Numbers Matching 396 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

EcoCar3 will convert Camaro to bitchin' eco rides

In the 47-year-history of the Chevrolet Camaro, there have been countless college-age kids spending a ton of time getting under the hood and souping 'em up. Now, General Motors is adding a twist to the concept by donating 16 Camaros for the EcoCar challenge that puts university teams together to wring out better fuel-efficiency out of various vehicles. No word on whether there will be donuts on anyone's lawn, as suggested by 80's punks the Dead Milkmen, but the idea's never a bad one. EcoCar3 will feature 16 teams such as Arizona State, Penn State, Ontario's University of Waterloo and, of course, Detroit's Wayne State University. They'll spend the next four years "[reducing] environmental impact, while maintaining the muscle and performance expected from this iconic American car," as the EcoCar organizers say. The goal is to maintain body design and safety standards while boosting efficiency and lowering emissions, but the actual process is far more complicated than that description suggests. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Bosch are among the sponsors of the contest, which is also put on by the US Department of Energy and managed by Argonne National Laboratory. Penn State won Year Two of the three-year EcoCar 2 competition with its E85 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle converted out of a Chevy Malibu. The grand-prize winner of EcoCar2 will be announced in June. Check out the EcoCar3 website and see the announcement video below for more details. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GM, UAW poaching Nissan workers in Tennessee

General Motors and the United Auto Workers are going on a recruitment drive at the Spring Hill factory in Tennessee, and they're hoping to poach some skilled workers from Nissan's nearby plant in Smyrna, TN. The General and the union even bought a billboard advertising for industrial electricians near the Japanese automaker's facility, according to the Daily News Journal. The reason for the billboard was simple. "GM was short of electricians," said Tim Stannard, the president of the UAW local at Spring Hill, to the Daily News Journal. The factory currently builds the Chevrolet Equinox but has a contract to assemble the next generation of Ecotec engines and the Cadillac XT5, which replaces the SRX. Thanks to the $185-million deal, employment there is expected to double by May 2016, according to Stannard, with roughly 1,800 additional union jobs. Beyond just several billboards, GM has job postings online for the Spring Hill plant looking for workers with specific skills. There has already been some interest in the positions among Nissan employees, Stannard indicated. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research, the average GM worker currently makes $58 an hour, including benefits. Comparatively, Nissan pays an average of $42 an hour with benefits. The General's number could change in the coming weeks because its contract with the UAW is about to expire, and higher wages are among the major negotiating points.

Audi S4 drivers are the most accident-prone, insurance report says

Culling data from more than 4.6 million automobile insurance applications, researchers at the Insurify insurance comparison marketplace picked a winner — or more to the point, a loser — in its determination of the car model with the most accidents so far in 2023: the Audi S4. Why does the sporty, luxury-class German sedan rank so high (or so low)? The organization found that S4 drivers, piloting a car with almost 350 horsepower, are among those who collect the most speeding tickets, and that they get into accidents at a rate 54 percent higher than the national average. If the S4 isnÂ’t a surprise with an at-fault accident rate of 11.7 percent, consider the “family friendly” brand that appears three times on the Insurity list: Subaru. It is represented by three models, including the turbocharged WRX and XV Crosstrek, and at the better-performing bottom of the list, the Subaru Impreza, with an accident rate of 10.3 percent.  In 2023, 7.6 percent of U.S. drivers were involved in at least one at-fault accident in the prior seven years. For drivers of cars on this list, the average at-fault accident rate was 10.5 percent, meaning these drivers are 1.4 times as likely to have an at-fault accident on record. According to its statement, the Insurity data science team explored key safety features, driver behavior, and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluations to pinpoint possible reasons behind these carsÂ’ high accident rates. Following is the list, counting down to the models with most reported accidents: 10. Subaru Impreza (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.3 percent; MSRP base model): $19,795) 9. Kia Niro (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.4 percent; MSRP base model): $26,590) 8. Chevrolet Silverado LD (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.4%, MSRP base model): $34,500) 7. Subaru XV Crosstrek (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.5 percent, MSRP 6. Subaru WRX.(percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.7% MSRP base model): $29,605) 5. Toyota GR86 (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.8 percent MSRP base model): $29,900) 4. Hyundai Veloster N (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.9 percent; MSRP base model): $32,500) 3.