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GM's Ultium EV platform finally shows up in Q3 sales numbers

General Motors has heralded its Ultium battery-electric platform as the future of its passenger car and truck lineup, but for the first two years of its existence, its impact on the marketplace has been virtually nonexistent. Well, that finally changed in the third quarter of 2023, and while the cars based on this architecture don't represent anywhere near the volume of GM's broader combustion portfolio, we're reaching a point where Ultium products are finally in view (and in the hands) of real-world shoppers. At this point, five U.S.-market Ultium models are in production: the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer & Silverado EV, and BrightDrop Zevo 600. If you're not familiar with that last one, that's OK; it's a commercial product that you likely won't see on the road for some time. Together, these four combined for 4,257 sales in the third quarter alone — up from 2,663 for the entire first half of the year. While that may not seem like a significant uptick when viewed from altitude, the quarter-to-quarter numbers paint a clearer picture.  Let's toss out the stragglers first. The Chevy Blazer EV, and Silverado EV for example, are barely in production. GM delivered 19 Blazers and 18 Silverados in the third quarter and that's the entirety of their production runs so far. Likewise, GM's BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery van effectively exists apart from the consumer marketplace, so its contribution of just 35 units can be set aside too. That leaves us the two you've heard of: the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq — models with high sticker prices and long reservation queues.  Through the second quarter (remember, we're talking six months here), GMC sold 49 Hummer EVs. No typo. In the three months that made up the third quarter, GM moved 1,167 of them. Not only is that a dramatic improvement over the first half, but it's more Hummers than GMC sold in the entirety of 2022 (854). Lyriq's improvement was less eye-popping on paper, but after moving just 122 total units in 2022 and 2,013 of them in the first half of 2023, Cadillac managed to up that figure to 3,018 units in the third quarter alone.  GM is betting its short-term EV future on the Ultium platform, so these trends need to continue if that's going to be a profitable wager.

GMC Terrain's first generation could get recalled for headlights

According to Car Sales Base, GMC sold 745,454 Terrain crossovers from the end of 2009 to the end of 2017, all but a few of them representing the first-generation model years of 2010 to 2017. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the carmaker will need to recall almost all, due to a problem with excessively bright headlight reflections. NHTSA takes issue with the fact that federal motor vehicle regulations stipulate how bright headlight reflections are allowed to be within a certain arc of the headlight beam axis. In a certain area of the arc, the Terrain throws two small spots of light that are about 450 to 470 candela strong where the legal maximum at that point is 125 candela — one candela being equivalent to the light from one candle. The NHTSA wants the headlights replaced for being close to four times over this reflective limit, alleging this can cause "glare to other motorists driving in proximity." GM discovered the noncompliance in 2019, then filed a notice of noncompliance that requested an exemption from having to recall the crossover. GM's counterpoint to NHTSA was that the two areas of illegality were 80 degrees outboard of the headlight and 45 degrees up. You'd have to be Slenderman or a giraffe standing on the side of the road — our words, not GM's — to be blinded by the light. The automaker hadn't heard of any incidents nor complaints over the issue. The only customer feedback GM received was a Terrain driver saying the "left headlamp seems to have a portion of the light that shines up in the trees at near a 45-degree angle." Note, that's the left headlight, so the tree in question would likely be on the other side of the road. GM said oncoming traffic wasn't impaired by the excessive brightness. Due to these these mitigating factors, GM asked for an exemption from recalling the Terrains.    This week, NHTSA denied GM's petition.

GM recalls full-size truck, SUVs and vans over faulty shifter mechanism

Twelve different General Motors vehicles from the 2013 model year, up to 54,686 units in total, are being recalled over two potential issues with their steering columns. The models in question, all full-size trucks, SUVs or vans, are the: Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Savana, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL.
The affected vehicles were built with a fractured parking lock cable or "a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly." As a consequence, they could shift out of park without the brake pedal being applied or with the key removed or in the off position.
A bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that the recall should begin on January 17. GM will notify owners, at which time they can take their vehicles to their dealers for repair free of charge. Have a look at the bulletin below for more information.