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GMC confirms Hummer EV will be joined by an electric Sierra, or Sierra-like, pickup

GMC will step into the electric vehicle arena for the first time when it begins building the Hummer EV in 2021. While it's not planning on becoming an electric-only brand, it has more battery-powered models in the pipeline. "There will be an all-electric Sierra pickup, but no timeline yet. But, the plan is to make it electric; this whole electric thing is a moving target," Lynn Thompson, the president of a Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership in Missouri, told the Detroit Free Press. He said executives revealed those plans during a national dealer meeting. What remains to be seen is whether the truck will be an electric variant of the Sierra as Thompson said, or if it will arrive as a standalone electric truck with Sierra-like dimensions and capabilities. Sister company Chevrolet is also planning to launch an electric pickup in the coming years, and it strongly hinted it will take the second route. Its entry into the segment won't look like a Silverado, and nothing seriously suggests it will be badged as one. It will also be interesting to watch how GMC ensures that the truck doesn't overlap with the Hummer EV, which will exclusively be offered as a four-door pickup with a relatively short cargo box when it arrives in stores as a 2022 model. Our crystal ball tells us the Hummer will be marketed as a more expensive model aimed at weekend adventurers who want to make a statement, while the Sierra-like model will be cheaper and primarily aimed at buyers who merely want a truck, whether they're commuters, contractors, or fleet operators. Chevrolet's entry into the segment will slot beneath these two models. General Motors used this strategy nearly 20 years ago to keep the Hummer H2, the GMC Yukon, and the Chevrolet Tahoe in separate corners of the same room. GMC's electric truck could share powertrain and chassis components with the Hummer EV. It might also be built in the same Hamtramck, Michigan, factory that parent company General Motors is funneling $2.2 billion into. Regardless of the path it takes, GMC is not going all-electric. "[GMC boss] Duncan [Aldred] said we're certainly not going to abandon our internal combustion engine vehicles because that's our core business, and that was good to hear. It's to let people know they're not going down the same road as Cadillac," a dealer who asked to remain anonymous said. Cadillac might go EV-only by 2025, starting with a crossover named Lyriq, and many of its dealers have refused to spend $200,000 on upgrades.

GMC says it's 'considering' an all-electric Sierra pickup

GM loves to talk about its electric future — Cadillac was just announced as the brand's official electric division — but trucks haven't been mentioned as a part of this electric revolution, so far. However, that may be changing. CNBC spoke with Duncan Aldred, vice president of GMC about the potential for an electric GMC Sierra. He replied, "Certainly, it's something we're considering." As the Sierra goes, so does the Chevrolet Silverado, and vice versa. But it would make sense for GM to introduce electrification to GMC first, followed by the Silverado. GMC already gets premium features such as the Multi-Pro tailgate are GMC exclusives, after all. It's also marketed as more high-end and premium, which could help make the cost of an electrified Sierra easier to recoup for GM, and easier to stomach for customers. This electric truck consideration could be in response to Ford's aggressive declaration of an electric F-150 the other day, as well as the electric concept trucks from Rivian and Bollinger. The concepts in particular have generated much excitement for their ridiculous claimed performance and shocking utility. If GMC is only "considering" it, then we imagine the brand isn't too far along the development path, if it's even started. Regardless, it's the most affirmative stance we've seen GM take on total electrification of a full-size pickup truck yet. We asked GMC for confirmation and for any clarification it could provide us on the Sierra's electric future, but a spokesperson responded with, "no comment." Related video:

Safety group pans GM’s new Marketplace in-dash shopping

When it comes to our cars, is the Internet of Things a godsend? Or a hidden menace that will create more problems than it will solve? On the same day General Motors announced it will equip newer-model cars with its in-dash Marketplace e-commerce app, a prominent safety group was shooting it down. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman tells Bloomberg the technology will only contribute to distracted driving and hurt efforts to stem the tide of rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. in 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was responsible for 3,477 fatalities and 391,000 injuries in 2015, the most recent year for which it has data. "There's nothing about this that's safe," Hersman told Bloomberg. "If this is why they want WiFi in the car, we're going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now." Marketplace, developed with IBM, will allow drivers — or more often, one hopes, their passengers — to order coffee or food, find gas stations and reserve hotel rooms from their dashboard screens. The technology is set to be uploaded automatically to nearly 1.9 million GM vehicles model-year 2017 and later that are equipped with WiFi hotspots and compatible systems. By the end of 2018, about 4 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles will be equipped with Marketplace. The app will debut with a limited number of participating retailers, including TGI Fridays, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Starbucks, with more likely to join later. Online retail giant Amazon is also partnering with automakers such as Ford to bring e-commerce capabilities inside the car through its Alexa personal assistant. While convenience is nice, one other thing is becoming clear as the IoT wedges its way into our cars: It's taking aim at some decidedly first-world problems.Related Video: Image Credit: GM Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Infotainment in-car entertainment marketplace e-commerce