Effort begins by educating consumers that 3,000-mile oil changes are a thing of the past

GRAND BLANC, Mich . – Goodwrench is sending a few automotive maintenance myths to the scrap heap in an effort to help consumers save money, time and wear and tear on the environment. The effort continues with the biggest myth in the business, the often-recommended 3,000-mile / three-month oil change.

GM is debunking this myth with its patented engine Oil Life System (OLS). Because GM’s OLS tells vehicle owners exactly when to change their oil based on individual driving habits, a motorist who drives an average of 15,000 miles per year, this could mean between two to three fewer oil changes annually.

“ The GM Oil Life System monitors combustion events, engine temperature and other parameters to gauge the oil’s life,” said Matthew Snider, GM’s lead engineer for the GM Oil Life System . “Over the years, millions of test miles have been accumulated to calibrate the system for a variety of vehicles. Keeping pace with technology, the system continues to be upgraded periodically to account for advances in lubrication and engine design.”

Besides saving time and money, cutting out unnecessary oil changes also helps protect the environment. According to Margo Reid Brown, director of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), just one gallon of oil that makes its way into our waterways can pollute a million gallons of water.

More than 97 percent of GM vehicles sold today in the U.S. and more than 31 million GM vehicles currently on American roads are equipped with the OLS. The system is based on an algorithm that tracks engine revolutions and temperature, and predicts oil life based on these parameters and driver use. If all drivers of GM vehicles currently equipped with the system in the U.S. use the system as intended, they would save more than 100 million gallons of motor oil consumed annually, compared to the 3,000 mile interval.

The American Petroleum Institute states that more than 1 billion gallons of motor oil are sold each year in the U.S. Of this, about 185 million gallons of used motor oil are disposed of improperly each year – dumped onto the ground, tossed into the trash or poured down the drain, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Earlier this year, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and General Motors joined forces to encourage drivers to follow their vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations on oil changes.

“Drivers across the country can do their part by debunking this myth and not wasting oil that still has life by changing it prematurely,” said the CIWMB’s Brown.

How OLS works

GM’s Oil Life System uses a special computerized algorithm that monitors engine speed and temperature, and continuously examines engine conditions to determine when it’s time to change the motor oil. GM’s Oil Life System will automatically adjust the oil change interval based on engine characteristics, driving habits and the climate in which the vehicle is operated. Even with an advanced technology like the Oil Life System, it is still a good idea to periodically check a vehicle’s oil level before going on long road trips or after extensive driving.

GM’s service schedule is based on the Oil Life System, allowing for a more consolidated service schedule which is a departure from the typical industry approach of basing maintenance intervals on mileage.

Additional debunked auto maintenance myths

Changing a car’s oil every 3,000 miles isn’t the only auto maintenance myth Goodwrench experts are busting. Goodwrench also helps vehicle owners by dispelling additional automotive maintenance myths that encourage consumers to spend money on unnecessary vehicle repairs that don’t improve fuel efficiency, performance and aren’t environmentally friendly. Besides changing a vehicle’s oil, other vehicle services have changed over the years, particularly within the first 60,000 to 100,000 miles of ownership. Here are some of the most commonly held maintenance myths that have been busted or adjusted based on technologies available on today’s vehicles.

• Tune-ups : Today’s engines have computer-monitored and controlled systems that still need to be checked, but they don’t need a traditional tune-up every few thousand miles. A standard tune-up used to call for new ignition parts such as a distributor cap, spark plugs and points and rotors. Besides spark plugs, which usually don’t have to be changed until 100,000 miles, today’s cars aren’t built with points and rotors, and many engines don’t have distributor caps that need replacement as often.

• Lubrication : Most new cars no longer require chassis lubrication. Having a mechanic install a fitting so the vehicle’s chassis can be lubed can lead to additional problems by adding grease and components where none are necessary or originally intended.

• Annual radiator flush : Manufacturers have made significant advancements in engine cooling systems during the past few years with closed systems that recirculate coolant. These new systems don’t lose coolant as often, and coolant manufacturers have also made advancements in their products’ chemical components with synthetic materials, making the seasonal radiator flush almost extinct. It is still important to check fluid levels periodically – especially before long trips – and use the manufacturer-recommended coolant.

• Wheel alignment: Although it’s important to keep tires properly maintained and inflated, it’s not always necessary to have them aligned every time they are rotated. A majority of manufacturers recommend a wheel alignment and wheel balance only if there is a major issue with the car pulling to one side or another.

• Unnecessary services : Maintenance services such as fuel injector cleaning and transmission fluid flushes aren’t necessary as often anymore. Some routine maintenance services are still needed, but in most cases they aren’t, so compare what’s being suggested with what the owner’s manual recommends – and possibly avoid spending money on unneeded maintenance.

• When in doubt, check us out : Visit a Goodwrench service expert or check the vehicle’s owner’s manual to get accurate answers to maintenance questions. Visit Goodwrench.com’s owner’s manual section at http://www.goodwrench.com/Tips/OwnerManuals.jsp for more information.

Fall provides a great opportunity to get some of those automotive maintenance myths debunked at a local Goodwrench service lane before winter driving months blow in. Visit a participating GM dealer’s Goodwrench service lane and receive a Goodwrench & Go Maintenance Package for any GM vehicle. To find a participating dealer, go to www.goodwrench.com.

GM Reports 170,585 Deliveries in October

• U.S. auto industry at lowest monthly SAAR in more than 25 years

DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 170,585 vehicles in October, down 45 percent compared with a year ago. GM truck sales of 97,119 were down 51 percent and car sales of 73,466 were off 34 percent. The steep decline in vehicle sales was largely due to a significant drop in the market’s retail demand as uncertainty over the deepening credit crisis impacted consumer confidence.

“The market has been shrinking for three years, but in October we saw a dramatic decline for the industry and GM,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “ We are obviously disappointed in our results which reflect a difficult comparison with a strong year-ago October performance. More importantly, it also reflects an unprecedented credit crunch that is dramatically impacting the entire U.S. economy – from the housing market to big and small companies to banks to family run businesses. The credit freeze has also had a very negative impact on consumers’ confidence and their purchase behavior across America.”

“We outpaced the competition with our sales results in August and September, and fell back with the industry in October. If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst industry sales month in the post-WWII era,” LaNeve added. “We believe there is considerable pent-up demand from the last three years, but until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer.

“We’ll do our part to continue fighting against these significant economic headwinds by bringing consumers the highest quality, most fuel efficient and affordable cars, trucks and crossovers that we can,” he said.

To that end, LaNeve announced that GM’s no-haggle Red Tag Event starts nationwide tomorrow, Nov. 4. The Red Tag Event will provide great deals on most new vehicles in GM’s portfolio by offering a special Red Tag vehicle price and customer cash back. In addition, GM’s recently announced “Financing That Fits” program enables consumers to find financing at affordable rates from GMAC and thousands of other banks, credit unions and financing institutions.

Despite the poor results in October, there were a number of bright spots for individual GM car and truck lines, including:

• Chevrolet Malibu retail sales were up 129 percent. For the month, Malibu total sales reached nearly 11,000 vehicles. For the year, Malibu retail sales have totaled nearly 98,000 cars, up 134 percent from year-ago figures.
• The all-new Pontiac Vibe recorded a 6 percent total sales increase in October. Almost 42,000 Vibes have been sold this year, up 36 percent from the prior year.
• Saab retail sales were up 7.4 percent compared with a year ago, driven by the strong retail performance of the 9-3, which was up more than 16 percent.
• GM sold 44,500 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Avalanche full-size pickups in October, further solidifying its segment leadership.
• GM hybrids continue to build sales momentum and the company has broken through the 10-thousand vehicle sales mark. A total of 1,496 hybrid vehicles were delivered in the month. Hybrid sales included: 372 hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe, 193 GMC Yukon and 230 Cadillac Escalade 2-mode SUVs delivered. There were 325 Chevrolet Malibu, 22 Saturn Aura and 354 Vue hybrids sold in October. GM has sold 10,549 hybrids so far in 2008.

GM continues to proactively manage inventories to align supplies with market demand. In October, only about 799,000 vehicles were in stock, down about 146,000 vehicles (or about 15 percent) compared with last year. There were about 336,000 cars and 463,000 trucks (including crossovers) in inventory at the end of October.

“These are extraordinary times for the U.S. economy, for consumers and for an auto industry that is running at deep recessionary levels relative to 1999-2006,” LaNeve said. “We are offering the highest quality and best value vehicles to customers in our history – along with great incentives. But we can’t do it alone as GM or the auto industry. It will take a coordinated national effort to turn this economy around.”

Certified Used Vehicles

October 2008 sales for all certified GM brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, were 33,735 vehicles, down 15 percent from October 2007. Year-to-date sales are 408,451 vehicles, down 7 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand, posted October sales of 29,167 vehicles, down 16 percent from October 2007. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 783 vehicles, down 11 percent. Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 3,051 vehicles, down 6 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 506 vehicles, down 2 percent, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 228 vehicles, up 75 percent.

“October sales were disappointing for certified GM programs, as consumer uncertainty over the growing credit crisis had a negative impact on consumer confidence and retail demand for both new and used vehicles,” said LaNeve. “Going forward, we will continue offering consumers the tremendous peace of mind and value that comes with a factory-backed, fully inspected and reconditioned, late-model used vehicle from the GM brands they know and trust.”

GM North America Reports October, 2008 Production; Fourth Quarter Forecast Remains at 875,000 Vehicles

In October, GM North America produced 318,000 vehicles (151,000 cars and 167,000 trucks). This is down 105,000 vehicles or 25 percent compared with October 2007 when the region produced 423,000 vehicles (152,000 cars and 271,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 11,000 vehicles in October 2008 and 18,000 vehicles in October 2007.)

The GM North America fourth-quarter production forecast remains at 875,000 vehicles (407,000 cars and 468,000 trucks) which is down about 16 percent compared with a year ago. GM North America built 1.042 million vehicles (358,000 cars and 684,000 trucks) in the fourth-quarter of 2007.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 34 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Note: GM sales and production results are available on GM Media OnLine at http://media.gm.com by clicking on News, then Sales/Production. In this press release and related comments by General Motors management, we use words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “objective,” “plan,” “goal” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, representing our current judgment about possible future events. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors.

Among other items, such factors might include: market acceptance of our products; shortages of and price increases for fuel; significant changes in the competitive environment and the effect of competition on our markets, including on our pricing policies; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources and an appropriate level of debt; and changes in general economic conditions. GM’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q provide information about these factors, which may be revised or supplemented in future reports to the SEC on Form 10-Q or 8-K.

* Twenty-seven selling days (S/D) for the October period this year and twenty-six for last year.
** Prior to Aug ’07, includes American Isuzu Motors, Inc., dealer deliveries of commercial vehicles distributed by GM as reported to GM by American Isuzu Motors Inc.
Effective Aug ’07, GM only includes GMC & Chevrolet dealer deliveries of commercial vehicles distributed by American Isuzu Motors, Inc.

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