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Barrett-Jackson rundown: 2024 GMC Hummer EV, Colin Powell's Corvette and more

The echoes of the last hammer fall at Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale Auction have disappeared into the Arizona night, as have the record crowds and the traffic jams. During the Super Saturday charity auctions, three main attractions drove onto the dais for bidding: Late U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State General Colin Powell’s 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the hammer price benefitting AmericaÂ’s Promise Alliance, the nonprofit Powell founded to support kids; The first production 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Edition 1 with VIN 001, proceeds going to Tread Lightly!, which educates people on how to enjoy the outdoors in a motorized vehicle and simultaneously protect the outdoors; And the first production 2024 Ford Mustang GT Fastback VIN 001, its hammer price benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Before the Saturday showcase, charity auctions on Friday took Barrett-Jackson past a huge milestone. When an 800-horsepower 2021 Shelby Super Snake Count's Kustoms Edition hammered for $350,000 to support the veteran's charity Camp Freedom, the auction house officially surpassed the $150 million mark for charity auction proceeds. Piling on before the clock struck midnight, a 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning 4x4 Super Crew sold for $275,000, those funds donated to Fighter Country Foundation. Then came Saturday. Powell's Gunmetal Gray on black Stingray was said to be a daily driver, but with just 15,600 miles on the odometer, Powell — who died in 2021 — apparently had a very short commute. Equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission and chrome wheels, it sold for $200,000. The first production 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Edition 1 ran the bidding up to $500,000. That's quite a ways down on the $2,500,000 that the bedded 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 garnered at the charity auction in 2021, and not a bad price all things considered. The owner gets the first one off the line instead of getting lost in the 90,000-order backlog, and the markup goes to a good cause instead of a flipper and eBay fees. The first production 2024 Mustang GT Fastback brought in both less and more than the Hummer EV. The Ford's hammer price came to $490,000. However, two additional philanthropic donations for this lot in the amounts of $50,000 and $25,000 took the final price to $565,000. The big movers on the day were outside the charity sphere, four cars breaking the million-dollar mark.

GMC looks to space with the Hummer EV Omega Edition

The Hummer EV is nothing if not outlandish. Everything about it is over the top, from its size to its weight, but the folks at GMC felt it needed something more to stand out. Enter the 2024 GMC Hummer EV Omega Edition, an enormous matte blue vehicle with unique features and an exclusive price tag. The special edition builds on the 3X truck and SUV models with a unique Neptune Blue Matte paint color and black exterior trim pieces. It also brings an off-road package, exclusive 18-inch wheels, the MultiPro tailgate with a Kicker audio system, unique interior carpeting, and a transparent roof. In addition to the wheels and 35-inch mud-terrain tires, the off-road package brings underbody skid plates and additional off-road camera views. GMC said it took inspiration for the Hummer EV from the “endless expanse of space,” which is likely true since the vehicle is about as efficient as a Saturn V rocket. Interestingly, the automaker is using the Miami Grand Prix as the launchpad for the EV, offering 0-60 sprints to invited attendees at the event. The Hummer EV Omega Edition Pickup gets a 24-module battery and starts at $149,995, while the SUV gets a 20-module battery and a $139,995 starting price. The hard-to-get EV is exceedingly rare in its standard form, and the Omega Edition is only available to existing order holders, so itÂ’s unlikely any of us will see the unique blue 'ute anytime soon. Despite its ridiculousness, the Hummer EVÂ’s wait list extends into multiple years for some buyers. GMC took thousands of orders and only built 1,000 units in March, so you can see how wait times quickly pile up. That said, production nearly doubled between February and March, giving hope to impatient order-holders. ItÂ’s not possible to place an order at this time, so if you donÂ’t have a reservation already, it might be time to look at a different EV. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GM readying aluminum-body fullsize pickups

Ford's extensive use of aluminum in its 2015 F-150 is a big deal. A really big deal. Big enough, in fact, that General Motors is reportedly changing its fullsize pickup strategy. According to The Wall Street Journal, The General has locked in partnerships with Alcoa Inc. and Novelis Inc. - companies that will supply aluminum for the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.
"Ford's introduction of the 2015 F-150 pickup truck was a game changer, and it's the first, not the last, conversion of this type," Novelis spokesperson Charles Belbin told the Journal. The switch to aluminum has allowed Ford to shave roughly 700 pounds off its fullsize truck's curb weight. And while official mileage ratings have not been announced, the weight loss should go a long way for improving efficiency, especially when combined other efficiency-minded improvements including better aerodynamics and new, turbocharged V6 engines.
Of course, aluminum-bodied cars are nothing new. But extensive use of aluminum in a major, best-selling product like the Ford F-150 is expected to kick off widespread use of this weight-saving material as availability rises and cost decreases. The WSJ reports that GM had originally explored the idea of moving to aluminum pickups back in 2008, but abandoned the idea due to cost concerns amid economic woes.