Motoring News
Hummer unveiled
General Motors took the wraps of its new Hummer off-road pickup truck last. This new Hummer is now part of the GMC brand portfolio.
The Edition 1 version that was shown features a range of more than 350 miles on a single charge. For off-roading, it comes equipped with underbody cameras and skid plates, along with an ability to “crab walk” thanks to four-wheel steering. Its Infinity Roof is removable. The drivetrain on the top trim levels consists of three electric motors.
Assembly will take place in Detroit starting late in 2021. The price for an Edition 1 model has been set at $112,595, though less costly versions will be added to the Hummer lineup over the following three years. The first of these will be the 3X, with a starting price of $99,995, the 2X for $89,995 and ultimately the 2, which is slated to arrive in the second quarter of 2024, for $79,995. The 3X should be available by the fourth quarter of 2022. Standard equipment on each of these models will include GM’s Super Cruise, a driver assistance system, a MultiPro Tailgate with six functions, underbody cameras, 35-inch tires and the Infinity Roof with removable panels. The Edition 1 and the 3X version will include the three-motor e4WD system and the systems needed to produce the promised 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 pound-feet of torque and a zeroto-60 acceleration time of three seconds. GM President Mark Reuss said the truck is “perfect for the customer who wants capability, efficiency and performance.”
Auto show shuffle continues
Before the pandemic, the three major domestic auto shows were easy to locate on a calendar. The first show of the year, in early January, was Detroit’s North American International Auto Show, followed just before Easter by the New York show and, in November, the Los Angeles show. COVID-19 has changed all that with each of these shows disrupted for 2020. The most recent change was the New York show, which is now moving from a date in April 2021 to August 2021. The organizers of the Detroit show have now settled on a September 2021 date, after originally planning a show for June. As for the Los Angeles show, it has moved from November to May 2021.
A larger question looms over auto shows than dates, however. In recent years an increasing number of automakers have concluded that auto shows are not worth the expense and that marketing dollars devoted to some of these shows are better spent elsewhere.
GM’s Spring Hill plant’s new mission
General Motors has announced plans to turn its former Saturn manufacturing facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee into an electric vehicle plant. The cost of conversion will be an estimated $2 billion. Currently, the plant builds some of Cadillac’s gasoline-powered SUVs at the plant, which will continue.
However, with the upgrades to the plant, Spring Hill will also be able to produce the Cadillac Lyriq, which is a small electric SUV slated to arrive at the end of 2022, as well as additional electric models, which were unspecified in the announcement. Two other plants will also produce GM’s electric vehicles in the future. These are the Orion Township and Detroit-Hamtramck plants, both in Michigan.
Spring Hill is GM’s largest complex in North America. It produces the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 SUVs, the GMC Acadia, and engines that are used in trucks and SUVs. However, the Detroit Free Press reports that
Acadia production is slated to move from Spring Hill to the Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant in Michigan. It also notes that the Lyriq will be offered first in China before it is sold in the United States.
Volvo’s first electric
Early next year Volvo is poised to start selling its first all-electric vehicle to be offered in the United States. The XC40 Recharge P8 will be priced at $53,990 plus $995 for destination charges. The electric drivetrain is rated at 402 horsepower. Its range in EPA testing should be 208 miles. The XC40 Recharge P8 is priced below two logical competitors, the $71,000 Jaguar I-Pace and Audi E-tron Sportback, which lists for $66,995. It is still slightly more costly than the Tesla Model Y, which starts at $51,190. However, the Volvo is entitled to federal tax credits, which the Tesla no longer qualified for because Tesla has sold more than 200,000 electric vehicles in this country. By 2025 Volvo is aiming to have battery-powered vehicles make up half of its sales.
VW and IH?
Volkswagen Group has offered a
$3.7 billion bid in an effort to acquire Navistar International. Traton SE, the heavy truck division of Volkswagen AG, is offering $44.50 a share to complete the deal. However, a deal, if there is to be one, needs approval of the Volkswagen executive bodies and Navistar’s Board of Directors. Volkswagen, which already holds a 16.8 percent stake in Navistar, launched an effort to acquire the remaining Navistar shares in January, with an offer to buy those outstanding shares for $35. In September, VW upped the price of its bid to $43 a share.
Navistar is the latest iteration of the company that made International Harvester pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. This has prompted Automotive News to speculate as to new lines of vehicles that could place Volkswagen squarely in the hottest market segment in this country, pickup trucks. Volkswagen does offer an array of SUVs, but an International Harvester pickup truck would give Volkswagen an entry to a segment it does not address at this time. Such a pickup truck’s platform could also serve as the basis for a heavy-duty SUV.
Canadian autoworkers ratify FCA deal
Members of Unifor, the union that represents hourly workers in Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s Canadian plants, have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract. Those in favor represented 78 percent of union members who voted. Provisions include a five percent hourly wage hike, a $7,250 signing bonus, a $4,000 inflation bonus, and shift premiums. Also in the contract is a 20 percent wage differential for skilled trades.
Same plant, new name and mission
General Motors is renaming its DetroitHamtramck Assembly plant. It will now be known as Factory ZERO. The plant is on the border of Detroit and the Hamtramck township. The renaming is meant to draw attention to the plant’s new function, to serve as a “launchpad” for GM’s coming charge into the electric vehicle arena, a segment already served by the Chevrolet Bolt EV. By 2023, the plant, which has been referred to by GM’s executives as Factory Zero for some time, will build only electric vehicles. Making the conversion to electric vehicles will require a $2.2 billion investment. Previously, the plant built the Cadillac CT6 and Chevrolet Impala sedans.
Mercedes-Benz entering the super luxury SUV arena
Not to be outdone by Bentley and other makers of ultra luxury vehicles, MercedesBenz has announced that it will offer a Mercedes-Maybach GLS, a super luxury SUV.
The price of entry starts at $160,500. It is expected to arrive in the U.S. later this year. Power will come from a 4.0-liter biturbo V8 engine, with a 48-volt EQ boost that brings output to 550 horsepower and 538 poundfeet of torque. Mercedes-Benz claims that this SUV can reach 60 miles per hour in just 4.8 seconds.
Despite its exterior size, the passenger count is limited to four, with individual seats in the first and second rows, separated by a console. Those seats are individually heated, or cooled, with multicontour and massage functions. A five-passenger configuration will also be offered.
New land speed record
Step aside Bugatti and Koenigsegg. Both companies have held vehicle speed records for production cars in the past. Now SSC, a Washington state company few have heard of, has come along with a car – the Tuatara – that has captured that crown, as recorded by Guinness World Records. The run was made on October 10 on a stretch of Nevada Highway 160, which had been closed by authorities for the run. Driver Oliver Webb, age 29, drove the car in one direction reaching 301.07 miles per hour. On the second run in the opposite direction, he reached 331.15 miles per hour, creating a record of 316.11 miles per hour for a production car.
The run actually set three additional records: fastest flying mile on a public road at 313.12 mph, fastest flying kilometer on a public road at 321.35 mph, and highest speed achieved on a public road, 331.15 miles per hour. If you are interested in an SSC Tuatara, prepare to part with at least $400,000. The company plans to make just 100 of the vehicles over the next five years.
Ford has announced that certain 2019 to 2020 Ford Transit Connect vans have an engine issue that could lead to a fire. Vehicles with the 2.5-liter engine have software that may not provide for adequate cooling. This has resulted in the recall of 3,487 vans in the United States and Canada. In addition, some 2020 Ford Escape SUVs have tire pressure monitors that might not work correctly on the rear tires. This could produce handling problems if the rear tires on the 708 vehicles involved become severely under inflated. Finally, 2017 to 2020 Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500 models have daytime running lights that may not turn on properly. This affects 833 cars, which need a body control module software update to resolve the problem.