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New Takata problem results in recall of 414 GM vehicles

An airbag-inflator rupture discovered by Takata during testing has resulted in a new recall affecting 414 vehicles from General Motors, including 395 of them in the US. This latest campaign covers 2015 model-year examples of the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, and GMC Terrain. There are no reported breaks in any of these vehicles on the road, and the company estimates only one percent of them actually have the faulty parts. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF), one side-airbag inflator failed a cold test at -40 Fahrenheit "releasing high pressure gas and propelling the separated components apart." The supplier told GM about the failure the next day. In these vehicles, the safety device might not only burst but the bag could inflate incorrectly, as well. GM and Takata say that a cause is not yet known, but they are "conducting an investigation." GM will begin notifying affected owners via overnight mail on Oct. 19. Dealers will replace the side airbag modules on all of the affected vehicles with new components outside of the suspect lot. All of the removed parts will also be collected for further study. Takata's faulty front airbag inflators have resulted in a serious scandal for the supplier. Initial figures indicated 34 million US vehicles are need of repair, though more recent figures have knocked that down to 23.4 million bad parts in 19.2 million automobiles. GM was already among the dozen automakers with models to fix, and some of its pickups were affected, along with the Saab 9-2X and Pontiac Vibe. GM Statement: General Motors is recalling 395 cars and crossovers in the U.S. because one of the front seat side air bags inflators may be defective. In the event of a deployment, the air bag's inflator may rupture and the air bag may not properly inflate. The rupture could cause metal fragments to strike the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. GM is unaware of any incidents involving vehicles with these components, which were part of a lot in which one inflator failed acceptance testing at the supplier. Dealers will replace the side air bag module or modules in affected vehicles. Including Canada, Mexico and exports, the total population of the recall is 414, GM estimates 1 percent of the recalled vehicles may have the defect.

Expect greater differentiation in GM's next-generation SUVs

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the same cabin as a $45,000 Tahoe. Hilts says SUV buyers want more refinement than their pickup purchasing counterparts - and those same buyers also want their SUVs to have more exterior differentiation between the company's Silverado and Sierra pickup lines. Shocking.
That all sounds good to us, but we've heard this song and dance before. GM made big waves about how different the new-for-2013 Silverado and Sierra would look from each other, but judging by what we've seen so far, GM's stylists are painting in shades rather than with the full spectrum. For more on the what to expect out of GM's new SUVs, click on the C/D link below.

Man surprises girlfriend with C7 Corvette

How would you react if someone just showed up at your place of work with a new, 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, complete with all the trimmings? While a lot of us would likely be flipping out over the still rare sports car, it's a fair bet many more of us would be responding like Pattie here, whose boyfriend stopped by her work to show her her new C7.
Speechless and shocked as she seems, she does end up taking it out for a drive, despite claiming she wasn't really outfitted to handle the car's seven-speed manual transmission at the time. From the sound of the video, we got the impression that she knew the car was coming, just not that it was anywhere near ready for delivery. It also, as Pattie says, seems like her boyfriend is more excited about the car than she (which, can we blame him?). Take a look down below for the full video of this C7 Stingray delivery.