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Hot Wheels' 2022 Green Speed cars bring EVs to small scale

With more and more EVs hitting the market, it was only a matter of time before the new breed of cars would find representation in diecast form. For 2022, Hot Wheels is coming out with a new Green Speed series that puts the spotlight on a diverse lineup of electric cars. The five-car series features a fun mix of EVs from different manufacturers and in a wide range of styles. Some are completely bone stock. For a traditional luxury sedan, there's a Lucid Air in silver, complete with glass (or in this case, clear plastic) canopy. For fans of Teutonic 4-door "coupes" there's the Audi RS e-Tron GT in Daytona Gray. Ticking the truck box is a Hummer EV in a yellow that can only be described as a throwback to the H3. But because this is Hot Wheels, there are "hot-rodded" variants in the lineup as well. Rather than just a regular Nissan Leaf, they've elected to cast the carbon fiber-bodied NISMO RC 2.0 race car. Likewise with Ford, instead of the standard Mustang Mach-E, they've gone with the Mustang Mach-E 1400 drift car. This isn't the first time Hot Wheels has put out a Green Speed series. The line debuted in 2016 but reflected the limited EV choices in the real car market at the time. The only non-fantasy cars in the series were a first-gen Tesla Roadster, a Tesla Model S, and Chevy Volt. Hot Wheels revisited the line again in 2019, this time adding a Tesla Model 3 and a Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo. Hot Wheels also makes other mini EVs that don't fall into this specific line of models. If you want to collect 'em all, there's the second-generation Tesla Roadster concept, Cybertruck, Jaguar I-Pace, Pininfarina Battista, Porsche Taycan, and a Volkswagen ID R. Similarly, Matchbox has released a version of the Tesla Roadster with sustainable packaging to boot. If you must have an old school gasoline burner, Hot Wheels has plenty of options for you too, like, say, this snazzy FJ60 Toyota Land Cruiser. The 2022 Hot Wheels Green Speed series should be on shelves at your local retailers now. Related Video:

Trademark application points to evolution of new Hummer EV logo

A trademark application has revealed yet another evolution of the logo expected to adorn GMC's new Hummer EV pickup truck, bringing back the big "H" badge utilized on the H2 and H3 model lines of the expanded SUV lineup's heyday.  The image included with the filing depicts a logo that should be familiar to Hummer fans (or really any American who left their house between 2003 and 2010), with "EV" supplanting the old numerical model indicator. The "Hummer" and "EV" typeface appears to be a direct lift from a filing that surfaced back in April.  This should provide some comfort to folks who are fans of the idea of a future-proofed, all-electric pickup, but want something that embodies the charisma and road presence of the models sold in Hummer's now-deceased, not-so-environmentally-spectacular incarnation. While we don't yet know really any details of the new all-electric SUV, we do know it will be sold via GMC dealers, meaning the revived nameplate will not bring the rest of the Hummer brand along with it.  We haven't really seen much of the new truck, save for teasers and hints here and there. Even the "reveal" back in June only gave us a vague, big-picture look at the truck's silhouette, and various companion images and videos have hinted at features such as a removable roof assembly.  The truck’s general shape is off-road oriented with squared-off, sharp lines tracing the entire silhouette. Its big, knobby tires and blocky wheels are clear indicators of what GM was aiming for with this electric pickup. As for the SUV, comparisons to the Ford Bronco four-door will be inevitable. If our eyes are picking up the scale of this photo correctly, though, the Hummer SUV appears to be a slightly larger vehicle than the four-door Bronco is. Although, the wheelbase for the SUV is shorter than that of the Hummer truck. ThatÂ’ll help it off-road. Those small bumpers and short overhangs along with the bumper cutouts should be hugely beneficial to approach and departure angles, as well. GMCÂ’s shots of the Hummer in the studio are equally as revealing. We can see what looks to be an intense front skid plate and two big tow hooks. In addition to the off-road gear, GMC has allowed a look at the frunk. The front “grille” is one piece with the hood of the truck, so the whole assembly pulls up. That makes for what appears to be a very easy-to-load front trunk compared to other EVs that force you to lift items up and over the front of the car.

GMC Hummer EV could have had the Chevrolet Avalanche's Midgate

One of the many rumors swirling around the GMC Hummer EV claimed the truck would resurrect the Midgate inaugurated by the original Chevrolet Avalanche. Although we now know there's no way to fully knock down the partition between the cab and the cargo box, the firm revealed the rumor wasn't entirely false. "There was [a Midgate] early on. We opted for the functionality of the drop glass in the back. With the package layout and things like that, it was not advantageous to pursue that one. And, the five-foot bed was kind of the industry standard in regards to price of entry in that segment," explained John Mack, the Hummer's exterior design management, during an interview with Muscle Car & Trucks. The Hummer will go on sale with a five-foot box, and it doesn't sound like a longer bed will be available, so a modern version of the Midgate would have made the model more versatile by giving users the ability to fold down the partition behind the rear seats to carry bulky items, like plywood and ATVs. It's a feature that would have inevitably made the truck more complicated to build, however, because it adds moving parts that need to be sealed. Hinges, seals, and latches in turn add weight, and complexity almost always invites high manufacturing costs. As an electric pickup built with newly-developed components, the Hummer already has enough of each. Motorists who need to carry something that's significantly longer than the cargo box aren't entirely out of luck. As Mack pointed out, the rear window drops into the partition, so owners will have the ability to haul surfboards, lumber, or anything else that's relatively long and reasonably thin by simply pushing a switch. Alternatively, the only thing limiting cargo space when the roof comes off is the sky — or, depending on where you live, bridges. Mack didn't reveal when the Midgate was dropped. GMC launched the Hummer project in April 2019, and it previously released early design sketches that show how the truck transitioned from a sketch to a prototype. As of writing, nothing suggests the Midgate will make a comeback in the near future on any member of the General Motors portfolio. It was introduced in 2001 on the first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, which went on sale in the United States for the 2002 model year. It later spread to Cadillac's luxed-up variant of the truck, the Escalade EXT, and to the short-lived GMC Envoy XUV.