Category: Industry News

By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal

FLINT, Michigan — A lot of cars have been built in Flint but none have been finished quite like this.

A handful of comic book artists from the Flint area have started to transform a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic into a work of art and no one, including the creators, is sure what the end product will look like until they finish Thursday.

“You want a door? Take a door,” Flint Comix Editor-In-Chief Randy Zimmerman said Monday, just hours after the first group of artists started their shift of work on the Sonic.

Wrapped in an extra skin that can handle markers, colored pencil, and paint, the Sonic is on display at the Buick Gallery and the work continues Thursday.

Within a few hours Tuesday, a golden-green dragon was taking shape on the roof of the four-door hatchback , Bludgeoner the Bunny Butcher stretched across a front fender in bbasic black and white, and a set of eyes peered out from the signature Chevy bowtie logo on the front of the Sonic.

General Motors spokesman Tom Wickham said the idea for teaming up Flint Comix and the Sonic came from a similar event held this fall at New York Comic Con, an annual gathering of some of the most popular comic book artists and their fans.

Wickham said the compact Sonic makes an interesting canvas but said the real reason for the event is to bring attention to the new small car and to give comic artists a new audience.

“I’ve always liked comics, and a lot of these artists don’t get exposure like this,” he said. “What we are really hoping is that people come see what’s being done.”

Flint Comix artists get exposure now through the monthly comics and entertainment newspaper, which is available free at more than 250 outlets and distribution boxes in the mid-Michigan area.

Zimmerman started the publication three years ago, and Publisher Ted Valley said his artists haven’t taken on a project quite like this before but he said he couldn’t resist because both the car and the paper have a shared connection.

“Cars and comics: What do they have in common? Flint,” Valley said.

Read the full article: here.

Crash Test: 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu

December 27, 2011

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In the 50 years since US insurers organized the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car crashworthiness has improved. Demonstrating this was a crash test conducted on Sept. 9 between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. In a real-world collision similar to this test, occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy.

“It was night and day, the difference in occupant protection,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. What this test shows is that automakers don’t build cars like they used to. They build them better.”

The crash test was conducted at an event to celebrate the contributions of auto insurers to highway safety progress over 50 years. Beginning with the Institute’s 1959 founding, insurers have maintained the resolve, articulated in the 1950s, to “conduct, sponsor, and encourage programs designed to aid in the conservation and preservation of life and property from the hazards of highway accidents.”

A decade after the Institute was founded, insurers directed this organization to begin collecting data on crashes and the cost of repairing vehicles damaged in crashes. To lead this work and the Institute’s expanded research program, insurers named a new president, William Haddon Jr., who already was a pioneer in the field of highway safety. In welcoming Dr. Haddon, Thomas Morrill of State Farm said “the ability to bring unbiased scientific data to the table is extremely valuable.” This scientific approach, ushered in by Dr. Haddon, is a hallmark of Institute work. It’s why the Institute launched the Highway Loss Data Institute in 1972 — to collect and analyze insurance loss results to provide consumers with model-by-model comparisons.

Another Institute milestone was the 1992 opening of the Vehicle Research Center. Since then, the Institute has conducted much of the research that has contributed to safer vehicles on US roads. At the anniversary event, current Institute chairman Gregory Ostergren of American National Property and Casualty summed up a commitment to continue what fellow insurers began in 1959: “On this golden anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, we celebrate this organization’s accomplishments toward safer drivers, vehicles, and roadways. We salute the vision of the Institute’s founders and proudly continue their commitment to highway safety.”

Originally Available Here

Why GM’s Buick brand is on a roll

December 27, 2011

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RICK KRANZ

December 22, 2011 – 11:36 am ET

Once scorned for unimaginative vehicles, General Motors’ Buick brand is on a roll these days.

Here’s why.

The Buick Verano was a finalist in Motor Trend‘s recent Car of the Year competition. In fact, I heard the Verano missed the coveted award by a hair. If a more powerful engine was available — and it’s coming in 2012 — the car likely would have captured that title.

The Verano is a compact sedan that shares a platform with the Chevrolet Cruze. Beyond that, the car has unique exterior and interior styling, powertrains, and there’s a wide range of quiet tuning.

My prediction is the Verano will be a hit, but it’s too early for a sales analysis — four cars were sold in November as production was winding up.

Enclave’s sales are on a record pace. Here’s a crossover that is bucking conventional wisdom. The vehicle debuted way back in 2007 and has changed little since its introduction. Sales should be in a downward spiral. Instead, they are headed for Buick’s record book.

So what’s going on? Is the sales boom linked to a heavy incentive blitz? No. Simply, the styling remains appealing. Credit the upswing in the market for taking Enclave with it. Buick sold 52,837 Enclaves through November, an 8 percent boost from the same period last year.

And the brand’s overall sales are up 18 percent this year. Through November, 162,659 Buicks rolled out of dealerships — and that’s without Verano sales and its new crossover.

Speaking of Buick’s crossover, these eyes have seen the Encore, that’s the name of the new model. Sales should keep GM’s accountants happy. The compact is attractive, and, as previously reported in Automotive News, the crossover is based on a platform evolved from the Chevrolet’s Sonic. Here’s a news flash: It’s bigger than the Sonic.

The Encore will debut at the Detroit auto show. Production kicks up in November or December.

GM, still 32-percent owned by you, me, and the rest of the U.S. taxpayers, needs to show its many stakeholders and Wall Street that it can surprise and delight buyers with new products. That means reinventing its brands. With the Verano and Encore, it looks like Buick will hold up its end of the deal.

You can reach Rick Kranz at rkranz@crain.com.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111222/BLOG06/111229960#ixzz1hk6re2xq

Chevrolet Sonic Becomes Canvas

Crash Test: 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu

Why GM’s Buick brand is on a roll

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