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Meet Alex Archer, the engineer behind GM's power-sliding center console

In 2009, a GM manager complained to a 59-year-old GM technician about the hassle of retrieving items from a pickup truck bed after driving shifted the cargo. In two days, the tech had come up with the ideas that, ten years later, would debut as the MultiPro tailgate. The engineering teams kept the tailgate secret in part by hiding mock-ups in a locked storage closet in GM's Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren Michigan for two years. A piece in the Detroit Free Press reveals that another storage closet in Warren would play the same role in a different cloak-and-dagger operation, this time for the power-sliding center console in GM's new full-sized SUVs. During a meeting in early 2017, bosses gave the job of the console's creation to 24-year-old design release engineer Alex Archer, just two years out of Stanford University with a degree in engineering and product design.  This time, the catalyst for the feature was an internal GM think tank called co:lab, where employees suggest ideas. Execs gave Archer the task because "They needed someone willing to ask a lot of questions," her 36-month mandate to produce a six-way console that could be a standard cubby or a gaping maw able to swallow four gallon jugs or hide a secret compartment. Clearly, she succeeded. It took Archer and the team nine months to devise a prototype, another six months to get the green light for production. As with the tailgate, the team working on the console grew to include designers, production engineers, and suppliers. Archer, now 26, shepherded the process, and her name is on the patent. "It took a ton of people, I'm just somebody who stuck with it the whole time," she said. GM like her work well enough to produce the "Day in the Life" segment above, five months before the world would hear about the console. Archer's path to engineering was as unlikely as getting the job for the console. She had entered Stanford with plans to be a doctor. But an innovation class during her freshman year, and a sophomore summer spent helping her grandfather rebuild a 1937 MG engine recharted her course. Her grandfather told her, "You know, you could be an engineer for a car company." Consumer reaction to Archer's work won't be far off, the SUVs slated to hit dealerships soon. Meanwhile, she's busy on something that could be just as intense as the console: Restoring a 1955 Packard Clipper in her garage. Head to Freep to check out the story of Archer and the console. Related Video:

2022 GMC Hummer EV voluntarily recalled for battery connector issue

When vehicles from certain automakers need to return to dealers for fixes but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration isn't involved, these situations might be called "Customer Satisfaction Programs." It is, effectively, a voluntary recall. GM Authority notes that GM has issued one such program for the GMC Hummer EV and the Brightdrop Zevo 600 van (formerly the EV 600) to deal with a battery issue. In roughly 424 total units across both populations, the high-voltage connector might prematurely corrode. If this happens, water can leak through the connector into the pack. A warning light in the gauge cluster will alert owners to the condition. GM doesn't outline the possible results of water getting into the pack, but the outcome wouldn't be ideal.    The fix is a trip to the service bay to have a technician apply sealant to the high-voltage connector.   GM says it will get in touch with Hummer EV and Brightdrop owners about making appoints with dealers. Meanwhile, owners can contact GM Customer Service at 800-462-8782 and refer to Satisfaction Program No. N222362090. Owners can also visit the GM Recall Center page and insert their VINs to find out if their vehicles are affected. Since this isn't a recall overseen by the NHTSA, the issue isn't covered on the NHTSA's site. However, there are Manufacturer Communications between GM and the NHTSA related to other H2 issues such as a calibration issue with the Hummer EV's Extract Mode and the HVAC, so owners might want to visit SaferCar.gov for the whole picture.

The GMC Hummer EV is big and fast; it's also a social conundrum

Pedestrian fatalities, unresolved safety issues, overachieving and overweight trucks — overweight electric trucks — and divisive attitudes about vehicles equipped as is the new Hummer EV, are very much on the mind of Robinson Meyer. Mr. Meyer, who suggests that the 1,000-horsepower pickup is a cross "between an ambulance and a race car," is a staff writer for The Atlantic, a well-respected, long-lived journal founded in 1857. His recent essay in the monthly's flagship magazine starts off describing a scary video clip posted online by Edward Barseghian that features the 9,000-pound Hummer hurtling full tilt towards three lanes of cars idling at a light (the driver stops it in time). Then he goes on to pretty much berate the machine. "The Hummer EV haters and lovers had discovered one of the most important facts about electric 'super trucks': They are very heavy, and they go very fast," he writes. "If you imagine an ambulance that can accelerate as fast as a Formula 1 car, youÂ’re imagining a vehicle only slightly more unwieldy than the new Hummer." Meyer goes on to discuss the issue of allowing battery powered vehicles that weigh as much as the Hummer does onto public roads. "The weight of EVs is a safety issue that drivers — and cyclists and pedestrians — will only have to keep worrying about as these cars go mainstream," he explains. "Suffice it to say that cars as huge as the Hummer EV need to face some kind of regulation, especially in cities and towns, where they pose a distinct threat to the public." To Hummer devotees, them's fightin' words. But Meyer takes pains to present a sort of response from Anthony Schiavo, a research director at Lux Research, a global advisory firm: Why is the Hummer so heavy if its batteries weigh only about 3,000 pounds? “ItÂ’s absolutely a design choice and a marketing choice,” Schiavo answers. “People like larger vehicles, and the reason why those larger vehicles are getting made is because they sell.” The author concludes by bringing into his thesis the issues of climate change, liberal and conservative politics. In some places, his arguments wander; they become muddled. But for those enthused about electrics and big trucks, "Frankenstein's Hummer" is worth a read. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.