In a last-ditch attempt to move inventory from dealers’ lots, GM is launching the 100th Anniversary Sales Event, a promotion offering employee pricing on all remaining 2008 models.

The program, which begins tomorrow and runs through September 2, offers pricing normally reserved for GM employees. All 2008 Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn, Cadillac, Saab, and Hummer models are applicable (excluding medium duty trucks), as are the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac Vibe and G5, and Cadillac CTS.

Auto makers are angling to carve out their own niches in fuel-efficient design, from expansion of the gasoline-electric hybrid technology already available in the Toyota Prius to the new plug-in hybrid vehicle known as the Volt under development by General Motors Corp.

The Chevrolet Volt will be able to go at least 40 miles on its lithium-ion battery. Above, GM CEO Rick Wagoner rides in a Volt at a Las Vegas trade event last January.

NEW YORK — Lexus once again stands alone atop a closely watched ranking of vehicle dependability after Buick slipped from the No. 1 spot it shared with the Japanese luxury brand last year, J.D. Power and Associates says.

It’s the 14th straight year Toyota Motor Corp.’s high-end brand has held the top position in the annual study, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Lexus had 120 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 145 last year.

There’s no shortage of opinion makers who think GM should throw Hummer under the bus. Especially now as SUV and full-size pickup sales are “readjusting,” and fuel prices are much higher than we’d like. Add to that the political correctness of bashing anything and everything that isn’t a hybrid or doesn’t get the same fuel economy as any form of crossover vehicle, and you can see why Hummer’s had a bull’s eye on its back for the last 18 months.

Oleg Deripaska, Russia’s richest man, has been in talks with General Motors about purchasing the Hummer brand, the US military’s Humvee inspired gas-guzzler.
The Russian oligarch was in discussions with GM, according to Reuters, though any sort of final deal is a long way off. GM is looking to avert a complete financial catastrophe with Hummer [...]

A 16-year-old boy will be charged as an adult in a crash that killed a woman driving to Sunday school and critically injured her son, Minneapolis police said today.

Don Buddie Austin of Minnesota is charged with one count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle with death, one count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle with injury, two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts criminal vehicular operation.

Early versions of the Chevrolet Volt’s battery packs are powerful enough to run the high-stakes rechargeable car, but dozens of issues remain before General Motors Corp. can start selling the revolutionary vehicle in 2010 as planned.

The Volt’s chief engineer is on a tight schedule to figure out how the car will handle the batteries’ weight, dissipate their heat and mechanically transfer their power to the wheels. That’s not to mention the list of issues that have nothing to do with the fact that the car plugs in to the wall for recharging.

AM General LLC, the Mishawaka company that manufactures the Humvee military vehicle and H2 Hummer consumer sport-utility vehicle, now plans to build taxies.

AM General will make the Standard Taxi for Vehicle Production Group LLC of Troy, Mich., which recently landed $160 million in funding for the project, according to the South Bend Tribune.

The stinky, steaming air that escapes from a car’s tailpipe could help us use less gas.

Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle.

General Motors Corp. is close to reaching the goal, as is a BMW AG supplier working with Ohio State University. Their research into thermoelectrics — the science of using temperature differences to create electricity — couldn’t come at a better time as high gas prices accelerate efforts to make vehicles as efficient as possible.

A mid-afternoon crash Saturday in Darke County sent one driver to Wayne Hospital in Greenville.

It happened at the intersection of State Route 571 and Arcanum-Bears Mill Road, south of Greenville.

Deputies said that Zachary Halton, 19, of Cincinnati, driving a 2007 Hummer, failed to yield from a stop sign and drove through the intersection. The Hummer struck a car driven by Tony Gilbert of Palestine.