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GM announces $7 billion Michigan factory investment, most going to EVs

GM announced a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing, much of which is earmarked for EV production. Four sites are included, but the key elements are a new battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM's existing Orion Township facility to expand production of the forthcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and its GMC Sierra sibling.  GM says it is the largest investment announcement in company history and that it will create 4,000 new jobs. It also says 1,000 jobs will be retained. "We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV," said GM CEO Mary Barra.  GM says the Orion expansion and new battery plant will support an increase in full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 units. This is in addition to the Factory ZERO facility in Detroit that will also be constructing the electric Silverado and Sierra.  The Orion Township factory current builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, and will continue to do so during the plant's conversion. GM did not indicate what will happen with the Bolts once that conversion is complete or whether all will continue to be built at Orion. They do not use the Ultium vehicle architecture. GM will build other EV models at three other factories that are under construction or being converted. They are located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, Ingersoll, Ontario, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. GM says that it will have the ability to produce 1 million electric vehicles by 2025. The Ultium Cells Lansing facility is a $2.6 billion joint investment by GM and LG Energy Solution. GM says it alone will create 1,700 jobs once fully operational by late 2024. It will join two other GM Ultium Cells battery factories currently under construction in the United States, one in Ohio and the other in Tennessee.  Not all of the $7 billion investment will be for EVs. It also announced $510 million of the total will go toward upgrading the Lansing Delta Township Assembly to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Money will also go to upgrading Lansing Grand River Assembly.

Cadillac to Corvette: You’re not getting our twin-turbo V8 engine

NEW YORK — Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen bluntly shot down rumors his brand's powerful twin-turbo V8 is also headed for the Chevy Corvette. Speaking Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, he said: "Just quit the speculation it's headed for Corvette. It's not." The 4.2-liter V8 cranks out 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque in the Cadillac CT6 V-Sport, which debuted at the show. With that kind of performance and the fact the engine will be hand-built at the General Motors Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Ky. — at the Corvette factory — led enthusiasts to presume the engine would eventually be under the Vette's hood. De Nysschen, however, argued the engine will also focus on levels of refinement, rather than the Corvette's raw, visceral dynamic. "I think Corvette wants a different kind of character," he said. In fact, the V8 is set to be only for Cadillacs, de Nysschen said, giving the luxury brand its first exclusive engine in years. "It's a matter of being a thoroughbred luxury car," he said. "It's really only a luxury brand that could recoup this [development] cost." A version of the engine making 500 hp and 553 lb-ft will also be used in other Cadillac models. De Nysschen declined say which vehicle will get the engine next. The new V8 uses a "Hot V" configuration more common to German performance cars, and has direct injection, electronic wastegate control, active-fuel management and stop-start technology. It teams with a 10-speed automatic transmission and fits either rear- or all-wheel drive systems. With a new mid-engine Corvette — and potentially more versions of the existing generation Vette — on the horizon, speculation pointed to the sports car getting a twin-turbo powerplant of some sort (V6 rumors also have floated), and the Cadillac 4.2-liter seemed to fit on paper. According to de Nysschen, that won't be the case. Still, even though the Cadillac boss says this specific engine won't go to Corvette, it's hard to not think some version of this engine, perhaps in a different displacement, could find its way under the hood of the Vette at some point in the future. Related Video:

GM recalls 3.6 million vehicles for airbag-software problems

The Basics: General Motors is recalling 3.64 million vehicles across its lineup for an airbag-related issue. The recall covers the 2014-2015 Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet SS, and Spark EV; 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Trax, Caprice PPV, Silverado 1500, Buick Encore, and GMC Sierra 1500; and 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado HD, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Sierra HD, Cadillac Escalade, and Escalade ESV. The Problem: Affected vehicles have a sensing and diagnostic module that controls the airbags and seat-belt pretensioners. The software it uses has a defect that can prompt the module to run a diagnostic test under specific driving conditions, which will also deactivate the front airbags and pretensioners. This means that it would be possible for those safety systems to not activate in a crash, potentially leading to injury or death. Injuries/Deaths: General Motors began an investigation that led to the recall after a 2014 Silverado was involved in a crash in which the airbags did not deploy. No information was given as to injuries or deaths. The Fix: Owners can bring their vehicles to a local General Motors dealer where a software update will be installed to fix the issue. The fix will be free of charge. If you own one: General Motors will contact owners of affected cars, and owners can check whether their vehicles are affected by visiting entering their vehicle identification numbers at either the GM Owner Center website or the NHTSA website. Owners can then schedule a time to have the update installed. Related Video: