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GM admits goal of 500,000 EVs by 2017 won't be met

After a little over four years of Chevy Volt sales, General Motors has a better handle on how many people it expects will buy cars with plugs. And it's less than the company thought back in 2012, when then-senior vice president of global product development, Mary Barra, said that GM expected to sell 500,000 "vehicles with electrification" by 2017. In a sustainability report released this week, GM says that half-million vehicle target will not be met but that it still, "believes the future is electric." In the report, GM says that, "For our commitment to electrification, our forecasted outlook currently projects us, along with the broader automotive industry, falling short of expectations for 2017. ... We continue to aspire to our stated goal." GM's electric lineup includes the Volt, the recently popular Spark EV, the slow-selling Cadillac ELR and upcoming Malibu Hybrid, CT6 plug-in hybrid and eAssist technology in the Buick LaCrosse and Regal. GM says it has 180,834 electrified vehicles on the road in the US today. In 2013, it had 153,034; 95,578 in 2012, and 39,843 in 2011. The company's next big plug-in vehicle will be the second-gen Chevy Volt, which is coming to market later this year, followed by the 200-mile Bolt EV coming, we think, in 2017. GM Employees on Mission to Transform Transportation Sustainability report outlines vehicle and manufacturing progress; sets new targets 2015-05-07 DETROIT – General Motors' just-released sustainability report chronicles efforts by the company's 216,000 employees to live out GM's newly defined purpose and values by earning customer loyalty, applying meaningful technology advances and improving the communities where it does business. These actions – led by CEO Mary Barra – further drive sustainability into the company's culture through building safer and smarter vehicles with less environmental impact. "GM will take a leading role in the auto industry's transformation as it undergoes an unprecedented period of change," said Bob Ferguson, senior vice president, GM Global Public Policy. "From GM's labs to its assembly lines, our people are driving the world to a better place through improved mobility." The company believes the future is electric, with billions of investment to support an all-in-house approach to the development and manufacturing of electrified vehicles. It now counts 180,834 on the road in the U.S – up from 153,034 in 2013.

GM won't really kill off the Chevy Volt and Cadillac CT6, will it?

General Motors is apparently considering killing off six slow-selling models by 2020, according to Reuters. But is that really likely? The news is mentioned in a story where UAW president Dennis Williams notes that slumping US car sales could threaten jobs at low-volume factories. Still, we're skeptical that GM is really serious about killing those cars. Reuters specifically calls out the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Sonic, and the Chevrolet Volt. Most of these have been redesigned or refreshed within the past few model years. Four - the LaCrosse, Impala, CT6, and Volt - are built in the Hamtramck factory in Detroit. That plant has made only 35,000 cars this year - down 32 percent from 2016. A typical GM plant builds 200,000-300,000 vehicles a year. Of all the cars Williams listed, killing the XTS, Impala, and Sonic make the most sense. They're older and don't sell particularly well. On the other hand, axing the other three seems like an odd move. It would leave Buick and Cadillac without flagship sedans, at least until the rumored Cadillac CT8 arrives. The CT6 was a big investment for GM and backing out after just a few years would be a huge loss. It also uses GM's latest and best materials and technology, making us even more skeptical. The Volt is a hugely important car for Chevrolet, and supplementing it with a crossover makes more sense than replacing it with one. Offering one model with a range of powertrain variants like the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius might be another route GM could take. All six of these vehicles are sedans, Yes, crossover sales are booming, but there's still a huge market for cars. Backing away from these would be essentially giving up sales to competitors from around the globe. The UAW might simply be publicly pushing GM to move crossover production to Hamtramck to avoid closing the plant and laying off workers. Sales of passenger cars are down across both GM and the industry. Consolidating production in other plants and closing Hamtramck rather than having a single facility focus on sedans might make more sense from a business perspective. GM is also trying to reduce its unsold inventory, meaning current production may be slowed or halted while current cars move into customer hands. There's a lot of politics that goes into building a car. GM wants to do what makes the most sense from a business perspective, while the UAW doesn't workers to lose their jobs when a factory closes.

2018 Buick Regal TourX First Drive Review | Pop the champagne, it's another wagon!

As a newborn member of an endangered species, we should probably pop open the Dom to fete the arrival of the 2018 Buick Regal TourX. It's a wagon, after all, and if there's anything we automotive writers have been clamoring for is more wagons. "Forget those SUVs," we've implored. "This wagon over here is better! Just as much cargo space, better to drive! And have you seen it in brown?" Well, it seems like our collective proselytizing is starting to pay off, or perhaps far more likely, consumer tastes are shifting a bit to appreciate the wagon. Sure, they need to be lifted a bit and sport plastic fender flares to add a wee bit of SUV-ish flavor, but who the hell cares? Beggars, choosers, etc. It's a wagon, and we should be happy it's here. And we are, the Regal TourX is a pretty good one that thankfully offers more than just its mere existence. It especially delivers on the space front, which is refreshing since most of today's wagons are not as cargo friendly as the collective "we" would like to admit. An Audi Q5 regrettably does have more cargo space than an Audi A4 Allroad. Yet, the TourX has more than both – considerably more in fact, coming in at a certifiably huge 73.5 cubic feet of maximum space. The difference is palpable between it and the 53.5-cubic-foot Allroad, which Buick considers the TourX's closest competitor. As the below video (somewhat) demonstrates, I was able to cram 12 Patagonia duffle bags into the Allroad, filling up most of the cabin. The same amount in the TourX left tons of residual space, you could still see out the back and loading it all in didn't require a degree in Advanced Tetris. There's also a far more useful amount of space with the back seat raised (32.7 vs. 24.2). That area is especially lengthy, and with the large rear quarter windows and reasonably square roofline, it should be a good choice for dog owners. There's no built-in dog net behind the back seat as you'll find in the Allroad and BMW 3 Series wagon (you'd have to go the aftermarket route), but your four-legged buddy should at least appreciate the lower liftover/jump-aboard height. Which brings us to the next wagon benefit: the lower roof height. According to Buick's marketing folks, people who buy off-roadish wagons like the Regal TourX are far more likely to actually live the outdoorsy active lifestyles the owners of SUVs usually only envision for themselves.