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GM might outsource vans to AM General

General Motors will possibly boost production of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon at the Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri by contracting out some commercial van manufacturing to AM General. Demand for the two midsize trucks continues to boom, and GM would like to take advantage of the strong market for them. The possible deal came to light in a letter to workers at the factory, according to Automotive News. "This potential partnership would free up production capacity and allow the organization to capitalize on our ability to build midsize trucks to further satisfy customer demand," a portion of the document allegedly said. AM General would reportedly only take over assembly of the cutaway versions of the Chevy Express and GMC Savana. Customers and critics have quickly embraced the latest Colorado and Canyon since their introduction. The Chevy just won back-to-back Motor Trend Truck of the Year awards. GM also had to add a third shift and extra workers in 2014 just to keep up with demand. The Wentzville plant even increased employment on the weekends earlier in 2015 to assemble an extra 2,000 of the trucks each month. While the two pickups boom, deliveries for the Chevy Express and GMC Savana are down 26.9 percent and 26.6 percent respectively through the first 10 months of the year. GM doesn't break out numbers for the cutaway versions, but they make up about a third of production, according to Automotive News. AM General built the Humvee for the US military and does some contract work with automakers. For example, the company's Indiana factory now produces the Mercedes-Benz R-Class for export to China. Here's hoping this potential deal will help both GM and AM General keep their factories humming. Related Video:

2016 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon recalled for opening console lids

The Basics: General Motors is recalling 9,200 examples of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado with build dates between August 25, 2015 and September 24, 2015, and the 2016 GMC Canyon manufactured from August 28, 2015 to September 24, 2015. In total, 8,763 of these pickups are in the US, and the rest are in Canada or Mexico. The Problem: The console compartment lid could open in a crash, and the items inside the storage compartment might hit occupants during the accident. This fault puts the pickups out of compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. Injuries/Deaths: None reported. The fix: Dealers will replace the console compartment door latch assembly with an improved part. If you own one: GM has not yet told NHTSA when the repairs for these pickups begin. Related Video: RECALL Subject : Console Door may not Fully Latch/FMVSS 201 Report Receipt Date: DEC 01, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V807000 Component(s): LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES Potential Number of Units Affected: 8,763 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle MakeModelModel Year(s) CHEVROLET COLORADO 2016 GMC CANYON 2016 Details Manufacturer: General Motors LLC SUMMARY: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado trucks manufactured August 25, 2015 to September 24, 2015, and GMC Canyon trucks manufactured August 28, 2015 to September 24, 2015. The affected vehicles have a console compartment lid latch assembly that may fail to keep the compartment door closed in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact." CONSEQUENCE: If the console compartment door does not remain closed in a crash, the contents stored in the console may strike the vehicle occupants, increasing their risk of injury. REMEDY: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the console compartment door latch assembly, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16370. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Safety group pans GM’s new Marketplace in-dash shopping

When it comes to our cars, is the Internet of Things a godsend? Or a hidden menace that will create more problems than it will solve? On the same day General Motors announced it will equip newer-model cars with its in-dash Marketplace e-commerce app, a prominent safety group was shooting it down. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman tells Bloomberg the technology will only contribute to distracted driving and hurt efforts to stem the tide of rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. in 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was responsible for 3,477 fatalities and 391,000 injuries in 2015, the most recent year for which it has data. "There's nothing about this that's safe," Hersman told Bloomberg. "If this is why they want WiFi in the car, we're going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now." Marketplace, developed with IBM, will allow drivers — or more often, one hopes, their passengers — to order coffee or food, find gas stations and reserve hotel rooms from their dashboard screens. The technology is set to be uploaded automatically to nearly 1.9 million GM vehicles model-year 2017 and later that are equipped with WiFi hotspots and compatible systems. By the end of 2018, about 4 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles will be equipped with Marketplace. The app will debut with a limited number of participating retailers, including TGI Fridays, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Starbucks, with more likely to join later. Online retail giant Amazon is also partnering with automakers such as Ford to bring e-commerce capabilities inside the car through its Alexa personal assistant. While convenience is nice, one other thing is becoming clear as the IoT wedges its way into our cars: It's taking aim at some decidedly first-world problems.Related Video: Image Credit: GM Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Infotainment in-car entertainment marketplace e-commerce