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2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Second Drive Review: Moab made easy

MOAB, Utah — The title of our First Drive of the 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV included the phrase, "It's big, but this elephant can dance." The truck earned that compliment after a day of squeezing through San Francisco lanes and the slightly-more-commodious back roads in Napa Valley. But an SUV can't be called a supertruck without equivalent mastery on dirt, so GMC led a posse of media to Moab, Utah to run the Hummer's favorite stomping grounds. What happens when you subtract 20 inches of overall length and nine inches of wheelbase from a megafauna pickup? You find the dancing doesn't stop where the pavement ends. Allowed to roam Moab's challenging terrain — and ample room — the SUV is more than ready to do the Hokey Pokey and turn itself around. Admittedly, we knew this from our First Drive of the Hummer SUT two years ago, also performed among Moab's red rocks and red dust. The two variants share the same tricks, and GMC engineers chose Moab for prototype development, so there was no question of successfully navigating the trails. The SUV's simply nimbler about than the SUT. Clearance angles are better all over. Compared to the SUT, the SUV's 49.6-degree approach angle is just 0.1 better, but the 49-degree departure angle is 10.6 degrees better, and the breakover angle is 2.2 degrees better. Having four-wheel steer to rotate the SUV's shorter wheelbase shrinks the already tiny turning circle by 1.7 feet, to 35.4 feet. That's only four feet wider than a BMW i3, but 14 feet more compact than a GMC Sierra Crew Cab with the Short Box. And there are 'only' 15 standard cameras on the SUV, one shy of the 16 cameras in the SUT; the pickup adds an angle on the cargo bed the SUV doesn't have. Our 3X trim packed three motors producing a combined 830 horsepower and 1,200 pound-feet of torque. The $9,995 Extreme Off-Road Package threw on rock sliders with integrated steps that can support 1.5 times the Hummer's weight, full underbody skid plating, two additional underbody cameras front and rear, an electronically locking mechanical front differential for the single motor on the front, a virtual rear differential (programming that makes the two rear motors behave like a locked diff), heavy-duty ball spline half shafts, tow hooks and 18-inch black wheels on 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Mud-Terrain tires.

Sunday Drive: Spying an automotive future of performance

I spy, with my little eye ... the future of the automotive world here in the United States. That pretty much sums up this week's Sunday Drive, in which we pull out the most popular stories on Autoblog of the previous week and try to draw some sort of conclusion as to what binds them all together. This week, it's spy shots, starting with one of the biggest and baddest muscle cars the world has ever seen: the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. The Hellish coupe gets a new hood for 2019 with dual scoops, but that's about the only meaningful change for the new model year. No matter. As long as it's packing 700-plus horsepower under those two hood scoops, all will be right with the world. Moving on, we take keep the performance angle but move it from the street to the dirt with a new version of the Chevy Colorado ZR2 that we think is probably called the Bison. We think it'll keep the high-tech suspension bits of the regular ZR2, but add expedition gear that may include a snorkel and a winch. Which, if true, is pretty dang cool. Keeping the truck theme is the 2019 GMC Sierra. There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the trim level in which the truck was spied, and that's what makes this specific example interesting. Base-model trucks almost never get much attention, but they sell in droves to workers who need an honest-to-goodness truck for work or play and don't care about bells, whistles, or massive chrome badges. And finally we have the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, which is on fire on the sales floor right now. But those are all V6-powered Wranglers flying off the showroom floor. Soon, a turbocharged four-cylinder engine option will become available, and now we know that it will return up to 23 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the highway. That makes it the most fuel efficient Wrangler that Jeep has ever sold. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the automotive news that's fit to publish. 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat with twin-scoop hood spied with no camouflage Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison caught testing 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 spied in base trim level 2018 Jeep Wrangler four-cylinder fuel economy revealed Spy Photos Chevrolet Dodge GMC Jeep Truck Coupe SUV Off-Road Vehicles Performance dodge challenger srt hellcat sunday drive

Hertz and GM team up to put 175,000 rental EVs on the road

Hertz and General Motors have announced a significant partnership that will send up to 175,000 electric vehicles into rental fleets across the country. The deal will unfold over the next five years and include vehicles from all GM brands.   The partnership will run through 2027. Hertz estimates that the electric fleet can save as many as 8 billion gasoline-powered miles, removing 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions from the air. Hertz says it will invest in becoming the largest renter of EVs in North America and notes that it already has tens of thousands available at 500 locations in 38 states. By the end of 2024, it plans to electrify a quarter of its fleet. Electric rental cars are a great way for travelers wanting to avoid gas, and they make excellent urban commuter cars. Hertz will also likely save a few dollars by avoiding oil changes and other routine maintenance that gas engines need. However, a hidden societal benefit of this deal may come when Hertz’s EV rental customers begin shopping for new cars. Many people are skeptical of EVs for various reasons, including range, charging, ease of operation, and cost. Giving people a low-risk introduction to EVs and the ability to test-drive one without a pressuring salesperson could drive more people to electrics. At the same time, there's also the risk that renters wanting to take their Hertz-GM EV on a road trip into sparsely populated areas may return with charging and range-related horror stories. Hertz currently doesnÂ’t ask what youÂ’re planning to do with your rental, but it does offer a chat service for questions, and range information is presented clearly on each vehicle. Related video: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq walkaround