1958 Gmc/ Chevy Carryall Apache 100 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

UAW Chief Shawn Fain disrupts Detroit's labor tradition

He's known to quote the Bible and Nation of Islam civil rights leader Malcolm X. He's a social media fanatic who keeps the pay stubs of his union member grandfather in his wallet. And now, Shawn Fain is representing nearly 150,000 auto workers in one of the biggest labor strikes in decades. In taking action against all three Detroit carmakers, Fain, the head of the United Auto Workers, has remade the strategy of the union he leads, choosing a bolder, much riskier path than his predecessors after he won office by a narrow margin in a first-ever direct election earlier this year. The strike started as the clock hit midnight on Friday, and followed Fain's decision to open negotiations with Ford Motor, General Motors and Stellantis simultaneously and eschew public niceties involving choreographed handshakes that famously kicked off previous negotiating efforts. The strategy is not without risk. A weeks-long strike would hit workers who live paycheck to paycheck, while the Detroit Three automakers have billions in cash to withstand the walkout. Fain, 54, has made creative use of social media, appearances on network and cable news programs and alliances with high-profile progressive politicians such as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, to reframe the UAW's contract bargaining as a battle to re-set the balance of power between workers and global corporations. He has rebutted automakers' concerns about labor costs by pointing out that they have poured billions into share buybacks to benefit investors. "If they’ve got money for Wall Street they sure as hell have money for the workers making the product," he said. “We fight for the good of the entire working class and the poor." In lengthy social media talks to UAW members, Fain alternates quoting Bible verses with the use of charts and graphs to dissect wage and benefit offers from the automakers - details his predecessors kept behind closed doors during bargaining crunch time. Fain, in his unorthodox approach, ran what amounted to a public auction among the companies to push each one to top the other to avoid a costly walkout. Prior UAW presidents picked just one automaker to set a pattern for the other two. Over and over, Fain has told UAW members at the Detroit Three that they can reverse 20 years of wage and retiree benefit concessions, stop further plant closures and end a seniority-based, tiered compensation system that pays new hires as much as 44% less than veteran workers.

GM diesel pickups first to undergo extra EPA, CARB testing

The effects of Volkswagen's long-running diesel emissions evasion are starting to spill over to other automakers, but General Motors is taking things in stride. The 2.8-liter, four-cylinder Duramax in the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon is the first engine to get extra scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, Automotive News reports. Rather than just the usual in-lab test, it's also being checked on the road. However, the extra evaluation shouldn't have any impact on when the trucks with his mill hit dealers later this fall. "We're in our final stages of the EPA certification, and our launch is on track," Chevy spokesperson Otie McKinley tells Autoblog. The four-cylinder diesel in the trucks makes 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the automaker is touting low NOx production. In the announcement for the Colorado's specs, the company calls it "the cleanest diesel truck engine ever produced by General Motors." The tech includes exhaust gas recirculation to lower combustion temperatures and improve emissions. There's also a urea tank like on the bigger diesels for full-size trucks, and it gets refilled in time with oil changes. An indication on the instrument panel lets drivers know when that's needed, too. Even with the more demanding testing, the company doesn't seem too worried about the four-cylinder passing. "Part of our development process is on-road and off-road [laboratory] testing," Scott Yackley, Chevy Trucks assistant chief engineer, said to Automotive News. In the wake of the VW scandal, the EPA has pledged more rigorous testing. Before, on-road emissions evaluations were largely limited to heavy-duty vehicles, but the agency has decided to apply the checks more often to other models. There's also now greater cooperation with Canadian authorities.

2023 GMC Sierra prices up, start at $38,995 for Sierra Pro Regular Cab

It was only 90 days ago that GM Authority, typically a reliable source in these matters, reported on pricing for the 2023 GMC Sierra lineup before official numbers were released. Those early figures were apparently just placeholders. Now that GMC's uploaded the full 2023 configurator for the 2023 Sierra, not only are MSRPs higher except on the base trim, the destination charge has risen from $1,795 to $1,895. The sticker prices including destination and their changes from those late August sums are: Sierra Pro Regular Cab Standard Box 2WD Turbo 2.7L I4 L3B $38,995 ($1,025 less) SLE Double Cab Std Box 2WD Turbo 2.7L I4 L3B $52,095 ($1,100) Elevation Double Cab 2WD Turbo 2.7L I4 L3B $53,795 ($1,200) SLT Crew Cab Short Box 2WD 5.3L V8 L84 $57,795 ($1,300) AT4 Crew Cab Short Box 4WD Turbo-diesel 3.0L I6 LZ0 $68,595 ($1,495) AT4X Crew Cab Short Box 4WD 6.2L V8 L87 $83,595 ($3,395) Denali Crew Cab Short Box 2WD 5.3L V8 L84 $67,595 ($1,095) Denali Ultimate Crew Cab Short Box 4WD Turbo-diesel 3.0L I6 LZ0 $82,940 ($745) The Sierra's price bumps ranging from $745 to $3,395 come in tandem with the prices of the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado going up anywhere from $800 to $1,800. The $3,395 MSRP boost on the Sierra AT4X skews the price curve because of extra equipment. GMA reported in July that the standard AT4X would inherit parts from the Sierra ATVX AEV created in collaboration with American Expedition Vehicles. That's what's happened. A revised grille with gloss black and dark nickel trim, AEV front and rear bumpers with increased approach and departure angles, a hot-stamped hardened steel front skid plate inflate the cost and give the ATX4 a little more capability off-road. The equipment list also narrows the gap from the regular AT4X to the AT4X AEV, the latter going just a bit further with four more skid plates, AEV's Salta wheels, and a smattering of black trim around the body. We're still waiting for official pricing on the AT4X AEV. The image above shows shows how similar both trucks will look when the AEV arrives, with the standard AT4X on the left, the AT4X AEV on the right. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.