1969 Buick Riviera Gs 2-door Hardtop 455ci Resto-mod on 2040-cars

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GM posts $4 billion third-quarter profit thanks to trucks and SUVs

DETROIT — General Motors is posting huge third quarter numbers, pulling in $4 billion in profit over three months after losing money due to the virus outbreak. GM's adjusted earnings were $2.83 per share, easily outpacing Wall Street's per-share projections of $1.43, according to a survey by FactSet. Revenue of $35.5 billion also edged out most expectations. Shares jumped almost 6% before the opening bell Thursday. The company swung back from a $806 million loss in the second quarter, when it was restarting factories shuttered for safety during the early stages of the pandemic. The Detroit automaker joined most global automakers in reporting better-than-expected earnings from July through September as sales across the globe started to rebound from coronavirus lockdowns, especially in China. GM sales in China jumped 12% in the third quarter, with sales of its Buick and Cadillac brands both rising more than 25%. In the U.S., GMÂ’s most profitable market, sales fell 9.9% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, but were a dramatic improvement over the 34% drop in the second quarter. Sales improved sequentially each month, the automaker said, an encouraging trend. GMÂ’s profit was boosted by higher-priced pickup trucks and large SUVs, which have seen strong sales in the U.S. through the pandemic. It was the best quarter on record for GM's Chevrolet Blazer. Sales of the Cadillac XT6 spiked 45% in the U.S. over last year. Large pickups also sold well. GM also said it was pumping $2 billion into its Spring Hill, Tennessee manufacturing plant to push its transition to produce electric vehicles. Last week, crosstown rivals Fiat Chrysler and Ford reported strong third-quarter net income. FCA said it made $1.4 billion for the period, while Ford earned $2.39 billion. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC

GM finds steering flaw, decides it doesn't warrant a recall

Guess what? General Motors is back in the spotlight for not recalling something. This time, though, not only does the company have an argument against a recall campaign, but its position is supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to The New York Times, over 50 owners of GM vehicles have reported instances of stuck or seized steering after driving long distances without moving the wheel. One owner complained to NHTSA that the "locked" steering of their 2013 Buick Verano caused a collision with a concrete barrier in a construction zone. Along with the 2013 to 2014 model year Verano sedans, Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu sedans are also affected. Considering the popularity of those models, GM needs to have a reason for not issuing a recall, right? "Based on a very low rate of occurrence – ranging from less than one half to less than two incidents per thousand vehicles – and the fact that the condition is remedied when the wheel is turned, GM determined this was not a safety issue," spokesman Alan Adler told The Times. The company has, however, issued a technical service bulletin for owners that complain of the problem. The fix is nothing more than a software update that is covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles from new. NHTSA cited GM's actions, along with descriptions of the problems from customers, in its decision not to issue a recall, with spokeswoman Catherine Howden saying, "the symptoms described would be a brief, perceptible change in steering feel that has little to no effect on the driver's ability to safely steer the vehicle." "When terms like 'notchy,' 'stick,' 'slip' or 'feel' are used, it does not indicate a meaningful increase in steering effort," Howden told The Times via email. What do you think? Is GM in the wrong here? Should there be a recall, or is the issue so limited as to not warrant one? Have your say in Comments. Featured Gallery 2013 Buick Verano Turbo: Review View 20 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Drive View 36 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel: Quick Spin View 14 Photos News Source: The New York TimesImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Steven J. Ewing, Seyth Miersma / AOL Government/Legal Recalls Buick Chevrolet GM Safety Sedan buick verano

1987 Buick Grand National was made to be Kevin Hart's 'Dark Knight'

The Meguiar's booth at the SEMA show isn't the only place comedian and actor Kevin Hart is combining cars and cinema, his "Michael Myers" 1969 Plymouth Road Runner brooding in the car care products pen, while his SpeedKore "Hellraiser" 1970 Dodge Charger also menaces. Hart bought a 1987 Buick GNX last year and put it on Instagram with the caption, "Sundays are perfect for old school drives…. If you know you know." Looks like old G-Bodies are perfect for restomod builds, too, which we all already knew, but this car isn't the GNX that featured on social media. This is the 1987 Buick Grand National, one step below the GNX and half the price at the time. It's nicknamed "Dark Knight" and it's one of the stars of the Magnaflow exhaust booth at SEMA. Going back to work with regular collaborators Dave Salvaggio of Salvaggio Design and Sean Smith, of course there's a lot involved in the overhaul. Still, we appreciate how the team stayed true to the ethos of the Grand National in ways that made the build more complicated than it already was. Take the engine. The original came with a 3.8-liter V6 wearing a single turbocharger to register an official output of 245 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque compared to the GNX's 276 hp and 320 lb-ft. Instead of swapping it for a V8, it's been replaced with the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing. And instead of leaving both turbos on, the engine junkies plumbed a single turbo in a layout recalling the 1987 engine even as it cleans up the original Chutes 'n' Ladders mess of tubes. We didn't get an output rating for the setup. The Cadillac's twin-turbo mill makes 472 hp and 445 lb-ft. in the CT4-V Blackwing. We would bet Dark Knight's engine's pretty close to that with the single large turbo at the prow, plenty of juice for a car weighing 3,545 pounds. Exterior upgrades include a custom front fascia with a carbon fiber hood and splitter. The interior shows the same tasteful restraint, polished design and nicer materials draped over the stock 1980s layout. That shifter controls GM's 8L90 eight-speed automatic instead of the original four-speed auto.  Elsewhere, Salvaggio did the same here as with the Michael Myers Road Runner, creating a custom frame to increase rigidity and get the car closer to the ground on its 19-inch HRE wheels in the Buick's original weave look.