Hummer Accessories

U.S. auto sales tumble in August

U.S. auto sales tumble in August
Chrysler is a bright spot with a 7% gain. Comparisons are complicated, however, by last year’s sales boomlet spurred by the ‘cash for clunkers’ program. Without the hugely popular cash-for-clunkers program from a year earlier, automakers saw sales dive in August — and they don’t see much to stimulate increased purchases the rest of the year.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Cargo Liners?accessory and Protection in One

Sport utility vehicles are perfect companions during long trips and excursions. Their power-packed engines coupled with innovative automatic or manual transmission boxes make them ideal for both on-road and off-road driving. An automotive brand of giant automaker General Motors, Hummer has been successful in reaching the top of the SUV manufacturer ladder. Hummer puts much effort in producing vehicles with rugged exteriors and roomy, comfortable interiors that surpass the expectations of adventure-seeking drivers. Its H2 model proves just how sturdy Hummer vehicles are.

Aside from being a great off-road vehicle, the Hummer H2 is ideal as cargo or load carrier because of its storage capacity and massive body structure. As such, this Hummer model includes as standard feature a large rear compartment cargo space for luggage to guarantee passenger convenience. Since the cargo space may sometimes have to deal with dirt and foreign objects, a Hummer H2 cargo liner comes in handy.

Like what a floor liner does for the carpet of a car, the Hummer H2 cargo liner protects the floor panel of the cargo area from objects that can scratch, ruin, or stain it. The Hummer H2 cargo liner is made of a durable, thick, and waterproof material to make the cargo liner tough enough to resist damage, even with the sharpest objects. Also, cargo liners form a lip around the cargo area to prevent spilled water, dirt, dust, mud, and grime from penetrating the floor of the cargo area. With its textured surface, the Hummer H2 cargo liner secures cargoes in place by providing a better grip on them.

The Hummer H2 cargo liner also functions as a car styling accessory. It makes the interior of the vehicle look neat and stylish. Therefore, this SUV component is a cost-effective way of accessorizing and protecting the interior of a Hummer H2 vehicle.

Putco 403409 Chrome H2/H3 Hummer Accessories

• Enhances the look of your Hummer for a true custom look.
• Installs easily with pre-applied Red 3M Tape, simple peel and stick. All parts are no drilling, no cutting, and easily installed in seconds!
• Made of an Automotive Grade ABS Chrome. Long lasting material designed to withstand the rigors of the elements.
• Matches OEM Chrome perfectly.
• Priced Right!! No other product on the market like it. Putco quality at a competitive price.

Product Description
Chrome Hummer H2 Tail Lamp VentsEvery Hummer was made to be accessorized. Add the best exterior accessories and effects available for your H2 or H3 with Putco’s chrome trim add-ons. Custom design to precisely fit your Hummer SUV or truck, these parts are made of durable automotive grade ABS plastic and include Putco’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. Each part is triple chrome plated and perfectly matches the OEM chrome parts already on your Hummer.Chrome trim accessories… More >>

Putco 403409 Chrome H2/H3 Hummer Accessories

Car DVD Entertainment System – A Quick Guide

The automotive industry is getting more ideas on how to pamper the passengers. One of the ways is to have a car DVD entertainment system installed. Such a system can really be a life saver to the driver. Why? Imagine, you’re headed across the country with your family to visit the in-laws in Omaha, and your kids are driving you nuts. A car DVD system allows you to pop in one of their favorite movies and have them entertained for hours while on the road.

Today’s auto market is becoming more and more diversified, with Hummers lining up next to Smart Cars and Geo Metros in dealer lots. Perhaps one of the things many people do when they bought a new vehicle is to customize it with gadgets and accessories. Bored spouses and kids make car DVD systems one of the hottest new upgrades on the automotive consumer market.

There are two main types of in car DVD systems: portable and in-dash. Portable systems, though not as sleek or worry-free as the in-dash systems, are considerably cheaper and more versatile. They are usually powered by your car’s 12-volt power adapter but can be converted to run from your home’s power supply, allowing you to take the DVD player and monitor into your in-laws house when your happy family arrives.

In-dash car DVD systems are hardwired into your vehicle’s entertainment system. They display movies either on a screen in the center-console, on a screen that descends from the roof of the vehicle, or on a screen which flips up from the dashboard. Though these systems aren’t portable outside the vehicle, once installed they don’t require any extra cords or setup: you can load in your movies and drive away. Screens located either on the center console or which flip up from the dashboard can double as displays for in-car GPS or navigation software, but they can be distracting to drivers. The flip-down screens avoid driver distraction, but they are usually only convenient for back-seat viewing, leaving a front seat passenger to count license plates or play I-Spy with the driver.

In car DVD systems are perhaps the biggest boon to the long family road trip since Car Bingo, and as the technology improves you can expect the systems to get smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Though portable systems are still the choice for families on the go since they require no expensive installation or conversion, more and more auto manufacturers have plans to include built-in systems in their vehicles, especially upscale and family autos.

Trust me; it will be tough to find a driver for your next road trip. The entire family wants to be stretched out in the back seat watching a movie.

The Commodore to Go on a Diet

Since its arrival in Australia in 1978, the Commodore has been getting bigger and heavier. With its 5 meters long and 1.9 meters wide body, the Commodore provides spacious seating space for five and is branded as the biggest volume selling sedan in the world.

However, according to Holden Chairman and Managing Director Denny Mooney that after the expansion of the Commodore, it is not going to get any bigger because it doesnâ??t need to. Instead the Commodore is set to lose weight since it was criticized when the latest VE model arrived. The Commodore added 100kg in one generation. According to Mr. Mooney they decided to reduce the carâ??s weight to improve fuel consumption and performance.

The current VE Commodore weighs 1.7 tons — almost half a ton more than the original VB Commodore of 1978. Its 3.6 liter engine is also bigger, producing a robust 181% more power. For three decades the Commodore has grown 19 cm in length, 18cm in width and 10cm in height.

Mr. Mooney also acknowledged the fact that the continuous increase in fuel prices has affected the sales of the VE Commodore which went on sale last August 2006. Fortunately for the Commodore, it remains to be Australiaâ??s best-selling car even after its sales dropped to a 16-year low.

Although there is a plan to reduce the size of the Commodore Mr. Mooney says it will be made in accordance to current car size since itâ??s the desirable size for both Australians and other car users in the world.

The Commodore is competing under the large-car segment which is experiencing waning sales since buyers are shifting to smaller cars caused by higher fuel prices, increased competition and reduced import tariffs. Mr. Mooney still believes that there is a strong market for large cars stressing the point that the Commodore is still Australiaâ??s best selling car.

He further added, “There are still a lot of people who want to buy large cars. It’s still the one advantage we (Australia) have. We can export these.”

Just last week General Motors has confirmed an export deal to sell 50,000 Commodores in the US badged as the Pontiac G8.

About General Motors

General Motors or GM for short is the worldâ??s largest car manufacturer. GM was founded in 1908 and presently employs 327,000 people around the world. In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, and Vauxhall.

GM is the majority shareholder in GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. of South Korea, and has product, powertrain and purchasing collaborations with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan. GM also has advanced technology collaborations with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW AG of Germany, and vehicle manufacturing ventures with several automakers around the world, including Toyota, Suzuki, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China, AutoVAZ and Avtotor of Russia and Renault SA of France.

GM Parts of various brands like Saab parts and accessories are sold under GM, GM Performance Parts, GM Goodwrench and ACDelco brands through GM Service and Parts Operations, which supplies GM dealerships and distributors worldwide. GM engines and transmissions are marketed through GM Powertrain. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Gm Augments Weak January Sales With New Deals

General Motors Corp. is expected to deliver a ramped-up incentive program to amplify its sales in the forthcoming months. January was not a good month for the automaker however; it is working on increasing its sales by delivering new deals that include zero-percent loans and cash.

The incentive program of the largest automaker will revive free financing and at the same time bonus cash. The zero-percent financing will run for as long as 60 months. In addition, the $500 bonus will be available on most 2006 and 2007 GM models. These strategies were considered by GM to augment its January sales, which have declined by about 17 percent.

Bonus cash will be offered by the automaker in the Midwest and Northeast. On the other hand, the zero-percent financing will be available anywhere in the United States. “It’s a new thing that kind of caught us off guard,” said dealer John Rogan of John Rogan Buick-Livonia. “It’s a great deal. And, as dealers, we believe it will drive our market share up.”

GM January sales decline is significantly caused by the intended reduction in rental fleet sales. It is also caused by a slump in consumer demand. After sharp sales decline last month, some critics question whether the automaker pulled back too distant on incentives. “We’re not going to go down the path we went down before, throwing incentive dollar after incentive dollar,” GM senior analyst Paul Ballew said after announcing January sales figures early this month. “But we’ll do what it takes to be competitive.”

John McDonald, GM spokesman, said the new incentives, which will expire on Feb. 20, do not reflect a reversal of GM’s strategy to cut back on deals and discounts, but are a bid to keep customers coming into showrooms during a traditionally slow sales month. “The strategy is the same,” he added. “We had planned to do this prior to the January results.”

Since 2002, the incentives of the automaker in January were at their lowest â?? at an average of $2,365. The figure is lower than DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group at $3,853 and Ford Motor Co. at $3,502.

The new incentives imposed by GM will exclude brands like Cadillac, Hummer and Saab. It will also exclude selected models like the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and medium-duty trucks. Free financing, consequently, will be available for three or five years depending on the vehicle. It will be available only for Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. McDonald added, â??Advertising will be done on a regional level and by the individual brands.â?

â??GM was smart to avoid a major national blitz, which would have created the impression that the automaker was going back on its less-is-better strategy on incentives,â? said Tom Libby, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates’ Power Information Network. He added, â??Even though GM lost some sales, the company is right to keep its discounts low, since deep discounts erode brand values and drive down resale values. It sounds like a significant program. But it’s not a humungous, pull-out-all-the-stops program. If it is, they would be getting away from their strategy.”

GM, founded in 1908, has global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA. It is famed in the manufacture of remarkable vehicles that served as milestones in the automotive timeline. GM manufactures cars and trucks in 33 countries. These vehicles have established a reputation for quality in the field. This is because GM parts and accessories like rotors, brakes, filters, AEM cold air intake as well as other auto systems used in the vehicles are precision engineered to serve their purpose well.

Gm’s Zero-interest Financing Scheme Plus More

General Motors, worldâ??s number 1 carmaker will offer zero-interest financing for most of its 2006 and 2007 models for as long as sixty months or five years. The carmaker has offered such financing scheme to cope with the 17% drop in its January US sales.

The 60-month, zero-interest financing has started Tuesday and covered models like the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Buick Lucerne sedans and some of GMâ??s heavy-duty pickup trucks.

Those GM models that are not included in the 60 month zero-interest financing will be covered by another financing scheme which is also zero-interest but with a much shorter covered term like 36 months. This zero-interest financing scheme of GM run through Feb. 20, 2007 only.

According to GM it has cut its excessive incentive spending last month as it tries to limit the programs just to help the company become profitable again. General Motors has already posted more than $13 billion in losses covering seven quarters through Sept. 30 as its US sales fell.

However according to market analyst Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, General Motors has cut incentives by 21% last January averaging $2,221 per vehicle.

Not all of General Motors vehicles are included in the zero-financing scheme, those models that are sold in US Midwest and Northeast are eligible only for the $500 cash bonus. The models excluded in the no-interest financing are the following: HUMMER, Cadillac, Saab models, Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Saturn Vue Hybrid, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and medium duty trucks.

All of the vehicles included in the zero-interest financing of GM are equipped with top-of-the-line car accessories and auto parts like the popular GM fog light.

More News on GM

Last Tuesday, a Merrill Lynch analyst has upgraded General Motors to â??Buyâ? from â??Sellâ? explaining that the automaker may be able to use its legacy and liquidity assets to foster improvements in the company.

Merrill Lynchâ??s John Murphy further explained that the pension plan of General Motors is overfunded by almost $17 billion. Aside from that there is also a surging pressure to change health care benefits plus the likelihood for the legacy assets of GM to be leveraged further. â??The resulting sentiment is increasingly more optimistic and is trumping our previous expectation of pressure early in 2007,â? Murphy wrote to investors.

Murphy also compared GM to its rival US automaker Ford saying that the latter shares have risen too high in relation to their near-term earnings potential. He further stated, â??We view GMâ??s equity as more attractive than Fordâ??s as benefit of any concessions on retiree healthcare would be much greater for GM. Furthermore, GM is at a much better point in its product cycle and has a much richer surplus in its US pension, both which should lend near-term support for the stock.â?

The analyst also said that there is a possibility for GM to reach a retiree health care arrangement that is similar to that of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. although not that feasible but it could happen. The Goodyear health care agreement with its workers involves a $1 billion fund set aside for retirees and if ever approved by the federal courts, the tire company will begin a contribution in the form of stocks and cash. The advantage of such health care agreement is that a company like Goodyear will only have to pay a one-time contribution freeing it from paying any retiree benefits in the future.