The lawsuit, which is also seeking class-action status, says that GM should make the same repair to Impalas sold to general consumers (rather than the police) because they have the same spindle rod issue. It also charges GM with “breech of warranty,” and demands that the automobile company be compelled to either repair or replace the rear spindle rods.

Specifically, the lawsuit points out that, “There are no relevant material differences between police vehicles and class members’ vehicles relating the defective spindle rods.”

GM, which built about 24,000 of the police versions of the Impala in the 2007 and 2008 model years, declined to comment, claiming it never discusses matters in litigation, but the company did confirm that dealers had been notified of the rear suspension defect. The lawsuit says this defect applies to the 423,000 Chevrolet Impalas that were sold in those two years.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Donna Trusky of Blakely, PA, bought her Impala in February, 2008, but according to the lawsuit the tread on her car’s back tires was so worn that safe use was “questionable” after only 6,000 miles. Her dealer supplied new tires and re-aligned the front end of her car, but never mentioned the rear spindle rods. In November, 2010, with only a bit over 24,000 miles on the car, Trusky had to replace the back tires again, at a cost of roughly $290.

Speaking about GM, the lawsuit said, “Defendant concealed the existence of the defect from class members, even those who presented their vehicles for repair of the defect.”

Ms. Trusky’s lawyers said that complaints about the Chevrolet Impala’s rear suspension issues have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

While GM is primarily focused on smaller engines – as tiny as half a liter – Westport’s area of expertise is mainly with medium and heavy-duty truck engines.

GM isn’t the only American automaker hoping to overtake Honda in the CNG market, however. Earlier this spring, Bloomberg reported that Chrysler has an aggressive CNG development plan in place, and is working in partnership with its parent company, Fiat. Fiat already has six natural gas models for sale in European markets, and is likely to use its experience with that technology to aid Chrysler in complying with federal fuel efficiency standards that are likely to increase as much as 6 percent a year over the next decade. Rumor has it that there’s a CNG-powered Dodge Ram in the works that could be available in American markets by 2017.

So why is CNG suddenly so popular? There are several reasons, not the least of which is that while gasoline prices continue to soar, natural gas remains fairly inexpensive. Then, too there are those afore-mentioned increases in fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (read: pickups, vans, SUVs).

There are also a bundle of proposed federal incentives likely to pass by the end of the year, including the NAT Gas Act that is credited to T. Boone Pickens, a Texas energy billionaire. It’s recently picked up bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., thanks to Pickens’ history as a natural gas-as-transportation-fuel activist and his ability to court heavyweight allies like the White House.

If it passes, the NAT Gas proposal could be a $4.1 billion bundle of incentives, including purchase credits of as much as $7,500 per personal vehicle and a subsidy of up to fifty cents a gallon on natural gas at the pump. Retailers willing to install CNG pumps would benefit also, receiving generous tax breaks.

During the weeks between July 4th and July 17th, GM will be stopping production at the Flint Assembly plant in Michigan and the Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana. The information came from GM spokesperson Tom Wickham and UAW Local 2209 president Orval Plumlee. Plumlee’s organization represents the hourly workers at the Indiana facility.

The two plants are responsible for producing the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. At the end of May, the company’s truck inventory included a supply for 110 days of sales, or 258,000 units, according to information provided by GM’s vice president of U.S. sales, Don Johnson. This number is significantly higher than the industry standard of a 60-day supply.

Despite this apparent overload, Mark Reuss, present of North American operations for GM, said that in the short term, the level of inventory was acceptable, and that inventory-clearing incentives weren’t likely.

If this sounds like yet another way for the federal government to invade our privacy, consider that such devices are already included in new cars, and since 2005 65% of new vehicles have boasted some kind of onboard recording device. Among the brands using them today are Ford, GM, Mazda and Toyota.

The government’s proposal, then, would simply make such devices mandatory. Already, another law set to take effect two years from now will require that the data collected by EDRs and the method of retrieving that data be made more universal. That rule came as a direct result of unintended acceleration cases in Toyota vehicles over the past few years.

Currently, most auto manufacturers are showing public support for the concept of mandatory EDRs, but they also say they don’t want such devices to be terribly complex, as this would cause them to be more expensive, which costs would have to be passed along to buyers.

GM closed the plant, which specializes in small pickups like the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, because of a “…parts shortage related to the crisis in Japan…” but it the parts that were affected has not been specified. Instead, GM spokesperson Kim Carpenter verified in an email, “We have the material we need to resume production.”

Analysts have theorized that GM idled the plant in order to redirect Japanese parts to better-selling vehicles, as it gauges the fiscal impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

In January and February, GM sold 4,810 Colorados, which is fifty-one percent more units sold than in the same two months last year. As of the first of March, 2011, the automaker had a 58-day inventory of the pickups. GM also sold 21 percent more Canyons in the first two months of 2011 than it did in the same months of 2010, making 1,459 vehicles sold, with a 60-day supply in inventory.

In a press release, GM said, “We are constantly assessing the situation and anticipating adjustments in our plants around the world as needed.”

The release continued, “These adjustments may include optimizing the usage of parts that are — or will be — in short supply, modifications to manufacturing schedules and temporary suspensions of production.”

Ms. Carpenter said that GM will be recalling 59 workers who were laid off from its plant in Tonawanda, N.Y., which makes the engines for the trucks produced in Shreveport.

Recent Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX vehicles have been recalled by General Motors Co. due to a software issue that could make it impossible for the driver to adjust the air conditioning, heating, and ventilation system in the vehicle.

According to GM, just under 1100 vehicles for the 2011 model year are affected by the recall, which may also prevent the defrost system from clearing the windshield.

In a notice from GM to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, issued earlier this morning, the automaker said that these vehicles fail to comply with federal standards for windshield defrosting and defogging.

Am I the only one thinking maybe we should go back to bikes?

As a result, the stake that American taxpayers have in the company will drop by over half. Launching at just over $35 share instead of in the high $20s originally anticipated, GM was able to raise a significant amount of money to repay the federal government, reducing the government’s share of the automaker’s equity from roughly 60% to closer to 26%.

Despite this very strong return to the stock market, analysts from the New York Times say that in order for the government to earn back every cent it gave to GM, stock would have to trade and more than $53/share.

We will have to watch and wait.

Going forward, there will be new, individual service departments for each of GM’s remaining core brands, with names such as “Chevrolet Certified Service.” GM believes this will make each of the remaining brand images stronger, as well as disassociating them from the General Motors name, which critics say has been tarnished. GM is assuring customers that they will receive level of service previously offered by Goodwrench, including certified technicians and low prices.

According to GM spokeswoman Pamela Flores, Pontiac and Hummer owners should also continue to receive the same level of service, even without Goodwrench. Instead, owners of these vehicles will be able to get them serviced at whatever GM dealership is closest, and GM-certified parts for each brand should remain readily available.

Because of GM’s size, Goodwrench was one of the country’s largest automotive servicers, with more than 80,000 certified technicians.

Spokespeople for GM said that the plant will have the necessary equipment adjustments installed by next summer, with production slated to begin in the second half of 2011. Both vehicles will be 2012 models when they go up for sale.

According to GM North America President Mark Reuss, former body shop robot programmer at the Orion Township plant, the Verano will be Buick’s first compact car in two decades. He also said that U.S. consumers are hungry for a premium compact car that provides creature comforts but doesn’t sacrifice good fuel economy.

“This will be Job 1 in this resurgence,” Reuss said at a press conference announcing the new model and the plant upgrades, which will total $600 million.

The Verano will be built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Cruze compact, currently in production at a different plant, in Lordstown, OH. Reuss said, however, that he’s confident the Buick Verano will be more impressive to consumers than a re-badged Cruze, but agreed that, “…we have to demonstrate that>”

The Buick Verano sedan will be a near-luxury compact, with a “library quiet” cabin, chrome accents, projector headlights, and an interior upgraded from that of the Cruze.