Well it's that time of the year again - SEMA 2010. As most of you know, SEMA is the largest aftermarket auto show in the country and where the top players in the aftermarket world come out to show off their new parts, accessories and trends. Custom car builders come out by the thousands and show off some of the world’s top automobiles. Media come from all over the globe to cover SEMA and at times dedicate a whole site or magazine to just SEMA coverage.

GM has notoriously come out with many great cars and products at this event. If you remember about 4 years ago, GMTS here was able to show off the very first in person pics of the brand new Cobalt SS Turbo. Funny though, because at the time many of you thought this car was a fake and not real. Hey, we don't fault you for that and understood your excitement for that upcoming vehicle. Last year, GMTS brought you the top Camaros at the show and some of the top builders putting these cars together. Given that this was one of the hottest cars at the event, we also broke rumors on who was building what and how they were planning to debut their projects.

Today I am excited to tell you that GM has been hard at work again. There is some really exciting news that will be coming out on Tuesday Nov 2nd at the show that I am sure all of you enthusiasts will love to hear about. We will be bringing you this coverage fast right from the show and the announcement. I believe you will see GM's commitment to the enthusiast market and their desire to help you, the enthusiasts, continue to build your cars in the personalized and custom way as you have done for years.

We will have teaser photos starting on Monday morning Nov 1, and then coverage daily from the event. We are excited to hear your feedback and comments about the announcement and the custom cars there at the event.

I leave you with this quick teaser video from GM.

Enjoy. 

The mere thought of new and exciting GM cars coming out simply excites us here at GMTS. We were all excited last year about this time going nuts over the new Camaro and that car didn’t disappoint us at all. Today is a little different though. We are seeing a resurgence of GM small cars coming down the line and these aren’t just afterthought cars either.

We have our sights on both Chevy Cruze and Chevy Aveo, both coming down the pipe here, with Cruze coming out around the September 2010 time frame. I know what you may be saying right now – “Aveo? Andy, I can see why you may be getting excited about the Cruze, with all the rumors of a possible SS, but Aveo.” Yes the Cruze will be the big buzz maker here in the next few weeks and for good reason, plain and simple the Cruze is hot! This car is going to make a big difference in the youth marketplace without a doubt.I have plenty of thoughts on the Cruze and some inside secrets… ;) that I really want to share, but today I am going to turn my focus on the new Aveo that will hit the streets next year in 2011. We just came across some inside info on some performance times for the new Aveo that we thought we’re too intriguing to keep to ourselves.

The Aveo is still a ways out, but I wanted all of us to have a look at the interior and this shot of the exterior that most of you are familiar with. We have to say, we were pleasantly shocked here at GMTS to see the new looks of the Aveo. The lines outside actually look strong and aggressive. Then you move into the interior and smiles will start to rise on your face. Just go ahead and check out the dash. Designers have told us the dash was inspired by a motorcycle with its cluster. We love it. Ah yeah, the seats look really good as well. All of this is great, but what really started to wake us up was the fact that we have heard this car in some “Unofficial” testing has laid down sub 6-second 0-60 runs. Yes you read that right! The new Aveo has broken into the 5-second range running 0-60 times!

Now if you look back at both models of the Cobalt SS – Supercharged and Turbo – they trip the 0-60 clock at Turbo – 5.4 seconds and Supercharged – 6.4 seconds and we all know how well both of those cars perform. So if this is the case with the new Aveo, could we possibly have a little monster on our hands here from the factory with actual great looks and a really solid interior? Not to mention what will happen when most of you get your hands on it and get the aftermarket world involved. Oh, did I mention the car is more than likely going to retail starting around $13,000?

So now do you see why I’m so wound up here? We are excited to see what GM is doing and what their plans are with some of these new cars. Like I said earlier, we have more news and things we would like to share and will all in due time. Right now – enjoy this piece of info and may the dreaming begin!

 

Earlier today I saw a tweet from Tom Henderson at GM (http://twitter.com/TomEHenderson) that put a big smile on my face. Tom is a great guy and a huge GM advocate and close friend to us here at GMTS. There is no denying how 2009 went for not only GM but for the rest of the world. It was tough and brought on a strange time and feeling that we were not used to and did not know how to handle. What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger right?

Through this whole mess last year, we stood strong as did most of you loyal supporters of the GM brand and family – and for that we are forever grateful. 2009 came and went, bringing us into a new year and a new chance to see some great changes and a chance to see GM bring out some amazing products that they have been working tirelessly on for the past few years. Trust me when I tell you, we have some really good news that we are dying to release on some new products that will make many of you very happy. More on that in some future posts.

For now, I am excited to share something with you that Tom shared with me. This will make you proud and more than likely put a nice smile on your face. See video on bottom.

This video made me incredibly proud of what GM is doing and their efforts to pay back the money they owe. GM also released this statement today that we thought we would share as well:

General Motors Company Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre today announced that GM has made its final payment of $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full, ahead of schedule.

The announcement came at a ceremony here to highlight an investment of $257 million at GM’s Fairfax, Kansas, and Detroit Hamtramck assembly centers.  The investment will prepare Fairfax to build the next generation of Chevrolet’s award-winning Malibu, and make Detroit Hamtramck a second source for Malibu, ensuring that Chevrolet can meet market demand for this popular mid-size sedan.

“GM is able to repay the taxpayers in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse we build here in Fairfax,” said Whitacre. “We are now building some of the best cars, trucks, and crossovers we have ever built, and customers are taking note.  Our dealers are increasing their sales, we are investing in our plants, and we are restoring and creating jobs.”

The U.S., Canadian, and Ontario governments, as part of the launch of the new GM, provided loans of $8.4 billion and took equity stakes in the new company.  Today’s payment of $5.8 billion ($4.7 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $C1.1 billion to Export Development Canada) completes the payback of these loans.

“GM’s ability to pay back the loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working, and that we are on the right track.  It is also an important first step toward allowing our stockholders to reduce their equity investments in GM,” said Whitacre. “We still have much hard work ahead of us, but we are making progress toward our vision of designing, building, and selling the world’s best vehicles.

“We appreciate the support the taxpayers have given GM, and our great new products are tangible results of that support.”

 

I have taken sometime to myself before I have said anything about the recent tragedy, which has been the passing of Shaun Carlson. Some of you may not know him, but many of you have seen his fingerprint and incredible cars that he has built over the years. It would take me several hours to sit and tell you all the accomplishments that Shaun has had but I will leave that to some others that are doing stories on Shaun right now. I will post at the end of this blog some other sites that have talked to his accomplishments so you can hear from the others whose lives were so greatly affected by Shaun.

We here at GMTS have had the honor to meet Jay L a few times at different events. He is great to be around and talk to because he truly is a car guy. We were there a couple of years ago when he unveiled his new biodiesel-powered EcoJet, which received plenty of oohs and ahhs from the crowed – including us. The car is amazing in person and the design of it is an incredible mixture of 50’s styling from Cadillacs of the era with a great merger of futuristic styling.

Last year we launched our GMTS MySpace page and have had great success with it. We are about to take this page up a notch by doing some cool promotions and giveaways through the page. We are working with vendors and aftermarket partners to get involved and we will be giving anything from parts to stickers and T's. So you will want to get involved by becoming a friend to the GMTS MySpace page so you can be entered to win.

For those of you who follow the automotive drag racing world, you are most certainly familiar with the name Titan Motorsports. Titan Motorsports is top-notch shop / racing program based out of Orlando Florida. They pump out some serious cars and are known all over the nation.

This summer they are ready to share their vision of the 2010 Camaro with the world by working with GM on a SEMA project car. They are up against some serious builders out there but from the looks of their render they are more than ready to do battle against any of them. Once again, GMTS is here to give you the first look at projects like this that are happening behind the scenes at GM. We are pleased to release a firsthand look at the Titan Motorsports Camaro.

From helping fuel a sneaker revolution to building many of the industry’s most creative and influential cars, Mark Arcenal has literally done it all. Some of you may have heard of his personal project www.fatlace.com or some of you may know him from his insane car builds like his 2006 turbocharged Pontiac Solstice (Check out pics of that car here shot by our friend Antonio Alvendia from Speed Hunters - http://speedhunters.com/archive/2008/12/11/car-feature-gt-gt-grip-unit-solstice.aspx), either way  this guy is the real deal.

 Welcome to the newly improved GM Tuner Source web site. Many of you who are regular visitors will notice not only its exciting new look, but also a host of new features that we're pretty excited about.

Pro FWD driver Jason Hunt and I were privileged to be invited to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America induction ceremony here in Detroit Wednesday night.