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Weekly Recap: Volvo buys Polestar, makes performance a priority

Volvo is taking its performance business in-house, and the Swedish carmaker announced Tuesday that it bought tuning company Polestar, which has long been known for producing sporty Volvos. The move allows Volvo to ramp up its performance business, and it plans to increase Polestar-branded vehicle sales to 1,000 to 1,500 annually, up from the 750 total projected for this year. The companies have been working together on motorsports projects since 1996. Financial terms of the sale were not released, and Polestar workers will move over to Volvo. Former Polestar owner Christian Dahl will keep control of the Polestar racing team and operate it under a new name. In addition to sales volume, Volvo has ambitious plans for other parts of Polestar, including its aftermarket business. Volvo also said it will use its twin-engine hybrid technology for Polestar models in the future, though specifics and timing were not revealed. Meanwhile, Volvo announced it will offer a run of 265 total Polestars in the United States for the 2016 model year, with S60 and V60s available. "Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, get nose jobs Automakers tend to refer to light updates as 'facelifts,' and that's exactly what Chevy gave the 2016 Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevy slightly changed the front end of the truck. Using the one photo released of the new Z71 model as a guide, we can see that the headlights went from a stacked vertical design to single bulbs, and they are set on top of LED running lights. The grille has more body-colored elements instead of shiny metal, and the hood has a new line running down the middle (look really closely). The design theme will be similar across the portfolio, though materials and details will vary, a spokesman said. Some models, like the High Country and LTZ will have more chrome, and the LEDs are only for the upper trims. Chevy also said it will use the eight-speed automatic transmission on more versions of the Silverado, and it updated the MyLink feature to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

3 Quick Takes on the new Hummer EV

The 2022 GMC Hummer EV truck debuted Tuesday with 1,000 horsepower and up to 350 miles of range. It marks the return of the Hummer name after a decade-long absence and is the most ambitious electric vehicle General Motors has attempted. Here are three quick takes. This is how major vehicles will be revealed going forward The unveiling during Game 1 of the World Series on Fox and during The Voice on NBC could only have been bigger if done during the Super Bowl. A two-network debut complete with LeBron James providing voiceover for the commercial. On Fox, World Series play-play man Joe Buck neatly set up the spot and told millions of viewers that the order bank was now open. Then the Hummer debuted in what looked like a cut from the next Transformers movie. OK, this is not how every major car will be revealed, but the direct-to-consumer, as-many-eyeballs-as-possible, made-for-TV (or social media) event will be a key strategy going forward. In the last few months, the Detroit, Los Angeles and New York auto shows have all played leapfrog with dates, confusing many observers. The pandemic has obviously exacerbated the decline of auto shows, but if you’re an automaker, why share the spotlight in a convention hall? Most car reveals wonÂ’t be network TV spectacles, like the Hummer, but streaming services and other platforms will make a lot more sense than traditional means as companies compete for new buyers. This is how the Tesla Cybertruck should have looked Most would say the Hummer is pretty cool looking. The headlights, the grille, the blocky fenders and huge wheels — yeah, this looks straight out of central casting. ItÂ’s what you expected the reborn Hummer to look like, nominally now in the service of the GMC brand. Tesla made the Cybertruck a bit too crazy. Sure, itÂ’s attention-getting. But look at the Tesla. No one can objectively say the Cybertruck is aesthetically pleasing, from the shape to the features. ItÂ’s out-of-step with the graceful Model S and Model 3 sedans. The Hummer is futuristic, has interesting elements — like underbody cameras for off-roading and a T-top — and a massive presence. It doesnÂ’t need to do more. The addition of Super Cruise technology, however, is a nice touch. GM is serious about EVs The Hummer leads a blitz of EVs from GM, which is quietly yet ambitiously laying out an electric future.

Texas sues GM, saying it tricked customers into sharing driving data sold to insurers

Texas filed a lawsuit Tuesday against GM over years of alleged abuse of customers' data and trust. New car owners were presented with a "confusing and highly misleading" process that was implied to be for their safety, but "was no more than a deceptively designed sales flow" that surrendered their data for GM to sell. The suit contends that at no point was selling driving data ever even suggested as a possibility, putting GM in violation of the state's consumer protection laws. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking a jury trial and at least $10,000 per offense (every GM car sold in the state since 2015) and a hefty add-on of $250,000 in cases where the victim was over 65. Texas seems to be flying high after a recent $1.4 billion settlement from Meta over other privacy concerns. This may well be a way to solve any pending budgetary issues in the Lone Star State.