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Monday, June 13, 2011

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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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Chevy Cruze Leads Compact Car Sales For May

For the first time in five years, an American car is the best selling compact car in the United States. The Chevrolet Cruze recorded 22,711 segment-topping sales in May, and achieved its second consecutive appearance on the Top 10 across all U.S. auto segments.

The Cruze also has helped Chevrolet gain share in the compact segment – which represented 16 percent of total U.S. sales in May – and accelerated the brand’s shift to fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines.

In May, fuel-efficient models four-cylinder vehicles – including Cruze, Equinox and Malibu – accounted for 51 percent of Chevrolet retail sales. That is up from 36 percent in May a year ago, and doubles the rate of four-cylinder sales five years ago.

“The launch of the Cruze has exceeded all of our expectations,” said Alan Batey, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet Sales and Service. “Cruze launched as a brand-new vehicle, with a brand-new name, in one of the most competitive segments in the industry.

“Today, Consumer consideration for the Cruze has increased to the point that it is on many of the same shopping lists as established compact cars, like Civic and Corolla,” he said. “This is an incredible accomplishment, even considering the industry’s disruptions caused by the tragedy in Japan.”

The Cruze has increased Chevrolet’s share of the compact car segment, even as the segment grew by 19 percent year to date. For 2011, Chevrolet accounted for 11.9 percent of the compact car market, up from 9.5 percent a year ago.

Much of the success of the Cruze can be attributed to its exterior styling and fuel efficiency, which were ranked as the top reasons for purchase in an internal survey of more than 500 Cruze buyers.

Karen Peters of Hemet, Calif., traded in her 2005 Toyota Corolla for a Cruze after seeing the Cruze in a television ad.

“I just fell in love with the Cruze the first time I saw it,” she said. “There was nothing wrong with my Corolla, and I wasn’t even looking for a new car. But something about the Cruze just stuck with me. I finally had to go for a test drive, just to get it out of my system. All it took was a short test drive, and I fell in love with the Cruze.”

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!

Follow @PhillipsChevy

Thursday, May 19, 2011

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.

Monday, May 2, 2011

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.

Monday, April 25, 2011

New Malibu counts on styling, eAssist

General Motors is counting on a sportier Chevrolet Malibu -- and a fuel-efficient Eco variant -- to extend the mid-sized sedan's successful run.

Last week Chevy unveiled the 2013 Malibu at the Shanghai auto show and followed that at the New York show with an Eco version GM says will get an estimated 38 mpg on the highway, a level that mid-sized cars usually reach only if they are hybrids.

Before the current Malibu debuted in late 2007, the previous generation had been rental-fleet fodder. The improved styling and refinement racked up awards and made the Malibu GM's best-selling U.S. car with 198,770 units sold last year, up 55 percent from 2007.

"We made such a big move with the current car to get ourselves solidly in the game in this segment," said Russ Clark, Chevrolet product marketing director for mid-sized and performance cars. "We want to push it even further."

The Malibu Eco will have GM's eAssist technology, a stop-start system to be introduced this year in the Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans. The redesigned Malibu, which goes on sale early next year, will be the first Chevrolet to get the fuel-saving technology.

Mark Reuss, GM's North American president, said the relatively inexpensive technology gives buyers a moderately priced option to boost fuel economy significantly without having to buy a conventional hybrid or plug-in hybrid such as the Chevrolet Volt.

"Not everyone can afford those. We know that," Reuss said. "The customer base finds cars like this very attractive because they pay for themselves."

The 2013 Malibu is about 3 inches wider than the current model and a half-inch shorter. It has a wedge-like profile, with the hood line lower to the ground than the trunk lid.

Bryan Nesbitt, General Motors' executive director for North America exterior design and global architecture strategy, said, "The term I used on the last car was 'elegance,' elegance in the profile and the length." In contrast, the 2013 version "is definitely a sporty persona, not an elegant persona."

The Malibu will soon face revamped rivals. A redesigned Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in the United States, is scheduled to arrive later this year, to be followed by a redesigned Honda Accord for the 2013 model year.

Greg Heinrich, a dealer with three Chevrolet stores in Nevada, said the redesigned Malibu can't arrive too soon. He noted that makers of other mid-sized sedans, such as Hyundai, which builds the Sonata, have "raised their game."

"It's a good sign when GM takes a product that's already successful and tries to refine it and make it even better," said Heinrich, Chevrolet's representative on GM's National Dealer Council. "That's something they didn't do much of in the past."

Friday, April 15, 2011

Chevrolet Debuts All-New Malibu in High Definition Web Broadcast

First automaker to stream vehicle unveiling in HD over the Internet

When Chevrolet unveils the all-new Malibu in the United States on Monday night, people around the world will be able to watch in full-screen, high-definition video streamed live over the Internet. The timing of the Web reveal coincides with the April 19 auto show debut of the new Malibu in Shanghai.

The HD streaming is an auto industry first, and represents Chevrolet’s effort to globalize important product introductions by revealing the all-new Malibu simultaneously on two continents, on multiple social networking and media sites, and iPad and iPhone personal mobile devices. Standard internet viewing will also be available.

“We are expanding the reach beyond mainstream product introductions typically seen at auto shows. We are using the latest technologies available to us like no other automaker has done before to introduce this all-new, important car for Chevrolet on continents around the world,” said Russ Clark, product director at Chevrolet. “Broadcasting in HD will help us make sure the world gets a good look at the all-new Malibu.”

The new Malibu will be sold in nearly 100 countries on six continents. Chevrolet will transcend time zones by revealing it live on the web April 18 at 8:30 p.m. EDT and at the Shanghai Auto Show April 19. Chevrolet fans on Facebook can watch the global premiere of the all-new Malibu live in the Malibu tab, while iPad and iPhone owners can watch the online reveal via a custom broadcast optimized for the personal mobile devices. The video stream on Facebook and iPad/iPhone will be in standard definition.

Media can watch the HD broadcast at www.watchthenewchevymalibuinhd.com or on Chevrolet’s media site http://media.gm.com/live. Chevrolet Malibu’s HD experience is only available on select browsers and Internet speed connections. To ensure your connection meets the requirements, be sure to visit www.watchthenewchevymalibuinhd.com before April 18.

As part of the Webcast, Bryan Nesbitt, executive director, Exterior Design for Chevrolet, and Jon Hahn, Chevrolet marketing manager, will answer questions during a live, moderated video web session. Consumers are encouraged to post questions during the reveal on Twitter using #MalibuReveal or on Chevrolet’s Facebook page in the Malibu tab.

Earlier this month, Chevrolet provided a glimpse of the all-new Malibu on social networks around the world such as Facebook in Korea, Australia, Canada and United States; and YouKu and Sina.com in China, among others.

The all-new Malibu will feature a global family of fuel-efficient and powerful four-cylinder engines, along with six-speed transmissions that also contribute to efficient performance. The Malibu was designed to stand out in all markets around the globe, while its European-inspired driving characteristics were engineered to challenge the best in its class.

The Malibu was Chevrolet’s – and General Motors’ – best-selling car in the United States in 2010, with sales of nearly 200,000 vehicles. It is among Chevrolet’s most-decorated vehicles in the United States, earning more than 40 industry awards since 2008. The Malibu was the only midsize car in the industry to win the Consumers Digest Automotive “Best Buy” award the past three years – 2011, 2010 and 2009. The Malibu has also been named a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety the past two years.

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!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

GM Puts Production of Malibu on Fast Track

General Motors Co. will begin building its next-generation Chevrolet Malibu about four months ahead of schedule, the latest in the company's efforts to accelerate the delivery of new cars and trucks to dealer showrooms.

GM spokesman Dave Darovitz said Monday the automaker has advanced its timetable for the midsize Malibu to early 2012 — several months earlier than planned. The 2013 model Malibu will go on sale shortly after, he added, but declined to pinpoint a date.

According to a Jan. 27 internal GM report, the new Malibu will start production in January 2012, as opposed to May. Some factory jobs may be added; GM is still assessing how many and where, Darovitz said.

The Detroit automaker will make the car at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, where it makes the current Malibu, and at the Detroit Hamtramck factory, where GM makes the Chevy Volt.

GM Chief Executive Officer Daniel Akerson advocated the Malibu's early arrival. The new version will be the company's first globally sold midsize car.

"Mr. Akerson requested we study the program to see if we could move quicker," Darovitz said.
The automaker was forced to delay spending on a number of new car and truck programs during its 2009 bankruptcy, to save on costs.

Akerson, who became CEO in September, has pressed company officials to pick up the pace.
"Since Mr. Akerson came aboard, he's challenging us to move faster and this is the latest example," Darovitz said.

GM took advantage of greater manufacturing flexibility at its factories and efficiencies built into its global platform to accelerate the car's production schedule, he added.

The Malibu is a real workhorse vehicle for GM, ranking among its top-selling vehicles for 2010.

The car has won many industry awards, helping GM gain a leg up in the highly competitive midsize segment. GM sold 198,770 Malibus last year, according to Autodata Corp.

"GM is really in a position where it had to pull up the production to compete," Sullivan said. "This gets the Malibu out in advance" of its Japanese competitors, he added.

GM will debut the 2013 Malibu Monday at the Shanghai auto show, and webcast the car's unveiling on Chevrolet's Facebook page.

Chevrolet also will show the car at the New York International Auto Show next week.
Detroit News. April 12, 2011.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Family Purchases 20th Unit From Phillips Chevrolet

On December 27 , 1976 the Hutfles family from Seneca, IL bought a C-10 pickup truck from Sales Consultant, Happy, at Phillips Chevrolet. Since then, over 34 plus years later, they have purchased many vehicles from Happy's office. On April 2, 2011 Therese Hutfles (now retired and living in Centralia, Kansas) has purchased a new Chevy Malibu - the 20th unit purchased from Happy and his partner Jeff Stewart. This is another true example of "Phillips Chevrolet, the place to be and the place to buy".

Monday, January 31, 2011

Chevrolet Replaces Malibu in Miracle Story of Survival

Marc Keinath walks away from horrific crash after his 2004 Malibu was destroyed, pinned under a 20-ton tractor trailer

Marc Keinath miraculously survived an icy encounter with a tractor-trailer this week. His 2004 Malibu didn’t, but Chevrolet wrote the next chapter in the amazing story on Friday, presenting Keinath with the keys to a new 2011 Chevrolet Malibu.

“This is an incredible story of survival that shows you just never know what’s going to happen on the road,” said Rick Scheidt, executive director at Chevrolet. “When you look at Marc’s Malibu, you would never expect anyone would ever walk away from it.”

Keinath, 30, of Millington, Mich., was driving his 2004 Chevrolet Malibu along Interstate 75 in Genesee County, Mich. when he encountered a patch of black ice and spun out. When he regained control of the car, the tractor trailer hauling 20 tons of sugar smashed into the rear of Keinath’s Malibu before falling on top of it. As parts of the roof of the Malibu began to yield under the tremendous weight of the trailer, Keinath fully reclined his seat to give him more room inside, reached for his cell phone and dialed 911.

He walked away with no serious injuries.

“It’s been a heck of a week for me,” said Keinath. “I want to thank God for giving me a second chance at life, the firefighters and first responders who helped me, and Chevy for making a car that can hold a semi.”

Keinath’s new 2011 Malibu, which was named a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for the 2010 and 2011 model years, will come equipped with two years of lifesaving OnStar technology.

OnStar has Automatic Crash Response. In the event of a collision, sensors built into the Malibu can automatically alert an OnStar Advisor, who is immediately connected into the vehicle to see if help is needed. Even if the occupant is hurt and can’t respond, the Advisor knows the vehicle’s exact location through GPS technology, and can direct emergency responders to the scene.

Over the past 15 years, OnStar Advisors have responded to more than 148,000 vehicle crashes, unlocked more than 4.8 million doors, provided 2.4 million subscribers with roadside assistance and located more than 51,000 stolen vehicles.

Keinath’s new Malibu also has six air bags, StabiliTrak electronic stability control system, four-wheel antilock brakes, and a high strength steel safety cage including enhanced roof strength as demonstrated by the IIHS roof strength test. All of this equipment is standard.

“Stories like Marc’s reminds us why we design and engineer every Chevrolet to help drivers avoid a crash, protect people in the unfortunate event of a crash, and with OnStar offer immediate help after a crash,” said Scheidt.

The Malibu was presented to Keinath as part of the Detroit Tigers Winter Caravan visit to General Motors’ Flint Engine Operations.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Time is running out! Be sure to enter to win a chance to purchase a Malibu for $5!

By popular demand we are bringing back our $5 car sale at Phillips Chevrolet. On November 20, 2010 at 2:00 PM, one lucky winner will purchase a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu for $5*. The vehicle will be displayed at our dealership for everyone to view before entering drawing. No purchase necessary. Winner need not be present. Must be 18 years or older with valid driver's license to participate.

No purchase necessary. Duplicate entries will disqualify contestant. Employees and immediate families are ineligible to participate. Must be 18 years or older with valid driver's license to participate. Winner will be drawn on November 20, 2010 at 2:00 PM at Phillips Chevrolet. Winner need not be present. *Add tax, title, doc and license fees.

Click here to enter!

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!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Five Dollar Sale