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Big electric trucks won't save the planet, says the NYT

When The New York Times decides that an issue is an issue, be prepared to read about it at length. Rarely will a week passes these days when the esteemed news organization doesn’t examine the realities, myths and alleged benefits and drawbacks of electric vehicles, and even The Atlantic joins in sometimes. That revolution, marked by changes in manufacturing, consumer habits and social “consciousness,” may in fact be upon us. Or it may not. Nonetheless, the newspaper appears committed to presenting to the public these pros and cons. In this recently published article titled, “Just How Good for the Planet Is That Big Electric Pickup Truck?”—wow, thatÂ’s a mouthful — the Times focuses on the “bigness” of the current and pending crop of EVs, and how that impacts or will impact the environment and road safety. This is not what news organizations these days are fond of calling “breaking news.” In October, we pointed to an essay in The Atlantic that covered pretty much the same ground, and focused on the Hummer as one particular villain, In the paper and online on Feb. 18, the Times' Elana Shao observes how “swapping a gas pickup truck for a similar electric one can produce significant emissions savings.” She goes on: “Take the Ford F-150 pickup truck compared with the electric F-150 Lightning. The electric versions are responsible for up to 50 percent less greenhouse gas emissions per mile.” But she right away flips the argument, noting the heavier electric pickup trucks “often require bigger batteries and more electricity to charge, so they end up being responsible for more emissions than other smaller EVs. Taking into consideration the life cycle emissions per mile, they end up just as polluting as some smaller gas-burning cars.” Certainly, itÂ’s been drummed into our heads that electric cars donÂ’t run on air and water but on electricity that costs money, and that the public will be dealing with “the shift toward electric SUVs, pickup trucks and crossover vehicles, with some analysts estimating that SUVs, pickup trucks and vans could make up 78 percent of vehicle sales by 2025." No-brainer alert: Big vehicles cost more to charge. And then thereÂ’s the safety question, which was cogently addressed in the Atlantic story. Here Shao reiterates data documenting the increased risks of injuries and deaths caused by larger, heavier vehicles.

GMC has received 65,000 Hummer EV orders so far

The GMC Hummer pickup truck only just went on sale, and already there's word from company brass that demand is higher than expected. According to a report from CNBC, Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC, said the automaker has received more than 65,000 combined orders for the current electric truck and upcoming SUV. What's more, the number of customers converting reservations into orders is humming along at 95%, which is also higher than the company projected. "Production’s actually slightly ahead of plan and weÂ’re putting things in place now to actually expedite that as well, so we can deliver these reservations quicker than we originally thought," Aldred said, adding that new orders placed today probably won't result in a delivered vehicle until 2024. "WeÂ’re doing all the studies on that and weÂ’re confident we can go a lot quicker than we originally thought," Aldred said, "But it still means a reservation now probably means delivering in Â’24." The version of the Hummer pickup that's currently being built is the highest-spec Edition 1 model. That truck ran at least $110,295, but since it's already sold out, new customers will be looking at Hummer EV 3X that starts right around the $100,000 mark before any optional equipment is added (and assuming you can find a dealer that won't try to jack up the price). At some unspecified point in the next year or so, GMC will start building a lower-cost Hummer 2X for $89,995. A year or so later, the  $79,995 Hummer EV 2 will make its debut. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

The GMC Hummer EV could spawn a smaller electric truck

Over 90,000 motorists have reserved a GMC Hummer EV, and the truck's relative popularity has convinced executives to consider launching a smaller and presumably more affordable model. While nothing is official yet, the Hummer EV's smaller sibling could be a midsize pickup. Citing "people familiar with the matter," Automotive News reported a smaller Hummer EV exists in the design studio that General Motors operates in California. There's no word on what it looks like yet, though it presumably borrows at least some of the rugged-looking styling cues that characterize the controversial, 9,200-pound truck. Interestingly, the smaller model could bring the Hummer name to Europe. It's too early to provide technical specifications. The model hasn't received the proverbial green light for production but Automotive News added that it's a "priority project" and that it has "a good chance of going into production." If and when it does, it's reasonable to assume the truck will use the Ultium battery technology found under the full-size Hummer EV, among other electric models from General Motors. GMC hasn't commented on the report, and it hasn't announced plans to launch a second Hummer-branded electric pickup. If the report is accurate, the baby Hummer is at least a couple of years away from hitting showrooms. First, the Hummer EV SUV will enter production. We've been here before: a downward expansion is exactly how the now-defunct Hummer brand was born. The military-bred H1 spawned the H2 for 2002 and the H3 for 2006. An even smaller off-roader previewed by the 2008 HX concept was planned but ultimately canned. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.