2013 Chevrolet Suburban 4x4 Ltz 1/2 Ton 1500 Series. Factory Official G.m. Exec on 2040-cars

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GM Ultium tech can scavenge heat from everywhere, even you

GM likes to give us tidbits about its Ultium platform from time to time, and today it’s telling us about the platformÂ’s ability to capture waste heat from the propulsion system. In addition to capturing from the propulsion system, it can also capture humidity from both inside and outside the vehicle and even from passengersÂ’ body heat. Yes, you, your family and/or your friends are a usable heat source as far as GM EVs are concerned. It then deploys the heat in an advantageous way. If at this point, youÂ’re screaming, "Heat pump!" youÂ’d be right. WeÂ’re talking about an elaborate heat pump system that GM is using for its Ultium-based vehicles. Every Ultium-based GM vehicle gets this system that is covered by 11 patents and four publications. The waste heat it collects is used in a number of ways, but its primary use is to heat the cabin quickly and efficiently. GM claims it can heat the cabin of its Ultium-based vehicles quicker than vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines. Plus, when put to use, GM claims that using the heat pump provides its EVs with up to 10% more range than theyÂ’d have without. Beyond heating the cabin, the heat pump is capable of putting waste heat to use by preheating the battery prior to charging so that you can charge quicker. The system can even cool the propulsion system in preparation for Watts to Freedom (WTF) launch control starts. GM says this was vital in helping the Hummer EV achieve its bonkers 0-60 mph time of about 3 seconds. “Having a ground-up EV architecture gives us the freedom to build in standard features like UltiumÂ’s energy recovery capabilities,” said Doug Parks, GM executive VP of global product development, purchasing and supply chain. “This helps us squeeze more efficiency, performance and overall customer benefit out of our EVs.” GM says itÂ’s been developing heat pump technology since the EV1 and its heat pump. This is the modern evolution of that technology, and GM says itÂ’s going to be implemented in every Ultium-based vehicle as a standard feature. Related video: Green Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Electric Future Vehicles

See all seven colors available on 2016 Chevy Volt

General Motors has been happy to promote the 2016 Chevy Volt in the shiny blue color. On the company's website for the car, though, we can find all seven exterior colors, thanks to the magic of digital technology. We went through the site and played around with the option picker and put together a gallery of all the colors the new Volt will be available in as well as the five interior options. For the record, the exterior colors are: Kinetic Blue Metallic, Iridescent Pearl Tricoat, Summit White, Silver Ice Metallic, Mosaic Black Metallic, Siren Red Tintcoat, Heather Grey Metallic. You'll be forgiven if you can't quite tell the difference between the Pearl and the White in these images, but both colors have been available on the 2015 model year Volt. GM spokesperson Michelle Malcho told AutoblogGreen that buyers do have a preference, with Pearl accounting for 10 percent of the sales and Summit White accounted for 17 percent. The Pearl color is a tri-coat and thus has a $995 price premium, which was likely a factor as well. The interior of the new Volt will have two cloth options (Dark Ash and Jet Black) and three leather choices (Dark Ash, Jet Black, and Jet Black/Brandy). That last one will only be available in the LTZ trim level. You can play around with the color adjuster yourself here. Kathy Sirvio, the color and design manager of the Volt design team, told AutoblogGreen that, "Kinetic Blue is a marketing name. At Design we call it 'Blew Me Away'. That is it in a nutshell. The blue color is vibrant, rich and eye catching. It may not sell at the highest volume, as we know from history whites, blacks and silvers are the dominant color sales. However, it will tell everyone who sees it on the street that here comes a new vehicle and it is expressive in all the right ways." The next-gen Volt arrives later this year with a starting price of $33,995. The powertrain upgrades will push the all-electric range to 50 miles and the gas-only fuel economy to 41 miles per gallon. Related Video:

GM earnings rise 1% as buyers pay more for popular pickups

DETROIT — General Motors said Thursday that higher prices for popular pickup trucks and SUVs helped overcome slowing global sales and profit rose by 1% in the second quarter. The Detroit automaker said it made $2.42 billion, or $1.66 per share, from April through June. Adjusting for restructuring costs, GM made $1.64 per share, blowing by analyst estimates of $1.44. Quarterly revenue fell 2% to $36.06 billion, but still beat estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $35.97 billion. Global sales fell 6% to 1.94 million vehicles led by declines in North America and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The company says sales in China were weak, and it expects that to continue through the year. In the United States, customers paid an average of $41,461 for a GM vehicle during the quarter, an increase of 2.2%, as buyers went for loaded-out pickups and SUVs, according to the Edmunds.com auto pricing site. The U.S. is GM's most profitable market. Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said she expects the strong pricing to continue, especially as GM rolls out a diesel pickup and new heavy-duty trucks in the second half of the year. "We think the fundamentals do remain strong, especially in the truck market," she said, adding that strength in the overall economy and aging trucks now on the road should help keep the trend going. Light trucks accounted for 83.1% of GM's sales in the quarter, and pickup truck sales rose 8.5% as GM transitioned to new models of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, according to Edmunds, which provides content to The Associated Press. As usual, GM made most of its money in North America, reporting $3 billion in pretax earnings. International operations including China broke even, while the company spent $300 million on its GM Cruise automated vehicle unit. Its financial arm made $500 million in pretax income. Suryadevara said GM saw $700 million in savings during the quarter from restructuring actions announced late last year that included cutting about 8,000 white-collar workers through layoffs, buyouts and early retirements. The company also announced plans to close five North American factories, shedding another 6,000 jobs. About 3,000 factory workers in the U.S. whose jobs were eliminated at four plants will be placed at other factories, but they could have to relocate. GM expects the restructuring to generate $2 billion to $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by the end of this year.