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Safety group pans GM’s new Marketplace in-dash shopping

When it comes to our cars, is the Internet of Things a godsend? Or a hidden menace that will create more problems than it will solve? On the same day General Motors announced it will equip newer-model cars with its in-dash Marketplace e-commerce app, a prominent safety group was shooting it down. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman tells Bloomberg the technology will only contribute to distracted driving and hurt efforts to stem the tide of rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. in 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was responsible for 3,477 fatalities and 391,000 injuries in 2015, the most recent year for which it has data. "There's nothing about this that's safe," Hersman told Bloomberg. "If this is why they want WiFi in the car, we're going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now." Marketplace, developed with IBM, will allow drivers — or more often, one hopes, their passengers — to order coffee or food, find gas stations and reserve hotel rooms from their dashboard screens. The technology is set to be uploaded automatically to nearly 1.9 million GM vehicles model-year 2017 and later that are equipped with WiFi hotspots and compatible systems. By the end of 2018, about 4 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles will be equipped with Marketplace. The app will debut with a limited number of participating retailers, including TGI Fridays, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Starbucks, with more likely to join later. Online retail giant Amazon is also partnering with automakers such as Ford to bring e-commerce capabilities inside the car through its Alexa personal assistant. While convenience is nice, one other thing is becoming clear as the IoT wedges its way into our cars: It's taking aim at some decidedly first-world problems.Related Video: Image Credit: GM Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Infotainment in-car entertainment marketplace e-commerce

GM Canada recalls 159,240 GMC and Chevy trucks for faulty defroster circuit

General Motors is recalling more than 159,000 2014-2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks in Canada due to a potential fire risk. GM says the rear defroster circuit could overheat on trucks optioned with the power-sliding rear window. Thus far, there is no word on the recall's relation to U.S. vehicles. The recall, found by Automotive News, was posted to Transport Canada on June 28, 2019 with manufacturer recall No. N192220470. Included in the 159,240 vehicles are the 2014-2018 Silverado 1500, the 2015-2019 Silverado HD, the 2014-2018 Silverado LD, the 2014-2018 Sierra 1500, the 2015-2019 Sierra HD, and the 2014-2018 Sierra LD. The notice says the rear defroster circuit, specifically on trucks with the power-sliding rear window, could overheat. Because of its placement, this excess heat could cause melting, smoking, or possibly fire, in the worst case scenario. As of now, there is no official word when GM will initiate the recall and there is no official fix detailed just yet. GM suggests that owners, who will be notified by mail if their vehicles are affected, take their trucks to a dealer to remove the rear window defroster fuse as a stop-gap.  Automotive News contacted GM to find out if the problem is also found in trucks sold in the United States, but no definitive statement was made, as the investigation is reportedly ongoing. We will update this space if American vehicles are found to be included in the problem.

GM considering new powertrain options for large SUVs

Aside from the new General Motors offerings, there's not a whole lot of action going on in the fullsize SUV segment. That doesn't seem to be stopping GM from pushing the envelope in the market as Automotive News is reporting that the automaker is looking to introduce some new powertrain options into the Chevy Tahoe (and Suburban), GMC Yukon (and Yukon XL) and the Cadillac Escalade - all have been redesigned for the 2015 model year.
Now, we already know that GM and Ford are collaborating on nine- and ten-speed transmissions for a broad range of applications (including the big SUVs), but this new report says that GM is also considering other options as a way to one-up the competition and, of course, to optimize fuel economy. AN quotes Jeff Luke, executive chief engineer for GM trucks, as saying that "interesting powertrain technologies" are coming including a return of a hybrid SUV and possibly even a diesel engine. Although it sounds like the latter could come down to how customers respond to the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel.