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Cummins and Isuzu to collaborate on prototype electric truck

Cummins, the company known best for its diesel engines, just announced a partnership with Isuzu to “create a prototype medium-duty, battery electric truck” for North America. Exploration of electric powertrains isnÂ’t totally new for Cummins, as itÂ’s talked about a transition to electric since 2017. In fact, Cummins even revealed a battery-powered truck back then, too. This electric truck with Isuzu is new, though, and itÂ’s going to put the Cummins PowerDrive6000 powertrain into IsuzuÂ’s F-Series truck that you can see in the photo above. Cummins does not detail specs for its PowerDrive6000, but weÂ’ve seen the drive unit used in a hybrid concept from Cummins previously. It provided 50 miles of electric range when the battery pack in that truck was full, but with this being a full battery electric vehicle, we suspect that Cummins and Isuzu are using a much larger battery pack for more range. We donÂ’t have any vital specs like range or power, but we suspect those will come at a later date. This year will see Isuzu and Cummins put the truck through a pilot and demonstration phase in North American fleets. After thatÂ’s been completed — assuming it is successful — the partnership could see Isuzu and Cummins collaborate on building battery electric trucks for commercial use here in North America. “We are excited to be working with Isuzu to accelerate decarbonization within the partnership,” said Amy Davis, Vice President and President of New Power at Cummins. “ItÂ’s through our joint commitment in innovation that we provide our customers with safe, reliable zero-emissions solutions.” Related video:

GM recalls over 230,000 more Trailblazer-family SUVs over door electronics

Back in August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall on the General Motors GMT360 SUVs (Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 9-7X) ranging from the 2005 to 2007 model years and the 2006 GMT370 SUVs (Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL) due to potential fires associated with the driver's door module. Initially limited to 250,000 units sold or registered in 20 Snow Belt states (and the District of Columbia), the recall has now been expanded to include an additional 193,000 of these SUVs in the US and, according to The Detroit News, 40,000 more sold outside the US, including Canada and Mexico.
Like the original recall, the issue is still a faulty driver's door module that can short out, which could lead to a fire. The Detroit News is reporting that, out of the 443,000 units being recalled, GM says that there were 58 fires that caused 11 minor injuries, and the expanded recall accounted for six fires and one injury. Despite the lower number of fires, the recall notice recommends that owners park their vehicles until the recall repairs has been performed.
On recalled units with functional modules, the repair consists of a protective coating being applied to the module, while vehicles with modules that are not working properly will have the driver's door module replaced. The official recall notice is posted below, and it includes contact information for customers of all five brands.

Mazda and Isuzu to collaborate on a new pickup truck

After decades, Mazda has finally untangled itself from its relationship with Ford. The last vestige of that partnership is the BT-50, a rebadged version of the global Ford Ranger pickup truck. Once the BT-50 ends production, Mazda has announced that it will collaborate with Isuzu to develop its next generation of pickup trucks. The BT-50 was co-developed with Ford's Australian division. In their current iteration, the BT-50 and its Ranger twin were never on sale in the United States. Mazda's last pickup in the US was the B-Series, itself also a rebadged version of the old Ford Ranger. Isuzu pulled out of the US passenger vehicle market in 2009, although it still sells commercial vehicles here. Isuzu, continuing a long and complicated relationship with General Motors, co-developed the diesel engine that currently powers the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. In select markets, Isuzu sells a rebadged version of the Colorado as the D-Max. Details on the Mazda/Isuzu tie-up are scarce. A single press release simply says "Isuzu will produce next-generation pickup trucks for Mazda, based on Isuzu's pick-up truck model." This isn't the first truck collaboration between the two companies. Since 2004, Mazda has sold the Titan, a rebadged version of the Isuzu Elf commercial truck. The Elf is sold in the US as the Isuzu N-Series. Those in the US hoping for a new competitor in the midsize-truck segment shouldn't get their hopes up for the new truck. There are currently no plans to bring them here. There is hope, though, that Ford will bring the Ranger replacement stateside sometime in the next few years. Related Video: News Source: MazdaImage Credit: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images Isuzu Mazda Truck