General Motors will be sending letters to more than 944,000 owners worldwide, 857,735 of which are located in the MAKE / MODEL - YEAR
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General Motors will be sending letters to more than 944,000 owners worldwide, 857,735 of which are located in the MAKE / MODEL - YEAR

The updated recall now covers certain 2011MY Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe; and GMC Canyon, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles.
The Detroit automaker said the rear axle cross pins were not properly heat treated and could fracture and become displaced within the rear axle.
"Should the pin shift out of position, it could create an interference condition and cause the rear axle to lock. The driver may not be able to maintain directional control of the vehicle and a crash could occur without warning," said GM in a statement on NHTSA's website.
As expected, GM's dealers will install a new rear axle cross pin free of charge, with the safety recall to begin before the end of the month
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The Detroit automaker revealed that is has signed a commercial agreement with an Israeli company called Powermat that specializes on the new technology. GM Ventures, the company’s venture capital subsidiary, will invest a total of $5 million in Powermat to help accelerate its development and support efforts to grow Powermat’s business globally, the company said in a statement.
The new technology is said not only to eliminate the need for charging cords, but, according to Powermat CEO Ran Poliakine, it’s also safer and more efficient.
The Chevrolet Volt will be one of the first cars to benefit from the new equipment.
“Imagine a mat or shelf where you could put your iPhone, your Droid or other personal device and charge it automatically while you commute to work, run errands or as you’re driving on a family vacation”, said Micky Bly, GM’s lead electronics executive. “The Chevy Volt will be one of the first applications, but we intend to expand it across our vehicle portfolio”, Bly added.
By Csaba Daradics
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Set to debut at next week's North American International Auto Show, GMC says the concept model is an exploration of heavy-duty truck capability combined with greater off-road versatility. Even if the Sierra All Terrain HD Concept doesn't make it as is onto the road, chances are that it will inspire a future production version. Full HD gallery after the break.
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General Motors is recalling close to 100,000 vehicles in two separate campaigns. In a posting with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], GM said the first recall affects almost 96,000 Cadillac CTS sedans from the 2005-2007 model years over concerns that some of the vehicles have a condition in which repeated flexing of the passenger sensing system mat in the passenger seat may break the connection. The company said that if this occurs, the sensor may not detect the presence of a front seat passenger and will disable the air bag.
Dealers will replace the passenger sensing system free of charge, however, GM has yet to provide an owner notification schedule for the CTS recall.
The second recall from GM concerns approximately 1,260 Cadillac Escalades, Chevrolet Avalanche and Silverado 1500s, and GMC Sierra 1500s, all from the 2011 model year. These trucks may have a faulty rear-axle cross pin, which could fracture and become displaced within the axle.
GM said that if the pin shifts out of position, it could create an interference condition and cause the rear axle to lock, in which case, the driver may not be able to maintain directional control of the vehicle and a crash could occur without prior warning.
The company added that this safety recall is expected to begin during January 2011.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site that GM had tried to fix a similar problem on the same cars in 2008 following reports of fires resulting from an electrical short cut in the system that heats windshield-washer fluid. However, the agency said that since then, it has received reports of "thermal incidents" on the repaired vehicles.
General Motors said that the single supplier of the technology that helps melt ice in freezing temperatures, Micro-Heat, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after the Detroit automaker stopped offering its HotShot wiper-fluid heater after the first recall.
And since the maker of the system is out of business, GM decided to permanently disable and remove the heated-washer fluid module altogether on the recalled vehicles. According to reports, aside from removing the module, General Motors will also compensate the owners of the affected vehicles with $100 for the loss of the feature.

Way back in September, GMC ran four-page ad in People's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue. Nothing special there. However, a part of the ad used Einstein's face on a model's body, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has the rights to his image (which earned $10 million last year)
Now the university is suing GM for $75,000, claiming Einstein's likeness was fraudulently used in the ad. GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney defends GM by saying the automaker bought the right to use the image from a known firm, and that the ad itself (which only ran in that issue) was created by the Leo Burnett agency.
John T. Brooks, an estate/trust lawyer for Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago, explains how all this might play out: "It may be GM thought, 'Oh, he died and the rights are all public domain now.' It's old and cold and nobody's got rights to it...I suppose you could make a business decision that you can make so much money that you can withstand a lawsuit that would tell them to stop and fine them something. It wouldn't be the first time a corporation has done something thinking they might pay the price for it, but it's worth it."
Of course it's worth it; all this lawsuit is for General Motors is extra publicity generated by a bought-and-pain-for ad from last September.
By Phil Alex
Via: Detnews