AUGUST 17, 2022

(Buick)
In an expanded collaboration with Hello Sunshine - the media company Oscar-winning actress and producer Reese Witherspoon founded with the mission of putting women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers - Buick has debuted its new “Dream with Us” brand campaign (voiced by Witherspoon), which envisions what life could look like for future vehicle owners. You can see Buick's Wildcat EV concept - which is featured in this new video - here.

(GMC images)
Calling it the "Official Vehicle of Nowhere" and the "most advanced midsize truck," GMC has introduced the 2023 GMC Canyon. Featuring a fully redesigned exterior with a standard factory lift and widened track across the lineup, a new premium suite of advanced technology and an all-new interior design, the next-generation Canyon is definitely a big step forward from previous models. The 2023 model year Canyon aslo introduces the Canyon AT4X option to its lineup. The AT4X sub-brand is GMC’s commitment to delivering serious off-road capability. First introduced on the 2022 Sierra, the AT4X trim has quickly become synonymous with robust off-road credibility. “GMC is flexing the might of our off-road muscle,” said GMC Global Vice President Duncan Aldred. “Canyon benefits from key learnings gained from our AT4 strategy to bring customers the most advanced off-road midsize truck.” The 2023 GMC Canyon will be the first midsize truck on the market to offer a suite of segment-first key features, including: Available underbody cameras, including front- and rear-facing views underneath the vehicle; Available Head-Up Display; Fully digital driver information center; Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and available Google Built-In (Google Automotive Services). Watch the intro video here. 

The AE Song of the Week:

Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin' everybody's in the play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day, hey hey

Runnin' down the avenue
See how the sun shines brightly in the city
On the streets where once was pity
Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey hey

Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race
A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin'
And today is the day we've waited for

Oh Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey there Mr. Blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Everybody smiles at you

Hey there Mr. Blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Everybody smiles at you

(Mr. Blue Sky, Mr. Blue Sky)
(Mr. Blue Sky)

Mr. Blue, you did it right
But soon comes Mr. Night creepin' over
Now his hand is on your shoulder
Never mind I'll remember you this
I'll remember you this way

Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey there Mr. Blue (sky)
We're so pleased to be with you (sky)
Look around see what you do (blue)
Everybody smiles at you

(Please turn me over)

"Mr. Blue Sky" by the Electric Light Orchestra, from the album "Out Of The Blue" (1977).* Written by Jeff Lynne. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC; Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch this video recorded at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park (2014) here.

*This song closes the side of the Out Of The Blue album known as "Concerto For A Rainy Day." The lyric is suitably uplifting, following the concept of a rainy day that comes to an end. On a BBC Radio interview, ELO leader Jeff Lynne talked about how he came up with this song after he locked himself away in a Swiss chalet attempting to write ELO's follow-up to A New World Record. "It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote 'Mr. Blue Sky' and 13 other songs in the next two weeks." Jeff Lynne has a "blue" streak: Other songs he wrote for ELO include "Out of the Blue" and "Midnight Blue." Lynne is from the Birmingham area in England, where the Birmingham Football Club is called the Birmingham Blues. The "blues" in these songs are in some way a tribute to his team. The synthesized voice at the end of the song sings "please turn me over" because in the old days when we used to listen to our music on vinyl, we had to turn the record over to hear the other side. Jeff Lynne was quite pleased with this song: "It captured what my vision of ELO was all about," he said. All the bits that come in and out, the backing vocals, the cellos sliding, all the little naughty bits, the sound effects, everything is exactly what i imagined ELO to be." (Quotes from Hi-Fi News & Record Review, 2014.)  Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy of ELO performed this song with Ed Sheeran at the Grammy Awards in 2015. ELO, which never won a Grammy, had returned to action in 2014 with the concert at Hyde Park in London. "Mr. Blue Sky" was one of the first songs Lynne wrote for Out Of The Blue in Switzerland. He recalled in the 2018 book Wembley Or Bust:  "We'd hired all this gear out of a music shop in Geneva and we drove up to the mountain chalet where we were staying and set it all up. There was a lovely little pub about half a mile away from the chalet, it was a great atmosphere, and a nice little country location. Nobody knew who the hell anybody was, and it was just great fun to be there. The lyrics to 'Mr. Blue Sky' are simple and easy to visualize. When the song is playing, you can picture everything that's going on and everybody knows what I'm talking about. It's the thought of, 'Oh, isn't it nice when the sun comes out?' And you know, it really is. 'The sky is blue, wow, what a thing.' It's a simple kid's story." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG