Important Innovations

  Concept Designed by Buick & Shanghai based SAIC-GM                                                                                         Source:  Buick Range of 410 Miles on a Charge Buick just unveiled in China the new Buick Electra EV, an electric crossover concept car designed by Buick and its Shanghai-based partner SAIC-GM.  The vehicle has an advanced Ultium battery with a range of 410 miles on a single charge. The dual powertrain delivers 583 horsepower.  Automotive experts say the concept vehicle signals Buick's new design direction. Space Age Inspired With Unique Technology Buick says the vehicle's design is inspired by a space capsule.  It has four butterfly doors and a hidden floating skateboard under the rear bumper that provides another alternative green way to travel. What's Next For Electra? Buick says the Electra concept represents its goal to bring together zero emissions, beautiful styling and intelligent connectivity.  It's not clear if or when

  Unprecedented Amount of New Energy Innovation                             Source:  SAIC-GM MINI EV, SAIC (lower) Hydrogen, Electric, Hybrid Vehicles China's biggest automaker SAIC Motors plans to introduce an unprecedented 100 new energy models with its partners by 2025.  The new energy vehicles include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.  The hydrogen and battery electric will have zero emissions.  60 of the new energy models will be SAIC's own brands.  10 will be hydrogen and 20 plug-in hybrid models.   Beijing International Auto Show The announcement was made by SAIC President Wang Xiaoqui while the Beijing International Auto Show is underway. It is the first large, in-person global auto show since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.  SAIC partners with Volkswagen and GM, both of which have big plans for selling electric vehicles in China, which is the world's largest auto market. The GM-SAIC partnership has already resulted in th

  GM CEO Mary Barra Very Interested in Building Flying Cars                                                Source:  Terrafugia Flying Car Concept Growth in Aerial Urban Transport Fascinating news from GM CEO Mary Barra.  GM has an interest in the flying car market.  They're particularly interested in the aerial taxi market. At a RBC conference, CEO Barra said electric flying cars fit in with GM's development of electric vehicles and its Ultium advanced electric battery business.  Barra said the strength and flexibility of GM's Ultium battery systems open doors for GM that include aerial mobility. eVTOLs GM is specifically interested in building electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles or eVTOLs.  These vehicles use electric motors rather than jet engines.  The vehicles take off and land like a helicopter and don't need airport runways.  When regulations permit, eVTOLs will be able to takeoff from driveways.  To quote GM, urban air mobility is an area "we'

  GM Has #1 Electric Vehicle in China Source:  GM's MINI EV That #1 China EV Seller GM Just Inked a Deal with E-Truck Maker Nikola Two big surprises from GM.  Its micro electric vehicle made by GM's Chinese joint venture is the #1 selling electric vehicle in China.  It sold 15,000 cars in August beating Tesla's 11,800 Model 3 sedans. Hongguang MINI EV The model is called the Hongguang MINI EV.  It's a two-door micro-mini EV that was launched this past July by the joint venture between GM, SAIC Motor Corporation and SGMW.  The starting price is very low at $4,200.  That price is less than 10% of the cost of Tesla's Model 3. Nikola-GM Deal Meanwhile, Wall Street is cheering news that GM and electric truck startup Nikola will join forces to build electric pickup trucks and commercial trucks powered by fuel cells.  Their intent is to compete hard against Tesla's e-trucks.  GM has taken an 11% stake in Nikola, which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.  The stake is

Electric Goals for 12 New Models on the Market  by 2023 Source:  GM Chevy Bolt EV  Cadillac Leading the Way GM is launching a dozen, brand new, electric vehicles by 2023.  The new EV's are coming from a number of its divisions, including Chevrolet. But,  first and foremost is Cadillac, which for GM is leading the electric, zero emissions driving way of the future. e-SUV's Two Cadillac electric SUV's will be the first to launch, followed by the GMC Hummer electric pickup truck that was teased in an ad during the 2020 Super Bowl. 2023 Next are three more Cadillac EV's and six Chevrolet, Buick or GMC EV's by 2023.  GM's plans were unveiled during a Wall Street analyst meeting in February.  The EV's will join GM's growing lineup of hybrid and all electric vehicles including their all electric bikes, the Meld and the Merge that can be purchased in The Netherlands and Belgium. Designed to Be Profitable GM CEO Mary Barra says,

Hummer EV Pickup Truck for Sale 2021 Source:  GM Front Bumper of Hummer EV Gas Guzzler No More At tonight's 2020 Super Bowl Game 54, GM is unveiling a comeback version of the Hummer that is all-electric.  It's a battery powered electric Hummer EV pickup truck that will be teased in a :30 ad featuring basketball star LeBron James.  The Hummer EV will be officially unveiled in May 2020 and go on sale in September 2021.  This is another big GM electric vehicle bet. CEO Mary Barra believes that the future of driving is electric. Technology Details The pickup's battery is huge.  It's capable of generating 1,000 horsepower and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds.  It also has a high towing capability.  GM hasn't disclosed the price or how far the EV can go on a single charge.  And, the only image that GM has provided so far is the front bumper area of the EV as shown in the picture above. Electrifying Competition The electric pic

GM Investing in Ride Sharing Source:  GM GM's Cruise Origin Cars are expensive to buy, insure, park, fuel and maintain.  They pour tremendous amounts of pollution into the air, globally on a daily basis.  Personal vehicles have low utilization  rates.  For all of those reasons and more, GM is moving to capitalize on a significant, alternative driving trend for the near future: ride sharing. California Cruising GM's self driving subsidiary Cruise just unveiled its new vehicle Origin in San Francisco.  Origin is a new, ride sharing shuttle that can carry up to six passengers.  It's all-electric, totally autonomous and specifically designed for ride sharing.  For GM, this is a mass production vehicle as they believe the market potential for it is big.  The vehicle has no steering wheel and no pedals.  The vehicle is a new and additional business model for GM.  The company has petitioned US transportation officials for approval to deploy it on US roads. 

Driving With No Hands & No Human Control Source:  GM CEO Mary Barra with Cruise Autonomous Car Computers in the Driver's Seat GM is engaged in talks with the US National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) to secure permission to deploy a limited number of steering wheel-less, fully autonomous cars on US roads.  The cars are designed to be totally autonomous with no steering wheel and no human controls. Essentially, computers are in the driver's seat. GM believes this could make for safer driving and less accidents.  The head of the NHSA has confirmed that the Agency is doing due diligence on the GM request. New Automated Piloting Systems The federal agency expects to make a decision on the request by early 2020.  It also will make a judgement on a petition by the driverless delivery service Nuro to deploy a limited number of low speed, delivery trucks with no humans onboard.  These highly automated piloting systems for road vehicles and also for ai

Electric Ford F-150 Pickup Source:  Ford F-series Electric Truck Prototype Assembled in Michigan for 2021 Ford is investing in electric vehicles in a very big way.  A few weeks ago, it unveiled to rave review the Ford Mustang all-electric SUV, the Mach-E.  Today, Ford made good on a promise to electrify its highly popular F-150 pickup truck and to do so in its Michigan assembly plants with production likely in 2021. UAW Contract As part of its 4 year agreement with the UAW ratified in November 2019, Ford is pouring $6 billion into US plants for the production of electric and hybrid versions of the F-150 pickup along with autonomous vehicles and other products.  Ford is also adding nearly 3,000 jobs to its Michigan workforce. 2021 Big Year For Ford, the first autonomous vehicles will be completed in Michigan starting in 2021.  The fully electric F-150 pickup will come shortly after that.  This is part of Ford's $11.5 billion investment toward global electrified vehic

One of the World's Largest:  $2.3 Billion EV Battery Plant for Lordstown, Ohio Source:  GM Electric Cadillac GM and South Korea's LG Chem Joint Venture GM and South Korea's LG Chem are investing $2.3 billion to build an electric vehicle battery cell plant in the Lordstown area of Ohio, USA.  The plant will be one of the world's largest EV battery cell producing plants.  GM and LG Chem will break ground for the new facility in mid-2020 and the new plant will create 1100 jobs at the start of operations. The companies say this plant will be flexible enough to respond to rapid changes in EV battery technology needs.  Those needs are accelerating with demand for greater range on less charge times, advancing with electric car technology and they are very expensive. GM CEO Mary Barra's Electric Vehicle Commitment This is a very significant investment.  GM CEO Mary Barra believes that the future of driving is electric.  The lack of lithium-ion bat

Betting Big on Electric Vehicles Driv ing to an All Electric Market Over the next five years, GM CEO Mary Barra expects to spend more money on research, development and selling electric vehicles than gas powered cars.  She also thinks the production of electric cars will be less labor intensive than gas powered vehicles.  GM has 20 electric models in the pipeline that will be on the market in 2023.  Barra believes the future of driving and the future for GM is fully electric. UAW Contract:  No Limits on Electric Vehicles CEO Mary Barra shared her vision of the future of electric vehicles with the Wall Street analyst community.  She forecasts that electric vehicles will start becoming an increasingly larger part of the sales mix by 2030.  Barra just signed a labor contract with the UAW union that is concerned about its membership losing jobs because of the less labor intensive manufacturing of electric vehicles.  However, the new UAW contract does not limit the number of electri

Controlling Your Dashboard - New Big Tech War Source:  GM Embedding Google Tech in 3.6 Million Cars Yearly GM has selected Google Technology to be embedded in their vehicles starting in 2021.  The win for Google is huge.  Their tech could be installed in 3.6 million GM vehicles yearly.  The Google technology will power navigation and provide voice-activated controls.  It will also deliver expanded infotainment functions.  Google beat Amazon for this deal which is part of a big, emerging race among technology companies to control vehicle dashboards. Google Apps Onboard GM Vehicles Google Assistant, Google Maps and other applications will be available through the Google Play App Store for all GM brands.  The first brands with built-in Google technology will roll in 2021 with more to come.  The one market this won't be available in is China, as of right now. Amazon Versus Google This Google win was a big defeat for Amazon which is trying to sell its rival

Airless Tires - No Flats, No Blowouts Source:  Michelin New Innovation from Michelin and GM The Uptis is a non-inflating replacement for traditional air inflated vehicle tires.  It's a new innovation created by a Michelin - GM partnership.  The companies say the new prototype tire eliminates the risk of blowouts and flats.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: E-Friendly, Airless Tires : Michelin & GM Innovation Partnership Source:  Michelin The Uptis - Reinventing Tires The Uptis is a non-inflating replacement fo...