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NHTSA investigating nearly 750,000 GM models over non-deploying airbags

Nearly 750,000 vehicles built by Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac are the subject of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation due to non-deploying driver-side airbags. While the investigation is ongoing, the agency believes the issue is likely due to rust particles that form on the inflator's connection terminal interface. The list of nameplates included in the investigation includes Chevrolet's Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban, GMC's Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL, plus Cadillac's Escalade, Escalade ESV, CT4, CT5, and XT4. All of the potentially affected vehicles are 2020 or 2021 models, according to a bulletin published on the NHTSA's website. Investigators launched the probe in April 2021 after 15 consumers reported airbag-related issues, including nine who said an airbag malfunction light appeared in the instrument cluster. More alarmingly, the NHTSA is aware of six accidents that caused significant damage to the car's front end yet didn't trigger the driver's airbag. It adds that there are no fatalities linked to the issue, but there are six crashes and eight injuries reportedly blamed on it. No evidence suggests this problem is related to the millions of potentially deadly Takata inflators recalled over the past few years. General Motors is aware of the defect. It sent a technical service bulletin (TSB) to its dealers in March 2021 to address the aforementioned warning light. The note explains the issue is due to "rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver's airbag inflator." The company hasn't issued a safety recall yet, however. Whether it will partially depends on the NHTSA's findings. It's currently looking into the scope and the severity of the problem, and it wants to understand its implications on driver safety. Investigators will decide whether General Motors needs to recall the 749,312 cars that are part of the probe when they close their investigation. General Motors has already spent a significant amount of money replacing defective airbag-related parts in its cars. In November 2020, it was ordered by the American government to recall nearly 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs equipped with potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators. It repeatedly argued that testing proved the inflators were safe, and it petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, which cost an estimated $1.2 billion (about a third of its net income in 2020).

General Motors could turn Hamtramck into its electric pickup, SUV hub

Electric off-roaders could revitalize the Detroit-Hamtramck factory that General Motors previously announced it will close. While official details remain shrouded in secrecy, analysts believe the plant will be re-tooled to manufacture at least three electric models due out during the early 2020s. The plant's scheduled closure was one of the grievances the United Auto Workers (UAW) union cited when it embarked on a 40-day strike in September 2019. General Motors agreed to keep it open without shedding much light on what it planned to build there. Analyst at LMC Automotive told the The Detroit News they believe an often-rumored electric SUV that will resurrect Hummer's name, image, or both will be one of the models assigned to the Hamtramck plant. Battery-powered variants of the GMC Sierra and the Cadillac Escalade will be made there, too, as will an enigmatic van. LMC Automotive's Jeff Schuster believes the van will come first; it could enter production as early as 2021. The Hummer — which might also be offered as a pickup — will follow before the end of 2022, while the Sierra and the Escalade will both arrive in 2023. We're taking this report with a grain of salt, though, because only one of the aforementioned models has been announced by General Motors. Rumors of a Hummer resurrection emerged in the summer of 2019, just a few weeks before we heard unverified reports of a battery-powered variant of the next-generation Escalade. General Motors confirmed plans to enter the burgeoning electric pickup truck segment, which Ford, Rivian, and Tesla also have their sights on, but it hasn't detailed how or when. The van is a mystery. General Motors refused to comment on the report. It previously announced it will keep Hamtramck open, and invest $3 billion to build electric vehicles there. The investment will create 2,225 jobs. Inaugurated in February 1985, the Hamtramck factory has churned out a diverse selection of models over the past 34 years, including Cadillac's Eldorado, Seville, and Allante, the Oldsmobile Toronado, the Buick Riviera, and more recently, gasoline-electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors announced plans to close Hamtramck in 2018, but it quickly backpedaled and extended its lease on life until 2020 by keeping the Chevrolet Impala and the Cadillac CT6 around for a few additional months.

Cadillac is doing a 'second installment' of the CT6-V for $92,790

After being all but certain the Cadillac CT6 would begin pushing American daisies June 1, the brand said "the CT6 was never meant to be fully on the chopping block." The same day we got that news, Cadillac began taking pre-orders for the CT6-V. Limited to 275 units and costing $88,790 after destination, orders came in so quickly that order books closed only hours later. Turns out the phrase "275 pre-order slots" was another slight miscommunication. Cadillac has announced continued production of the CT6-V, this time costing $92,790. In February, Cadillac Society confirmed with the automaker that the 275 figure only applied to pre-orders. It isn't clear how many CT6-Vs will be built in what the brand calls the "second installment," but it is clear that buyers who didn't get in early will pay more. Cars Direct was privy to a letter sent to dealers that said pre-order buyers "were rewarded with a special introductory offer by quickly raising their hand." Those slow on the draw have hopefully used the extra time to fish another $4,000 from their pockets. The elevated price buys the same car that was $88,790 two months ago - nothing has changed but the bottom line. The new MSRP puts more distance between the hot CT6-V and the $89,290 CTS-V. Conversely, the CT6-V with a Blackwing V8 beating 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque is now just $4,000 less than the coming Platinum V8 trim, which costs $96,790. That Platinum version gets a detuned Blacking putting out 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. The vague phrase "second installment" phrase makes us think Cadillac's not committing to a number so it can cap production at will depending on how this more expensive go-round fares. Still, it's good news for anyone who wanted the sedan new and didn't hit the buzzer quickly enough in January. As if all that weren't surprising enough, GM Authority reported that there's a second-gen CT6 in development. The outlet's sources say the new sedan will move to GM's VSS-R platform, the modular architecture that will replace both the Alpha and Omega platforms. The platform initialism stands for Vehicle Set Strategy - Rear-wheel drive. The car even has a codename: 7ESL, where 7 represents the architecture, E the segment, S the sedan body style, and L the Cadillac brand. Looks like the CT6 will be nothing but surprises this year.