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Chevrolet will preview electrified Silverado-like truck at CES 2021

After abandoning its fight against California's lawmakers, General Motors is shifting its electrification offensive into high gear. CEO Mary Barra will give the opening keynote address at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which will be held online, and Chevrolet will provide a peek at its electrified pickup during the event. Insiders familiar with the carmaker's plans told Bloomberg that Barra's address will highlight ways that electrification can improve the environment and society in general. General Motors president Mark Reuss will speak, too, and his remarks will be followed by a video that will highlight several future products, including what the sources referred to as "a plug-in Chevrolet pickup, some Cadillac models, and vehicles for other brands." These comments ask more questions than they answer, because plug-in means many things in this context. Chevrolet's electric Bolt is a plug-in vehicle, as is the upcoming GMC Hummer, but the plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe is one, too, and it's clearly not all-electric. It's often been assumed that Chevrolet's upcoming electrified truck will be electric, but it might arrive with a hybrid powertrain or a gasoline-powered range extender. Chevrolet could also follow Ford's lead and plant a stake in both the hybrid and the electric pickup segments. It's too early to tell if Chevrolet will unveil the same truck it previewed during a presentation earlier in 2020. Shown briefly, it wore a highly futuristic design that gave it a sleeker look than the current-generation Silverado. Cadillac's presentation promises to be interesting, because the company hinted it might abandon gasoline entirely by 2025, several years earlier than expected, even though its dealers aren't all on board with the shift. Going electric-only in about four years would force the brand to conduct a massive overhaul of its range. As of writing, there is not a single electric Cadillac in showrooms, but the Lyriq will arrive in late 2022 as a 2023 model. It's difficult to tell what's in store for other brands, but there are several cars that General Motors could show during CES. Buick doesn't sell an electric car in the United States yet, for example. Alternatively, GMC is working on an SUV variant of the Hummer, and it has started developing an electric truck. Going back to Chevrolet, our crystal ball tells us we'll see more of the 2022 Bolt EUV during the next edition of the tech show, too.

Silverado HD, Touareg V10 TDI face off in diesel tug-of-war

A couple weeks ago, we watched a Chevrolet Silverado get dominated by a Dodge Ram Heavy Duty in a fullsize pickup tug-of-war, but in that truck's defense, Chevy's Vortec gas engine was no match for the torquey Cummins turbo diesel. For our next round of vehicular tug-of-war, a Duramax-powered Silverado HD takes on Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI.
Now, on paper, putting the Duramax V8's 365 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque up against the V10's 310 hp and 553 lb-ft looks like an easy win for the Bowtie, but unfortunately, this battle has a similar result as the Dodge versus Chevy video, with the Silverado smoking its tires trying to move forward as it gets pulled backwards. Put another way: YouTube 2, Chevy Silverado 0.
It just goes to show, though, that big tires, bolt-on fender flares and goofy smoke stacks don't improve your towing abilities. Besides, what did the Silverado driver expect when the Touareg V10 TDI has towed a Boeing 747 in the past?

GM forced to cut truck production amid semiconductor shortage

WASHINGTON — General Motors said Wednesday it will cut some truck production in North America because of the ongoing global semiconductor shortage. The largest U.S. automaker said its Flint Assembly plant that builds the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD trucks will operate on one production shift the week of July 26. GM said its Ft. Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana that builds the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 model trucks will be idled next week. GM's Silao Assembly plant in Mexico that also builds the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Cheyenne (for the Mexico market) and GMC Sierra 1500 will also suspend production next week. All three plants are expected to resume regular production the week of August 2. Related video: