novative crossover vehicles that have been well received by our customers and the automotive media," Wagoner said. GM's product renaissance continued during the second quarter with the production ramp-ups of the Chevrolet Avalanche and TrailBlazer; the Buick Rendezvous; the GMC Envoy; the Oldsmobile Bravada; the Cadillac Escalade; and the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup trucks. Later this year, GM will launch the Cadillac CTS and EXT models; and the Saturn VUE, strengthening its product lineup even further. GM is delivering a broader range of new products in other key markets around the world, as well. GM Europe's new products include the Astra convertible; the Speedster; and Vivaro and Combo commercial vans. In Latin America, the Chevrolet Zafira and Grand Vitara are new entries. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Buick Sail; the Chevrolet Blazer; and the S-10 crewcab pickup, which will be introduced later in the year, are important new products in China. The Zafira was recently introduced in Asia-Pacific and is produced at GM's Thailand plant. GM will begin production this fall at Suzuki's Kosai plant in Japan of the new Chevrolet Cruze, a small 4X4 lifestyle vehicle. Big contributors in the second quarter's financial performance were General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC), and GM North America (GMNA). GMAC GMAC earned a second-quarter record $449 million, an increase of more than 13 percent compared with the $395 million earned in the second quarter of 2000. GMAC's results were driven primarily by stronger earnings in its core automotive finance operations. In this segment, the improvement came primarily from higher asset levels and the positive impact of lower short-term interest rates, only partially offset by higher credit losses and lower off-lease residual values. Insurance operations posted a decline in earnings due largely to a timing-related reduction in capital gains. In the mortgage operations, the lower i...
