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Chevy Express, GMC Savanna reportedly ending production for 2025

The oldest commercial vans on the market may only have a few years left, according to a report from Autoweek. The news outlet cited a "competitive analysis source" in saying that the Chevy Express and GMC Savanna commercial vans would be discontinued after the 2025 model year. They would then be replaced by a new electric van, likely Ultium-platform based, for the 2026 model year. We reached out to GM for comment, and this is the official statement sent to us: "We have said in the past that as part of GM’s larger EV acceleration plans that we will add two new vehicles to our commercial portfolio. The first is a full-sized battery electric cargo van and the second is a medium-duty truck that will put both Ultium and our Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell technology to work. We have not disclosed timing, names or shared any other details, so any articles reporting more are purely speculative." The GM vans are mighty old, having been introduced for the 1996 model year. They've barely changed since then, having received just some facelifts and updated powertrains over the years. And with GM's electrification plans, we're not surprised that these vans will be on the way out. We do have some disagreement about the reported timeline for replacement, though. We suspect that the upcoming electric vans will overlap with the old vans for at least a year. The reason being that there are a lot of these vans on the road, and there are a lot of pieces of equipment that fit them. Box vans, buses and more have components that have been designed for the Express and Savanna. If you're a fleet that has invested in these components, you might not be ready to shift over to a whole new platform. So GM will probably want to give fleet buyers one last opportunity to replace any old vans before committing entirely to a new electric van platform. It will also be interesting to see what kind of market the GM electric vans enter. Ford already has its electric Transit on the way, and Stellantis will be launching the Ram ProMaster electric van next year. Those are both based on existing gas-powered vans. And GM itself has already delivered the first of its larger BrightDrop EV600 electric vans to FedEx. The coming GM vans will likely be new platforms, which could give them performance and range advantages, though the Ford and Stellantis vans will have the advantage of being compatible with equipment for the gas variants.

Zombie cars: 9 discontinued vehicles that aren't dead yet

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

Recharge Wrap-up: Range-extended EV taxis in London, 2016 Chevy Volt interior two years old

The first Metrocab range-extended EV taxis are operating on the streets of London. The cabs use a 12.2-kWh battery and two 50-kW motors, as well as a 1.0-liter gasoline range extender. Fuel economy is 98 MPGe on the ECE101 cycle, and total driving range is over 348 miles before needing to charge or refuel. Cabbies can expect to save GBP20 to GBP40 (about $30 to $60) per day on average. "The cash savings on fuel are significant, the ride and comfort outstanding, and my first customers are thrilled with the new cab," says the first operator of the new EV taxi, Preston Morris. "With its air suspension providing unrivaled comfort, panoramic glass roof for views of the city and silent powertrain, what's not to like?" Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet has had the interior design of the 2016 Volt finished for two years already, according to GM interior designer John McDougall. Beginning around 2010, GM received sketches from designers worldwide before narrowing it down to a handful of designs. Then the top three choices were molded from clay. The chosen theme was then refined for up to 18 months. "Every little thing you can imagine goes into that," says McDougall. "The glare angle from the windows, the placement of the controls, the placement of the seat. You have to create something that's beautiful and functional." Read more at GM Authority and at Inside EVs. More details have emerged about the Second Life Batteries Alliance. Vattenfall has announced a research project in partnership with BMW and Bosch to use retired EV batteries for stationary, grid-connected energy storage in Hamburg, Germany. Over 100 lithium-ion batteries from BMW i3 and ActiveE vehicles will make up a two-mWh storage unit for grid balancing, enough to power 30 four-person households for a week. The system is "compact enough to fit in a small building," says Bosch. Such storage systems are especially fit for storing and moving alternative forms of energy, which often fluctuate in supply more than electricity from a traditional power plant. Vattenhall will operate the storage unit for 10 years, with Bosch managing the batteries, during which time the three partners hope to learn more about battery applications and their performance over time. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below.