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DETROIT — General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson says the carmaker is studying how it could double or triple production of the new Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid should sales demand accelerate.

About 240,000 potential buyers have expressed an interest in the vehicle, but production in 2011 will be just 10,000 units. GM plans to build 45,000 Volts in calendar year 2012.

Speaking on the sidelines of the official Volt launch ceremony today at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, GM North America President Mark Reuss said that Volt production is constrained largely by vendor production of battery cells needed for the battery packs that GM assembles in suburban Detroit for the Volt.

He said GM could begin exporting Volts to Europe and elsewhere by late 2011. The European version would be the Opel Ampera.

GM global product chief Tom Stephens said GM also is considering a flex-fuel version of the Volt. He said that GM could have the version available in the 2012 model year if the carmaker pursues the program.

Using E85 fuel, the Volt would use extremely little gasoline, Stephens said. For one thing, most commuters can run on pure electric power to get to and from work. When the internal combustion engine is needed for longer trips, though, with E85, only 15 percent of the fuel is petroleum. The other 85 percent is ethanol, he said.

Beginning in December, GM plans to roll out the Volt in seven states over 12 months with limited supplies available for sale and demonstration at Chevrolet dealers. After that time, the Volt would be available nationally.

Akerson conceded today that GM stands to make little or no initial profit on the Volt. He said the carmaker can sell them “for close to cost.”

The Volt has a base price of $41,000, including shipping, before a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Frank Moultrie, shop chairman of UAW Local 22 representing 960 hourly workers at Detroit-Hamtramck, said there are no immediate plans to add a second shift at the plant. The plant builds the Volt and the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne sedans. The DTS and Lucerne end in 2010.

On electricity alone, the Volt achieves the equivalent of 93 mpg. When powered solely by a 1.4-liter gasoline engine, the Volt gets 37 mpg.

DETROIT – General Motors is recalling more than 300,000 Chevrolet Impala sedans because the seat belts may fail to restrain people in the front seats during a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that the front-seat belt webbing may not be secured properly to a lap belt anchor on the side of the seat near the doors.

The recall affects Impalas from the 2009 and 2010 model years.

Dealers will inspect how the belts are anchored. The will reinstall the anchors if needed at no cost to the owners.

Owners can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.

DETROIT — Smart USA, battling plunging demand for its sole U.S. car, says it has reached a deal with Nissan Motor Co. to sell a five-door gasoline-powered small car in the United States next year.

The so-called B-segment car will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011, Smart said in a statement today.

“There were a lot of customer requests to offer a little bit larger vehicle,” Smart USA President Jill Lajdziak said in an interview. The new five-seat vehicle will compete with Honda Motor Co.’s Fit in the growing U.S. subcompact vehicle segment, she said.

U.S. sales of Smart’s only model, the Daimler-built ForTwo two-seat minicar, peaked at 24,622 in 2008, the year of the brand’s U.S. introduction. Gasoline prices for much of that year topped $4 a gallon. ForTwo sales plunged 41 percent last year as the economy collapsed and gasoline prices fell. Through September, sales are down another 62 percent this year, to 4,779.

Smart is a unit of Penske Automotive Group, the nation’s second-largest auto retailer.

The new car will be built on a new global platform in one of Nissan’s factories in the Americas, Nissan spokesman Dave Reuter said.

ENLARGE

Nissan currently is developing two vehicles to be sold for about $10,000 each in the United States, Patrick Pelata, Nissan’s chairman for the Americas, said in January at the Detroit auto show.

Those models will be produced in Mexico on the automaker’s new global V platform that will also be used to replace the Micra subcompact sold outside the United States. The Micra is almost two-feet shorter than the current Versa.

Those unnamed models will be smaller than the Versa — the smallest vehicle Nissan currently sells in the United States — but the Versa also will move to that platform for the 2013 model year.

In all, three models will be produced on the platform, with sales also planned for Central and South America.

At least one of the models will have a three-cylinder engine.

Broad cooperation

The latest announcement builds on a plan for cooperation among Daimler AG, Nissan and Renault SA that was unveiled in early May. At the time, the two companies said:

• Daimler’s Smart brand will get new products jointly developed with Nissan and Renault for the 2013 model year and beyond.

• U.S. retailers will see a next-generation Smart ForTwo two-seater.

• There also will be a Renault-built four-seat Smart — including an electric version — developed for Europe, but that may go to U.S. retailers as well.

• The next Renault Twingo will be built off the same architecture, although not for the U.S. market. The Smart version will retain its current rear-wheel-drive design.

• The partnership will supply Mercedes’ next-generation B-class front-wheel-drive family car. But Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the joint development will mean reduced costs that could make it feasible to begin selling the B car at U.S. dealerships.

Dealer reaction

Dealers welcomed the news — and predicted their customers would, too.

“We have had a lot of requests for a larger Smart vehicle since 2008, and we’re very excited to carry the new 5-door version along with the current model,” said Shane Reed, general manager of Michigan Smart Center in suburban Detroit.

Pat Cheeks, general manager of Georgia Smart Center in Atlanta, said his dealership was “ecstatic to offer not necessarily a replacement, but another Smart vehicle option.”

Eric Patterson, general manager of Texas Smart Center in Round Rock, Texas, said the vehicle would open the brand up to “a whole new group customers.” “We’ve had customers who were fans of the original Smart say they wished they could take their kids in the vehicle,” he said. “It’s good to see that becoming a possibility.”

DETROIT — Chrysler Group took its dealers by surprise this week by showing them concept versions of the Jeep pickup truck and 2012 Dodge Viper.

The unveilings came Tuesday at the company’s national dealer announcement show in Orlando — the first such show the company has held since 2007.

The dealers also got news about plans for a nine-speed automatic transmission for front-drive vehicles, which would follow an eight-speed automatic transmission for rear-drive vehicles due out in 2012.

Both will be adaptable to all-wheel-drive and hybrid applications, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told dealers in an hour-long address Tuesday. He did not say when the nine-speed automatic would arrive.

There was no word out of the meeting on a plan for the Jeep pickup. Jeep’s last pickup was the Comanche, built for the 1992 model year. Jeep last toyed with the idea of a pickup in 2005, when it unveiled an extended-cab Jeep Gladiator concept at the Detroit auto show and said it was going to study its market potential.

According to one person who attended the dealer meeting, the 2012 Viper concept resembled the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione with a Viper face. The Competizione is a limited-edition supercar that was sold in select Maserati dealerships in North America.

‘Something magic’

ENLARGE
At $299,000, the Spider version was the most expensive Alfa Romeo ever.

In 2009 Alfa Romeo brought 84 coupes and 35 Spiders to the United States for sale in seven Maserati dealerships. The cars were sold before they were delivered. At $299,000, the Spider version was the most expensive Alfa Romeo ever.

The fourth-generation Viper ended production at the Conner Avenue assembly plant in Detroit on July 1. The Viper was first launched in 1992.

Chrysler introduced the 2012 Viper and the pickup truck concept with a touch of drama. At the end of his hour-long speech to dealers, Marchionne closed with a story.

“There are times when you are given the opportunity to give life to something which is so beautiful and unique, so just and equitable, that you pay a lot less attention to the numbers, to the financial reality that surrounds it. They happen only rarely. In my case, three times in more than 15 years as chief executive.”

He recounted a series of conversations he had had with Ralph Gilles, Dodge CEO and chief of design for all Chrysler brands.

“We had been debating this particular nameplate for a long time, and every time I just could not get there. And then one morning the product committee went into the dome and saw it, and we all knew we were in front of something magic, unique. It took less than five minutes for the committee to fund the initiative. Not a negative comment, not a remark, not a single question. And so I leave you with this. The 17th car in the lineup, in select dealers in 2012.”

And the Viper emerged from the wings.

The surprise from Jeep

The Jeep pickup got a similarly dramatic introduction. Jeep CEO Michael Manley concluded his presentation to dealers by saying: “You never know what might show up in your showroom someday,” according to a person who attended the meeting. Manley then walked off the stage, and the pickup truck appeared.

Manley said nothing about whether Jeep will produce the pickup.

Marchionne, wearing his trademark black sweater, spoke to an audience that included about 75 percent of Chrysler’s 2,314 dealers, representing about 90 percent of the sales volume.

The dealers also got to see Chrysler’s 2011 lineup, including key new production vehicles such as the Chrysler 200 mid-sized sedan, which is an extensively re-engineered and restyled update of the Sebring sedan.

Other production vehicles include the redesigned Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger full-sized sedans, the revamped versions of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan minivans, the Jeep Patriot and the Dodge Avenger.

Brakes weren’t applied by drivers of Toyota vehicles in at least 35 of 58 crashes blamed on unintended acceleration, U.S. auto-safety regulators said Tuesday after studying data recorders.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also saw no evidence of electronics-related causes for the accidents in reviewing the vehicle recorders, known as black boxes, the agency said today in a report to lawmakers.

The preliminary findings bolster Toyota’s contentions that there’s no evidence of flaws in electronic controls on its vehicles and that motorists in some cases confused the accelerator and brake pedals.

A Toyota spokesman said the company’s black boxes are built into the airbag sensor and usually begin recording only when the airbag is deployed.

“The data should also be independently corroborated, e.g., through physical evidence, other research, etc.” Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said in an e-mail Tuesday to Automotive News.

Since November, Toyota has recalled 9.4 million vehicles worldwide, including 7.5 million in the U.S., for acceleration problems involving floor mats and sticky pedals, Lyons said.

“At this early point in its investigation, NHTSA officials have drawn no conclusions about additional causes of unintended acceleration in Toyotas beyond the two defects already known — pedal entrapment and sticking gas pedals,” the agency said in the report provided for a briefing to lawmakers in Washington.

In addition to the 60 percent of cases where brakes weren’t used, NHTSA cited accidents in which the brakes were applied partially or the data recorder failed.

Toyota has conducted more than 4,000 on-site vehicle inspections, and said today it has not found electronic throttle controls to be a cause of unintended acceleration.

“Toyota’s own vehicle evaluations have confirmed that the remedies it developed for sticking accelerator pedal and potential accelerator pedal entrapment by an unsecured or incompatible floor mat are effective,” the company said.

“We have also confirmed several different causes for unintended acceleration reports, including pedal entrapment by floor mats, pedal misapplication and vehicle functions where a slight increase in engine speed is normal, such as engine idle up from a cold start or air conditioning loads.”

In many cases studied by federal regulators, the driver made an allegation of unintended acceleration.

Questions about data

NHTSA said its study was limited to post 2007 vehicles because most Toyota models made before 2007 did not have black boxes that stored pre-crash data.

Most sudden acceleration complaints since 1999 occurred before 2007, according to a February study by Safety Research & Strategies, a research and advocacy firm funded in part by plaintiff lawyers.

A high proportion of these involved 2002-2006 Camrys and 2005-2006 Tacoma pick-up trucks, the study found.

“The idea that Toyota has been exonerated is preposterous given all the facts,” said Sean Kane, the firm’s president. “This is a small sampling of crashes.”

Kane added that the vast majority of sudden acceleration incidents are at too low a speed to activate the black boxes. The NHTSA study is thus limited to an examination of high-speed crashes, he said.

Limited braking

Of the 58 recording devices analyzed, 35 showed that at the moment of the crash impact, the driver hadn’t depressed the brake pedal at all, safety officials said. Fourteen more cases showed partial braking. In another nine cases, the brake had been depressed at the “last second” before impact.

The government’s preliminary examination also said there were a handful of other crashes where the brake was pressed early and released, or in which the brake and gas pedals were pressed at the same time. There was one case of pedal entrapment by a floor mat.

In five cases, NHTSA said, the electronic recording device failed to work.

The agency is continuing its review of Toyota defects and is working with NASA, the U.S. space agency, and the National Academy of Sciences to probe the cause of the crashes.

Chrysler Group LLC is recalling almost 575,000 Jeep sport-utility vehicles and Dodge and Chrysler minivans for brake line and wiring defects, U.S. safety regulators said.

The company recalled 288,968 Jeep Wranglers for 2001 through 2010 to repair a defect caused when liners inside the fenders touch right-front and left-rear brake lines, leading to wear that may cause fluid to leak and raising the risk of a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement on its Web site today.

Chrysler isn’t aware of accidents or injuries related to the fluid leak, the automaker told the agency in a June 1 letter. Repairs should begin this month, the agency said. Vehicle owners were directed to call Chrysler at 1-800-853-14903 or visit NHTSA’s website.

“A brake fluid leak can cause partial loss of service brakes at the affected wheel, increasing the risk of a crash,” NHTSA said in the statement.

The company also recalled 284,831 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans from the 2008 and 2009 model years, citing a sliding-door hinge that can wear through wire insulation, causing a short circuit and possible fire, the agency said.

Chrysler, controlled by Italy’s Fiat SpA after filing for bankruptcy last year, learned of the Wrangler leak on Feb. 25 in a report on the flaw in a 2008 model, according to the letter.

The automaker will recall the vehicles “to inspect and remove potential areas of liner contact with the brake line,” Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said in an e-mail. Repairs will be made without charge to the customer, he said.

The brake-component manufacturer is TI Automotive, based in Warren, Mich., according to Chrysler’s letter to NHTSA.

Chrysler issued a recall last week for almost 35,000 Dodge and Jeep vehicles for accelerator pedals that may become stuck or fail to immediately return to the idle position.

NHTSA last week also began investigating Ford Motor Co. cars for pedals that may become stuck on floor mats.

GM Dex-Cool/ Intake Manifold Gasket Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Reached March 20th, 2008

NATIONWIDE SETTLEMENT REACHED IN

NATIONWIDE SETTLEMENT REACHED IN GM/DEX-COOL CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
On March 20, 2008, the California Superior Court granted preliminary approval to the class action settlement reached with General Motors in the GM/Dex-Cool class action lawsuit. This settlement affects people who purchased or leased a “covered vehicle” anywhere in the United States other than Missouri. A separate settlement has been reached for those who purchased or leased their vehicle in Missouri, which will offer the same benefits but will be separately approved by a Missouri court.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of owners of General Motors vehicles, which were factory-filled with “Dex-Cool” coolant. In summary, the lawsuits alleged that Dex-Cool degraded certain vehicles’ intake manifold gaskets and other engine sealability components, and that in certain other vehicles, Dex-Cool formed a rusty sludge, clogging the vehicles’ cooling systems and causing vehicles to overheat.

Terms of the Settlement:

You may be eligible to receive between $50 and $800 in cash reimbursement under the settlement if you have paid for a covered repair by May 30, 2008, and if you submit a claim by October 27, 2008. If you paid for multiple covered repairs, you may be eligible to receive multiple cash reimbursements provided you submit a separate claim for each repair.

Click here to view and print a copy of the Settlement Claim Form.

COVERED VEHICLES

Vehicles covered under the settlement are divided into three groups. Each group of vehicles is listed below, followed by the covered repairs, for which cash reimbursement is available under the settlement.

Note: If you own one of the models listed below, but (i) with a different engine size than what is listed, or (ii) the vehicle was manufactured using a lower intake manifold gasket other than a nylon/silicone gasket, or (iii) the vehicle is a Group A vehicle manufactured after April 9, 2003, then you are not covered by the settlement and are not eligible to file a claim.

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GROUP A VEHICLES- Model years 1995-2003, equipped with 3.1 or 3.4 liter V6 engine, manufactured before April 10, 2003 with a nylon/silicone lower intake manifold gasket.

Buick Century, Rendezvous
  Chevrolet Impala, Lumina, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Venture
  Oldsmobile Alero, Cutlass, Silhouette
  Pontiac Aztek, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Montana, Trans Sport

Group A Covered Repairs: Replacement of failed nylon/silicone lower intake manifold gasket.

Note: Some of these vehicles may have been offered for sale with an engine other than a 3.1-liter or 3.4 -liter V6 engine. Any of the above models sold with an engine other than a 3.1-liter or 3.4 -liter V6 engine are not included and are not eligible to make a claim.

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GROUP B VEHICLES- Model years 1995-2004, equipped with 3.8-liter V6 engine (internal GM engine designation RPO L36).

Buick LeSabre, Park Avenue, Regal, Riviera
  Chevrolet Camaro, Impala, Lumina, Monte Carlo
  Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight, Intrigue, LSS, Ninety-Eight
  Pontiac Bonneville, Firebird, Grand Prix

Group B Covered Repairs: Repairs necessitated by engine coolant sealing issues,including replacement of throttle body gasket, upper intake manifold gasket,lower intake manifold gasket, or intake manifold.

Note: Some of these vehicles may have been offered for sale with an engine other than a 3.8-liter V6 engine RPO L36. Any of the above models sold with an engine other than a 3.8-liter V6 engine RPO L36 are not included and are not eligible to make a claim.

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GROUP C VEHICLES- Model years 1995-2000, equipped with 4.3-liter V6 engine.

Chevrolet Blazer, Chevrolet S-10
  GMC Envoy, Jimmy, S-15
  Oldsmobile Bravada

Group C Covered Repairs: Repairs necessitated by cooling-system sludge, including cooling-system flush, heater core repairs, water pump repairs, or radiator cap replacement. “Sludge” refers to a rust-like material that can form in the cooling system and whose formation is related to use of Dex-Cool.

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Frequently Asked Questions & Responses about the Dex-Cool Class Action Lawsuit:
1. What cash reimbursements are available?
2. How do I make a claim?
3. Do I have to be the original owner in order to file a claim?
4. Am I still eligible to file a claim if I no longer own my vehicle?
5. I have had a Dex-Cool related problem but I have not had it repaired yet. Can I still participate in this settlement?

1. What cash reimbursements are available?

Under the proposed Settlement, GM will send cash reimbursements to class members who paid for Covered Repairs performed within seven years or 150,000 miles (whichever is earlier) after the original owner or lessee took delivery of the vehicle, and who submit timely and valid claims.

The amount of reimbursement for which you may be eligible depends on (i) when the Covered Repair was performed and (ii) the amount you actually paid, as described below:

(a.) For a Covered Repair made within five years after initial vehicle delivery:
You may be eligible to be reimbursed the documented amount you paid out-of-pocket up to $400, if you were not previously fully reimbursed.

However, if you can document that the Covered Repair required you to pay over $1,500 to address an internal coolant leak, your reimbursement level may be different. If so, you can elect to request reimbursement of 40% of the amount you paid out-of-pocket up to $800, if you were not previously fully reimbursed.

(An internal coolant leak means that coolant leaked from one vehicle component into another component. Whereas an external coolant leak means that coolant leaked from inside a vehicle component to the exterior of the vehicle.)

(b.) For a Covered Repair made in the sixth year after initial vehicle delivery:
You may be eligible to be reimbursed the documented amount you paid out-of-pocket up to $100, if you were not previously fully reimbursed.

(c.) For a Covered Repair made in the seventh year after initial vehicle delivery:
You may be eligible to be reimbursed the documented amount you paid out-of-pocket up to $50, if you were not previously fully reimbursed.

If you paid for more than one Covered Repair (whether on the same vehicle or on different vehicles included in the proposed Settlement), you may make a separate reimbursement claim for each one.

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2. How do I make a claim?

To make a claim for a reimbursement under the proposed Settlement, you must submit the following documents, either online or by mail. If you do not submit each of the following documents, and fully complete the claim statement, your claim may be denied.

(a.) Completed Claim Statement. A Claim Statement form is available at www.DexCoolSettlement.com.

(b.) Proof of repair payment. You must provide documentation showing that you paid out-of-pocket for a Covered Repair, for which you were not fully reimbursed. Please read the instructions on the Claim Statement form for more details.

(c.) Proof of ownership or lease. You must provide documentation showing that you owned or leased the vehicle at the time of the Covered Repair. Please read the instructions on the Claim Statement form for more details.

(d.) If you wish to submit your claim by mail, you must mail the above documents, postmarked no later than October 27, 2008, to the Claims Administrator at the address listed on the Claim Statement form.

(e.) If you wish to submit your claim online, please go to www.DexCoolSettlement.com, fill out the online Claim Statement form, and attach scanned versions of your required documentation before clicking the button to submit your claim. Online claims must be submitted no later than midnight on October 27, 2008.

(f.) If you wish to make reimbursement claims for two or more Covered Repairs, you must submit a separate set of documents (Claim Statement, proof of repair payment, and proof of ownership or lease) for each claim. You may not combine claims for more than one Covered Repair in a single Claim Statement.

(g.) The Claims Administrator has the right to request additional documentation before the Claim is approved and paid. Your claim may be denied if the Claims Administrator determines that it is invalid.

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3. Do I have to be the original owner in order to file a claim?

You do not need to be the original owner in order to participate in this settlement.

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4. Am I still eligible to file a claim if I no longer own my vehicle?

You may be eligible to participate in this settlement even if you no longer own your vehicle. Anyone who has owned or leased any of the Covered Vehicles and paid out of pocket for one of the Covered Repairs is eligible to file a claim.

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5. I have had a Dex-Cool related problem but I have not had it repaired yet. Can I still participate in this settlement?

If your repair is done within the earlier of 7 years or 150,000 miles of your vehicle delivery date, and prior to May 30, 2008, you may be included in this settlement.
On March 20, 2008, the California Superior Court granted preliminary approval to the class action settlement reached with General Motors in the GM/Dex-Cool class action lawsuit. This settlement affects people who purchased or leased a “covered vehicle” anywhere in the United States other than Missouri. A separate settlement has been reached for those who purchased or leased their vehicle in Missouri, which will offer the same benefits but will be separately approved by a Missouri court.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of owners of General Motors vehicles, which were factory-filled with “Dex-Cool” coolant. In summary, the lawsuits alleged that Dex-Cool degraded certain vehicles’ intake manifold gaskets and other engine sealability components, and that in certain other vehicles, Dex-Cool formed a rusty sludge, clogging the vehicles’ cooling systems and causing vehicles to overheat.