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GM might outsource vans to AM General

General Motors will possibly boost production of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon at the Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri by contracting out some commercial van manufacturing to AM General. Demand for the two midsize trucks continues to boom, and GM would like to take advantage of the strong market for them. The possible deal came to light in a letter to workers at the factory, according to Automotive News. "This potential partnership would free up production capacity and allow the organization to capitalize on our ability to build midsize trucks to further satisfy customer demand," a portion of the document allegedly said. AM General would reportedly only take over assembly of the cutaway versions of the Chevy Express and GMC Savana. Customers and critics have quickly embraced the latest Colorado and Canyon since their introduction. The Chevy just won back-to-back Motor Trend Truck of the Year awards. GM also had to add a third shift and extra workers in 2014 just to keep up with demand. The Wentzville plant even increased employment on the weekends earlier in 2015 to assemble an extra 2,000 of the trucks each month. While the two pickups boom, deliveries for the Chevy Express and GMC Savana are down 26.9 percent and 26.6 percent respectively through the first 10 months of the year. GM doesn't break out numbers for the cutaway versions, but they make up about a third of production, according to Automotive News. AM General built the Humvee for the US military and does some contract work with automakers. For example, the company's Indiana factory now produces the Mercedes-Benz R-Class for export to China. Here's hoping this potential deal will help both GM and AM General keep their factories humming. Related Video:

2021 Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon fuel economy and towing capacities go official

Most of the puzzle pieces have fallen into place with GM’s new full-size SUVs, but today we have fuel economy and towing to add to the picture. Numbers for the standard 5.3-liter V8 and upgrade 6.2-liter V8 are out, but GM has held back on the 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six for the time being. Those numbers are most likely not ready yet. Minor improvements and decreases are seen throughout the Tahoe/Suburban and Yukon/Yukon XL lineup. Because there are so many variants, weÂ’re going to just lay them out below for you. 5.3-liter V8 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 2WD: 16/20/18 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 4WD: 16/20/18 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 2WD: 16/20/18 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 4WD: 15/19/17 6.2-liter V8 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 2WD: 15/20/17 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 4WD: 14/19/16 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 2WD: 15/20/17 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 4WD: 14/19/16 As you can see, there isnÂ’t a whole lot of difference between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive options. You can eke out an extra mpg here and there, but itÂ’s a penalty weÂ’d be happy to live with to have four-wheel traction. The biggest loser in all of this is highway mpg. Chevy has made the trucks bigger and added weight with the independent rear suspension, causing a decrease in fuel economy. For example, a 2020 Tahoe with the 6.2-liter V8 and four-wheel drive is rated at 14/22/17. The 2021 truck drops 3 mpg on the highway and 1 mpg in the combined rating. There are improvements to be found, though. A 2020 Suburban with the 5.3-liter V8 and four-wheel drive is rated 14/21/16. Fuel economy in the city goes up 1 mpg, but you lose 2 mpg on the highway and 1 mpg in the combined rating. ThereÂ’s a bit of give and take here, but at least a slight increase in city mpg has accompanied the greater loss in highway fuel economy. 2021-chevy-tahoe-chicago-01 View 12 Photos As for towing, the Tahoe/Yukon with the 5.3-liter V8 and two-wheel drive has a new 7,900-pound capacity, and the four-wheel drive model is rated at 7,700 pounds. Respectively, those are the best figures youÂ’ll get with the standard towing capacity. Opt for the maximum towing package, and the Tahoe/Yukon capacities go up to 8,400 pounds (two-wheel drive) and 8,200 pounds (four-wheel drive). The numbers all take slight cuts when you go for the 6.2-liter V8. Both the Suburban and Yukon XL offer similar or identical towing figures as their shorter counterparts do.

Weekly Recap: Geneva's splendor reflects growing demand for ultra-luxury cars

Geneva is one of the most glittering auto shows in the world, but the list of high-powered and bespoke luxury cars was decadent this year even by the rich standards of the Swiss exhibition. It's great for enthusiasts to revel in the flame-throwing Aston Martin Vulcan, the racing-inspired elegance of the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept and the insane performance of the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, but there's a reason for all of this opulence: the luxury market is big business. And it's growing. IHS Automotive forecasts that so-called ultra-premium sales will nearly triple this decade from 123,000 to 353,000 units around the world. The estimate includes brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce, but doesn't count BMW, Mercedes and Audi, which offer less expensive models in addition to their high-end flagships. Though IHS includes Porsche and its relatively large volume in the study, the ultra-premium segment is still set grow at about the same rate, even without the German automaker's figures. So what is propelling all of this growth in the most expensive segment of the auto industry? Put simply, there's more rich people. IHS Automotive principal analyst Tim Urquhart pointed to economic expansion in China, market recovery in the United States and a surge in the lucrative technology sector as contributing factors. This dovetails with a research report by UK-based Oxfam, an international relief organization, which found the world's richest one-percent owned 48 percent of global wealth in 2014, and it's expected to increase to more than 50 percent by 2016. View 17 Photos Carmakers are moving quickly to capitalize with new products, expanding their portfolios with low-volume speedsters like the 800-hp V12 Vulcan at Geneva, and plans to enter new segments, like Rolls-Royce's strategy to make an SUV. "Ultra-premium carmakers are looking to explore ways of growing their product offerings, and thus their bottom lines, in this most potentially profitable of segments," Urquhart wrote in a report on the Geneva show. In a nutshell, there are more choices for people with more money. It's a good time to have expensive taste. Other News & Notes 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata production launches It won't be long now. The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata arrives later this year, and it's officially in production. Mazda announced this week that the roadster began rolling off the assembly line at its Ujina factory in Hiroshima, Japan.