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The electric Hummer gets a new logo

GM submitted three trademark applications to government offices here and in Canada, as discovered by GM Authority. Two applications went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on February 4 this year, seeking to reserve the new Hummer logo, at the top in the image above. Note, the two logos aren't to scale; they're about the same size all things being equal, but we shrunk the old mark. GM sent a second application to the USPTO on February 7 requesting the brand name "Hummer" for application to "motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, trucks and sport utility vehicles; bicycles." True, we've seen the new Hummer script stretched across the front of the coming electric pickup in a teaser clip, but the paperwork continues the process of getting the entire continent ready for the alternate universe resurrection of one of America's most notorious brands.     In 2010, gas prices were in orbit, GM committed to closing the Hummer brand, vandals were setting fire to the scattered Hummers left on dealer lots, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 made 638 horsepower, the eco-minded revered the Toyota Prius and the Tesla Model S was still two years away. In that year, it would have been hard to say something more bonkers than, "Hummer's coming back in ten years as an electric pickup, its top trim making 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 pound-feet of torque." But here we are. The new logo's squareness connects it to the resolute bluntness of the old mark, yet the thinner font and chopped corners both modernize the old logo and lessen its truculence. The brand appears headed the same way, with lurid specs and square-jawed looks just like old times, but having in LeBron James a more modern take on the hardcore male vibe than it once got from (unpaid) association with guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger. To be fair, old Hummer commercials always featured women in the driver's seat, or men and young boys dreaming of big adventures, or Regis Philbin chatting up models, but the marketing department couldn't — or didn't want to — outrun the lineup's reputation on the street. We'll see how the electric version and its “incredible on- and off-road capability" fare. According to the teaser site, the new Hummer's debut is still on track for May 20. If the brand manages to recreate the old H3T pickup but with an electric powertrain, it's got one buyer right here lined up already. Related Video:

GM to accelerate its EV strategy — Cadillac could be all-electric by 2025

General Motors will roll out details of an expanded and accelerated electric vehicle strategy on Thursday in an effort to convince investors it can be a serious competitor to Tesla, people familiar with the plans said. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra, who is scheduled to speak at a conference hosted by Barclays, is expected to say the automaker is ready to spend more on electric models by 2025 than the $20 billion previously outlined, the sources said. Supplier sources said previous plans to make the Cadillac brand all-electric by 2030 are being sped up, possibly to 2025, and other sources said that acceleration will be repeated in other brands and in segments such as commercial vans. Asked about the Thursday appearance, a GM spokeswoman called talk of increased spending speculative and declined to give details. The Detroit automaker is also expected to discuss a new timeline for many of the EVs to follow those already identified, such as the GMC Hummer EV pickup and Cadillac Lyriq crossover, people familiar with the plans said. Lyriq (shown above) is slated to go into production in late 2022, but GM officials have been stung by criticism the automaker was bringing the vehicle to market too late, one source said. "The pull-ahead in programs is real and the organization is really doubling down on speeding up product development," the source said. Barra and other GM executives have been signaling the automaker's EV acceleration plans. She said earlier this month GM would boost capital spending over the next three years to speed EV development and was talking with other automakers about partnerships to develop more vehicles using GM's battery technology. Last week, a GM executive said the company had pulled forward the rollout of two "major" EV programs, and GM officials have touted the faster 18-month development time for the Hummer truck. Tesla's soaring market capitalization, and growing pressure from regulators to phase out carbon-emitting engines, has put pressure on established automakers to respond to investors who view their internal combustion lineups as outmoded and doomed in the long run. A critical part of GM's pitch to investors has been its new Ultium batteries, which it estimates will offer an electric driving range of 400 miles or more on a single charge. It is building a battery plant with Korean battery maker LG Chem in northeast Ohio.

GM renames its Detroit-Hamtramck plant Factory Zero

Maybe we'll win, saved by zero. General Motors on Friday announced that its sprawling Detroit-Hamtramck facility, which is being retooled to build electric vehicles, has been renamed Factory Zero — as in zero emissions, along with the promise of an autonomous future in which there are zero crashes and zero congestion. The company is spending $2.2 billion to retool the plant into a futuristic facility that is flexible enough to build a variety of cars and trucks across the GM portfolio of brands. GM says that's the most it has ever spent on a production facility, and when the plant's cranking out EVs at scale it will have created 2,200 manufacturing jobs. Factory Zero's first projects will be the all-electric GMC Hummer pickup and the self-driving electric Cruise Origin, both build on GM's new Ultium battery platform, with other EVs to follow. Factory Zero should start cranking out Hummer pickups by fall 2021. A Hummer SUV will come along later. Check back with Autoblog when the Hummer is revealed next Tuesday, Oct. 20. Sustainability will be another key feature. During construction, excess concrete from pours in the plant has been used to pave roads, and stormwater runoff is being recycled to charge the factory suppression system and circulate in cooling towers. The 365-acre site also has 16.5 acres of wildlife habitat — GM says monarch butterflies hang out there, along with foxes and wild turkeys. GM says it's committed to powering all its southeast Michigan plants with sustainable energy by 2023, the rest of its U.S. facilities by 2030, and overseas plants by 2040. To that end, Factory Zero has a 30-kilowatt solar carport, and a 516-kilowatt ground-mounted solar farm, from DTE. “Factory ZERO is the next battleground in the EV race and will be GMÂ’s flagship assembly plant in our journey to an all-electric future,” said Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing. “The electric trucks and SUVs that will be built here will help transform GM and the automotive industry.” Related Video:     Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing GM Hummer hamtramck