GM to make Chevy Impala at Detroit-Hamtramck, add 2,500 jobs

General Motors said today it will build the next-generation Chevrolet Impala at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, adding 2,500 jobs.

The current Impala is built at GM's plant in Oshawa, Ontario. The next version is expected to go into production in 2013 or 2014.

GM said it will add two shifts at Detroit-Hamtramck for the Impala and the previously announced plan to build the Chevy Malibu. The tooling and equipment for the Impala will require another $69 million in investments.

In April 2010, GM said it would invest $121 million in the plant to support Malibu production.

The Detroit-Hamtramck factory also makes the Chevrolet Volt. GM said last week that it plans to ramp up Volt production to 60,000 next year, from an earlier plan to produce 45,000.

"We're doing this because we're confident in consumer demand for the great vehicles we're going to be building here," GM North America President Mark Reuss told workers at the plant today.

Today's announcement is part of a GM plan, spelled out two weeks ago, to invest $2 billion in 17 plants in eight states. Among the plants getting additional investment: Bowling Green, Ky., home of the Chevrolet Corvette; and powertrain plants in Toledo, Ohio, as well as Flint and Bay City, Mich. About 4,000 jobs are being created or retained at those plants, GM has said.

"Given the competitive nature of the auto industry in the United States, the bar for success is placed very high," Joe Ashton, UAW vice president of the GM department, said in a statement. "The members of UAW Local 22 soar over the bar every day by demonstrating their flexibility, hard work, and their intense focus on the customer."

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Demand for fuel efficiency sparks Volt production rise

GM to build 1,000 more than planned in '11, 15,000 extra in '12

General Motors Co. has made it official: It's boosting production of its electric Chevrolet Volt.

The Detroit automaker said Wednesday it will build 1,000 more Volts than planned this year — about 16,000 in total — and increase production to 60,000 cars in 2012, up from the 45,000 previously targeted.

GM officials said they're upping production — long expected — to meet strong demand for the battery-powered car, which comes with a backup gas engine. With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, GM and other automakers are eager to capitalize on the car-buying public's new lust for fuel efficiency.

GM will shut down its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, where it makes the Volt and its export version, the Opel Ampera, for four weeks starting in June to retool for added production. The carmaker will also build its next-generation 2013 Chevrolet Malibu at the plant, starting late next year.

The production hiatus will further constrain Volt supplies at dealers heading into the summer months, GM warned, but will better prepare the company for the 2012 Volt's nationwide rollout in the second half of this year, said Cristi Landy, directory of Chevrolet Volt Marketing. GM initially launched the 2011 Volt in a handful of markets, including New York, California and Washington, D.C., in December.

"By taking the time to reconfigure the plant, we will be better able to meet the tremendous consumer demand," Landy said.

GM's CEO Dan Akerson has pressed for more Volts "faster" and set production goals higher with hopes of eventually building more than 100,000 a year. Akerson also has challenged the Volt team to investigate ways to cut $10,000 in costs out of the high-tech vehicle. The car retails for $41,000, minus $7,500 in tax incentives.

Of the 16,000 Volts planned for this year, about 2,500 will go to dealer demonstration fleets, and another 3,500 will be built for export to China, Canada and Europe, GM officials said. The remaining 10,000 Volts will be sold in the United States — that hasn't changed, GM said.

Of the 60,000 Volts GM will build for 2012, about 45,000 will go on sale at U.S. dealers.

So far this year, GM has sold about 1,700 Volts, including 493 last month, according to tracking firm AutoData Corp. But while GM has been ahead — it was the first to bring this hybrid-style plug-in to market.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Futbol Mania

Futbol Mania is a national partnership with the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Soccer Tournament that will include two big games being played on June 12 at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL! Chevrolet will have an on-site display at the June 12 games with an exciting lineup of Chevrolet vehicles.

If you visit Phillips Chevrolet to test drive a vehicle, you will receive a coupon to enter to win tickets to Soldier Field on June 12 to watch the big games*!

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

*While supplies last

Volt Visits Frankfort Car Club and Joliet West High School

Phillips Chevrolet visited Frankfort Car Club's meeting last Wednesday to show off the new 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Many Car Club members test drove the Volt.

Phillips Chevrolet's Sales Consultant, Daniel Bachert, stands beside the 2011 Chevrolet Volt along with a few auto students at Joliet West High School on May 13, 2011. The students and faculty had a chance to learn all about the future car.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration packed with activities

Trib Local May 4, 2011 - Homer Glen is planning an atypical Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration.

It’s four weeks behind Earth Day, which was celebrated April 22, and three weeks behind Arbor Day, which was held April 29. But the delay is only to capitalize on the promise of better weather that May brings with it, local officials say.

The village’s planned event, scheduled for May 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes more than your typical tree planting and eco-friendly demonstration.

“It doesn’t just feature green living. It doesn’t just feature conservation. We are appealing to families,” said Trustee Margaret Sabo, chairwoman of the village’s environment committee, which is overseeing the event.

The event, in its third year in its current form, will be held at Konow Farm, 16849 S. Cedar Road.

New this year, among other things, are free pony rides and a presentation by John Basile’s Big Run Wolf Ranch, scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

A presentation from Jim Nesci’s Cold Blooded Creatures is scheduled for 1 p.m. A dedication of the Tilsy Barn – an 1870s barn that was transferred, plank by plank, from a Will County Forest Preserve to the Konow Farm – is scheduled for noon.

Other demonstrations are planned by the Northern Illinois Raptor Rescue, Green Woodworking by Robbie J. Field, and hand forging of ironware by blacksmith Brian Skrabutenas, among others.

Dr. Scott Keller will host an “Ask the Vet” session that includes demonstrations of first aid for cats and dogs. Antique and eco-friendly vehicles will be on display, including a 1910 Stanley Steamer, a Pioneer Conversion electric car, a new Chevy Volt from Phillips Chevrolet, and new Ford Fiesta and Fusion hybrids from Willowbrook Ford.

A donation drawing will raffle off items donated from businesses, including two large trees, nature photographs, an American Girl Doll, and a refurbished laptop computer.

More information about the event is available by calling the village at 708-301-0632 or visiting the village’s website at www.homerglen.org.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealersin the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Volt goes 1,000 miles between fill-ups, says GM

The electric-powered Chevrolet Volt is averaging 1,000 miles on each tankful of gas, according to General Motors.

The Volt's gas tank holds 9.3 gallons, so that means drivers are averaging about 111 miles per gallon. As a result, Volt drivers are stopping to fill their gas tanks only about once a month, GM said.


GM collected the fuel economy and fill-up data through the vehicles' OnStar system, spokesman Rob Peterson said.

The Volt can travel about 35 miles on a fully charged battery, according to EPA estimates. If the battery becomes depleted, a gasoline engine comes on to generate electricity for continued driving.

Electricity generally costs less, per unit of energy, than gasoline. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates it would cost $2.75, on average, to drive a Chevrolet Volt 25 miles on gasoline but just 99 cents to drive that far on electricity.

What do women want? Above all, a caBut real-world fuel economy figures like this could help GM's marketing efforts by helping consumers understand its benefits. Up to now, there has never been a simple, straightforward fuel economy figure for the Volt as there is for almost every other car.


Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealersin the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

GM will spend $131 million to prep plant for next Corvette

General Motors plans to spend $131 million to prepare its Bowling Green, Ky., plant to build the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette.

GM said assembly of the current-generation Corvette will continue at the plant for at least the next two model years, including the 2012 model that goes into production this summer. Work to prepare the plant for the next iteration will occur during that time, adding about 250 jobs.

The Corvette has been assembled at the plant since 1981. Nearly 400 production workers assemble the cars on a one-shift, Monday-through-Thursday schedule. The workers are represented by UAW Local 2164.

"This is a significant day for anyone who believes that America should build world-class, high-performance products," Mark Reuss, GM North America president, said in a statement. He made the announcement Wednesday, May 4, alongside Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear at the plant.

The current version is the sixth generation in the Corvette's 58-year history. GM says about 50,000 visitors a year tour the plant.

GM sold 4,293 Corvettes from January through April, a 22 percent increase from the same period last year. In April, Corvette sales totaled 1,454 units, a 34 percent jump over April 2010.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Volt Visits

May 4, 2011 - Sarah Evans and Jeff Stewart visited Rich East High School to show off the new 2011 Chevrolet Volt! We had a blast! The students, along with the faculty, were all very excited on learning about the vehicle.




May 5, 2011 - Numerous Auto and Science classes at Carl Sandburg High School got to chance to see underneath, inside and out of the new 2011 Chevrolet Volt.



May 6, 2011 - Prairie State College students and faculty were learned about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.
Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois' Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

A Chevy wagon might look like this Opel

Mark Reuss raised some eyebrows at the recent New York auto show when he said a wagon version would make a nice companion to the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu that debuts next year. Reuss, president of GM North America, told journalists a Malibu wagon could be pitched as a fuel-efficient alternative to a minivan.

Reuss, president of General Motors North America, stopped short of saying a wagon is in the pipeline. But he made us wonder what one might look like.

Here's a clue: The Malibu shares a platform with the Buick Regal, and we've already seen a Regal wagon (sort of). It's called the Opel Insignia, and it's on sale in Europe.

The Regal and Insignia essentially are the same vehicle, which suggests another option for GM: As a Buick, that wagon might be an attractive choice for older minivan owners ready to try something completely different.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Phillips Chevrolet's 2011 Chevy Volt in JJC Newsletter

Auto students learn about the new Chevy Volt - April 27, 2011

Joliet Junior College Newsletter / Flickr.com Photo Album. April 30, 2011 - Curt Ward and Jim Coleman's automotive classes got a first-hand look at the new Volt, Chevrolet's electric car, on April 27. Phillips Chevrolet brought the car to the main campus for as part of the automotive curriculum for multiple classes.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!

Phillips Chevrolet's 2011 Chevy Volt in Trib Local

Chevy Volt not for sale, but available for test drive at local dealers

Trib Local of Tinley Park. April 29, 2011 - While the new electric Chevy Volt is not yet for sale in the Midwest, a few cars are available for test drives at a few south suburban car dealers.

Phillips Chevrolet has Illinois’ Largest Chevy Inventory! We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the Largest Chevy Dealers in the United States. Visit us at www.phillipschevy.com. View our specials! Follow Phillips Chevrolet on Facebook and Twitter to receive coupons, special offers and prizes!