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GM delays 3.0-liter Duramax diesel in Silverado and Sierra pickups

Stricter testing protocols around the world are making it harder for automakers to predict launch timelines. GM is the latest to get caught in emissions nettles, the Detroit carmaker forced to delay the launch of its new Duramax 3.0-liter inline-six diesel for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. That's what company reps told dealers in a memo seen by Automotive News this week. Dealers and buyers had been promised the Flint, Mich.-built oil-burner in early 2019, but AN wrote that the EPA certification hiccup has turned into a "slight delay." A GM spokesman told Motor1, "[We] did not attribute [the delay] to a single entity, as the truth is this is a collaborative effort between GM and several government entities. We will make the 2020MY Duramax available for dealers orders soon, and expect to deliver the first trucks to customers soon after emissions testing is complete." We know the new 3.0-liter Duramax diesel has 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, outdoing Ford's 3.0-liter PowerStroke diesel by 27 hp and 20 lb-ft. But without final EPA paperwork, GM can't release the numbers that will show how the two engines stack up when considering fuel economy and tow ratings. The certification process has been sticky for a few other makers of late, especially since the Volkswagen Group situation in 2015. BMW had to delay the launch of four diesel models in 2016 over EPA testing. The new Ram 1500 dribbled out in a trickle last year for reasons thought to deal with EPA testing, coming as it did a year after the EPA investigated Ram's EcoDiesel engines in 2017 and 2018. More recently, WLTP testing in Europe caught out just about every automaker over there. Since we're almost halfway through 2019, the delay until the 2020 model year is only a few months. Still, GM told dealers to cancel any orders for the engine for this model year. Dealers will need to resubmit the orders once opening begins, but GM hasn't said when production will begin other than "soon." The company said that it will offer 2020-model-year replacement vehicles to customers and dealers. If prices hold into the next model year, the 2020 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 with the inline-six diesel will come at a $3,890 premium over the 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder, and a $2,495 premium over the 5.3-liter V8.

Star Wars Car Drives To The Dark Side Of Comic Con

When it comes to designing coveted collectible toys for sale at Comic-Con, the annual celebration of pop culture lifting off Thursday in San Diego, the sky's the limit for the designers at Mattel. Fittingly, the building where Mattel's dreamers conceive of their limited-edition playthings is just down the street from the Los Angeles International Airport. Inside the colorful design center - a Hot Wheels-themed shuttle bus transports employees from Mattel's parking garage - the designers have spent the past year working on 10 toys created especially for the Comic-Con crowd, including a replica of the Batmobile from the upcoming game "Batman: Arkham Knight" and a 9-inch-tall action figure of Superman killer Doomsday. "We don't have to worry about retail. We don't have to worry about margins," said Doug Wadleigh, Mattel's senior vice president of global brand marketing for boys and entertainment. "We don't have to worry about operational efficiencies. We only have to worry about creating the coolest toys for our fans. Period." It also offers some escape from Mattel's reality these days. Like other toy makers struggling in this digital, video-centric age, the company is trying to remain relevant in the retail world. Core brands like Barbie have seen less of a demand, with a 14 percent drop in sales in the first quarter of this year. Mattel had a net loss for the first three months ending March 31 that totaled $11.2 million. But things will at least seem rosier at Comic-Con, where eager buyers for the toys await (the only other place they will be sold is on the Mattel collector's site). Mattel's exclusives this year run between $20 and $85, but elite toys can fetch much more when they're put up for auction. The crown jewel for Wadleigh and his team this year is a Darth Vader die-cast car, the first official collaboration from Hot Wheels and the "Star Wars" franchise. The car - imagine if a Chevrolet Corvette C5 and the villainous Sith lord's helmet had a baby - comes in a sleek black box and encased in a replica of Vader's lightsaber, complete with a swooshing sound effect. "We've been trying to partner with Lucasfilm and Disney on this property for a long time," said Wadleigh. A full-size working replica of the Vadermobile will be on display at Mattel's booth at the massive San Diego Convention Center.

Nissan sells 3,117 Leaf EVs in May, climbs over 3,000 for first time ever

Chalk up a big win for the Nissan Leaf. In May, the world's most popular electric vehicle sold a record 3,117 units, the first time any pure electric vehicle has sold over 3,000 units in a month in the US (unless Tesla managed that feat but rolled the number into a quarterly report). This marks the 15th month in a row of record Leaf sales and the seventh where the Leaf was the top EV seller in the US. The challenge bar is set for someone to step up to compete with this all-electric wunderkind. Chevrolet did sell over 3,000 Volts once, in August 2013. The Leaf's one long-standing competitor, of a sort, is the Chevy Volt, which used to regularly outsell the Leaf but moved only 1,684 units in May. That's still an increase of 4.8 percent over 2013 but is part of a 4.5 percent decline in year-to-date Volt sales for 2014 compared to last year. The last time the Volt outsold the Leaf was October 2013. Chevrolet did sell over 3,000 Volts once, when it moved 3,351 in August 2013. Let's take another look at those 3,117 Leafs sold last month. They represent a 45.8 percent increase over May 2013, when 2,138 Leaf EVs were sold, so someone is doing something right in Japan and Tennessee. So far, Leaf sales in the US are up 36.4 percent year-to-date, to 10,389 EVs. That's just under half of the 2013 total, and it was accomplished in five months. In 2013, Nissan sold a total of 22,610 Leafs. Anyone want to hazard a guess where the total will be at the end of the year? As always, we'll have our detailed monthly sales write-up including other plug-in vehicles as well as hybrids and diesel car, up soon. For now, though, the big news is big Leaf sales. Read Nissan's press release below. Nissan Group reports May 2014 U.S. sales May 2014 May 2013 % Change Nissan Group Total sales (units) 135,934 114,457 +18.8 Nissan Division May sales 125,558 106,558 +17.8 Infiniti May sales* 10,376 7,899 +31.4 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan Group today announced total U.S. sales for May 2014 of 135,934 units, an increase of 18.8 percent over the prior year and a May record. Nissan highlights: Nissan Division set a May record at 125,558 sales in the month, an increase of 17.8 percent. This marks a monthly record for Nissan division in 14 of the last 15 months. May was the best-ever month for Nissan LEAF with 3,117 sales, an increase of 45.8 percent over the prior year. In May, LEAF passed 50,000 total U.S. sales since launch, further establishing it as the leader among electric vehicles.