The mega-hit AMC show Mad Men dips into the automotive realm from time to time, and took another twist in last night’s episode with agencies grappling to represent some kind of secret GM project, the XP-887, aka the Chevrolet Vega. Judging by the way the car has already shaken up the show, and its eventual place in automotive lore, this is going to be a fun season.

Everyone on the show is excited about the mystery mobile, and for good reason. It marked several firsts for General Motors, and combined style and performance with value for what was essentially a can’t-miss hit. Powered by an innovative inline-four engine with an aluminum alloy cylinder block, the Vega delivered power to the rear-wheels through a three, four or five speed transmission. It was an instant hit, but met an unfortunate end, and nearly crippled GM. Now you can find Vegas in pretty good condition for about $3,000. But Don Draper doesn't know that yet. More...

General Motors will take the technology known as “Super Cruise” to a new level of testing, as they aim to log hundreds of thousands of miles in the autonomous system they say could be available in Cadillacs by the end of the decade. Super Cruise uses advanced radar and other tech to essentially drive the car itself, though GM is careful to warn that the driver will still need to be attentive at all times. Could we really see a self-driving Cadillac within seven years?

GM has already been testing Super Cruise in simulators and closed courses for some time. There have even bean real-world tests, but those will significantly expand to include all times of the day and night, plus all weather conditions. Several automakers have shown their desire to develop and test autonomous vehicles, but this effort from General Motors is by far the most focused effort to bring them to market within an established timeframe. More...

On Thursday, the new Buick Riviera Concept made its way onto the stage at the Shanghai Auto Show. With an aesthetically unique design and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle propulsion system, the Riviera displays the best of both GM’s Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center.

Inspired directly from the Chinese proverb “The greatest good is like water," the Riviera’s design flows like the life-sustaining fluid. The shape goes from wide to narrow, and looks as though it was sculpted by a flowing river over the course of thousands of years. It is athletic, yet elegant. The wing-like lights, gullwing doors and waterfall front fascia only add to the water-themed design. Not everything on this car is purely aesthetic though. The raked windshield, metallic fiber spoiler, grille shutters and diffusers, and pneumatic wheels all help balance the style to performance ratio. More...

You might be a little surprised to hear that the 2014 Cadillac ELR will have steering-mounted paddle shifters. After all, how do you shift when there’s only one electric gear? The answer, of course, is that the paddles will be used not for moving from gear to gear, but for activating regenerative braking that turns the energy into electric power. More...

In efforts to meet changing emission and fuel economy standards at a lower cost, the Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation separately announced plans to collaborate on making nine- and 10-speed, front- and rear-wheel automatic transmissions for their vehicle fleets. Once bitter rivals in their “Big Three” heydays, this is the third time in recent history that the two Detroit titans will collaborate on creating transmissions.

“Engineering teams from GM and Ford have already started initial design work on these new transmissions,” said Jim Lanzon, GM vice president of global transmission engineering. More...

General Motors Co. has announced that it will invest nearly $332 million to create four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that will produce fuel-efficient components like the new Ecotec small gas engine, a new V6 engine, and a more efficient 8–speed transmission.

GM predicts that the new facilities will retain about 1,650 jobs at six failing facilities in the Michigan cities of Flint, Bay City, Romulus, and Saginaw; Toledo, Ohio, and Bedford, Indiana. More...