JEFF GORDON CHEVROLET NAMED 

GENERAL MOTORS GREEN DEALER

 

Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, located at 22 S. College Road in Wilmington, was named a General Motors-certified Green Dealer for 2017. The Hendrick Automotive Group-operated dealership has a proven track record supporting the automaker’s numerous environmental initiatives through energy reduction, renewable energy use, water conservation efforts, recycling and community outreach.

 

Jeff Gordon Chevrolet is one of only 74 dealerships to be certified by General Motors since the Green Dealer program launched in 2014. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet has put in place numerous sustainable initiatives including:

 

-       An extensive use of energy efficient exterior and interior lighting

 

-       Extensive use of motion detection lighting controls  

 

-       Sunlight-reflective white roofing and numerous ceiling fans help diffuse the heat load

 

-       High-speed garage doors and programmable thermostats reduce a loss of conditioned air 

 

-       Energy Star equipment and Low-E windows are utilized throughout the building

 

-       A high-efficiency air compressors, water heaters and HVAC systems reduce energy costs

 

-       Low-flow water fixtures, faucets and drought-resistant plants help limit water usage

 

-       Plastic bottle waste is limited through bulk oil purchase and storage

 

-       Packaging material and metal are recycled 

 

-       Waterborne paint and low-toxicity cleaning products are used in the body shop

 

-       A paper use reduction process is in place

 

-       Dealership sponsors Green Car Display in downtown Wilmington

 

-       Participation in community college Drive Electric Week and STEM program

 

“The dealership was built with sustainability in mind,” said Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Executive General Manager Todd Hamm. “We’re continually looking for ways to provide a workplace that is very welcoming. Our focus is on our teammates, customers and serving the community, which includes providing examples how you can both support the environment, reduce costs and optimize operational efficiency.”

 

To apply for certification, dealerships complete a performance assessment that GM’s green dealer support team evaluates. The assessment covers 60 eco-friendly business practices across 10 categories. Dealerships must have a high percentage of these practices in place to earn certification. A dealer’s continuous improvement year after year will lead to ongoing annual recognition.

 

“GM has long been committed to being a leader in environmental stewardship, and we’re proud that our dealers share this commitment to serve and improve the communities where we work and live,” said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president of U.S. Sales Operations.

 

The Green Dealer program aligns with GM’s company wide efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. GM designed the program to encourage dealers to implement green initiatives as part of their operations, create a network for sharing best practices and help other dealers begin or advance their sustainability journey.

 

For more information on GM’s environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and www.generalmotors.green. For more information about Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, visitwww.jeffgordonchevy.com.

2013 Cruze New Features

The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze has several new features for 2013 that General Motors hopes will help the car maintain its position as one of the top-selling cars in America.

According to General Motors, more versions of the car will feature Chevrolet’s MyLink multimedia system as a standard feature.

MyLink is a way to use your phone in the car easily because the controls are in the steering wheel, according to the website androidcentral.com. The controls also are on a touch screen.

At its most basic, MyLink is an in-dash navigation and entertainment system that pairs with Bluetooth in an easy-to-use system. It allows the user to make calls with voice dial. It also allows users to use applications such as Pandora, the Internet-streaming music application.

Some optional equipment to be offered in the 2013 Cruze are driver and front-passenger illuminated vanity mirrors, auto-dimming inside rearview mirror, rear-vision camera, rear park assist and side blind-zone alert, GM said.

New exterior colors to be available are cyber gray metallic, champagne silver metallic and Atlantis blue metallic.

The Eco model, when equipped with a manual transmission, achieves an EPA-estimated 42 mpg highway, making it the most fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered, nonhybrid car in America, GM says.

The plant is also working on several prototype diesel Cruzes in preparation for launch of the 2013 diesel model to be made in the Lordstown, Ohio facility.

General Motors Leads With Industry-First Front Center Airbag

The Chevrolet Cruze has 10 standard airbags and that was an industry first for a compact car. Today, General Motors adds another industry first, announcing it will introduce the first front center airbag on the 2013 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers.

The 2012 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse are already tops in safety scores with five-star overall and side crash ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Top Safety Picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Now, for 2013, they’ll be even safer.

What a front center airbag is and how it works

The front center airbag is an inflatable restraint that protects the driver and front passengers during far-side impact crashes. The airbag deploys from the right-hand side of the driver’s seat, positioning itself between the front-row seats near the vehicle’s center.

The airbag is a tethered tubular model, jointly developed over a three-year period by General Motors and technology supplier Takata. The front center airbag was designed to provide driver restraint during passenger-side crashes when the driver is the only occupant in the vehicle. It also acts as an energy-absorbing cushion between the driver and front passenger during both driver- and side-passenger crashes.

General Motors says the front center airbag is also expected to provide protection during rollovers.

Part of the motivation for designing the safety feature was GM’s analysis of the NHTSA’s fatality database which found that 29 percent of belted front occupant fatalities involved being struck on the opposite (far-side) of the vehicle.

In a GM press release, Scott Thomas, senior staff engineer of GM’s advanced restraint systems, said, “The front center air bag is not required by federal regulation, an no other air bag in passenger vehicles today offers the type of restraint and cushioning this air bag is designed to provide for front occupants.”

GM points out that this industry-first front center airbag is part of a comprehensive occupant restraint system. Maximum benefit will only be achieved if occupants wear their seat belts.

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson Predicts 'Amazing' Future

The future of General Motors Co. -- the new GM -- will be, in a word, "amazing," GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson told the company's shareholders during its 2011 annual meeting Tuesday morning.

Acknowledging that the largest American automaker almost made history by "not making a future," Akerson told shareholders the new GM has made significant progress and monumental changes in how it operates since emerging from Chapter 11.

The problems that almost put the company out of business, he noted, were decades in the making. Fifty years ago, company executives were focused on things that seem trivial today -- how large the fins on a new 1961 model would be or how to squeeze 50 more horsepower into an engine.

History suggests that they were not focused on the things that would eventually pose serious threats to the company, Akerson said. Things such as brand amalgamation, an evermore crowded marketplace and competition from around the world, more stringent environmental regulations that impact how vehicles operate as well as how they are produced, demand for greater fuel efficiency, the rapid pace of technological innovation and the need to remain on the cutting edge.

Today, having learned from experience, Akerson said GM has refocused its energies and made important changes in how it operates. It is a daunting task, he acknowledged, "but we are invigorated by the challenges." Emerging from bankruptcy was not just a second chance, he said, "but a rebirth.

"No one is doing a victory lap, we still have a lot to do," he cautioned, referring to the undertaking as a "massive turnaround." But, there are "many factors in our favor."

Among the most important changes is the company's ability to turn a profit on both its top-end luxury vehicles, SUVs and trucks and its base models, i.e. affordably priced small cars that appeal to the masses. That is possible Akerson explained, because GM is producing vehicles that customers want, cars such as the Lordstown, Ohio-built Chevrolet Cruze, the top-selling compact car in America just five months after it was introduced, and the Chevrolet Volt, the first extended-range electric in the market. "These are the right vehicles at the right time in our history," he asserted.

Referring to the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic, one displayed to his left, the other to his right on the stage inside the historic Fisher Building where the annual meeting took place, Akerson said that this is the "ideal time" to launch such vehicles.

Both cars were unveiled during the North American International Auto Show in January and will roll into dealer showrooms in coming months. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is small, fuel-efficient model that offers the athletic ride and agility of a sports car. The Verano is Buick's first compact luxury sedan.

Because these vehicles are what consumers want, and have all of the comforts and amenities that they want, the automaker is able to charge a premium price, driving up profits, Akerson told shareholders. And, he said, "This is just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come.

"The new GM is building momentum. The company is experiencing solid growth, gaining market share, boosting profits and reducing liabilities, Akerson said. It has added 9,000 jobs in the United States since emerging from bankruptcy, reduced the complexity in how it operates and has achieved this despite shedding some of its brands, a drastic move, he says, that worried him and his colleagues.

Akerson told his audience that the company has also introduced an exercise he refers to as "tough love."During these tough-love sessions, he explained, GM executives work in groups identifying the company's vulnerabilities and imagining how, if they were a competitor, they could best attack those vulnerabilities. "It was very enlightening," Akerson observed. "I learned a lot." The goal, he said, is for GM to address its own vulnerabilities before its competitors identify them.

GM's future, he continued, stretches far beyond the borders of the United States. Chevrolet, he happily reported, is among the five most recognizable automotive brands in the world. In the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries, GM dominates the market and anticipates rapid growth, Akerson continued. By 2015, the said GM expects to sell 12 million vehicles there.

There are, however, still many challenges. While the company has "made great strides in Europe, there is still much to do," Akerson said. There is also still much work to be done to fund the company's pension liabilities.

While challenges remain, Akerson said he is confident the new GM is on the right path, anticipating changes in the market better than ever before and focusing on what consumers want. "We have a new attitude," he said. "We expect to win. We strive to win and that's what this company and its leadership is about."

CONSTRUCTION SALE

Stop by Jeff Gordon Chevrolet to take advantage of the huge sale. Vehicles in the sale are not effected by any GM rebate or owner loyalty cash.