G. David Felt

While some cars have grabbed my attention, nothing long term yet and I will say I am very blah on GM products as well as everyone else. Blazer has so much potential and so much wasted. XT6 is nice but could have been so much more. RIght now I am really hoping for a proper execution on the Cadillac EV CUV. If it was available today, it would be right there with the Rivian R1S if it was also available today. Right now just have to wait and see.

Stick a Fork in it!

I am making the assumption that it passed emissions when new but as it ages it fails to keep doing the job and as such they have retested and found this out and so are now going to replace the cats to get it back into compliance. I honestly did not read the full story so going based on what you posted. I am thinking glass half full, so they are being proactive in testing older auto's upon having a complaint made.

Nice looking car and the interior is top notch. Based on the info, I would say this is a crash and done solution. I suspect to have the auto absorb all the energy in an impact to protect the passenger compartment that you would have Unibody structure damage beyond repair.

Plus they are still assembling Model 3's in tents too. I think Tesla needs another assembly plant to handle their current sales and future with the Model-Y as I expect it to go on pre-order come the tomorrows reveal. I would not be Surprised to have Tesla start taking $1,000 pre-orders for it.

DOH, Yup I missed that too. WoW talk about deceiving.

Agreed, you build a single engine that can have multiple different personalities based on the software profile loaded into the auto control boards. This would allow very nice clear differences on HP / Torque or in this case kW / nM allowing for a true difference in buying a Chevrolet over a Cadillac as one example. Yet with the simplified platforms / powertrains the automation building will need servicing. Kinda like the WIlly Wonka Chocolate factory where the father lost his job only to get a new one doing the service on the automation machines.

The Future is going to be less physical jobs at auto companies for EV's. Yet the more robotics are used in auto assembly, the more maintenance / repair techs will be needed. Where one job is lost, another is usually created. This is good news and understandable. Re-Education of job training will be a reality for auto workers.

I get that they are trying to hit the MPG drum, but there should be a save option for those of us that do not care about being in 2wd mode all the time. I think most people know that a smart AWD system will cost some fuel efficiency.

Good for them, that is great to be proactive.

Very True, but just knowing that the system has the ability to have that Torque is Awesome along with Torque Vectoring. I truly believe that many people will jump to EV's once they test drive them and see the driving dynamics that are great! This on top of the ease of refueling at home, always full tank (battery charge) and less maintenance as many people prefer to NOT have to plan for maintenance that we have today on ICE auto's.

Canada is cheap compared to the US right now.

Makes me think another auto company could be buying it. Tesla could sure benefit from a real assembly line for their products. I wonder about a few other EV startups that might want a move in and tweak assembly line to build. China auto company also could end up buying it. Interesting times we live in.

@Cmicasa the Great I have to agree that choice is always good. I used to say F*#K Start / Stop but just finished having a new 2019 XT5 on loan while my auto was in for service and the start / stop feature was bloody smooth compared to years earlier where it was very rough and noticeable. In regards to the GM AWD system, GM used to have a major ownership in Subaru and their AWD system was a clone of that up till bankruptcy. Not sure how much it has changed since then, but I can say that the AWD system is excellent. My pet peeve is that on the XT5 default is auto sense for basic FWD/AWD when slippage is detected. You can go into sport or luxury mode. I might just not know how to have it set for that as the new default, but after turning the car off it went back to the normal setting. Hopefully Cadillac will change this, I like AWD all the time.

Smartest thing VW could do is move their global product line to EV and Hybrid ASAP! If US brands do not get a move on, I could end up buying a german label EV. Very Cool

Just think that is for FWD mode, if they applied the AWD you would have dual motors ending up with 320HP and 5162 lb-ft of torque with Torque Vectoring. That would make those Jeep Renegades destroy every ubber high end ICE performance auto. Ferrari, Lambo, etc. could not touch it. AWESOME

Sure there is, you had an Italian leader that has built nothing but crap build a piss poor 48 volt hybrid crap system into the Ram that performs poorly on MPG, so yes Italian garbage.

Poorly designed and you get poor results. They rushed it and they have egg on their face. This does not mean it does not offer other benefits such as better torque from zero over ICE only.

Of the 6 Chevrolet dealers in the Greater Seattle area, they have a total of 21 blazers and of those 21, 8 are RS models from $50,765 to $51,160. The dates on them all range from 2 to 3 weeks sitting, so I would have to say they are not moving that fast, but then only a couple weeks old here.

While not everyone will like them, at least they are different than the bland coupe everywhere cars we have now.

Walking home from the bus after work and saw someone had this skylark sadly stored. ?

Shell New Energies agrees to acquire Sonnen Group, a leader in smart energy storage systems and a pioneer of clean technologies, decentralized and connected energy systems. Sonnen is an award winning leader and one of the fastest growing tech companies from Germany. Sonnen has won awards for their virtual battery system that is based on residential storage systems, sonnen offers new and highly innovative energy services for grid providers and customers. Sonnen has their products available for sale in Germany, Italy, UK, Australia and the USA. Shell is announcing that they will be spending between $1 to $2 billion this year on commercial opportunities. Sonnen technology will allow Shell New Energies to grow and expand both residential and commercial opportunities along with their service station installation of charging systems where Sonnen will be the energy storage system of choice. Just as Shell acquired Greenlots, this is another arrow in Shell's arsenal of technology in the changing auto fueling business. The ability to have smart storage to deal with fueling of the future auto's of the world. This purchase gives Shell New Energies a singles stop solution for the electric auto industry commercial to small business and for personal off the grid living. You can find more on what Shell New Energies is doing here at their website Shell New Energies. Shell New Energies Press Sonnen

Your probably thinking, did I read the teaser right? Did it really say 2,581 lb-ft of torque or 3,500 NM from a 160 horsepower or 120 kW motor with torque vectoring? Yes, Yes you did! GKN Automotive is proud to unveil the world's first battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a two-speed transmission and torque vectoring. GTD19 demonstrator vehicle is built from a Jeep Renegade and is currently in Arjeplog, Sweden undergoing winter testing. To prove the industry-leading standards of efficiency, safety and driving dynamics in this BEV model, GKN choose to go with a FWD version where torque vectoring can provide noticeable benefits than in a rear wheel drive or all-wheel drive platform. To Quote GKN: Why a two-speed gearbox? The setup in the GTD19 is engineered to ensure the shifts are seamless, with minimal loss of power and torque while providing faster acceleration and higher top speed with improved efficiency. What is the top speed you ask? The eTwinsterX allows a top speed of 155 mph or 250 kph. To quote Hannes Prenn, COO of GKN ePowertrain: The all new eTwinster powertrain can be easily adapted and integrated into existing vehicle platform for FWD, RWD or AWD configurations. Twinster torque vectoring delivers swift and smooth acceleration while providing greater lateral control and optimized driving dynamics. GKN has stated their eTwinster system is smaller than many equivalent systems from competitors allowing it to be easily integrated into existing vehicle plate forms as they did with the GTD19 replacing it's ICE powertrain. The small size allowed GKN to install in place of the ICE, the complete solution of electric motor, inverter controls, eAxle along with all required cabling leading to a very thin battery pack underneath the GTD19. GKN system integration allows them to offer the eTwinster powertrain as a readily adaptable solution for all types of auto's from all-wheel drive hypercars to plug-in hybrid luxury SUVs to entry-level city cars. If you have ever been in a Range Rover Evoque Hybrid, then you have already experienced the Twinster system as it can be added to the Hybrid solution with the Twinster unit in the back helping to improve the dynamics and calibration of the auto. This GKN solution will also show up in the Opel Insignia. To quote GKN: Where else will you see this amazing system that was the number one hybrid / electric vehicle system shown at the Geneva Auto show this year is in the BMW M3 Concept, Volvo XC90 demonstrator which will be paired with the T8 Twin Engine Plug-in Hybrids as well as Mercedes-Benz AMB GLA45 prototype. View full article

Agreed, right now voice truly sucks, but if they could get it to work without having to touch your phone then I would be up for that.