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The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.

Next-gen GMC Canyon spied with big screen and heavy camo

The next generation of midsize GM pickups is well on its way to being ready, and these new spy shots give us an early look at the new interior inside the GMC Canyon. To our delight, the new Canyon interior doesn’t even remotely resemble the current truck. The relationship between the refreshed SierraÂ’s new interior and what we can see in these Canyon spy shots is impossible to ignore. While itÂ’s not an exact replica of, or a shrunken version of, the CanyonÂ’s screen hardware looks similar to the SierraÂ’s. We can see the volume knob sprouting out of the top left corner, and the whole screen is surrounded by shiny black plastic. The software itÂ’s running is GMÂ’s new Android Automotive-based infotainment that weÂ’ve already sampled in the 2022 Yukon. Just like in that vehicle, we can see that Google Maps is the native navigation system, and it features similar shortcuts on the left-hand side of the screen. Below the screen, the next-gen Canyon features all of its climate controls. The model weÂ’re looking at here must be an upmarket trim, because itÂ’s featuring heated and cooled seats. Another indication that this model could be a Denali (or other higher trim) is the small piece of wood trim on the door that is mostly shrouded by camouflage. We canÂ’t make it out all that well, but any amount of wood trim in a midsize pickup means luxury.  ItÂ’s difficult to make out whatÂ’s going on with the steering wheel, though we can see what appear to be silver switches flanked by flat black buttons. The instrument cluster is similarly difficult to see, but if the little glimpse of a “125 miles to empty” readout is any indication, it could very well be a totally digital cluster. WeÂ’ll need to wait to fully confirm that thought, though. When it comes to the exterior, there isnÂ’t a whole lot to see under the heavy camouflage. We have a reasonable look at the grille behind the mesh, and the front LED lighting signature is partially visible, too. WeÂ’ll note that there isnÂ’t much of a front bumper on this test truck, which is giving it the appearance of being an off-road capable pickup — itÂ’s just nowhere near as extreme as the Canyon prototype we spied last year sporting a ZR2-style suspension.  Big wheels fitted to this tester gives more credence to it possibly being a Denali. The rear is perhaps even more covered up than the front, making it even more difficult to see what GM is hiding.

GMC shows how the 2022 Hummer could have looked even more futuristic

Excitement filled the room when GMC asked its designers to resurrect the Hummer in April 2019, but a tinge of uneasiness permeated the department after executives locked in an early 2020 unveiling date. Luckily, stylists knew what they wanted early on in the development phase, and preliminary design sketches give us a fascinating look at how they shaped the electric off-roader that ended up making its global debut online in October 2020. Hummer, the brand, unceremoniously shut down in 2010 after General Motors failed to sell it to the Chinese, but its design DNA was so strong that stylists were able to pick up where their predecessors left off. All of the sketches published on Instagram by the official General Motors Design account show a boxy truck with a tall front end, a short windshield, and a generous amount of ground clearance. These styling cues trace their roots to the AM General Humvee that entered production in 1984 and made its combat debut when the United States invaded Panama in 1989. Even the wildest drawings still depict a pickup that's immediately recognizable as a Hummer. Most of the early design sketches wear some variation of the seven-slot grille that characterized Hummer's production models; it's a styling cue that hints at a heritage shared with Jeep under the American Motors Corporation (AMC) umbrella. Oddly, none wear the round headlights seen on the H2, the H3, and the HX concept that nearly became the H4. Was GMC afraid that its Hummer would end up looking too much like a Jeep? And, at least one sketch shows a fold-down windshield, a feature that will not make it to the assembly line. Sketches never reach production without modifications made in the name of packaging and safety concerns, and the Hummer is no exception, but stylists did a good job of reinventing the brand's design language without copying or erasing the past. If the company had stuck around long enough to make a second- and a third-generation H2, odds are it would look a lot like the GMC-branded model that will enter production in a year. GMC remains on track to start 2022 Hummer deliveries in late 2021, though it told Green Car Reports that it still hasn't built a fully functional prototype yet. When it arrives, this outdoorsy pickup will land in a burgeoning segment of the truck market that numerous models (including the Rivian R1T and Ford's electric F-150) will also call home.