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GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

Cadillac Lyriq EV debut delayed by Covid-19 virus

The, coronavirus, otherwise dubbed Covid-19, has claimed another large gathering. General Motors canceled the public debut of its coming Cadillac Lyriq crossover, planned for April 2 in Los Angeles, due to fears over the continued spread of the virus. With more than 14 confirmed cases of residents with Covid-19, Los Angeles declared a state of emergency last week. Michael Albano, a communications director at GM, said in an e-mail to The Verge that "Our top priority is the safety of our media guests and employees." At the time of writing there's no word on a potential new date for the reveal for the highly anticipated crossover that GM just announced last week at a private event in Warren, Michigan. However, the automaker provided Autoblog with a statement that read, in part, "Please know we are working to reschedule the reveal as soon as possible." What we know about the Lyriq is just as compelling as what we don't know. There XT5-sized people hauler will be out to dazzle in every way, with a ton of weight on its shoulders — many will be judging GM's and Cadillac's past and claimed preparedness for the future based on this one offering. The Lyriq will be the first GM EV to sit on a new EV architecture the engineers call BEV3 and the marketers call Ultium, with battery capacities up to 200 kWh and a potential range of 400 miles. Speaking of which, GM just applied to trademark the term Tecra with the US Patent and Trademark Office, so we could be in for more information on innovative battery systems in the not-too-distant future. The automaker could forgo a public debut for the time being and opt to livestream the event. Or, who knows, it's possible the Detroit Auto Show just garnered itself a whopping debut for the show's debut event in June; the first rendering of the Lyriq aired at last year's Detroit show. Related Video:

Cadillac V-Series Academy comes to Las Vegas [w/video]

General Motors has added another high-speed education course to the curriculum at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The desert track already hosts the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School with Chevrolet Corvettes, including the ZR1, and they've just added the Cadillac V-Series Academy.
Open now, the one- and two-day performance driving school teaches "the finer points of high performance driving" using the 556-horspower instructional aids known as the CTS-V sedan, coupe and wagon. This is different than than using the CTS-V at the Monticello Motor Club on the east coast - that's part of a sponsorship deal that Cadillac has with the track. The driving course at the Motorsports Ranch is its own program that was developed by Fellows, and we have no reason to think the Cadillac edition won't be just as thorough and enjoyable as the one with Corvettes.
Unlike the 'Vette edition, however, it doesn't appear that you get an invitation to the program if you buy a CTS-V model. Classes are capped at 12 participants and run $1,295 for a single day, $2,295 for two days. There are a video and a press release below with more info.