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GM’s Charlie Wilson was right: Stronger regulations can help U.S. automakers

Charlie Wilson had been the president and CEO of General Motors before being nominated to become secretary of defense by Dwight Eisenhower. During his Senate confirmation hearings, he controversially said, "For years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa." And he was right. While car companies aren't necessarily the most progressive when it comes to things that might have the slightest possibility of political blowback, General Motors should be credited for doing something absolutely forthright in this regard with its announcement that it wants the federal U.S. government not to squash the California Air Resources Board's emissions requirements but to actually create a 50-state "National Zero Emissions Vehicle" program that, in the words of Mark Reuss, executive vice president and president, Global Product Group and Cadillac, "will drive the scale and infrastructure investments needed to allow the U.S. to lead the way to a zero emission future." Filing comments to the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks is one thing. But a graphic the company developed for this announcement — shown above — is something else entirely, something that is absolutely credible, creative and clever. There is a photo of a Chevrolet Bolt EV driving along a highway, which seems to be in Marin County (based on the blurred San Francisco skyline in the background). Text on the photo states: "It's Time for American Leadership in Zero Emissions Vehicles." It seems to say, in effect, "If we want to make America great again, then we're going to do it by leading in technology, not by retreating behind weakened regulations." General Motors understands that the auto market is globally competitive, and if U.S.-based companies are going to be in the game, then they'd better be able to out-innovate the companies based elsewhere, where emissions and economy standards are not being weakened. What's good for our country ... Related Video:

GM recalling 521,817 cars in two campaigns

General Motors is issuing two, separate recalls covering a total of 521,817 vehicles worldwide. The larger campaign covers 468,887 units of the 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu. Specifically, 437,045 of these are in the US, and the rest are outside the country. In these sedans, a steel cable that connects the seat belt to the vehicle can fatigue and separate. GM knows of 36 claims about the problem but only one minor injury. According to The Detroit News, this happened when a taxi driver hit his head. To fix things, dealers will replace the "outboard lap mounting bracket," which will move the tensioner rearward. They'll also inspect and if necessary replace the steel cable and lap pretensioner. In the second campaign, 52,930 examples the 2015 Chevy Colorado and 2015 GMC Canyon have seat frame attachment hooks that were installed incorrectly during assembly. GM hasn't received any reports of crashes, injuries, or fatalities about this problem. Dealers will inspect the affected trucks and repair as necessary. GM spokesperson Alan Adler told Autoblog that he didn't yet have a specific date when affected owners would receive official mailings about either of these recalls. GM Statement General Motors is recalling 48,309 2015 model year Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks in the U.S. because certain seat frame attachment hooks were not properly attached to the vehicle body during assembly. Dealers will inspect the potentially affected seats for proper installation and repair if necessary. GM knows of no crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this condition. The total vehicle population of the recall is 52,930 including 4,620 vehicles sold in Canada. General Motors is recalling 437,045, 2011-2012 model year Chevrolet Malibus in the U.S. because the flexible steel cable that connects the safety belt to the vehicle can fatigue and separate over time as a result of occupant movement in the seat. Dealers will replace the outboard lap mounting bracket to relocate the tensioner slightly rearward. Dealers will inspect the cable and, if necessary, replace the lap pretensioner. GM knows of 36 claims, no crashes or fatalities and one minor injury reportedly related to the condition. The total vehicle population of the recall is 468,887 including Canada, Mexico and exports.

Recharge Wrap-up: BYD electric buses at Special Olympics, hybrids perform better than rated

A new study finds that real-world fuel economy of hybrids could be significantly higher than EPA ratings. Researchers at the University of Vermont, with the help of their own "total on-board tailpipe emissions measurement system," found the fuel savings of Toyota Camry Hybrid over a standard Camry to exceed its sticker values by 18 percent on the highway and 33 percent in the city. The results of this study suggest that the projections of the fuel and emissions benefits of hybrids could be adjusted to reflect more these more positive real world values. The study's authors, Britt A. Holmen and Karen M. Sentoff, say more research is warranted based on these findings, and that "similar studies can be used to develop robust models of all types of HEV platforms under actual driving conditions and improve quantitative estimates of the future fleet contributions to the US CO2 emissions inventory and petroleum consumption." Read more at Green Car Congress. The 2016 Chevrolet Volt made an appearance at the 2015 Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevy displayed the silver Volt alongside a Camaro and Malibu of the same color and model year. The Volt also recently made an appearance at the premier of Tomorrowland with George Clooney behind the wheel. Read more at The News Wheel. BYD electric buses provided transportation at the Special Olympics 2015 World Games in Long Beach, CA. Shuttling 6,500 athletes required the help of multiple charter companies, including local buses from the Chinese automaker. "BYD stepped up majorly as one of our key supporters and their tremendous efforts made our athletes feel welcomed," says Long Beach Community Foundation President and CEO, and 2015 Host Town Transportation Coordinator Marcelle Epley. "We depended on them, and they came through 100 percent." Both Los Angeles and Long Beach have recently decided to purchase electric buses from BYD. Read more in the press release below. BYD Zero-Emission Buses Used to Transport Athletes at 2015 World Games LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This week the largest Special Olympics ever was hosted in the City of Long Beach – thousands of athletes, coaches, dignitaries and families descended upon Los Angeles for what was a spectacular week of uplifting camaraderie, sportsmanship and competition.