’s Super Bowl, saying “We might end up there, but we haven’t committed we’ll be there.” Cadillac, though, will still sponsor the post-game show and MVP award.

[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]

Starting in model year 2009, if your vehicle is stolen and it is equiped with OnStar, not only can the police locate it but, they can also cut the velocity of the car should it come down to a chase. Check out the press release after the jump.

PRESS RELEASE:

GM And OnStar Create Technology To Help Save Lives

New capability to assist OnStar subscribers and public safety officials in stolen vehicle cases

WASHINGTON D.C. (October 9, 2007) – General Motors (GM) and OnStar demonstrated today a prototype technology that can help OnStar further assist in the safe recovery of subscribers’ stolen vehicles and reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from police chases. This new technology, known as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, is the latest enhancement to OnStar’s stolen vehicle service and can allow OnStar advisors working with law enforcement to send a signal to a subscriber’s stolen vehicle to reduce engine power slowing the vehicle down gradually. Read more »