APRIL 7, 2021

(GM)
General Motors will expand its EV repertoire by building a battery-powered Chevrolet Silverado at its "Factory ZERO" electric vehicle plant in downtown Detroit. Not a conversion of the existing Silverado architecture, this new pickup is expected to use the same vehicle architecture underpinning the new GMC HUMMER EV and HUMMER EV SUV, and will be powered by GM's proprietary Ultium batteries. The estimated range on the top version of the new Silverado EV pickup will be 400 miles on a full charge, according to GM. The exact production plan wasn't revealed, but late 2022/early 2023 is the likely in-market date.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Some readers took great umbrage with the fact that I criticized VW operatives for the April Fool's "stunt" last week, pointing out that I have created April Fool's columns in the past, and that it was somehow disingenuous for me to be critical of VW. Yes, two of my more memorable columns have occurred on April Fool's day, but there is a fundamental difference between me doing an April Fool's column and a major auto manufacturer - one with a cargo ship-load of negative baggage - doing a stunt of this scope. This just in, I am not a major auto manufacturer with shareholders and the accompanying responsibilities that come with that. VW is the company, after all, that is still reeling from the DieselGate fiasco, when it purposely rigged its Diesel-powered cars to cheat on the EPA emissions testing procedure in order to pass the test, resulting in hundreds of thousands of cars being driven around that exceeded emissions standards. The VW Group did this, all the while touting - and heavily marketing - its "clean diesels" as if they had figured out what other automakers couldn't, or wouldn't, do. As it turns out, it was all a lie, and because of it VW has paid $40 billion - and counting - to settle lawsuits and damage claims resulting from the most egregious and calculated fraud in automotive history. Read that last sentence back to yourself slowly, if it isn't somehow resonating with you. The word as to why this "joke" happened is that VW operatives were feeling slighted by all the publicity that other automakers were getting for their EV vehicle plans, and they wanted to get attention for their efforts to go fully-EV by the end of this decade. Well, they got attention all right, the wrong kind. My informal polling with colleagues in the auto media suggests that this "stunt" has backfired, and in a big way too. VW is now not only mistrusted, it is flat-out loathed, and these working professionals aren't going to forget this anytime soon. VW operatives may have had a few ha-ha laughs over this - they're desperately trying to downplay the negatives associated with the prank now - but make no mistake, it was dumbassery to the first degree. Memo to Scott Keough, VW CEO: Judging by your "post-prank" comments, when you saw nothing wrong with what happened and you told Automotive News that you'd do it again, hubris is a disease with auto company CEOs; too bad there's not a vaccine for it. -PMD

(GMC HUMMER EV images)
GMC’s 2024 HUMMER EV SUV made its debut during the NCAA’s Final Four broadcast in a new commercial film narrated by LeBron James. Those interested can watch the reveal and place a reservation at GMC.com/HummerEV. Powered General Motors’ next-generation Ultium Platform, the new HUMMER EV SUV launches with the exclusive Edition 1, offering customer choice to equip the vehicle for optimal driving range or maximum off-road capability. Edition 1 comes standard with 22-inch premium wheels, assist steps and floor liners. The available Extreme Off-Road package adds 18-inch wheels and 35-inch-OD MT tires, underbody armor and rock sliders, front eLocker and virtual rear lockers, heavy-duty ball-spline half shafts, UltraVision with underbody camera views and more. Expected best-in-class off-road proportions will help make the new SUV maneuverable, while also making the most of the HUMMER EV’s available signature features such as CrabWalk, Extract Mode and more. The SUV’s rear design includes a mounted full-size spare tire. Inside, a similar five-passenger layout from the pickup remains, and includes a large and useful rear cargo area. Additional stuff: 

• GM’s Ultium Drive System offers up to 830HP and up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque (GM estimated) — enabling 0-60-mph sprints in approximately 3.5 seconds with Watts To Freedom. 
  
• The 126.7-inch wheelbase is expected to give it impressive departure and breakover angles, and a tighter turning circle of only 35.4 feet (10.8 meters) with 4 Wheel Steer standard on 2X, 3X and Edition 1.
• The interior includes customizable, multi-sensory user features and an open driving experience with the standard Infinity Roof with removable Sky Panels, I-Bar and rear drop glass.
• The 20-module Ultium battery system offers up to a GM-estimated 300-plus miles of range on Edition 1 (with standard equipment).

Additionally, all HUMMER EV SUV models feature the enhanced version of Super Cruise, an available driver-assistance technology offering hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles of enabled roads, and a new automatic lane changing feature, where the system can determine when a lane change is optimal and initiate the maneuver, while following signaling protocols. When production begins in early 2023, the HUMMER EV SUV Edition 1 will have a starting MSRP of $105,595. When equipped with the available Extreme Off-Road Package, the starting price will be $110,595. The standard HUMMER EV SUV, which comes one year later, will have a starting MSRP of $79,995.

AE Song of the Week:

I got my driver's license last week
Just like we always talked about
'Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today I drove through the suburbs
Crying 'cause you weren't around

And you're probably with that blonde girl
Who always made me doubt
She's so much older than me
She's everything I'm insecure about
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
'Cause how could I ever love someone else?

And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
Guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I do, yeah
Today I drove through the suburbs
And pictured I was driving home to you

And I know we weren't perfect
But I've never felt this way for no one, oh
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay, now that I'm gone
I guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

Red lights, stop signs
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards
Can't drive past the places we used to go to
'Cause I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Sidewalks we crossed
I still hear your voice in the traffic, we're laughing
Over all the noise
God, I'm so blue, know we're through
But I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay, now that I'm gone
'Cause you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

"Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo from the yet to be titled album (2021)*; written by Daniel Nigro and Olivia Rodrigo; Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing lLC; Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Video here.

*Olivia Rodrigo is an American actress and singer who made her name in a couple of Disney series. Her breakthrough role was Paige Olvera on Bizaardvark, and she then played Nini Salazar-Roberts on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (the Gabriella of the original show). Rodrigo recorded several songs for HSM: The Musical: The Series, including the hit single "All I Want," which she also wrote.  Rodrigo signed with Geffen Records in 2020 and released her debut single as an independent artist, "Drivers License," on January 8, 2021. Rodrigo wrote the raw lyrics after breaking up with her boyfriend. The two used to talk about how excited they'd be when she passed her driving test and could drive to his home. Now she is aimlessly riding through the LA suburbs with her newly christened "driver's license," longing for her ex. "When I came up with 'drivers license,' I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted," Rodrigo explained. "Putting all those feelings into a song made everything seem so much simpler and clearer - and at the end of the day, I think that's really the whole purpose of songwriting. There's nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It's truly my favorite thing in the world." Olivia's fans believe the subject of this lovelorn ballad is her HSM co-star Joshua Bassett, who she dated during the filming of the show in 2019 before splitting in early 2020.

And you're probably with that blonde girl

Who always made me doubt

She's so much older than me

She's everything I’m insecure about

Olivia first posted a snippet of the song on her Instagram July 23, 2020, a fortnight after rumors started that Bassett was dating Sabrina Carpenter. The Girl Meets World actress has blonde hair and is four years older than Olivia. Did you spot the incorrect grammar in the title - the song name should read "Driver's License." Rodrigo admitted to Vogue the error was her bad. "Oh, my gosh. I definitely got that wrong," she said. "I also put a double negative in the song when I say, 'I've never felt this way for no one,' which is completely grammatically incorrect. The song is all over the place [laughs]." Rodrigo wrote the song with the track's producer Dan Nigro. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)