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GM announces 3 new recalls affecting 1.7M vehicles in North America [w/video]

Still embroiled in the ongoing ignition switch recall, General Motors announced today three more discrete recalls, affecting a grand total of 1,546,900 vehicles in the US. The Detroit News reports that some 1.7 million vehicles are affected overall in North America. The first and largest of the trio of new recalls concerns some 1.18-million Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers from the 2008-2013 model years, Chevrolet Traverse from 2009-2013 (pictured above) and Saturn Outlook vehicles from 2008-2010. All of the crossover utilities may have an issue with the wiring harness for their seat-mounted side airbags. Apparently, the vehicles are equipped with a Service Air Bag warning light that, if ignored, "will eventually result in the non-deployment of the side impact restraints." Those restraints include the side airbags, a front-center airbag if the vehicle is so equipped and seatbelt pretensioners. Dealers of affected vehicles will be instructed to remove driver and passenger side airbag wiring harness connectors, and then "splice and solder the wires together." The second recall affects 303,000 Chevrolet Express (pictured right) and GMC Savana vans from model years 2009-2014, and with gross vehicle weights under 10,000 pounds. Said vehicles do not comply with a head impact requirement for unrestrained occupants, and will need a reworking of the instrument panel material to be sent back on the road. It doesn't sound as though there's a quick fix for this one, as the GM press release states: "Unsold vehicles have been placed on a stop delivery until development of the solution has been completed and parts are available." Finally, the third recall affects 63,900 Cadillac XTS luxury sedans from model years 2013 and 2014. A brake booster pump may be susceptible to corrosion by way of the relay, potentially causing and electrical short, overheating, melting of plastic components and even engine fires. GM says it is aware of two engine fires in unsold XTS models and two cases of melted parts. Repairs for the issues affecting the XTS have not not mentioned by GM in the release. The Detroit News is also reporting that along with news of the triple-recall, GM is taking a $300-million credit to help pay for the repair costs, and to deal with the ongoing costs associated with the ignition switch recall. In an attempt to explain just what GM has been doing in the face of these very serious issues, newly minted CEO Mary Barra has addressed the issues in a new video.

GM says over 40% of new China launches in next five years will be EVs

SHANGHAI — General Motors is planning an electric car offensive in China with more than 40% of its new launches in the country over the next five years set to be electric vehicles (EVs), the U.S. carmaker said on Wednesday. GM's electric vehicles, many of which will be all-electric battery cars, will be manufactured in China with almost all parts coming from local suppliers, the company said in a statement released at its Tech Day event in Shanghai. Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that GM was planning to overhaul its Chinese line-up to stem a slide of sales after more than two decades of growth in a country that contributes nearly a fifth of its profit. GM's new China boss Julian Blissett told Reuters that new technologies, such as EVs and cars with near hands-free driving for highways, would play a key role in GM's China initiatives, which are part of a push to get annual sales in the country back to the 4 million peak it hit in 2017. GM did not say in its statement how many new or significantly redesigned models it was planning to launch in China over the next five years. "China will play a crucial role in making our vision a reality," GM CEO Mary Barra said in the statement, referring to its initiative to create what it describes as a future of "zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion" through electrification and smart-driving technologies. GM has said it plans to invest more than $20 billion in electric and automated vehicles globally by 2025. It was not clear how much of that investment will be spent in China. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Shanghai; Editing by David Clarke) Related Video: Green Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM Electric China

Cadillac plans upgrades to its Super Cruise hands-free system

Not content to let Tesla hog the spotlight with lofty claims about its autonomous driving capabilities, Cadillac plans major upgrades to its Super Cruise automated driving system starting next year, when the technology starts rolling out in more models. "The system that we have today, we continue to upgrade," Brandon Vivian, Cadillac's executive chief engineer, told The Verge. 'We have over-the-air re-flash capability, and you'll continue to see us add features and capabilities to Super Cruise going forward." A fellow top Cadillac engineer told the outlet they would not share specifics but said "We want to innovate" as competitors also make advances in self-driving technology. The news comes as Elon Musk says Tesla will launch a driverless robotaxi service in some U.S. cities next year, with "over a million cars with full self-driving, software, everything." The audacious claim hinges on a new Samsung microchip for self-driving vehicles. Last year, Tesla rolled out Navigate on Autopilot, which allows vehicles to change lanes, take exit ramps and choose the correct highway interchange and exit. At the New York International Auto Show, Cadillac announced that it will equip the forthcoming 2020 CT5 sedan with Super Cruise, though not initially. The brand plans to roll out a new model equipped with Super Cruise every six months starting in 2020 and going through the end of 2021, meaning four new models with the technology in two years. Super Cruise previously has been offered only on the CT6 Platinum, and as an option on other CT6 trim levels, along with a three-year OnStar package. It uses cameras, lidar mapping and radar, plus an infrared camera mounted atop the steering column to make sure the driver isn't nodding off, looking away for too long or climbing into the back seat. There's also an LED light bar on the steering wheel and Super Cruise icon on the instrument panel to let drivers know when the system is ready, not ready and ready to deactivate. But the system can't switch lanes and only works on around 130,000 miles of divided highways that GM has mapped with lidar-equipped vehicles. Vivian said the Super Cruise setup in the CT5 will be largely the same as in the CT6 and likened it to "a half step in between" a full next generation of the technology. GM also plans to eventually roll out Super Cruise to its entire U.S. lineup following its introduction in all Cadillac models. Autoblog named Super Cruise the 2019 Technology of the Year winner.