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Kid Rock's Chevy Silverado is a working-class hero [w/video]

Rock stars are known for their swagger, and Kid Rock brings a mountain of that confidence to his design for this chrome-festooned 2016 Silverado 3500HD at the SEMA show. Inspired by his song Born Free and a visit to the pickup factory in Flint, MI, the styling is meant to celebrate the folks that build these trucks everyday. The Silverado sparkles like a beacon under the lights at the SEMA Show thanks to its black metallic-flecked paint and acres of chrome. The shiny stuff covers the custom grille, exhaust stacks, 22-inch wheels, and side steps. In a patriotic nod, silver Stars and Stripes run down the side to offer a little contrast to the dark body. Further emphasizing the pickup's huge size, a trailer carries a pair of Gibbs Sports Quadskis that are decorated to match the truck. Kid Rock takes inspiration from – get this – acid-wash jeans for the interior by combining Sky Cool Gray leather seats with metallic-looking inserts. Appropriate for a musician, there's also a custom Kicker stereo in there, and Made in Detroit logos adorn the door sills and glovebox. Related Video: Show full PR text SILVERADO 3500HD KID ROCK CONCEPT CELEBRATES FREEDOM Boldly styled custom 'dually' truck honors working-class Americans LAS VEGAS – Inspired by his hit song "Born Free," musician Kid Rock collaborated with Chevrolet to design a customized 2016 Silverado 3500HD "dually" that celebrates freedom and honors American workers. The truck was introduced today at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where it joined other personalized Chevy truck concepts designed to showcase the depth and breadth of the brand's pickup truck lineup. Michigan-born Kid Rock visited the Silverado HD assembly plant in Flint, Mich., to meet with the members of UAW Local 598, who built the truck, before driving it to Chevrolet's design studio to share his ideas for its customization. "The Flint plant – and everyone on the line – is the backbone of America," said Kid Rock. "I wanted the design for the truck to be bold, but with features and elements that wouldn't be out of reach for working-class guys." As a result, his Silverado features several enhancements, including a custom chrome grille with the Born Free logo and an enlarged Chevy Bowtie emblem, chrome exhaust stacks and patriotic graphics that flow across the body sides. A unique execution of the patriotic motif was an idea he expressed at the start of the project.

GM recalling 118K Colorado, Canyon pickups over missing hood latches

General Motors has announced a recall of 118,800 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks due to the possibility of secondary hood latches not being installed at the time of manufacture. The affected vehicles are from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 model years, all of which were built between November 9, 2009 and August 28, 2012.
According to the official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, these trucks fail to "comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 113, 'Hood Latch System.' The hood may be missing the secondary hood latch." In other words, owners of these trucks could find their vehicles' hoods opening unexpectedly while driving.
The official recall campaign is expected to begin on January 17, 2013. Dealers will inspect the affected pickups and if a secondary hood latch is not present, one will be installed free of charge. Scroll down to read the official NHTSA report.

GM claims it's first to sell million 30+ mpg vehicles

As we continue to put together all the data for the year-end edition of By The Numbers, General Motors has announced that it sold more than a million vehicles in the US last year that achieved at least 30 miles per gallon on the highway. More impressively, GM managed this feat using multiple strategies including small vehicle size, turbocharged engines and hybrid or plug-in technologies across four brands (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC) accounting for 13 separate models. This number will grow even more in 2013 thanks to cars like the all-electric Spark, the diesel Cruze, the range-extended Cadillac ELR and the Buick Encore compact CUV.
GM's small car sales were up 39 percent last year helping to attain this million-sales mark for 30-mpg models, and almost 40 percent of all GM sales consisted of cars with fuel-efficient I4 engines. In regards to more advanced means of improving fuel economy, GM says that it plans on having 500,000 vehicles with "some form of electrification" on the road by 2017.
Scroll down for the full list of GM's million 30+ mpg cars as well as an informative press release.