GM expands Chevrolet Volt orders to all 50 states, lowers price

General Motors opened up orders for the Chevrolet Volt to all 50 states today, lowering the base price for the 2012 model by about $1,000 and adding four option packages.

The 2012 Volt will start at $39,995, including delivery, and customers may be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. GM was able to lower the base price because the car has more optional content now that it's available nationally, the automaker said today in a statement. The 2011 Volt had been available in eight states and Washington, D.C., and only had three option packages.

GM is expanding Volt ordering as it prepares to add two shifts worth 2,500 jobs to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant that builds the car. Volt engineers are seeking to cut the car's cost through powertrain and production improvements, which will mostly be used to make the car profitable, rather than slash the price for consumers.

GM plans this year to build 16,000 of the Volt and its European version, the Opel Ampera. That includes about 3,500 for overseas delivery and 2,500 as demos at dealerships. Next year, GM plans to build 60,000 Volts at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, with 45,000 designated for the U.S.

Detroit-Hamtramck this spring discontinued its other two cars, the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne, leaving it free to build just Volts until the 2013 Malibu starts production next year. The factory will also assemble the next-generation Chevrolet Impala, expected to start production by 2013.

The plant is in a four-week shutdown to update for Volt and Malibu production. After it restarts, the factory will start adding the second shift of workers, with the third to start at an undisclosed future date.

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!

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GM China Visits Phillips Chevrolet

(Left to Right: Ben Zhang- BOD Member; Jim Nagy- Ally Director of Sales; Mark Smith- Ally Senior Account Executive; Michael Kanarios- VP & CFO Ally International Dealer Finance; Rick Livingood- General Manager-GMAC-SAIC China; Michael Maheras- General Manager-Phillips Chevrolet; Liu Rong- Board Chairman-GMAC-SAIC China; Zhu Xian-BOD Member; Shen Genwei-BOD Member; John Behnfeldt-BOD Member & VP & CFO of Shanghai General Motors; Julia Yue- Board Supervisor)

GM China visited Phillips Chevrolet last Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Michael Maheras, Phillips Chevy's General Manager, gave GM China a sneak peak of Phillips Chevrolet's daily operations, and walked them through the dealership telling of the future expansion.

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!

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!