Car FYI

GMC 8000-Pound Electric Truck Taken from 1914 Advertisement in The Saturday Evening Post   Last year, General Motors’ truck division literally generated a buzz of electricity in the air by the announcement of the HUMMER EV . The GMC brand’s trucks and vans have been typically propelled to internal combustion engines running on gasoline or diesel fuel but the changing tides of modern transportation is resulting in the introduction of the high-profile battery electric vehicle with up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque on tap. The GMC HUMMER EV is on track to be a very important product for realigning the public’s attitude of what a tough truck could be in a world in a transition away from fuel-burning engines. However, while the HUMMER EV will make an impact on altering the way we’ll see GMC when initial models end up on driveways in 2022, the sale will not be the first time the truck marque sold fully electric vehicles. Interestingly enough, electric powe...

Photo Credit: Cadillac untitled   Two days after the completion of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans where the World Endurance Championship (WEC) sports car series’ Hypercar class made its first run at the Circuit de la Sarthe , a major player provided confirmation for their intentions to produce a challenger for the North American equivalent of the competitive racing class. Competing as a manufacturer in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Weathertech SportsCar Championship since 2017, Cadillac is looking forward into 2023 with a new car for an eagerly awaited LMDh category. Providing only a single image of their successor to their DPi-V.R race car, Cadillac has pledged to work with race car chassis developer Dallara as well as IMSA competitors Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing in having a new vehicle ready to take the grid for the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Cadillac LMDh-V.R. prototype features an aggressive body shape that contai...

Photo Credit: General Motors 1980s television show Knight Rider gave audiences a likable impression of a vehicle controlled by a computer-based artificial intelligence that had seemed futuristic until recent years. In a new partnership between General Motors and IBM, we really have to wonder if our connected automobiles may evolve into our own personal K.I.T.T. by the end of 2017. Set to be available on two million General Motors automobiles with OnStar 4G LTE connectivity, enhanced driver management and productivity functions inside a vehicle's cabin will be made possible through the Watson cognitive mobility platform. Becoming OnStar Go, the new connected in-car technology will provide users with a greater level of efficiency as the system adjusts to personal preferences. Working alongside other corpororate partners Mastercard, ExxonMobil, iHeartRadio Parkopedia and Glympse, the Watson-aided OnStar Go can provide services to operators at a near instant. Traffic informatio...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy On International Women’s Day, it was prudent for Car FYI to recognize the many contributions of women to the auto industry. As a piece of complex machinery with no discrimination of gender itself, it is disheartening to note how past praise and innovation of automobiles have centred around men. Looking back into history, Karl Benz’s wife Bertha ultimate undertook the automobile’s first major publicity trip and endurance test. She was also instrumental in the financing of the automobile patent but could not be recognized in connections to due to her standing as a married woman in German law. With regards to the other half of Mercedes-Benz, the Mercedes name was derived from a customer of Gottieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. When it comes to vehicle design, the female influence on automobiles is a complicated story. In cases when men tried to identify with women, a laughable result was the 1955 and 1956 Dodge LaFemme that were even insultingly sexist fo...

A compact car that delivered a big gain for General Motors, the Cruze finally gave the American-based automaker an economy car that would go one-on-one with global leaders such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla or the Ford Focus. An intense dedication to solid engineering and safety (including ten standard airbags) has made the car a proud, solid transition that replaced 15 other compact cars in the worldwide General Motors portfolio prior to 2008. As well as attempting to foster a better image of compact cars under Chevrolet in North America, the Cruze has actively been involved in building the global impression for the brand in markets Chevrolet wasn't previously a household name. As of mid-2015, over 3.5 million Cruze compact cars have been sold worldwide On June 24th, the second-generation Chevrolet Cruze is set to make its debut. Promising a larger yet lighter version of the economy car, the 2016 model year Cruze pledges to build on the suc...

At the beginning of the week, General Motors Canada and the Ontario provincial government gathered stood happily together as the Canadian subsidiary of the major automaker pledged to add 100 high-tech jobs to their Oshawa-based engineering centre. Following the optimistic news in regards to their Engineering Centre , General Motors Canada capped off the work week on a somber note. Resulting from the auto company's decision to move production of the Chevrolet Camaro from the Oshawa Assembly Plant to Lansing, Michigan, the fate of approximately 1,000 of the total 3,600 hourly positions was confirmed with job loss. Unfortunate for Canadian auto workers for General Motors, Oshawa area as well as indirect employment positions dependent on consumer income from the area plant workers, the news did not come as a surprise. It was in December of 2012 that General Motors mentioned moving production to the Chevrolet Camaro south of the border. While not...

The economic climate in Oshawa has been rather unsettled in recent years. The Canadian city's long-time main employer General Motors has been mum on their plans for the Oshawa Assembly Plant as future production remains uncertain. Providing some relief to Oshawa, General Motors Canada today announced a significant investment into their Engineering Centre. Pledging a new mandate related to the development of connected car systems, environmental and urban mobility solutions, General Motors Canada formalized plans that will lead to more than 100 new jobs in the software and controls engineering sector. Choosing their Canadian Engineering Centre as a innovation hub for future technologies in the automotive industry, General Motors Canada also fortified their support for the cold-weather testing facility in Kapuskasing, Ontario (located approximately a hundred kilometers north of Timmins). The Canadian En...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The future of General Motors production in Canada has been a topic of rumours for the past months. Through this time, we have awaiting some indication from the auto company that Canadian manufacturing would still be a component in their corporate direction. There has been so many negative signs that the subsidiary created by R.S. McLaughlin in the early 20th century could idle their manufacturing intentions in the country after 2016. Production of the Chevrolet Camaro is destined end at Oshawa Car Assembly after this year as assembly shifts to the company's Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan. The Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala and Buick Regal are also produced on Oshawa's flexible assembly line by General Motors of Canada for the interim but there's skepticism on whether the current vehicle capacity will warrant giving the plant open, unless other vehicle is added...

Entering the new year, General Motors of Canada will have a new President and Managing Director. Appointed to the job on November 20th, Woodstock, Ontario-born Stephen K. Carlisle will become the leading influence of the large automaker's Canadian arm. Carlisle's assignment in his birth country comes after a some high-ranking globetrotting with the company. A Canadian born and raised individual who earned an bachelor of applied science degree in systems design engineering from the University of Waterloo, Stephen Carlisle has also acquired a master's degree in business administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999. Carlisle's work history with General Motors started in 1982 as a co-op student at the Oshawa Truck Assembly Centre. In 1986, Stephen Carlisle was assigned to advanced manufacturing engineering at the Oshawa operations during a time it underwent massive retooling for updated Chevrolet and GMC picku...

In writing my last post on 2015 model year vehicles that have undergone Canadian safety recalls in 2014, I noticed one group of vehicles from General Motors have endured the roughest exit from the starting gate. Going by the Tahoe and Suburban name wearing the Chevrolet nameplate, Yukon and Yukon XL when fitted to GMC badged vehicles or as the Escalade and Escalade ESV with Cadillac, five separate safety recalls have been issued relating to products built on the new truck-based sport utility vehicle (SUV) platform. Important to note these potential safety issues have or are being addressed by General Motors promptly, multiple recall notices are clearly not the way an auto company wants to welcome new buyers. This first recall in Canada affecting Chevrolet and GMC variations of the new SUV  came this past March relating to the six-speed automatic transmission. It was a concern that the transmission cooler lines w...

For years, it was rumoured that Cadillac wanted to build a super luxury sedan. A car built to feature the very peak of Cadillac's American-derived pursuit for lavish motoring, the proposed vehicle would likely be found with a six-figure price tag and face rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW head-on in the top-tier four-door market. More than a decade ago, the Cadillac Sixteen concept car teased the world for what a car from the General Motors premium brand may look like. Despite the intrigue to the idea, the plan has been nothing but a fairy tale story; that is until this week when General Motors delivered a major announcement regarding future vehicle production. On Friday, General Motors formally declared that a new high-end Cadillac will become an addition to the luxury vehicle line-up for the near future. A rear-wheel drive sedan to be built on unique vehicle architecture, the new car promises to involve "custom-designed materials". Without delivering an...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Members within a group that now totals hundreds of thousands of Canadians, auto workers are receiving a well-earned day off for Canada Day. Numerous automobile production facilities in Canada are recognized on a global scale for building solid vehicles. In 2014, Canada has entered its 115th year of major automobile production. Ford Motor Company is the longest, continuous foreign partner for manufacturing vehicles north of the 49th parallel closing in on 110 years. Besides the major auto companies, this country contains a bundle of hardworking suppliers. After 115 years, the presence of major auto companies in Canada has been a source of pride but also a threatened occupation. There has been some sources of optimism For reflection this Canada Day, I have decided to show off the major auto companies' existence in our great country. Just one quick thing I would like to make clear...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The so-called Polar Vortex mixed up the Canadian automobile sales during the first month of 2014. A cold, snowy weather is believed to have kept car buyers at home in January from some dealerships while others posted modest gains. According to Automotive News, a total of 95,639 vehicles were sold in Canada during January 2014. Compared to 2013, the start indicates a modest 0.3 percent growth. The overall sales results were influenced by a dip in car sales and a healthy rise in truck sales; not surprising based the weather affecting the country. The winners in first month Canadian auto sales of 2014 is Chrysler, Toyota and Honda. Chrysler car and truck sales showed a healthy climb of roughly four percent apiece. The expanded Fiat brand in North America is proving to be well-received accounting for 596 vehicles (an 82 percent jump over January 2013). The Dodge Grand Caravan remains popular in Canada selling nine pe...