Cook County Illinios residents have until September 30th to take advantage of GM’s Employee Discount program. Bill Sullivan Pontiac recently launched a new website giving Illinois residents the capability to preview and shop for cars online.

Bill Sullivan Pontiac, the number one Pontiac retailer in Illinois for the past 13 years just expanded their dealership to include all makes and models of Buick and GMC cars. With the expanded selection of cars came the need for a new website to offer Illinois car shoppers the best online shopping experience.

Web site The Car Connection on Tuesday managed to get its digital hands on photos of the what is said to be the production version of the Chevy Volt, the much-ballyhooed plug-in hybrid from General Motors.
Production version of the Chevy Volt from General Motors

The photos were made available on GM’s media Web site unintentionally, a company representative told The Detroit News. They were quickly taken down from GM’s site after The Car Connection posted them.

Nearly a million cars, trucks and SUVs are being recalled by General Motors today because their heated windshield washer system poses a fire hazard. General Motors says it is aware of three fires caused by this problem, but no injuries have been reported so far.

The fluid heating system is a popular option on many of General Motor’s large cars and SUVs. It is used in cold weather to heat windshield washer fluid before spraying it onto the windshield, where it can melt ice and frost on the windshield.

Nearly a million cars, trucks and SUVs are being recalled by General Motors today because their heated windshield washer system poses a fire hazard. General Motors says it is aware of three fires caused by this problem, but no injuries have been reported so far.

The fluid heating system is a popular option on many of General Motor’s large cars and SUVs. It is used in cold weather to heat windshield washer fluid before spraying it onto the windshield, where it can melt ice and frost on the windshield.

General Motors Corp. (GM) will sign an initial agreement Thursday to build an engine and transmission plant for passenger vehicles in India, a senior executive at its local unit said Wednesday.

The plant will be set up at Talegaon, near Pune city, in the western state of Maharashtra, Ankush Arora, vice president in charge of marketing, sales and service at General Motors India Pvt. Ltd. said.

“We will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government tomorrow (Thursday),” Arora said.

Luxury. Design. Prestige. All three are hallmarks of Buick’s legacy that, in order to revive the brand in the U.S., must be present in every new vehicle. Although the division has had some success in doing so with the popular Enclave crossover, it’s looking to its operations in China - a market where the brand all but dominates the middle-and upper-luxury segments - to resuscitate its ailing U.S. wing.

General Motors plans to invest $500 million on its all-new global compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze, being built at its Lordstown, Ohio plant. Later it will also be built in Europe and in the Asia Pacific for sales in the region.

Banking on the demand for small niche cars, the auto maker has increased production of compact cars after a drop in sales of its profitable pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles due to high fuel prices.

Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury brand slipped 4% in consumer’s eyes to tie with Hyundai and GM’s GMC division at No.4. Nissan, Mazda and Kia followed the Blue Oval brands with a 3% improvement. Nissan pulled equal to the industry average while Mazda and Kia dropped below average.

Nonetheless, the survey leaves little for auto makers to look forward to, as it also forecasts weak consumer spending with growth of no more than 2.3% in the third quarter.

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.