Picks from the Pittsburgh World of Wheels: Round 2

Fritz Holzer from RPM Hot Rods showed his 1954 GMC pickup which made its debut at the show. It's refreshing to see a GMC as opposed to the more common Chevrolet trucks of this vintage. This truck oozes cool.

Your fearless editor, Albert Heiles showed his 1959 VW Herbie the Love Bug. A rarity at any show, this car is car number 6 and was used in the filming of The Love Bug and its sequel Herbie Rides Again.

No ISCA show is complete without at least one 1970s show car. This big block 1968 Corvette is a former championship winning car from 1972. Aside from one repaint a few years ago, this car is exactly how it was built. Complete with the fat McCreary tires, black and white Sony TV, and the wild flip nose front end. This one was originally built by show car builder Jerry Roman. 

As official as it is going to get. General Motors files for bankruptcy

We're experiencing history folks. General Motors, the largest auto manufacturer and one of the worlds largest corporations has officially filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court.

We are awaiting a press conference from President Barak Obama regarding GM, and we will bring updates as they become available.

We do know that Chairman Fritz Henderson WILL continue to lead GM through bankruptcy. The fate of Saturn, Hummer and Saab is still up in the air at this point. Going through bankruptcy, GM will carry Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC Truck. Hummer, Saturn, Saab and Pontiac will be either phased out or sold.

The New York Stock Exchange was showing GM stock valued at $.75 cents late last night with morning trading showin $.70, though it has steadily gone back up all morning. Currently it is trading at $.98 cents per share.

General Motors to declare bankruptcy tomorrow

Tomorrow will be a truly sad day for the automobile industry. General Motors, the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, bankrupt. It just doesn't make sense saying it, even though we've been talking about it for months now.

General Motors was once THE company to watch in the industry. You could have said, what General Motors wants is what America wants. Unfortunately that isn't the case any more. Poor management decissions and the inability to keep up with market trends led to yearly losses in the billions of dollars. Couple that with legacy costs, the UAW, and the failure to restructure after government loans to the tune of $20 billion and we're left with the smoldering pile of goo that was once General Motors.

The saddest part is the loss of some great GM brands. We lost Oldsmobile in 2004. Hummer and Saab had been up in the air for the last 6 or so months, Saturn was poisoned by GM management over the last 15 + years. Opel is being divided up. And the biggest blow, Pontiac. Finally when Pontiac is making some great, fun cars they get the rug pulled out from under them.

This leaves GM with just Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC truck. I doubt we'll see the giant of GM that once was in the 1950s and 60s.

Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Toyota Tundra 2008 Motor Trend Tuck of the Year?

In a shocking surprise today. Motor Trend has announced the Toyota Tundra pickup as their 2008 Truck of the Year winner. Using the same system used to calculate the Car of the Year. The Tundra was judged in three categories. Euperiority, value and significance. And scored highly in all three. Competition was tough this year. The Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD and Ford's F-250, 350 and 450 Super Duty trucks.

Despite recalls, poor IHS ratings and poor build quality. Not to mention the huge rebates and incentives. The Tundra pulled it off. Toyota has been striving for 200,000 Tundras sold this year, and with this announcement the push will pick up steam to close out the year.

For the record. Our vote was for Ford. Don't get us wrong. The Tundra is a cool truck and all. But how can anyone ignore the fact that the rest of the line up offers Diesle powerplants?

Source: Motor Trend

GM to halt production at three factories

GM has plans in place to cut production in the first quarter of 08 to help dealers control their excess inventories. Though today, The Detroit News announced that GM will halt production at three factories for two weeks. Production is limited to just the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra as of right now. The factories effected are, Pontiac, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Oshawa, Ontario Canada. The factories will stop production effective December 31st.

Source: The Detroit News.