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GMC Hummer EV SUV to be fully revealed during Final Four in April

GMC is going to use another large platform to reveal the next chapter in its Hummer story. The GMC Hummer EV SUV will officially be revealed on Saturday, April 3, at 5 p.m. ET during the Final Four. That’s the SUV, not the truck, which has already been revealed. YouÂ’ll be allowed to place a reservation for the SUV at the same time as itÂ’s unveiled during the basketball games. There are no further details about the SUV, but weÂ’ll point out that a decent preview of what the SUV will look like is already out and can be seen here. ItÂ’s going to look a whole lot like the pickup, but will of course be fully boxed in, as an SUV is. WeÂ’ll know more about what GMC has in store in just under a monthÂ’s time.  In addition to the news about the impending SUV, GMC released video footage of the pickup version undergoing winter testing in MichiganÂ’s snowy Upper Peninsula. You can see the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. GM says that itÂ’s using this region to dial in and calibrate the truckÂ’s all-wheel-drive torque distribution, traction control system and stability control. Testing is conducted on snow, ice, and steep and split-friction grades. ThatÂ’s all GM is letting us in on for now, but at least we have the second version of the electric Hummer in our scopes now and will be eagerly anticipating its reveal. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Chevy Tahoe-to-K5 Blazer conversion shop renders Jimmy option

Back in 2019 we told you about a truck that looked like a K5 Chevy Blazer, but was actually a modern late-model Tahoe underneath. It was the product of Arkansas shop Flat Out Autos, which reskinned modern GM full-size SUVs to look like their predecessors. Now, the same shop is planning to release a GMC version, converting Yukons to Jimmys. We were impressed by Flat Out's workmanship, beautifully blending the lines of the Blazer into those of the Tahoe. The result was a cohesive design, not just a panel swap. It clearly required a lot of work, which helped justify the $69,000 price tag, not including the cost of the donor Tahoe. FlatOut Autos GMC Blazer Tahoe reskin 01 View 11 Photos At least one new owner was so impressed that they recently purchased four identical Blazer conversions at once. The quadruplets were all finished in blue with a white roof and all based on brand-new 2020 Tahoes. Obviously, with such demand it was only natural for Flat Out to explore other options. On Facebook the company said it was working on a 1972 version with an eggcrate grille. Now, they've also released a rendering paying homage to the K5 GMC Jimmy. The Jimmy conversion uses the original's quad-headlight face, crosshair grille and GMC badging. Like the Blazer conversion, it adds chrome bumpers and milled door handles while adapting the original's 2-door design to the new truck's 4-door body. The rendering only shows the front three-quarter view, but presumably a new carbon fiber rear door would have to be created as the Blazer's says "Chevrolet" across the back. Flat Out says that all the modern conveniences found on the donor Tahoe will work on the conversion, including parking, blind spot and lane keeping sensors. If you have the coin, it's a great way to have retro style without giving up modern safety and performance. The new Blazer has been disappointing to many fans that had hoped for a Bronco-like SUV. Instead, GM gave us a crossover. The Flat Out conversions might be a good compromise, and expanding it to the GMC brand only makes sense. Obviously there's no requirement to use a GMC Yukon as the donor vehicle for the Jimmy, as it's functionally identical to a Tahoe, but wouldn't you want to keep it in the family? Related Video:

Elvis Presley owned this GMC pickup. Now you can, too

Befitting his status as America's first rock star, Elvis Presley lived large. Among his many excesses, Elvis was well known for his prolific new-car purchases. Mostly, it seems the King favored Cadillacs and Lincolns — although, during his Army stint in Europe, he picked up a BMW 507 roadster. Here we have something different from the Elvis Presley canon: a 1967 GMC pickup. And this GMC will be crossing the block at the GAA Classic Cars auction on February 27. This GMC is one of three that Elvis purchased from Guy Caldwell Motors in Senatobia, Mississippi, almost exactly 54 years ago: on February 7, 1967. He bought a red one, a blue one, and this green one for use on his Circle G Ranch in Horn Lake, Mississippi. According to a badge on the glovebox door, this pickup is a GMC Cheyenne Super, which sounds like a fancy-pants trim level, although the truck still looks pretty bare-bones to our eyes. The steel wheels have dog-dish hubcaps, and the grille and bumpers are painted white rather than chrome. It's a standard-bed half-ton pickup and is powered by a six-cylinder engine with a three-on-the-tree column-shift manual transmission. The truck spent just over a year on the ranch before being sold off. It then went through a series of owners and several museum stints. Among the paperwork included with a sale is a letter from Elvis Presley Enterprises confirming that a GMC pickup with this VIN number was bought new by Elvis. It has now been restored, so there shouldn't be a whole lotta shakin' going on. The truck has been repainted green, although the side mirrors are different than what's shown in a vintage photo, and the chrome trim along the sides is missing. More notably, we'd like to see the "Circle G Ranch" logo it once wore on its doors be added. No pre-sale estimate is given. The final hammer price for this GMC will depend on the degree to which bidders are all shook up at the prospect of owning one of the more unusual Elvis Presley vehicles.

GM extends vehicle production cuts into mid-March due to global chip shortage

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it was extending production cuts at three North American plants until at least mid-March due to the global semiconductor chip shortage, while vehicles at two other factories would only be partially built. GM, whose shares dipped 1% after the announcement, did not disclose the impact volumes or say which supplier and vehicle parts were affected by the chip shortage. But it said it would focus on keeping production running at plants building its highest-profit vehicles, full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. GM said it intended to make up as much lost production as possible once the shortage chip eased. "Semiconductor supply remains an issue that is facing the entire industry. GM's plan is to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products," GM spokesman David Barnas said. GM said it was extending downtime at its U.S. plant in Fairfax, Kansas, its Canadian factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, and its Mexican facility in San Luis Petosi until mid-March when it would reassess the situation, he said. In addition, GM would build but leave incomplete for final assembly vehicles at Wentzville, Missouri, and its Mexican plant at Ramos Arizpe. GM vehicles affected by the idled plants include the Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Cadillac XT4 SUV, Chevy Equinox, and GMC Terrain SUVs. Vehicles to be left incomplete for now included the Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon pickups and Chevy Blazer SUV. This week, GM had said it was idling the three factories where it has now extended downtime and said it would halve production at a plant in South Korea. The chip shortage has affected many automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Ford, Renault, Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Mazda. Asian chipmakers are rushing to boost production but say the supply gap will take many months to plug. German chipmaker Infineon said the shortage would get worse in the near term. The chip shortage is expected to cut global output in the first quarter by more than 670,000 vehicles and last into the third quarter, IHS Markit said. AutoForecast Solutions estimated total lost production this year could reach 1 million vehicles. Honda and Nissan said on Tuesday they would sell 250,000 fewer cars in total this financial year due.

GM releases full Super Bowl ad with GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq: Take that, Norway!

GM just dropped its big Super Bowl ad, and it’s a good one. Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina all star in the 90-second ad titled “No Way, Norway.” The point of the ad is to get Americans hyped up about the upcoming electric vehicle range on its way from GM. Both the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV star throughout, but itÂ’s less about the vehicles, and more about changing attitudes about EVs in general. Ferrell comes after Norway aggressively, but in a playful and competitive way about how many electric cars sell in the Scandinavian country. Over half of all new car sales in Norway are of EVs, whereas GMÂ’s data show that just 4% of new cars sold in the U.S. are electric. Massive financial incentives from the Norwegian government can take much of the credit for why EVs sell at such high rates over there. However, GM thinks it can still rally the U.S. to get more excited about buying EVs once its fleet of cars using the companyÂ’s Ultium battery tech comes online. The ad is done with classic Ferrell comedy, and it sure did elicit some chuckles from us. It also follows the same “Everybody In” philosophy that GM announced back when it changed up the logo a short time ago. GM is inviting folks to strap in for the onslaught of EVs coming their way (for now, you can buy a Bolt). President BidenÂ’s administration has voiced support for a number of policies and actions to take for greater adoption of electric cars in the U.S. — we also know the federal government intends to transition its full fleet of vehicles to EVs. It's still unlikely that we make it to Norway's rate of electric car sales in the immediate future, but the U.S. could certainly begin to close the gap. Related video:

Barrett-Jackson is auctioning the first 2022 GMC Hummer EV for charity

Unveiled in late 2020, the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 was so popular that enthusiasts scooped up the entire production run in merely 10 minutes. If you missed your chance to reserve one, you're in luck if your pockets are deep enough. Auction house Barrett-Jackson will sell the first example off the production line for a great cause. VIN 001 will be up for grabs during a sale that starts in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 20. Hummer production hasn't started yet, so we don't know precisely what the truck will look like and it won't physically cross the auction block. Barrett-Jackson did not provide a pre-auction estimate, but it pointed out that 100% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to a charity called Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation that helps wounded first responders and veterans across America. Charity auctions normally bring big dollars, so a sold-out flagship variant of a highly-anticipated model whose base price is pegged at $112,595 could sell for a seven-digit sum. Edition 1 deliveries will start in the fall of 2021, meaning the winning bidder will need to wait a few months before exploring the great outdoors in the 1,000-horsepower electric truck. More affordable trim levels are in the pipeline, but they're not exactly around the corner. GMC will expand the range by launching three trim levels called EV2, EV2X, and EV3X, respectively. Equipped with three electric motors, the EV3X will land in the fall of 2022 with a $99,995 base price. Pricing for the two-motor EV2X due out in the spring of 2023 starts at $89,995, while the entry-level EV2 will arrive a year later priced at $79,995. None of these figures include available incentives. Looking ahead, the Hummer EV will spawn an SUV that will make its official debut online in February 2021. We don't know when it will reach showrooms yet, but we're not expecting to see it until 2022 at the earliest.  Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale sale includes sports cars from every era, ranging from a custom 1928 Ford Model A to a 2021 Honda Civic Type R. Ram's first 1500 TRX is on the roster, too, and it will also be sold for charity. Another stand-out car from the catalog is the first production version of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. Finished in black with a black and red leather interior, it's powered by a mid-mounted, 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 495 horsepower, and it's equipped with the 3LT and Z51 packages plus the Performance Data Recorder, among other features.

GMC Hummer EV coming to Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing

The electric off-road racing series Extreme E is getting another famous face. This time it's not a person, but rather a vehicle: the GMC Hummer EV. GMC announced that it will be the main sponsor for the Chip Ganassi Racing Extreme E team. With the sponsorship, GMC gets to tweak the Extreme E Odyssey 21 race SUV to look more like the Hummer EV pickup and SUV that starts production late this year. The changes are subtle but effective, with the nose getting a full-width light-bar motif. Of course the race SUV is vastly more rounded than the road-going truck. It also features a standardized chassis from Spark Racing and a battery pack from Williams. The team is able to provide its own electric motor, though, which the series limits to 550 horsepower. The GMC Hummer EV race SUV will make its competition debut alongside several other pedigree teams at the first Extreme E event in Saudi Arabia this April. Three teams are operated by Formula One drivers including Sir Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, the latter of whom will be driving. Andretti United will also field a team, a familiar competitor to Chip Ganassi in other racing series such as IndyCar. As for drivers, two World Rally Championship champions will compete: Carlos Sainz and nine-time consecutive champion Sebastien Loeb. The series will feature five races and with the way the competition is shaping up, they should be very interesting to watch. Related video:

GM may have teased a whole group of electric vehicles

During GM's big CES press conference, the automaker highlighted a number of its upcoming electric car-related projects from delivery vans to the upcoming flagship Cadillac Celestiq. In the middle of it all, a collection of mystery cars sat in the background behind speakers. They were in the dark, lit only with their running lights, and while it's possible they're just generic filler cars or concepts, we think they could be future products. Our best shot of the cars together is shown above, and we can pretty easily identify three of the vehicles. In the center is obviously the GMC Hummer EV. On either side of it are Cadillacs. To the left seems to be the Lyriq crossover, and to the right is the Celestiq sedan. Two of these cars have production dates, and the third has been confirmed for eventual production, just without timing. This is why we think the rest of the cars are upcoming models. The next most easily identified car is on the near right behind the Cadillac Celestiq. It very clearly has a Chevy bowtie illuminated in the running lights. And looking closely, it appears to be a pickup truck. It's difficult to make out anything more than that. The nose does look a bit more rounded and swept back than the brick-like designs of the Silverado truck line. That also squares with what seemed to be the upcoming truck that appeared in the background of yet another GM presentation. GM previously said this electric Chevy truck will be a full-size model with up to 400 miles of range. That leaves us with three more mysterious models. Over to the left behind the Cadillac Lyriq are what appear to be a pair of crossovers. The one on the far left looks low, curvy, and possibly with a fastback roof. The one on the right is taller, boxier, and probably more of a full-size people hauler. It's hard to say much more beyond that. They could be new electric Buicks, which would fit in nicely with that brand's crossover portfolio, and would likely be highly successful in China, where Buicks, crossovers and electric cars are all rather hot commodities. As for the mystery car on the far right, it's quite a puzzle. We can at least rule out Buick and Cadillac, and GMC since it's definitely a car, and a rather small one compared with the other cars on display. That leaves Chevy, and possibly the autonomous division Cruise. We're leaning toward it being a Chevy, since the first Cruise vehicle is going to be a boxy pod of sorts.

GM takes 2020 full-size pickup sales crown

It's no secret that 2020 was an unconventional year for auto sales. Extenuating circumstances or not, it was a year of upheaval even for ever-resilient (and ever-profitable) pickups, with General Motors taking the crown from Ford in the full-size segment.  The Ford F-Series still outsold every other full-size pickup nameplate in the country by a significant margin. It's only when you combine GM's Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra variants that you get a number that exceeds Ford's. This isn't really a new phenomenon, either. In fact, it was only somewhat recently that Ford took the overall full-size crown away from GM, and not only did Ford widen the gap in recent years, but Ram has once again become a legitimate challenger, even managing to outsell the Silverado by a healthy margin in 2019, but never coming close to the F-Series in terms of total volume.  But, 2020 being 2020, things got weird yet again. Ram remains relevant, of course, but Ford got caught with its pants down thanks to the one-two punch of COVID and the generational changeover of the core F-150 model, which resulted in a production interruption as the company's assembly facilities transitioned from building the old 2020 model to the new-for-2021. This perfect storm, as it turns out, was sufficient for GM to walk away with the full-size crown. See for yourself: Full-size 2020 pickup sales: GM total: 847,110 F-Series: 787,422 Silverado: 594,094 Ram: 563,676 Sierra: 253,016 Tundra: 109,203 Titan: 26,439 As you can see, Ram slipped back behind Silverado, slotting comfortably into third place. The Silverado 1500 had a flat year, but the heavy- and medium-duty variants bucked the trend and contributed to a slight uptick in sales for the nameplate, while F-Series tumbled more than 12% (nearly 110,000 units), opening the door for GM to steam ahead.  There were similarly significant shakeups in the midsize truck segment. First, 2020 was the first full year of retail sales for the Gladiator pickup, which surged to fourth place behind the stalwart Tacoma, Ranger and Colorado. GM's combined sales of the Colorado and Canyon are good enough for second place by manufacturer, but nowhere close to what it would take to dethrone Toyota.

Chevrolet will preview electrified Silverado-like truck at CES 2021

After abandoning its fight against California's lawmakers, General Motors is shifting its electrification offensive into high gear. CEO Mary Barra will give the opening keynote address at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which will be held online, and Chevrolet will provide a peek at its electrified pickup during the event. Insiders familiar with the carmaker's plans told Bloomberg that Barra's address will highlight ways that electrification can improve the environment and society in general. General Motors president Mark Reuss will speak, too, and his remarks will be followed by a video that will highlight several future products, including what the sources referred to as "a plug-in Chevrolet pickup, some Cadillac models, and vehicles for other brands." These comments ask more questions than they answer, because plug-in means many things in this context. Chevrolet's electric Bolt is a plug-in vehicle, as is the upcoming GMC Hummer, but the plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe is one, too, and it's clearly not all-electric. It's often been assumed that Chevrolet's upcoming electrified truck will be electric, but it might arrive with a hybrid powertrain or a gasoline-powered range extender. Chevrolet could also follow Ford's lead and plant a stake in both the hybrid and the electric pickup segments. It's too early to tell if Chevrolet will unveil the same truck it previewed during a presentation earlier in 2020. Shown briefly, it wore a highly futuristic design that gave it a sleeker look than the current-generation Silverado. Cadillac's presentation promises to be interesting, because the company hinted it might abandon gasoline entirely by 2025, several years earlier than expected, even though its dealers aren't all on board with the shift. Going electric-only in about four years would force the brand to conduct a massive overhaul of its range. As of writing, there is not a single electric Cadillac in showrooms, but the Lyriq will arrive in late 2022 as a 2023 model. It's difficult to tell what's in store for other brands, but there are several cars that General Motors could show during CES. Buick doesn't sell an electric car in the United States yet, for example. Alternatively, GMC is working on an SUV variant of the Hummer, and it has started developing an electric truck. Going back to Chevrolet, our crystal ball tells us we'll see more of the 2022 Bolt EUV during the next edition of the tech show, too.