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GM may have teased a whole group of electric vehicles

During GM's big CES press conference, the automaker highlighted a number of its upcoming electric car-related projects from delivery vans to the upcoming flagship Cadillac Celestiq. In the middle of it all, a collection of mystery cars sat in the background behind speakers. They were in the dark, lit only with their running lights, and while it's possible they're just generic filler cars or concepts, we think they could be future products. Our best shot of the cars together is shown above, and we can pretty easily identify three of the vehicles. In the center is obviously the GMC Hummer EV. On either side of it are Cadillacs. To the left seems to be the Lyriq crossover, and to the right is the Celestiq sedan. Two of these cars have production dates, and the third has been confirmed for eventual production, just without timing. This is why we think the rest of the cars are upcoming models. The next most easily identified car is on the near right behind the Cadillac Celestiq. It very clearly has a Chevy bowtie illuminated in the running lights. And looking closely, it appears to be a pickup truck. It's difficult to make out anything more than that. The nose does look a bit more rounded and swept back than the brick-like designs of the Silverado truck line. That also squares with what seemed to be the upcoming truck that appeared in the background of yet another GM presentation. GM previously said this electric Chevy truck will be a full-size model with up to 400 miles of range. That leaves us with three more mysterious models. Over to the left behind the Cadillac Lyriq are what appear to be a pair of crossovers. The one on the far left looks low, curvy, and possibly with a fastback roof. The one on the right is taller, boxier, and probably more of a full-size people hauler. It's hard to say much more beyond that. They could be new electric Buicks, which would fit in nicely with that brand's crossover portfolio, and would likely be highly successful in China, where Buicks, crossovers and electric cars are all rather hot commodities. As for the mystery car on the far right, it's quite a puzzle. We can at least rule out Buick and Cadillac, and GMC since it's definitely a car, and a rather small one compared with the other cars on display. That leaves Chevy, and possibly the autonomous division Cruise. We're leaning toward it being a Chevy, since the first Cruise vehicle is going to be a boxy pod of sorts.

Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra flunk IIHS headlight test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put pickup truck headlights to the test and found that the majority of them were equipped with subpar units. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline was the only truck to earn a rating of "good." The large pickup truck test was comprised of the: 2016 to 2017 GMC Sierra, 2017 Nissan Titan, 2016 Ram 1500, 2016 to 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, 2016 to 2017 Ford F-150, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tundra. The Sierra's headlights earned a rating of "acceptable," the headlights found on the Titan and Ram 1500 were found to be "marginal," and the ones on the Silverado, F-150, and Tundra were rated as "poor." IIHS claims the F-150 was the most disappointing out of the large pickup trucks as both its halogen and optional LED headlights failed to provide adequate visibility during testing. The Ridgeline (which earned a "good rating"), is usually considered a midsize or small truck, though IIHS included it in the field of large pickups. The headlights on the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, 2016 GMC Canyon, 2016 Nissan Frontier, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tacoma, which made up the small pickup truck group, all earned a rating of "poor." The IIHS claimed the Colorado had the worst headlights of any truck that was tested, as the base vehicle's units were only able to illuminate up to 123 feet in front of the car. The Ridgeline's headlights, for reference, were able to illuminate up to 358 feet in front of the vehicle. To conduct its test, the IIHS utilizes a special tool to measure how far light is projected out of the headlights in different driving situations. The trucks' headlights were tested in a straight line and in corners, while vehicles with high-beam assist were given extra praise. The headlights on the pickup trucks also mimic the testing that was done on small SUVs and cars earlier this year. Next year, automakers will need to fit their vehicles with headlights that earn a rating of either good or acceptable to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+. Related Video:

Next Chevrolet Malibu to have 'groundbreaking,' 'passionate' design

In our First Drive of the Chevrolet Malibu after its redesign in 2013 we wrote, "Chevy has quickly worked up a host of changes for its ever-important midsize sedan, and will be launching this 'there, we fixed it' 2014 Malibu like it's an all-new product." Still, no one cared. The Malibu has been mentioned in eight posts this year, all but two of them dealt with recalls, and one of those two was about a 2011 Malibu university science project. It came up in precisely zero posts from November 2013 to March 2014. That's why, according to a report in Automotive News, Chevrolet honchos are "hustling" to have a new Malibu ready in a year. Mark Reuss, General Motors' head of global product development, said it will have "groundbreaking design" and "groundbreaking technology," and asked investors who were showed a picture of it, "When is the last time you saw a [midsize] car this distinctive and this dramatic from General Motors?" Doubling down on the bullishness, Reuss said, "We've got our act together here on the midsize-car segment." Then, throwing every last chip on the pile, global design head Ed Welburn said the next Malibu's design will "make a significant statement" with "a very passionate design." Based on the number of comments Malibu posts get, we figure a fair few number of you would love for this to be the case; yet this is a lot of braggadocio to slather on a car that probably hasn't made "a significant statement" since Elton John had a number one record with Honky Chateau. That was 1972, if you're trying to remember. No matter the looks, the AN report says the new 'Bu will make a profit statement, selling for more money while costing less to produce. Alongside the Cruze, GM figures the pair will bring in an extra $800 million in variable profit in 2016. Which, in case it ends up being another 'butterface,' isn't bad for a silver lining. Featured Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Drive View 36 Photos News Source: Automotive New - sub. req. Design/Style Chevrolet GM Sedan