Horimitsu TATTOO work today 龍

本日三件目。
龍。
本日終了。

It is third case today.
A Dragon.
It is finish today.

Es tercer caso hoy.
Un Dragón.
Es termine hoy.

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 龍 手彫り

昨日はカメラ不良のために更新できませんでした。
本日一件目。
手彫りで進めている龍。

I was not able to update it for poor camera yesterday.
Today the first case.
hand-carving.dragon.

No pude ponerlo al día para la cámara pobre ayer.
Hoy el primer caso. mano-carving.dragon.

GM Extends “May the Best Car Win”

GM’s 60-day money back guarantee offer is now good to the end of the year.    “May the best car win” was designed to impress consumers with the company’s faith in its products and entice them to overcome long simmering reservations about quality and give those products a try.

So far, only a handful of car buyers have actually returned their vehicles, usually for just a different variation of the model.  Nevertheless, the campaign seems to be helping sales grow and GM will extend the offer through January 4, 2010.

Jay Spenchian, GM's executive director of the marketing strategy support group, told The Associated Press on Thursday that more people are considering GM's four brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick — and few vehicles have been returned.

"We're starting to see big consideration changes and opinion changes," he said.

That's what the company was hoping for when it created the campaign, which includes advertisements comparing GM vehicles to those of  competitors. The nation's largest automaker needs to improve sales so it can repay billions in government loans and stay in business.

Spenchian said October's numbers appear to be up. GM on Wednesday said it is likely next week to post its first year-over-year monthly sales gain in 21 months.--October 30, 2009

GM News:

“May the Best Car Win” Winning with Consumers; GM Extends 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

October 29, 2009

GM’s “May the Best Car Win” marketing campaign is boosting consumer opinion and consideration of its cars and trucks. The ads scored in the top quartile for all automotive advertising in the last three years in terms of consumer opinion, consideration and relevancy, according to GM’s internal testing data.

The campaign is getting the word out about how good GM’s new products are,” Jay Spenchian, executive director, Marketing Strategy, said Thursday during a media update on the marketing campaign.   “We’ve seen positive coverage and increased awareness of launch products like the Buick LaCrosse and GMC Terrain.”

Spenchian also said GM’s successful 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee, which is part of the campaign, will be extended through January 4.

“More than 99 percent of buyers who choose to take the Satisfaction Guarantee are keeping their vehicle,” he said.

The next phase of the campaign will launch in December with head-to-head ads in magazines, newspaper and web sites.---Oct. 30, 2009

SOURCE:  

Bob Lutz and many others behind the making of this marketing campaign deserve a big bunch of credit(from the industry, media and of course the tax payers). This is going to be recorded as one of the MOST successful and yet uniquely courageous( with having to report the progress and results to some 290+ million US tax payers) marketing and sales pitch ever practised by GM( or any other manufacturer present or represented in the US )since 3 decades; I insist..! AND let me tell you, it hasn't been easy to accomplish. Expecting more good results to keep coming to help us sustain our high hopes for the fast recovery of GM. There is some "good" reading if you may be interested, posted earlier in the following blogs; please click on the links below(your comments will be highly appreciated): /MT
W-Info Autos                                  The "New" GM

                             

  

CTS-V Challenge VIDEO

MORE of The Aftermath / CTS-V Challenge

NYTimes- Wheels Blog/Oct.30, 2009::::

Cadillac V-Series Challenge: The Cup Runneth Over

The V-Series Challenge may have ended Thursday afternoon, but the discussion seems to have only begun. And what started off as an off-the-cuff remark by General Motors’ vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, and became a casual competition has evolved into viral monster — the publicity gift that keeps on giving, as it were — providing fodder for countless forum threads, video sites and blog posts.

Much of the debate has been about who won the competition. The timesheet shows that John Heinricy, G.M.’s test driver, recorded the fastest lap time at 2 minutes and 46 seconds. But Web sites, such as Edmunds Inside Line, point out that Michael Cooper, a competitor in a BMW M3, actually won the competition because, he beat Mr. Lutz with the best time posted by the civilian (non-G.M., nonprofessional)

drivers.

On the G.M. Fastlane blog, Mr. Lutz, who at age 77 is considerably older than his challengers, wrote, “There were no winners or losers today — the point was to have fun with great cars because that’s what they’re all about, and to show that G.M. vehicles can compete with the best in the world, in every class.”

David Caldwell, a spokesman for Cadillac, had the same message, emphasizing the fun quotient. “This is not proper motorsports,” he said in an interview. “There were no trophies. This would be analogous to a magazine comparison test.”

One thing is for certain, G.M. squeezed quite a bit of mileage out of its CTS-V promotional stunt. The event was also good for Jalopnik, which played up its involvement in a series of posts, and even for The Times. A regular freelance contributor to the Automobiles section, Lawrence Ulrich, posted a very respectable (and Lutz-beating) time of 2 minutes 53 seconds in a CTS-V.

But the V-Series Challenge was especially good for Mr. Cooper of Long Island, whose Lutz-shattering performance has made him an overnight hero in cyberspace.

And if you haven’t gotten enough of the V-Series Challenge, Mr. Caldwell said Speed TV was at the event and would broadcast its coverage on Dec. 5.

The Truth About Cars / By Jack Baruth-October 30, 2009

.......----I am grateful to Cadillac for helping me out, in the spirit of  racing, when I needed a hand. I’m grateful to Monticello for letting a poverty-stricken club racer enjoy their zillion-dollar facility. And I left the event with plenty of respect for the CTS-V. Don’t get me wrong: I’d still rather have an MKS Ecoboost as a daily driver. But if you don’t think the CTS is capable of running against the fastest sedans in the world on an equal footing, you’re crazy. Whether that means anything in this economy, in this environment, in this era… that’s up to someone else to decide. I came, I saw, I conquered nearly everybody. Good enough for me.

INSIDELINE / Published Oct 30, 2009 ::::

MONTICELLO, New York — As part of GM's new "May the Best Car Win" marketing campaign, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently challenged any journalist or private citizen to a duel with the Cadillac CTS-V and its competition. In a posting on the GM FastLane blog on Thursday following that race here, Lutz declared, "There were no winners or losers today." Manufacturers including Audi , BMW, Jaguar and

Mitsubishi apparently went home with their self-esteem intact following the GM-sponsored event.

GM News:
The Bob Lutz/Cadillac V-Series Challenge
October 29, 2009
What started as a typically unscripted remark from Bob Lutz during a phone conference with journalists turned into something quite unusual -- Cadillac and Bob bringing some fun back into the car business.
The Lutz/V-Series Challenge was a simple premise -- Bob challenged some motoring journalists, and a private car owners, to a time-trial duel. "Run what you brung," was the format, a competition among the world's best high-performance sedans, including the remarkable Cadillac CTS-V.   It happened Oct. 29 at the new Monticello Motor Club in New York, with 3 top auto journalists, 5 private car owners, a few sports car legends and some incredible machines, in front of a crowd of VIP spectators, camera crews and countless enthusiasts following on the web.
Sources:  NYTimes-Wheels Blog     TheTruthAboutCars     Insideline       News

The Aftermath / CTS-V Challenge

The Detroit Bureau

CTSv Wins Challenge – But Of Course

Lutz comes in seventh.

by Paul A. Eisenstein on Oct.29, 2009

No, we’re not saying the fix was in, but we somehow never really doubted the likely overcome of Bob Lutz’s “Winner Take All” challenge.

The septuagenarian executive had, last month, issued a challenge to all comers that no production sedan could beat the Cadillac CTSv on the track.  And though the various competitors opted to ignore the opportunity, a number of foreign models still found their way to Monticello Motor Club, in mid-New York State, for today’s time trials.

With the legendary John Heinricy, winning racer and long-time General Motors test driver behind the wheel, the Caddy super sedan handily posted the best lap time, 2:46.560, and overall, the various folks who manned the CTSv delivered six of the seven best laps.
As for Lutz, sometimes known as Senior Bigone?  Well, we’ll say he did pretty nicely for a 77-year-old, with the seventh-best lap time, off a little less than 10 seconds from Heinricy’s best turn around the windy Monticello course. The v did get some competition from a pair of  Beemers, both an M3 and M5, with a Jaguar XF, Audi RS4 and even a Mitsubishi EVO showing up to take GM on.

The race was a typical Lutz affair.  A month ago, the GM Vice Chairman, now the automaker’s top marketing executive, announced a campaign directly comparing General Motors products to their competition, and offering to prove that the Caddy CTSv could take on the names more likely to come up in a discussion about world-class sports sedans.

Though several makers initial considered playing along, they backed out, one by one, Jaguar pulling an XF-R barely a day before the time trials.

“Young whipper-snappers showed me a thing or two,” conceded Lutz, who used to race under the pseudonym, Senior Bigone, following the day’s events.  But he quickly added, “Let’s see them do this when they’re 77.”

The 2010 CTSv is the second generation version of Caddy’s sports sedan.  With a supercharged Cadillac-derived V-8 under the hood, it pumps out a hefty 556-horsepower through its rear wheels.

Does the Monticello meet close the books and earn the Caddy bragging rights as best-in-breed?  Probably not.  We’d need to see something with less opportunity for bias and with formal entries from all the various makes.  Nonetheless, the GM luxury marque does come out looking pretty good.

CTS-V Running @ Monticello

FORBES

GM's Lutz Lets Loose

Automaker's sales czar pits his Cadillac against all comers in racing challenge and scores a marketing victory.

Bob Lutz threw down the gauntlet to drivers half his age--and if he didn't beat them all, he got what he came for.

General Motors' 77-year-old vice chairman placed a time of 2:56:321 around a wet, 3.5 mile track at Monticello Motor Club on Thursday in upstate New York after he challenged journalists to race any performance sedan against his $62,020 Cadillac CTS-V.

His wasn't the best time of the day, but then again, it wasn't really about times anyway. Lutz got just what he wanted out of the event--inexpensive and relevant marketing for his recently introduced 556-horsepower V8.

"There's enormous attention being paid to this, and if you compare this cost-wise and effectiveness-wise to, say, making a bunch of TV commercials, this is a highly effective way to get the word out about how good the car is," Lutz said. "If we sell 50 or 100 of the CTS-V off this, we'd consider it a success."

Lutz, a marketing wizard known for his colorful quotes to the media, issued his "run what you brung" challenge weeks ago during a conference call about GM's new marketing campaign, "May The Best Car Win." The theme of the campaign is that GM's new models can hang with any competition--and, true to his maverick reputation, Lutz didn't go halfway. (The former Marine and helicopter pilot awarded himself a congratulatory cigar after his final lap: "delayed gratification," he declared triumphantly.)

After getting an enthusiastic response to his invitation from reporters, Lutz extended the challenge--via Facebook, YouTube and a Web site--to any competitive car owners who wanted to take on the CTS-V. According to GM, entries poured in right away, with 120 challengers stepping forward before organizers narrowed the field to three journalists and five non-journalists.

Jalopnik Vs GM: Bob Beats Blog

It appears GM, even a just-emerged-from-bankruptcy GM, still has the power to beat a blogger. Our Wes Siler, in a $41,000 Mitsubishi EVO, has fallen to "Maximum" Bob Lutz driving a $60,000+ Cadillac CTS-V.

It's not what you'd really call a shocker. We kind of expected it given the vehicle situation (thanks Jag!) — but sad nonetheless.

A spectator — who may or may not have been Phil Floraday from Automobile Magazine — questioned whether his overly-tight pants may have contributed to the epic failure. We'll never know because clearly Wes will never wear loose pants.

Our guess is that Lutz is a pretty damn spry 77-year-old silver fox and the CTS-V is a damn capable car. Still, there is the issue of that BMW M3 to deal with...

CTS-V Challengers @ Monticello

SOURCES:
       

Lutz' Sleeves Up!!! - CTS-V Answers the Challenge

The event took place today at the Monticello Motor Club in Monticello, N.Y. and we now have the results

image credits:

Well, the put-up or shut-up moment has now passed for 77-year-old Lutz and, well, he didn't win.

He posted a quite respectable 2:56:321. 

That was enough to blow away the privately owned BMW M5 (3:05:395) but the range of track-driving experience here today is huge. So we hesitate to read too much into those relative times.

Lutz was about 7 seconds behind GM development engineer and Nurburgring veteran, Aaron Link. He was about 5 seconds slower than the one earlier CTS-V driven by journalist Jack Baruth. Lutz also trailed the BMW M3 by about 5.5 seconds.

Lutz was driving a CTS-V with an automatic. Link drove a CTS-V with a manual transmission.

Taking top honors was former GM Performance Division Executive John Heinricy with a lap time of 2m and 46.56s in the Cadillac CTS-V.
By Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chairman:
Today, at the Monticello Motor Club in New York, the Cadillac CTS-V stood tall in the V-Series Challenge, a race pitting the CTS-V against several of the best production sedans on the market today — those that showed up, that is.
Here are the results from the track. There were no winners or losers today – the point was to have fun with great cars because that’s what they’re all about, and to show that GM vehicles can compete with the best in the world, in every class.
It was a great day for the CTS-V, and an exceptionally fun day for me.  I’ll have to issue another challenge so I can do this again sometime soon, although I wish I had started doing these when I was younger!

SOURCE:

2010 Automotive Excellence Awards Best Vehicle Design: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

Popular Mechanics Best Vehicle Design Award: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

Best Vehicle Design: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

By The Editors

Published in the December 2009 issue.

Popular Mechanics....

After a painfully long eight-year hiatus, the Chevy Camaro returns packing V8 power and V6 efficiency wrapped around classic sheet metal pulled forward into the 21st century. The design certainly pays homage to the past, but the muscular lines of this Camaro are modern and fresh.

The success of a new car design, especially a sporty one, depends on its ability not just to turn heads, but to inspire an almost primal lust in everyone from a college kid to his grandfather— hitting all the age groups in between. The new Camaro does just that—and it’s become one of the few cars outside the supercar ranks that will almost always elicit a conversation at the gas pumps.

Under the watch of GM design boss Ed Welburn, Chevy imagined the new Camaro as a thoroughly modern take on the 1967 original. And it looks amazingly close to the 2006 concept car. GM engineers somehow avoided the compromises that tend to dilute a designer’s original

vision as it makes its way into production. The inset front grille and the outboard round headlights offer a real link to that first Camaro, yet the big wheels and taut proportions perfectly convey 21st-century muscle.

Good design extends to the interior too: The view through the windshield is 1960s cool, yet it’s the subtleties that make this car feel so right. Of course, a Camaro wouldn’t feel right at all if there wasn’t some serious firepower under the hood. The top-dog SS models have a big 422-hp 6.2-liter V8, and even the base cars receive a potent V6 that returns 30 mpg highway.

The real triumph is that all the Camaro’s performance and intelligent design can be had for just a tick over $20,000. That’s a bargain.

Ed Welburn & the team, next to finalized design task

The Team: Micah Jones, Rebecca Waldmeir, Sangyup Lee ; displaying their creation at downtown Manhattan

VIA:

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 剣龍

本日一件目。
剣龍。
スジが終了です。
もう少し。

It is first case today.
KENRYU.
The line work finished.
little bit more.

Es embale hoy primero.
KENRYU.
El trabajo de la línea terminó. poco mordió más.

GM seen posting sales gain

For the first time in 21 months, General Motors is on track to see its first monthly sales increase compared to the same time period a year ago, the company said today.

“We’re really having a good October,” he said. 

DiGiovanni added that about 95% of the sales for the month are coming from the company’s four core U.S. brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. A year ago, those brands comprised about 85% of the company’s sales. 

GM is in the process of winding down Pontiac and Saturn and selling off Hummer and Saab after emerging from bankruptcy in July. 

“We’re clearly getting behind us the brands we’re phasing out,” he said. 

He predicted U.S. light vehicle sales for October will rise to an annual rate of 10.5 million, up dramatically from September's 9.2 million. He said the U.S. auto market is not out of trouble yet but is showing signs of recovery.

VIA:

Horimitsu TATTOO information水曜定休

昨日は定休日でした。

Vehicles Returned under GM 60-Day Guarantee Less Than 1%

Less than 1 percent of the vehicles bought under General Motors' 60-day moneyback guarantee program have been returned.

Susan Docherty, GM's vice president of U.S. sales, said 142,000 vehicles have been sold under the program with 449 customers opting for the guarantee instead of the $500 cash rebate. Of those, four have returned their vehicles and gotten their money back on a Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Malibu and Chevrolet Silverado. In total, 49 customers, including the four that already have returned their vehicles, are in the process of a return or exchange, she said.

VIA:

Good Result. It looks like Chevy is the one that got the hit with the above mentioned very few returns and it is quite natural for a hi-volume selling brand among others. Campaign ends November 30; so another month to go for achieving even better results we hope. 

The 142,000 figure needs a further clarification as to where it stands relevant to month-to-date sales data prior to judgment on the campaign's contributions. 

This campaign at the very least should generate invaluable info for Bob Lutz &  the GM Marketing team, sourced directly from the consumers, and help them with their efforts to develop more 'bold' moves./MT

Jaguar(XFR) withdrew from the CTS-V Challenge and now only 'day dreaming'...

Jag 'flyin' over CTS-V; Jaguar PR Day Dreamin... /MT

VIA:     Jalopnik

,,

Jaguar PR just called saying they've withdrawn their pledge to let Wes race the XFR Thursday against GM's Bob Lutz in a Cadillac CTS-V. Apparently, not because they're afraid to lose, they're afraid the XFR just can't take it. Pussies.

Stuart Schorr, Jaguar's main product PR man, told us flat out.

They're afraid the XFR can't handle the strain. Specifically, the brakes. Without better brake cooling, Schorr tells us his folks are concerned the XFR just can't put the necessary laps in without endangering the driver.

  ,,

TheGMSource

TheGMSource Gets Bob Lutz' Reaction On The First Casualty In The CTS-V Challenge!

GM's Lutz Responds:

,,

I think it means that the European high-performance sedans are excellent, even superb cars, but quite possibly not ready for racing laps right out of the show-room. The CTS-V is not only quicker, but will, in totally untweaked, stock form, run hot laps at any race track until it runs out of fuel.

Transmission oil and diff oil temps are stable, engine oil temp doesn't go up, brakes get a bit more pedal travel, but don't fade. The street tires get a tad greasy, but handling and control remain excellent. "May the best car win"! (It wins automatically if the competitors won't show up!)

A very professional observation by Mr. Lutz on a new idea that proves your car can compete... you have to show up if you want a chance!

,,

Who would you put your money on to beat Bob Lutz?

Update:

Late last Friday, Cadillac unveiled its short list of participants in the CTS-V challenge. After receiving over 100 entries, the Cadillac brain trust narrowed the field down to three journalists and four consumers.

Cadillac provided brief descriptions of the four consumers and their cars while the journalists were also given token summaries. Cadillac says it may add additional entrants later, but the contest is Thursday, so assume this is the list for now.

Consumers:

Tom - Audi RS4

Michael C. - BMW M3

Michael M. - BMW M5

Chris - Cadillac CTS-V

Journalists:

Wes Siler - Jaguar XFR

Jack Baruth - Jaguar XFR

Lawrence Ulrich - TBD

VIA 

Jaguar XF-R

Audi RS4

BMW M3

BMW M5

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 鯉 カバーアップ

本日一件のみ。
昨日は、彫俊一門ミーティングのためお休みでした。
鯉。
カバーアップです。

Only as for the today work.
A carp.
It is cover up.

Sólo en cuanto al hoy el trabajo.
Una carpa.
Es la tapa a.

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 龍

本日三件目。
龍。
今日は龍だけでした。（^-^;）
本日終了。

Today the third case.
A dragon.
It was only a dragon today. (^-^;)
The today end.

Hoy el tercer caso.
Un dragón.
Era sólo un dragón hoy. (^ - ^;)
El hoy el fin.

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 龍

本日二件目。
龍。
スジ終わり。

Today the second case.
A dragon.
The line end.

Hoy el segundo caso.
Un dragón.
El fin de la línea.

Horimitsu TATTOO work today 赤龍

本日一件目。
赤龍。

Today the first case.
A red dragon.

Hoy el primer caso.
Un dragón rojo.

Meet the V-Series Challengers – Preliminary List

 

Lutz, working on it at Monticello

The group of challengers, as it stands now, includes a few auto journalists and several private car owners, reflecting a good range of different cars and experience levels. We think it’ll make for a well-rounded group.
Let’s meet the preliminary list of challengers. First up, the automotive writers:


Name: Wes Siler – Jalopnik.com
Wes is road test editor for Jalopnik, the first and to take us up on the Challenge. Wes is a skilled and experienced driver and evaluator of cars, especially the fast ones.

Name: Jack Baruth – TheTruthAboutCars.com
Jack will be representing TheTruthAboutCars.com in the Challenge. Jack’s an experienced racer, on two wheels and four. He hails from Columbus, Ohio.

Name: Lawrence Ulrich – freelance auto writer
Lawrence contributes to The New York Times and other publications. He drives all manner of cars regularly, and has some track driving experience though he’s careful to point out that his experience has been on a non-competitive basis.


Let’s meet the initial group private car owners:

Name: Michael M.
Hometown: Whitecoff, NJ
Michael is a graduate of the Porsche driving school and a contributor to carguydad.com.  He owns a BMW M5.

Name: Michael C.
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Our second Michael has trained at Skip Barber. At just 21 years old, Michael is the younger driver in the Challenge. He owns a BMW M3.

Name: Chris
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
Chris has recently bought a CTS-V, and wants to learn more about his car’s capabilities.

Name: Tom
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Tom drives an Audi RS4, has participated in the Audi driving school at Sonoma and has also done some autocross racing.

Plenty of other notable car enthusiasts will be there Oct 29 as well, either as participants or spectators. We’ll have more information about the competition and their cars in coming days so keep checking Cadillac Notes for all the latest news.

BY DAVID CALDWELL  OCTOBER 23, 2009
CadillacNotes GM Blog