Commercial Auto Dealers

With everybody else focusing on hybrid technology, GMC is simply focusing its efforts on better gas mileage for its line of vehicles, particularly the trucks and SUVs.

If you ask me, I’m proud as punch that GMC is keeping some gas-powered models while trying to increase its mileage. These hybrids simply aren’t powerful enough or big enough to satisfy my driving needs.

But the automaker continues to make improvements on models like the Silverado, the Tahoe and several other larger V8 models that people like me can’t get enough of. The 2009 Silverado, for instance, has better gas mileage than the 2008 models. And while the mileage isn’t much different for SUV models like the Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon, GMC is making hybrid versions of these popular choices for drivers who want the feeling of driving an SUV without the “pump pain” that we’ve all been feeling in recent months.

I’m sure the engineers at GMC are feverishly working on ways to make the full-size hybrids even better and more fuel-efficient, too. They just released these new versions in September of 2007 and they’ve taken awhile to catch on. Fortunately, more people are noticing the difference and going to their local GMC truck dealer to see what it’s all about. You should be doing the same thing, too. Don’t get left behind!

Being from Flint, I enjoy any story about a major automaker investing in the city. Even though people have used words like “hopeless,” “unfortunate” and similar descriptions, the town dubbed “Vehicle City” will always have a special place in my heart.

That’s why I like this story about GMC investing one billion dollars in the city. The automaker is in the process of restructuring and its new plan, according to the United Auto Workers, could bring hundreds of jobs and new work to the impoverished area.

GMC is going to add a new factory to the city, but people are still speculating about where it’s going to be. But, according to a contract produced last year, the new factory is supposed to be in the vicinity of the current Flint Powertrain plant. Bill Jordan, the president of the union that represents the workers at the current Powertrain factory, is also optimistic about future jobs in addition to the initial ones the new factory is going to bring. “Every time we bring in another job, it affects some five to 10 people in the community having a job,” he said as he expressed his hopes for revitalizing the community.

If you get a chance, visit your local GMC truck dealer. As you can see, this auto company is reinvesting its money in good causes while providing quality service and products that fit all types of budgets and lifestyles.

I’ve been itching to write this blog for a couple weeks. Don’t get me wrong. I love the environment. I believe we should be doing everything we can to help the environment – recycling, looking for more efficient forms of energy, etc. But what I don’t like is people using theories and junk science to tell me what to do.

That’s exactly what June 12 is all about this year. A conservative grassroots group – Grassfire.org – wants those who are sick of feeling the Al Gore-imposed guilt to stop feeling guilty about global warming. It’s a group of skeptics (like me) who think the warming of the planet is a cyclical occurrence rather than a phenomenon that humans are causing through their irresponsible behavior.

So as a quiet protest, Grassfire.org encourages likeminded people to use as much energy as they can on this day. Have some friends over for a BBQ with lots of meat. Take a long drive for no reason. Buy a huge truck from your local GMC truck dealer. Turn on all of the televisions in your home. You should even smoke a few cigars for good measure.

The president of the organization, Steve Elliott, issued a statement saying, “It’s time for Americans to purge ourselves of the false guilt that Al Gore and the Climate Alarmists have placed on us.” He went on to say that participating in Carbon Belch Day “will have at least as much impact on the so-called ‘planetary emergency’ of man-made global warming as the goofy save the earth mandates telling us to turn our lights off for an hour.”

The organization chose June 12 because today’s the day Congress is scheduled to debate a $1.2 billion carbon tax rebate program. It’s just one way to exercise your right to protest. And as I see it, there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you had your choice of beautiful women to wash your truck, which would you choose? Motorpoint, an automotive publication for men in the UK, recently did a survey to ask that same question. The number one choice was tennis extraordinaire and all-around beauty Anna Kournikova. As a result, Motorpoint named her its prestigious “Car Wash Belle” title. I don’t know if that comes with a sash or a scholarship or what it includes, but I know I’m not going to argue with a survey like that.

Other female celebrities also made the list. Kournikova got 27 percent of the vote with Christina Aguilera coming in at second with 23 percent of the vote. Other pretty ladies on the list included Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Megan Fox, Hayden Panettiere and the O.C.’s Rachel Bilson.

With a list like that, I want to get the biggest truck I can find at the GMC truck dealer and just put them all to work at the same time!

But don’t worry. The ladies weren’t left out of the survey either. They had the chance to choose which male celebrity they’d like to see washing their car. Is it any surprise that everybody’s favorite effeminate pirate received the majority of the votes at 25 percent? My wife and every other woman I’ve talked to swoons at the mere mention of his name. I’m surprised he didn’t get 100 percent of the votes. Other male stars that made the list include George Clooney, David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Ewan Mcgregor.

Who would you like to see washing your car? I wouldn’t mind seeing Mr. Depp doing a wash and rinse on my car just to take him down a notch.

I used to work for a flower shop. About two years ago, I remember my boss freaking out because gas prices were hovering around two dollars per gallon. I remember getting scolded for driving around too much looking for a street instead of simply studying the map before I left. “Gas prices are too high to drive around without knowing where you’re going!” he would say.

That was a great job. I haven’t worked there in almost two years. Since the last time I was there, gas prices have more than doubled. I can’t imagine how strict he is now.

But there is one thing I do know. In general, Americans are driving less than they were when gas prices weren’t so high. In fact, the Department of Transportation reported that Americans drover 11 billion fewer miles in March 2008 than they did in 2007. If you figure about 25 mpg, that comes about to nearly 450 million fewer gallons of gas!

You would think with those kinds of numbers, the demand and prices for fuel would certainly drop. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening.

On the bright side, your local GMC truck dealer has many trucks and large vehicles that meet the new federal regulations for fuel efficiency. That means even larger trucks are squeezing the most out of a gallon of gas that they can right now. Test drive one today and see how far truck makers have come in regards to fuel economy.

Is anybody else sick of the protesting over greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions? I know I am. We all know about global warming. We all know about pollution. And the automakers are making huge strides in creating vehicles that address these concerns. But somebody needs to tell these protesters in Europe about that.

As much as I hate to give these people any attention at all, at least they were creative with their antics. They dressed as our favorite family straight from Bedrock – The Flintstones. They showed up on the streets of Brussels with a “car” reminiscent of the one in the popular 1950s and 1960s cartoon.

Their protest occurred as the European Parliament was going to debate legislation concerning CO2 emissions and reducing the fines placed on automakers for breaking current guidelines. The protestors are unhappy because the auto industry has a major influence on the decisions that the legislators make. Of course, they came from Greenpeace.

I wonder if these protestors actually think they’re making a difference. For me, it has the opposite effect. When I see people like this, it makes me want to encourage people to find their nearest GMC truck dealer and get the biggest truck on the lot. After all, aren’t truck lovers allowed to protest the new (and unfair) federal guidelines in our own way?

I think Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks he’s back on the set of Kindergarten Cop. In a recent report from the Associated Press, he told automakers to “stop whining” about the new fuel standards.

In California, there have been many battles relating to CO2 emissions and fuel standards for cars. In The Golden State, the emissions regulations are much stricter than they are in the rest of the nation. But with the federal government’s new guidelines that require cars to get at least 31.6 mpg by the year 2015, many auto companies see the state’s regulations “unnecessary.”

But when a group of auto executives met with the governor to discuss the situation, he practically blew them off and told them to stop complaining, or “whining” as he put it. His actual quote was this: “While you’re whining, you should be creating new technologies. That’s how you meet the date.”

Is it just me, or are there an inordinate number of people who have nothing to do with the auto industry putting their two cents in when they don’t know what they’re talking about? What does Arnold Schwarzenegger know about fuel efficiency and the auto industry? In fact, wasn’t he one of the first people to go to a GMC truck dealer and ordered a Hummer, making it a popular choice for the general public? I wonder if he still drives that and if he just wants to tell everybody else what THEY should drive.

I don’t care if he played a pregnant man in the movie Twins. And I doubt his role in Jingle All the Way made him an expert on the auto industry. And beating out Gary Coleman, Larry Flynt and a porn star for the nomination to run as California governor in 2003 certainly doesn’t increase his credibility either. After what he said, it just makes me want to buy another truck and drive it all over California for no reason at all.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of the most recognized names in the engineering industry. If something related to engineering comes from that institution, you can rest assured that it’s researched and accurate. This is one of those stories.

According to the experts at MIT, the United States can “slash its use of petroleum dramatically by 2035 by adding a heavy dose of hybrids to the market.” In fact, we could return to lower usage levels that we had before we entered the 21st century if auto manufacturers would simply make hybrids more appealing. That means to make them faster, more powerful and more fuel-efficient than they are now.

The researchers at the school studied human behavior as it relates to cars and driving habits. They also studied the fuel infrastructure to create scenarios of how the status quo would change with improved technologies in cars.

As for the best case scenario, the researchers believe we could reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by about 20 percent if we pursued an “aggressive adoption of hybrids” by 2035. In order for that to happen, though, we need to have about “55 percent of new cars on the road to be hybrids or plug-in hybrids.” That would mean about 44 percent of the vehicles on the road would are powered by gasoline.

The point of the study was that it’s easier right now to improve the fuel efficiency of existing models rather than trying to force hybrids on everybody. And even if they do continue pushing hybrids, we won’t see the positive effects that they have for about another 20 years. That’s good news if you’re a truck lover like me. This MIT study is one of the few I’ve found that isn’t trying to push alternative fuel technology down our throats. From the sound of it, the researchers would have no problem with you or anybody going to their local GMC truck dealer to get the kind of vehicle they prefer. And like I said at the beginning, if MIT says it, you can believe it.

A couple weeks ago, I posted a blog about why trucks are better than hybrids. Thanks to Al Gore’s half-truths and theories, we’ve been forced to listen to environmentalists tell us why trucks and other cars that aren’t hybrids are so bad for us because they are causing global warming. Unfortunately, thousands of scientists disagree with the idea that global warming is a manmade debacle. But those scientists are ridiculed, censored or ignored. And I noticed that anybody who speaks against hybrids is treated the same way.

One blogger linked to my post and also discussed why hybrids may have their own issues with a driver’s health and safety. Out of dozens of comments, several spoke about how it’s pretty much impossible for a hybrid to be bad for us. Some comments were basically “how dare you say a bad word about hybrids” statements. I just find that funny. But it’s also annoying.

I, for one, won’t let anybody tell me what I “should” drive. If you want to drive a hybrid – fine. But I’m sticking with my truck and I’m not going to feel guilty about it. And neither should you. Don’t let the people who think hybrids are God’s gift to humankind make you feel guilty about going to your local GMC truck dealer and getting the biggest, baddest truck you can find and driving it for no reason at all. Besides, when they need a tow, the guys with the big trucks are the ones they’re going to call first.

For awhile, General Motors was hoping that truck sales would increase. But with gas prices the way they are, that’s probably not going to happen just yet. That’s why the automaker is looking to refocus its sales strategy to continue to compete in the industry.

The new strategy, focusing on hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles, hits at just the right time, too. People are changing their habits in order to save gas.

But that doesn’t mean trucks are a bad idea. In fact, there are times when only a truck will do the job. Have you ever tried to haul something in a hybrid? Have you ever tried to pull a trailer with something other than a truck? If so, you know the hassle and frustration that it can cause. That’s why I’m never going to give up my truck regardless of how high the gas prices get. I’m willing to pay a little extra for the convenience of having my own truck if I want to move a couch or help a friend move.

In addition to that, trucks are great for business. When everybody else gives up their powerful vehicles loaded with horsepower, who are they going to call when they need a big truck? Think of the money you could charge people for nothing more than loading up a piece of furniture and taking down the street!

I know hybrids are the next big thing. But trucks have been around forever and they will be around for many more years to come if people like me have anything to say about it. If you’re a truck lover, visit your local GMC truck dealer to see the new models and features that are designed to meet your needs.