1936 Chevrolet Coupe on 2040-cars

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Meet Alex Archer, the engineer behind GM's power-sliding center console

In 2009, a GM manager complained to a 59-year-old GM technician about the hassle of retrieving items from a pickup truck bed after driving shifted the cargo. In two days, the tech had come up with the ideas that, ten years later, would debut as the MultiPro tailgate. The engineering teams kept the tailgate secret in part by hiding mock-ups in a locked storage closet in GM's Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren Michigan for two years. A piece in the Detroit Free Press reveals that another storage closet in Warren would play the same role in a different cloak-and-dagger operation, this time for the power-sliding center console in GM's new full-sized SUVs. During a meeting in early 2017, bosses gave the job of the console's creation to 24-year-old design release engineer Alex Archer, just two years out of Stanford University with a degree in engineering and product design.  This time, the catalyst for the feature was an internal GM think tank called co:lab, where employees suggest ideas. Execs gave Archer the task because "They needed someone willing to ask a lot of questions," her 36-month mandate to produce a six-way console that could be a standard cubby or a gaping maw able to swallow four gallon jugs or hide a secret compartment. Clearly, she succeeded. It took Archer and the team nine months to devise a prototype, another six months to get the green light for production. As with the tailgate, the team working on the console grew to include designers, production engineers, and suppliers. Archer, now 26, shepherded the process, and her name is on the patent. "It took a ton of people, I'm just somebody who stuck with it the whole time," she said. GM like her work well enough to produce the "Day in the Life" segment above, five months before the world would hear about the console. Archer's path to engineering was as unlikely as getting the job for the console. She had entered Stanford with plans to be a doctor. But an innovation class during her freshman year, and a sophomore summer spent helping her grandfather rebuild a 1937 MG engine recharted her course. Her grandfather told her, "You know, you could be an engineer for a car company." Consumer reaction to Archer's work won't be far off, the SUVs slated to hit dealerships soon. Meanwhile, she's busy on something that could be just as intense as the console: Restoring a 1955 Packard Clipper in her garage. Head to Freep to check out the story of Archer and the console. Related Video:

Experimental mid-engine XP-819 Corvette going up for auction

It seems to be commonplace that when a new Corvette is in development, rumors swirl about a possible mid-engine layout. As is the case of Chevy's most recent C7 Corvette, these rumors never pan out.
In any case, the idea for a 'Vette with an engine mounted behind the driver can probably all be traced back to a single car, the 1964 XP-819 prototype. Built as an "engineering exercise" back in 1964, the prototype was designed with a rear-mounted engine. History tells us that the idea of a rear-engine Corvette fizzled, and the XP-819 was eventually cut up into pieces and stored at a shop in Daytona Beach, FL.
After sitting for untold years, a restoration project started on the car, and while it isn't yet fully completed, the current owner of the car, Mid America Motorworks, will have the car on display at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance as a "driveable chassis" with hopes of having a fully completed car ready to bring to next year's show.

Recharge Wrap-up: Chevy Volt promos, Audi e-gas partnership

GM is offering promotions on the 2017 Chevrolet Volt. As dealers receive the first shipments of the new model year of the Volt, the automaker is giving customers in certain areas (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont) $1,000 cash back on their purchase. GM Financial is also offering lease discounts for a limited time, and trade-ins may be eligible for even more money back. State and federal incentives could add up to make the new Volt quite the bargain for the right customer. Read more at Clean Technica. The UK's potential exit from the European Union could mean tighter emissions regulations, potentially even in the UK. While Britain has fought against the EU on stricter rules, the "Brexit" could leave officials in Brussels free to strengthen air quality laws. The UK, despite giving up its seat at the table, would still be beholden to some rules as a member of the European Economic Area free trade agreement. British voters vote on a referendum to leave the EU on June 23. Read more from Bloomberg Business. Daimler will refrain from investing in battery pack production with other automakers for the time being. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche cites an overabundance of battery production, saying, "Contrary to the expectation four or six years ago when everyone thought that the cells would be a rarity that could even be used as a tool of industrial policy, there is de facto a massive overcapacity in the market today and cells have become a commodity." Daimler recently shuttered its own lithium-ion battery production due to high costs and low demand. Read more from Automotive News. Audi is partnering with the Viessmann Group to increase e-gas production using a new biological process. Audi has been making the renewable fuel through a two-part process of electrolysis (splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen) and methanation (reacting hydrogen with CO2 to make synthetic methane). The new biological process uses microoganisms to absorb hydrogen and CO2 to make methane. The process requires lower temperature and pressure, and doesn't require high concentrations or purity of CO2. Read more in the press release below.