Toyota has announced its sales figures for the first half of 2012, and the numbers look like Toyota will be able to beat out  GM and Volkswagen in sales for 2012. In the first six months of this year the Japanese automaker sold 4.97 million vehicles.

GM plans to release its revamped lineup of trucks next year as 2014 models, and it appears that the American automaker won’t be equipping them with eight-speed automatic transmissions – at least not yet.

The GMC Terrain is getting a new engine option for 2013: a 3.6L V-6, that will propel the crossover from 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds. 

Sharper and more unique, the new Denali luxury trim available on the truckish GMC Terrain for 2013 is an almost nostalgic throwback to the American luxury SUV days of a decade ago. And yet the Terrain Denali is a notably modern interpretation, from its technology, to the fact that this chiseled and chunky truck is actually an efficient crossover.

The 2013 GMC Terrain is the newest vehicle in the General Motors line-up to receive the luxury treatment in the form of the Denali trim package, and the company announced today that the small luxury SUV will have a starting price point of $35,350, not including an $825 destination charge. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened investigations into defects found on 2006-2008 Toyota RAV4’s, 2005 Honda Pilots and 2007-2009 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook.

Depending on where you live, a hiccup in GM’s truck supply lines might make buying a pickup from your local Chevrolet of GMC dealer difficult.

The pickup truck is an icon that embodies the working spirit. It’s every blue collar employee’s calling card and farmer’s best friend. Truck buyers grow especially close to their vehicles as trucks are a  key tool in earning a living, depending on them to last through days and years of service.

General Motors announced pricing for its bi-fuel Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 heavy-duty pickup trucks today, saying the vehicles will cost $11,000 above base price. 

Now that you know Toyota is the top brand for cheating men, what other automakers are on the list?

General Motors is recalling 50,001 SUVs, specifically from states where dealing with snow is regular, because the wiper arm may slowly loosen and become inoperative. 

The vehicles affected are certain model year 2011-2012 GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enlcave. All owners will be notified, and your local GM dealer will fix the issue, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin on April 16, 2012. For more information you can contact the NHTSA safety hotline at  1-888-327-4236.

For a list of all States affected, see below.

Last month we reported the top 10 cars with the highest percentage of female owners, and now we have a less-than-surprising list of top 10 cars with the highest percentage of male buyers. The list is courtesy InsideLine with the data provided by Polk and reflects total purchases made last year in 2011.

Time topples regimes, ends companies and kills men. A lot can happen in a century, yet that much has passed since the first GMC truck debuted in New York. 

General Motors is issuing a recall of 6, 159 vehicles citing problems with the steering gear pitman shaft. Certain 2012 Chevy Express vans, Suburban SUVs and GMC Savana’s and Yukons are affected by this recall.

GM has revealed the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali ahead of its official unveiling at the 2012 New York Auto Show. The introduction of the Terrain Denali comes with the announcement of an all-new 3.6L V6 engine that will replace the outgoing 3.0L V6 for the 2013 Terrain  model year. The new V6 powerplant will be rated at 301-hp and 272 lb-ft of torque and is expected to deliver better fuel economy than its predecessor.

Given it’s success peddling trucks and SUVs with the upscale Denali trim level, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that GMC is looking at adding further variations.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it closed the investigations surrounding possible fires on the Volkswagen Passat and cracked cooling fans on various GM trucks without issuing a recall or fines to either automaker.

J.D. Power and Associates’ annual Customer Service Index Study offers crucial automotive information for consumers and the latest results are out.

Lexus tops the list  this year in the luxury segment while MINI made the top spot for mass market brands.

J.D. Power statistics are based on responses from over 84,000 new vehicle owners that rate dealer service performance during the first three years of vehicle ownership. Five facets of customer service are measured in the study: service quality, service initiation,  service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up. The responses are gathered from around the world to avoid regional bias, with statistics from 16 countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany and India.

The study is divided into two categories: luxury brands and mass market brands.

For the luxury brands segment,  Lexus was rated with the best customer service for the fourth consecutive year, scoring 861 points of a possible 1000. The average luxury brand CSI ranking score was 835. Rounding out the top five top brands, from second to fifth are Cadillac, Jaguar, Acura and Porsche.

In the mass market segment, MINI took the top spot with an overall CSI ranking score of 809 where the average score for all automakers in the mass market segment was 778. While the company didn’t win overall,  GM dominated the top five mass market brands. From second to fifth they are Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Hyundai.

Overall, J.D. Power reports that almost every brand has improved on the Customer Service Index scale in 2012, with 28 of the the 33 eligible brands improving their score. A leading factor in overall attitudes towards customer service is the change from less repair work to more maintenance that is happening at dealers thanks to better built cars, J.D. power says.

In 2012 72 percent of vehicle owners say that their latest dealer encounter was for routine maintenance and not repair work, a 9 percent increase from 2011.

Review the J.D. Power CSI charts below for a list of all car manufacturers.

A direct reflection of the current market, GM has been struggling to keep up with demand for the 4-cylinder Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers for the past two months.

Chevrolet and GMC have announced the debut of new bi-fuel Silverado and Sierra 2500 HD pickup trucks for 2013, both of which are powered by a Vortec 6.0-liter V8 that can seamlessly transition between standard gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG).

Trucks aren’t known for fuel economy, but finding a pickup that isn’t a gas hungry beast is a top concern for many truck shoppers. So if you’re looking for a good way to save money, both in terms of overall vehicle cost and especially at the pumps, check out this list of our Top 10 fuel friendly pickups.

Pickup trucks are usually used for work, and that’s probably why the Silverado, not to mention a few other pick-up trucks, are so cheap to insure. This model, with the V6 and Extended Ca,b features some good safety features and Chevrolet‘s OnStar vehicle safety service. The extended cab Silverado starts at $26,340, and comes with a 4.3L V6 with a meager 195 horsepower.

The Terrain crossover is one of GM’s hottest vehicles and now the American automaker will be expanding its small GMC crossover lineup to include a high-grade Denali trim level.

You don’t have to actually step inside the Chicago Auto Show to see the sites.

AutoGuide’s video crew was on hand to cover all the major debuts, from the new Acura ILX to the wild Kia Track’ster Concept (above). See all the videos below and be sure to check out our complete coverage here.

Watch all the videos below:

GMC unveiled their 2013 Acadia crossover at the Chicago Auto Show last Tuesday, but they didn’t mention during the presentation that they sourced parts for their refreshed model from unusable Saturn Outlooks.

Whether you’re heading to the Chicago Auto Show and want to know what to check out, or your trip is a bit more virtual, AutoGuide editors have compiled a list of the must-sees at this year’s event.

As planned GMC unveiled its refreshed Acadia SUV at the Chicago Auto Show this week, but the GM truck division also prepared a surprise.

Nobody expected there to be a second car under cloth at the GMC display this morning, but two CUVs were ready to bare it all shortly after 9 a.m. today at the Chicago Auto Show.

More than 1,900 GMC and Buick dealerships are getting a face-lift by 2013, but it’s about more than just a look. It’s also about a new atmosphere that enhances the customer experience.

At present, save from slight trim and equipment (such as the Denali trim package shown above) there really isn’t much to differentiate the GMC Sierra from it’s Chevy Silverado counterpart. However, that’s set to change.

Scheduled to hit dealer lots next year as a 2014 model year is GM’s newly redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, but it appears that those two trucks will just be the tip of the iceberg. Now it’s a possibility that GM may be considering extensively redesigning all of their upcoming pickups.

The 2012 Detroit Auto Show has just began, but it’s never too early to start talking about the next major American auto show, the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. GMC confirmed that the new 2013 Acadia will debut at the Chicago Auto Show next month, giving their truck division something new to get excited about.

According to Chris Lee, a spokesman for General Motors, the automaker is planning a 21-week suspension at its assembly plants that build full-size trucks and SUVs, namely Fort Wayne Indiana, Flint, Michigan,  Arlington, Texas and Silao, Mexico.

Making its way on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick for 2012 is the all-new Buick Verano. This raises General Motors IIHS Top Safety Pick award count to 14 in 2012 – not too shabby.

General Motors is targeting a safety issue with new equipment that until now has been unaddressed.

With Chevrolet recently revealing the new 2013 Trailblazer for global markets speculation has begun that GM could be considering a new Envoy for GMC based on the same platform.

GM has issued a recall on Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pick-up trucks produced between September 9th, 2011 to October 19th, 2011 for a faulty driver’s side seatbelt buckle. An electrical connector on the buckle might not have fit snugly with the connector pins which will cause the seat belt warning light to not illuminate when the belt is not fastened.

If you own a new GMC or Chevrolet van, there’s a chance the airbags might not be safe.

There may still be two months to go, but General Motors is all but certain to reclaim the title of World’s Largest Automaker for 2011. GM last held claim to producing the most vehicles back in 2007, and for the 76 years before that, before being ousted by Toyota in 2008. Toyota has since retained that position for two more years, with Volkswagen emerging onto the scene to be a major player.

Between 250 and 300 engineering jobs in Australia may disappear in the next two years if Holden stops producing its Commodore at home.

You’ve probably heard of Costco members getting  incentives to buy new vehicles  at dealers on your local radio. However, one automaker; General Motors is taking things a step further, teaming up with the wholesale giant to sell select Chevy/GMC pickups and SUVs through a number of authorized retailers for a no haggle “preferred price.”

34,000 units of GM’s 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers are recalled due too improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring systems.

It might be a scary thought to some, but according to Alan Taub, vice president of Global Research and Development at General Motors, the self-driving car is less than a decade away.

If you’ve got a GM vehicle and OnStar, you’ll be able to rent out your idle car and make some extra cash through the RelayRides marketplace.

General Motors is preparing to take more steps to add hybrids to its different vehicle lineups, adding it’s eAssist technology to both the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain.

General Motors will idle its Fort Wayne, Indiana plant for one week in November to help bring pickup truck production in line with slowing demand.

Bob Buckhorn, the mayor of Tampa, Florida needed a safe, reliable vehicle for his family, and did what many cost-concious car buyers do – he looked for a vehicle seized by the police.

Ford was seen as taking a big gamble when it reintroduced V6 engines into its full-size pickup trucks. But the gamble has paid off and now the Blue Oval’s domestic rivals will look to do the same.

Heavy-Duty pickups were designed for abuse. And in order to see just how much they can handle, website Pickup Trucks.com put together it’s Heavy-Duty Hurt Locker Comparison test.

The idea was to pit the latest H-D offerings from Ford, General Motors and Ram (in this case the F-350 Super Duty, Sierra HD 3500 and Ram HD 3500) in a series of extreme towing tests, covering a distance of some 2,200 miles across the American West . The tests included navigating some of steepest grades in the country in some of the most extreme climates, hauling fifth-wheel gooseneck trailers of some 19,400 lbs behind each truck.

And when the dust finally settled, the GMC Sierra HD 3500 was judged the overall winner. “The GMC Sierra led with best-in-class performance, with wins in almost every test we put the trucks through,” declared Pickup Trucks.com’s editor Mike Levine.

GM engineers have instigated some changes on the 2012 model Sierra and Silverado HD, in order to improve towing capability; these include reinforced pickup box sills, stronger rear springs and box mounts and revised suspension tuning.

The result is an increase of some 2000 lbs in tow rating capacity, which now stands at an impressive 23,000 lbs. To see how the Sierra performed against its chief rivals in the Heavy Duty Hurt Locker test, watch the video below.

Hit the jump to see the video

General Motors will look to slash its R&D costs in the future, by increasingly sharing platforms and engines across models. Company CEO Dan Akerson and product boss Mary Barra spoke to the big changes coming for GM during online seminars billed as the 2011 Global Business Conference.

GMC‘s thing has always been trucks, though some would argue it’s 1971-87 El Camino derrivatives, the Sprint and Caballero broke the mold. Now, there’s no question that the brand is firmly stepping outside it’s traditional comfort zone; for 2013 it plans to chase after those in the market for cars like the Kia Soul and Scion XB.

Given current and future proposals for Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards it probably isn’t surprising that General Motors is focusing on gas mileage when it comes to new product offerings.

With fuel economy being one of the for most issues for the entire auto industry, GM may plan to add eight-speed automatic transmissions and turbocharged engines to its next generation of full-size trucks.

Buick and GMC understand the importance of social networking and have set up online vehicle-shopping experiences that are socially engaging, letting site visitors build, save and share their configured vehicles.

However, if you happen to live in the state of Oregon or Washington, General Motors has some good news for you. If you buy any new Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick or GMC vehicle in these two states, GM will pay for your insurance for up to a year or 15,000-miles. This special offer is a joint collaboration between GM and MetLife to attract more customers.

General Motors has recalled 6,800 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks. Apparently the transmission shift lever was not properly finished and as a result, might not display the correct gear on the PRNDL bar. NHTSA said the pickups do not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, “Theft Protection”. This may appear to be minor but the automatic adjustment clip is out of adjustment and the fault will allow drivers to remove the vehicle’s key when the lever isn’t fully engaged in Park. The truck could potentially roll away or the driver might not be able to restart the pickup.

GM is recalling 10,000 trucks and SUVs that have been impacted by two safety issues worldwide. The majority of the recalls are for the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon (9,215 combined) that could roll away when shifted into park due to a faulty part manufactured in China. The recall will be officially issued out on July 19th, and GM will install new automatic transmission adjustment clips. This recall impacts 6,700 vehicles sold in the United States.

According to research, one in every two smart phone owners, utilizes their device as a shopping tool. In an attempt to get in on the action, GMC has now added a shopping App, which allows consumers to search its range of vehicles via their phones, accessing photos, videos, specifications as well as pricing, dealer quotes, comparison with competitors and even scheduling test drives.

Although originally postponed due to the automaker’s bankruptcy and subsequent re-structuring, GM‘s next generation full-size truck program is now reportedly back on track. Sources within the corporation say that the new trucks, internally coded K-2 will begin rolling off assembly lines in 2013 as ’14 model year vehicles.

A recent list highlighting the most American Made-in-America cars list both the first and spots as belonging to Japanese automakers. ( See here for why). But when it comes to what automakers offer the most vehicles manufactured or assembled right here in the U.S. of A., it’s the domestics that come out on top.