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NHTSA investigating nearly 750,000 GM models over non-deploying airbags

Nearly 750,000 vehicles built by Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac are the subject of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation due to non-deploying driver-side airbags. While the investigation is ongoing, the agency believes the issue is likely due to rust particles that form on the inflator's connection terminal interface. The list of nameplates included in the investigation includes Chevrolet's Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban, GMC's Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL, plus Cadillac's Escalade, Escalade ESV, CT4, CT5, and XT4. All of the potentially affected vehicles are 2020 or 2021 models, according to a bulletin published on the NHTSA's website. Investigators launched the probe in April 2021 after 15 consumers reported airbag-related issues, including nine who said an airbag malfunction light appeared in the instrument cluster. More alarmingly, the NHTSA is aware of six accidents that caused significant damage to the car's front end yet didn't trigger the driver's airbag. It adds that there are no fatalities linked to the issue, but there are six crashes and eight injuries reportedly blamed on it. No evidence suggests this problem is related to the millions of potentially deadly Takata inflators recalled over the past few years. General Motors is aware of the defect. It sent a technical service bulletin (TSB) to its dealers in March 2021 to address the aforementioned warning light. The note explains the issue is due to "rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver's airbag inflator." The company hasn't issued a safety recall yet, however. Whether it will partially depends on the NHTSA's findings. It's currently looking into the scope and the severity of the problem, and it wants to understand its implications on driver safety. Investigators will decide whether General Motors needs to recall the 749,312 cars that are part of the probe when they close their investigation. General Motors has already spent a significant amount of money replacing defective airbag-related parts in its cars. In November 2020, it was ordered by the American government to recall nearly 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs equipped with potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators. It repeatedly argued that testing proved the inflators were safe, and it petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, which cost an estimated $1.2 billion (about a third of its net income in 2020).

2024 GMC Sierra HD AT4X and Extreme AEV muscle their way into the lineup

The new AT4X variant of GMC's 2024 Sierra HD pickup series officially joins the stable this week, giving pickup truck box-checkers yet another off-road trim to chase. Well, two trims, technically, as GMC took the opportunity to announce that the AT4X will also be offered with an upfit package from American Expedition Vehicles, appropriately named the Extreme AEV Edition that takes its cues from the same package offered on the Sierra 1500 AT4X. And with its introduction, the 2024 GMC Sierra HD lineup is now complete.  GMC's Sierra AT4X models mirror the ZR2 packages offered on the updated Chevrolet Silverado. If you paid any attention at all to the Silverado HD ZR2's introduction earlier this month, you'll be familiar with the formula. Key upgrades include a 1.5-inch factory lift, standard electronic locking rear differential, Multimatic DSSV shocks and 35-inch Goodyear Territory all-terrain tires. It also gets beefier skid plates —  both the steel protecting the transfer case and the aluminum piece up front. With the updated 6.6-liter Duramax diesel, GMC says it'll tow up to 18,500 pounds.  "GMCÂ’s AT4X trim, which will be available across the entire GMC truck lineup, offers customers more premium and capable choices when it comes to ‘do-it-allÂ’ capabilities," said GMC VP Duncan Aldred. "Each model delivers unique strengths, with the all-new Sierra HD AT4X taking it to the max, enabling you to go virtually anywhere, with the towing power to bring your recreational toys, gear or camper along for the journey." And by "do it all," he means all the luxury stuff too, judging by the Obsidian Rush interior, which GMC says includes massaging leather front seats and real ash wood trim. The better from which to feel the shove of the AT4's two available 6.6-liter engines, one a gasoline-burner rated at 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque, the other a Duramax turbodiesel making 470 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque. You'll need the latter if you want to hit GMC's advertised towing capacity.  And don't forget the Extreme AEV Edition, which will surely come with a Denali-rivaling (and still TBA) price tag. The stamped steel bumpers stand out right away, as do the integrated front recovery points and winch mount. The package also adds more skid plates protecting the steering gear and transfer case. Its 18-inch "Salta" wheels are also unique.  GMC says it will be cranking out 2024 Sierra HD AT4Xs and Extreme AEV Editions by the third quarter.

GM dealers unhappy about pickup prices

The backlash is beginning. Following General Motors' price hike of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra last week, dealers across the country are expressing their ire over increasing prices in the face of rebates and discounts on trucks from Ford and Ram.
Speaking to Automotive News, Sam Pilato, the general manager at Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater, FL, Silverados are "selling very poorly." W. Carrol Smith, the president of Monument Chevrolet in the heart of truck country, Texas, said, "[GM's] position is that the vehicle stands on its own and it doesn't need a bigger rebate. That's not what the market is telling us."
According to AN, that's the general attitude amongst Chevy and GMC dealers across the country, where the twin pickups are getting butchered in sales by competitors offering up to $9,000 off their sticker prices. Part of the problem for GM is that its trucks are arriving on the market near the end of the current F-150's lifecycle, a fact that Ford has taken advantage of.