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Bob Lutz says Tesla remains 'fringe' brand

We've said it before, we'll said it again: Bob Lutz gives great quotes. From his toilet-themed opinion of global warming to Toyota's deity status, the man knows how to get your attention. His latest? Saying that Tesla Motors is and will remain a fringe brand. Take that, Tesla fanbois. This, of course, is the same fringe company that prompted Lutz and his former colleagues at General Motors to start working on the Chevy Volt around eight years ago. The same fringe company that has easily outsold the similarly priced (but don't call it a competitor) Cadillac ELR with its Model S. Lutz did clarify that the fringe status will only last until Tesla comes out with a mass-market electric vehicle that has a range of 200 to 300 miles. Lutz was on CNBC talking about the TSLA stock's recent performance, and he pointed out that even Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the California automaker's stock is overvalued these days. Despite its prevalence around these parts, Tesla is not yet a household brand. But the company is working hard to get a cheaper, long-range EV to market in the not-too-distant future, so this fringe thing may not last much longer than that show Fringe did. Watch the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: CNBC via Green Car Reports Green Chevrolet Tesla Green Culture Electric Hybrid PHEV cnbc

GM recalls 3,300 pickups and SUVs for new ignition-switch issue [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A statement from GM about the recall has been added below. The exact total of vehicles affected is 3,296, including 3,073 of them in the US. General Motors isn't letting an ignition-switch problem grow into a massive scandal again. The automaker is recalling about 3,300 North American trucks and SUVs. They are: the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra and the 2015 Chevy Suburban and Chevy Tahoe, as well as 2015 model heavy-duty pickups, the Detroit News reports, citing an Associated Press story. The issue appears to have been caught fairly quickly. In this case, the keys can get stuck in the "start" position and then slip to "accessory" if bumped. This is because the ignition lock gears have an outer diameter that's larger than the specifications allow. When that happens the engine shuts off, and the driver loses assistance to the steering and brakes. The airbags might also be affected. The vehicles get a new ignition-lock housing to fix the problem. According to the Detroit News, an employee who experienced the problem with the switch discovered the issue, and this person then let officials at the automaker know as part of the Speak Up for Safety program. A total of five reports of the fault were discovered. However, there are no cases of injuries or crashes. The claims to the automaker's resolution program eventually tallied that GM's previous ignition switch problem included 124 deaths and 275 injuries. The company also had to recall millions of vehicles and pay significant fines to the US government. GM Statement General Motors is recalling 3,073 full-size trucks from the 2014 and 2015 model years in the U.S. Some of these vehicles may have an ignition lock actuator gear with an outer diameter that exceeds specifications, which may make turning the ignition key difficult. The ignition key could get stuck in the "start" position. This may be more likely at higher interior ambient temperatures. If the vehicle is driven with the key stuck in the "start" position, and the vehicle experiences a significant jarring event or the vehicle's interior temperature cools, the ignition lock cylinder could move out of the "start" position, rotate past the "run" position, and move into the "accessory" position, leading to loss of power steering assist, power brakes and potentially air bag deployment in certain crashes. Dealers will replace the ignition lock housing.

Let's Drive NYC is GM's car sharing program for the Big Apple

Under a new car sharing program offered by General Motors and others, a New York Minute will cost about 15 cents. GM is working with a luxury-apartment building owner and a parking lot operator to run a car sharing program in Midtown Manhattan. The program is called Let's Drive NYC and it was announced Thursday. Let's Drive NYC is being offered to residents of the Ritz Plaza, a 479-unit luxury apartment building near New York's Times Square. The program is being run with the help of Icon Parking Systems, which runs about 200 parking garages in Manhattan where the cars can be parked. GM is contributing eight Chevrolet Trax crossovers and two Chevrolet Equinox SUVs, and the automaker is slated to add more vehicles "later." Residents of the Ritz Plaza, which is owned by Stonehenge Partners, can make "periodic apartment lease payments" and in exchange receive electronic credits for three hours of driving a month. After those three hours are up, the drivers will be charged less than $10 an hour, or as much as $75 a day. The program was piloted earlier this year to some of the apartment's tenants. The program marks the second bit of car sharing news in New York within the past two months. In August, Mercedes-Benz and Smart parent Daimler announced that its Car2go car sharing service would expand into Queens and add about 100 Smart ForTwo two-seaters to the city's program. Car2go made its New York debut in Brooklyn last October and has attracted more than 27,000 members since then. You can take a look at Let's Drive NYC's press release below. GM Unveils 'Let's Drive NYC' Car-Sharing Program NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Running an errand to a big box store or planning a weekend excursion are about to get easier for some Manhattan residents because of a car-sharing program revealed today by General Motors. It's the company's latest move to deliver urban mobility options to customers around the globe. Let's Drive NYC is available to eligible residents of The Ritz Plaza, a 479-unit luxury apartment building at Times Square in midtown Manhattan, owned and managed by Stonehenge Partners. Residents use a GM-developed mobile app to reserve a vehicle and access parking in one of 200 garages throughout Manhattan managed by Icon Parking Systems. The fleet currently includes eight Chevrolet Trax small SUVs and two Chevrolet Equinox compact SUVs, with more vehicles to be added later.