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Meet Alex Archer, the engineer behind GM's power-sliding center console

In 2009, a GM manager complained to a 59-year-old GM technician about the hassle of retrieving items from a pickup truck bed after driving shifted the cargo. In two days, the tech had come up with the ideas that, ten years later, would debut as the MultiPro tailgate. The engineering teams kept the tailgate secret in part by hiding mock-ups in a locked storage closet in GM's Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren Michigan for two years. A piece in the Detroit Free Press reveals that another storage closet in Warren would play the same role in a different cloak-and-dagger operation, this time for the power-sliding center console in GM's new full-sized SUVs. During a meeting in early 2017, bosses gave the job of the console's creation to 24-year-old design release engineer Alex Archer, just two years out of Stanford University with a degree in engineering and product design.  This time, the catalyst for the feature was an internal GM think tank called co:lab, where employees suggest ideas. Execs gave Archer the task because "They needed someone willing to ask a lot of questions," her 36-month mandate to produce a six-way console that could be a standard cubby or a gaping maw able to swallow four gallon jugs or hide a secret compartment. Clearly, she succeeded. It took Archer and the team nine months to devise a prototype, another six months to get the green light for production. As with the tailgate, the team working on the console grew to include designers, production engineers, and suppliers. Archer, now 26, shepherded the process, and her name is on the patent. "It took a ton of people, I'm just somebody who stuck with it the whole time," she said. GM like her work well enough to produce the "Day in the Life" segment above, five months before the world would hear about the console. Archer's path to engineering was as unlikely as getting the job for the console. She had entered Stanford with plans to be a doctor. But an innovation class during her freshman year, and a sophomore summer spent helping her grandfather rebuild a 1937 MG engine recharted her course. Her grandfather told her, "You know, you could be an engineer for a car company." Consumer reaction to Archer's work won't be far off, the SUVs slated to hit dealerships soon. Meanwhile, she's busy on something that could be just as intense as the console: Restoring a 1955 Packard Clipper in her garage. Head to Freep to check out the story of Archer and the console. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1990 GMC S-15 Jimmy 4x4

The General sold the GMC-badged version of the first-generation Chevy S-10 Blazer, known as the S-15 Jimmy or just the Jimmy, from the 1982 through 1994 model years. These trucks were based on the small S-10 pickup and sold well (until small trucks were forced to get bigger and less truck-like after the dawn of the Ford Explorer-inspired commuter-truck era), but they have become difficult to find in vehicle graveyards in our current century. Here's a '90 Jimmy 4x4 with red-primer paint job, found in a self-service yard on California's Central Coast last month. GMC shoppers could get the 1990 Jimmy as a rear-wheel-drive truck, but this one has the four-wheel-drive option that allowed Tahoe-bound skiers to skip the chain monkeys on the way to the slopes (the CHP, understanding that California drivers have a 95% mortality rate on snow or ice, requires chains or four-wheel-drive to get over Donner Pass when there's a hint of snow forecast). GM sold so many millions of small-block Chevrolet V8s that it made economic sense to use the same tooling to produce a V6 version. The result was this truck's 4.3-liter V6 that was three-quarters of the good old Chevy 350 (5.7-liter) V8 that powered so many Camaros, Chevelles and Impalas. The 4.3 didn't make smooth power, but it got the job done and held together quite well. This one was rated at 160 horsepower, good enough for the Jimmy 4x4's 3,512-pound curb weight. These days, though, used-truck shoppers insist on at least two tons of heft plus four doors. Some discount lot in Monterey or Salinas couldn't even get $999 for this truck, and so it ended up in the final stop before the cold steel jaws of the crusher. 1990 was the last model year for the two-door-only Jimmy; for 1991, the Jimmy came with a choice of two doors (for devil-may-care types) or four doors (for drop-the-kids-at-school types). I've always liked the look of the instrument panels on the early S-10s and its siblings; even though the designers had to work within strict budgetary limitations, they made the panels look interesting. This truck nearly made it to 170,000 miles before the end. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. So powerful with the 4.3 (the regular S-15 pickup still came with a 2.8-liter V6 as base equipment) that it could destroy a TV camera.

GM earnings rise 1% as buyers pay more for popular pickups

DETROIT — General Motors said Thursday that higher prices for popular pickup trucks and SUVs helped overcome slowing global sales and profit rose by 1% in the second quarter. The Detroit automaker said it made $2.42 billion, or $1.66 per share, from April through June. Adjusting for restructuring costs, GM made $1.64 per share, blowing by analyst estimates of $1.44. Quarterly revenue fell 2% to $36.06 billion, but still beat estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $35.97 billion. Global sales fell 6% to 1.94 million vehicles led by declines in North America and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The company says sales in China were weak, and it expects that to continue through the year. In the United States, customers paid an average of $41,461 for a GM vehicle during the quarter, an increase of 2.2%, as buyers went for loaded-out pickups and SUVs, according to the Edmunds.com auto pricing site. The U.S. is GM's most profitable market. Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said she expects the strong pricing to continue, especially as GM rolls out a diesel pickup and new heavy-duty trucks in the second half of the year. "We think the fundamentals do remain strong, especially in the truck market," she said, adding that strength in the overall economy and aging trucks now on the road should help keep the trend going. Light trucks accounted for 83.1% of GM's sales in the quarter, and pickup truck sales rose 8.5% as GM transitioned to new models of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, according to Edmunds, which provides content to The Associated Press. As usual, GM made most of its money in North America, reporting $3 billion in pretax earnings. International operations including China broke even, while the company spent $300 million on its GM Cruise automated vehicle unit. Its financial arm made $500 million in pretax income. Suryadevara said GM saw $700 million in savings during the quarter from restructuring actions announced late last year that included cutting about 8,000 white-collar workers through layoffs, buyouts and early retirements. The company also announced plans to close five North American factories, shedding another 6,000 jobs. About 3,000 factory workers in the U.S. whose jobs were eliminated at four plants will be placed at other factories, but they could have to relocate. GM expects the restructuring to generate $2 billion to $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by the end of this year.