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A chopped-up General Motors EV1 shell sold for $23,662

Despite not having a VIN, a powertrain, a frame, or any doors, a decrepit General Motors EV1 shell recently sold for $23,662.10 on govdeals.com. Sold by the University of Cincinnati, the car — or what remains of it — is headed to an electric vehicle collection called The Beata Electric Motor Carriage Collection. Technically, the GM EV1 was the first mass-produced and purposed-built electric car in America. When it was released in 1996 for the 1997 model year, however, GM strictly leased the car as part of a "real-world engineering evaluation." The limited production run was meant to test real life with an EV and judge the interest from the public. GM only built 1,117 units, all of which were recalled, and most of them ultimately were sent to the crusher. But a select few were stripped of their powertrains and donated to universities and museums for educational purposes. One of those non-functioning cars made it to the University of Cincinnati in 2008. The post says it "has been in storage since," but it's not clear if the car sat in storage untouched or was stored and used by the university. According to EpiclyEpicEthan1, who posted the sales listing to r/cars, the car was purchased by The Beata Electric Motor Carriage Collection in Colorado. The Beata (derived from the Latin word for blessed) collection is a gathering of '90s OEM electric vehicles and a general EV hub. The website says the vehicles are used for testing, diagnostics, education, events, and overall preservation and documentation. The rare and niche collection also includes a 1993 Dodge/Chrysler TEVan, a 1997 Honda EV Plus, a 1999 Dodge/Chrysler EPIC EV, a 1998 Ford Ranger EV, a 2002 Toyota RAV4 EV LongRanger III, a Tesla Roadster, a 1998 Nissan Altra EV, a 1998 Chevrolet S-10 EV, a 2011 Nissan Leaf, and a 2012 Tesla Model S. Beata also has several other projects under construction such as the 2000 Toyota RXT-G Prototype, a 1997 RAV4 coupe EV prototype, the 1995 AC Propulsion eCivic EV, a 1995 ACP RXT-G Prototype LongRanger II, a 1995 ACP RXT-G Prototype LongRanger I, and a GM EV1. Beata acts as a resource for EV1 owners and helps place parts it finds and doesn't need. The parts it does need are put into building a working EV1. Beata's current EV1, which is 80 percent complete, is made up from more than 50 different parts sources, including from all three versions of the EV1, the 1994 LPF4 PreView "Impact" series, the 1997 EV1, and the 1999 EV1.

GM ignition switch trial cleared to begin on January 11

US District Judge Jesse Furman didn't accept General Motor's attempt to dismiss a civil trial over the automaker's faulty ignition switches, and set a January 11 start date for the case to begin, according to Reuters. The judge found that plaintiff Robert Scheuer had the evidence to proceed with the case. Scheuer was injured in an accident in his 2003 Saturn Ion in 2014 when another vehicle forced him off the road, and he crashed into some trees. The airbag didn't deploy, and Scheuer alleged this was the result of the faulty ignition switch. According to Reuters, Scheuer's trial is one of six bellwether cases over GM's ignition switch problem in the coming year. Juries' decisions in these lawsuits should provide an example of how similar trials could end, and these results would help The General decide whether to settle other pending cases or to keep fighting them. The ignition switch fiasco has already cost GM billions. For example, the company's compensation program offered $594.5 million in 399 cases of people killed or injured by the defective parts. Anyone that accepted this money agreed not to sue GM for the problem later. The company also came to a $900 million criminal settlement with the US government and paid $575 million in civil resolutions in September.

STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

Ford buyers appear to love their cars more than customers of any other automotive brand, returning back to the American automaker when it comes time to purchase their next vehicle. According to a study by Experian Automotive, six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty wear badges from the Blue Oval. That includes the Ford Fusion (62.4 percent), Ford Edge (57.9 percent), Ford Five Hundred/Taurus (56 percent), Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent), Ford Escape (49.4 percent) and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent).
Other vehicles making up the top 10 include the Toyota Prius (52 percent), Chevy Impala (51.7 percent), Toyota Camry (47.8 percent) and Toyota Corolla (47.56 percent). This brings up an interesting question: With the closing of automotive brands like Saturn and Pontiac, where are those buyers to turn for their next automotive purchase?
Apparently, not back to General Motors. According to Experian, Pontiac owners are most likely to look to the Ford lineup for their next car or truck and Saturn shoppers will switch to Toyota or Honda - not particularly surprising given that Saturn was meant to compete with import brands. Experian predicts that GM's overall market share will fall from 20 percent to about 17.5 percent, with most of the slack being picked up by Ford, Honda and Toyota.