General Motors

The outspoken and colorful auto industry veteran Robert A. Lutz, who has worked for all the major American car companies and retired from General Motors Co. in May, has resurfaced. He is going back to GM to work as a part-time consultant. Lutz, 79, started a second stint at GM in 2001, charged with revitalizing the automaker's vehicle lineup. He stayed with the company through its brief sojourn into bankruptcy in 2009. He helped push a new generation of GM autos — including the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX, GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Camaro — into the marketplace.

Now that the days are longer and the weather is warmer, there will be more bicyclists on the streets, the Automobile Club of Southern California says. So it's suggesting steps that could prevent accidents. Some of the Auto Club rules of the road for motorists: --When parked on streets, look for bicyclists approaching before opening your car door. --When passing a bicyclist, slow down and try to give them at least three feet of room. --Drivers should always signal before lane changes and turns, especially right turns, when cars will cross into the bike lane.

General Motors Co. is changing course on how it will handle customers of its OnStar vehicle communication system once they opt out of the service. The automaker said it will change its proposed "Terms and Conditions" policy and will not keep a data connection to customers' vehicles after the OnStar service is canceled. U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that OnStar's policy represented an invasion of privacy, and he threatened a federal investigation. "OnStar's reversal of policy is good news.

General Motors Co. posted global sales of 2.36 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2013, up 3.6%, as the U.S. carmaker narrowly topped Volkswagen Group, its closest international rival. VW's global sales rose 5% from 2012's first quarter to 2.27 million vehicles. Both automakers are expected again to trail Toyota Motor Corp. in sales volume when the world's largest car company releases its first-quarter data next week. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg Still, both second-ranked GM and third-place VW are grabbing market share on the international stage.

General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, said second-quarter profit plunged 30% as lower demand for cars forced it to cut production and raise rebates. Net income declined to $901 million, or $1.58 a share, for the Detroit-based company from $1.29 billion, or $2.43, in the same period last year. Sales were unchanged at $48.3 billion.

General Motors Corp. has purchased a 15% interest in AeroVironment Inc., a privately held engineering firm in Monrovia, which specializes in alternative energy vehicles. AeroVironment played a large role in the development of Gm's Sunraycer Vehicle race across Australia last November.

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Thomas E. Everhart, president of the California Institute of Technology, have been elected directors of General Motors Corp. Shultz returns to the GM board after an absence of nearly seven years while he was secretary of state. Everhart joins the board after nine years on the General Motors science advisory committee.

Richard Gerstenberg, 92, retired chairman and chief executive of General Motors Corp., died Thursday at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., a company spokesman said. The cause of death was not announced. Born in Little Falls, N.Y., Gerstenberg grew up in nearby Mohawk and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1931. He started at General Motors the next year as a timekeeper in the company's Frigidaire division in Dayton, Ohio.

General Motors Corp., battling the worst car sales slump in 10 years, received another dose of bleak news Thursday when two credit-rating agencies downgraded its debt. Analysts said the moves by Fitch Investors Service Inc. and Duff & Phelps Inc. could lead to higher borrowing costs for the auto maker. The ratings changes apply to both the parent company's debt and that of its financing arm, GMAC. Just last week, the world's largest auto maker announced drastic steps to streamline its U.S.

In its second major move into the mortgage business this month, GM said it has agreed to buy the Colonial group of companies, a unit of CoreStates Financial Corp. of Philadelphia. The purchase, for an undisclosed price, would make GM the nation's second-largest mortgage banker. General Motors, the world's largest car manufacturer, earlier in March agreed to buy the $11-billion mortgage-servicing portfolio of Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp.

March looks to have turned out to be one of the biggest months for auto sales in nearly six years. The industry sold almost 1.5 million vehicles in March, about 5% more than the same month a year earlier and likely the most since the 1.6 million sold in May 2007, according to automotive information company Edmunds.com. General Motors Co. said Tuesday that its U.S. sales rose more than 6% to 245,950 vehicles compared to the same month a year earlier, "thanks to a strengthening economy and new products,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations.  Ford Motor Co. said it sold 236,160 vehicles last month, a 6% rise from the same period a year earlier.

Redesigning an icon like the Corvette presents a delicate balance of preservation and innovation. New 'Vettes arrive only about once a decade, each paying homage to a storied past while distinguishing itself as a new generation. The job of designing the seventh Corvette fell to Kirk Bennion. He was in Southern California at the Petersen Automotive Museum last week for the car's first appearance on the West Coast, and he sat down with The Times to discuss the car's radical design departure.

WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department has begun selling the rest of its stake in General Motors Co. as the government tries to end its bailout of the automaker in a little more than a year. Last month, the Treasury sold about $156.4 million worth of its stock, according to the most recent report to Congress on the $700-billion financial crisis bailout fund. The sale is the first step toward liquidating the government's remaining holdings in GM, which was announced in December.

The national economy remains sluggish - but don't tell the auto industry. Auto sales showed surprising strength in January, with all three domestic manufacturers - General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group - reporting double-digit percentage gains. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., the two biggest Japanese brands, also posted strong sales. Overall, the industry sold more than 1 million vehicles in January, a 14.2% gain over the same month a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

A friend of mine, a weatherman for a local TV station, always greets me the same way: "Time to sell my Apple stock?" And I always offer the same response: Do you still like the company? "Yes. " Then don't sell it. Investors were wringing their hands Thursday over Apple's prospects, even though the company reported record quarterly profit of $13.1 billion and said it sold 28% more iPhones and 48% more iPads. Despite what for any other business would be regarded as a stellar performance, Apple's shares fell $63.51, or 12.4%, to $450.50.

Of all the automakers trying to generate buzz on the Detroit auto show's first day, Toyota Motor Co. made the most noise. The company rolled out a concept design for the Corolla, one of its most important models, and announced preliminary sales figures showing that it has regained the title of world's largest automaker from General Motors Co. Called the Furia, the new-concept Corolla, with its severely raked windshield and bulging fenders, marks...

The United Auto Workers authorized its second strike against General Motors Corp. in less than a month Friday, warning of a walkout at the Lansing body plant. The "five-day letter" was received by the leading auto maker at 10 a.m., notifying the company that the 4,200 members of Local 602 will strike Sept. 25 unless issues are worked out, GM spokeswoman Linda Cook said.

General Motors Corp. expects to announce a production site for its new Saturn small car in July, company officials say. "I think we've been talking about the July time frame, but we're still looking at it," Saturn Corp. President William Hoglund said last week at the ground-breaking of the UAW-GM Human Resource Center in suburban Auburn Hills. When it announced the formation of Saturn Corp.

"Chevy Runs Deep" is running out. General Motors said Tuesday that it will replace the advertising slogan with “Find New Roads,” which can be used as Chevrolet's global advertising catch-phrase. GM is pushing the Chevrolet brand internationally, signing a major sponsorship agreement with the Manchester United soccer team of the English Premier League, which is among the most recognizable sports franchises globally.  The Chevrolet name will adorn Manchester United soccer jerseys starting with the new season this fall.

WASHINGTON - More than four years after the U.S. began pouring money into ailing banks and automakers, the Obama administration is moving more quickly to shut down the controversial $700-billion bailout fund and rid Uncle Sam of its holdings in private companies. The latest move came Wednesday when the Treasury Department announced plans to sell its remaining 500 million shares of General Motors Co. over the next 15 months - even if that means taking a loss. The task will begin with the sale of about 40% of the government's holdings to GM at $27.50 a share by the end of the month, reducing the U.S. stake in the company to less than 19%. At its peak, the U.S. owned 60.8% of GM after a government-led restructuring.