2014 Chevrolet Malibu 1lt on 2040-cars

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GM seatbelt recall affects over 1m Silverados and Sierras

The Basics: General Motors will recall 895,232 examples of the 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups in the US. The campaign will also affect the trucks in markets worldwide, and the total number the company will recall is 1,037,982. The Problem: A steel cable connects the seatbelt to the vehicle, but over time repeated bending can cause the part to fatigue and separate. Injuries/Deaths: None reported. The Fix: Dealers will enlarge the side shield opening and install a pusher bracket on the tensioner. Technicians will also replace the entire tensioner assembly if necessary. If You Own One: GM will contact owners about the recall. The company hasn't said when those notifications would begin. More Information: There are still about 3,000 new examples of these older pickups at dealerships. Until mechanics fix the problem, these vehicles are subject to a stop-sale. Similar problems have affected the General's vehicles in the past. In 2015, the company recalled over 400,000 units of the 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu for fatiguing cables. It also hit over a million Lambda platform crossovers in 2014. GM Recalling Certain 2014-15 Pickups to Repair Seat Belts DETROIT – GM is voluntarily recalling 895,232 model year 2014-15 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups in the United States because the flexible steel cable that connects the seat belt to the vehicle can fatigue and separate over time as a result of the driver repeatedly bending the cable when entering the seat. This issue was discovered through warranty data, and there have been no reports of crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this issue. For trucks in the field, dealers will enlarge the side shield opening, install a pusher bracket on the tensioner, and if necessary, replace the tensioner assembly. The recall in the United States includes a stop-sale of approximately 3,000 new 2014 and 2015 model year pickups still on dealer lots. Dealers will repair the vehicles prior to delivering them to customers. Customers will be notified by General Motors. They also can look up their vehicle identification number (VIN) at either https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/ website or at https://my.gm.com/web/portal/ownercenter to see if their vehicle is part of the recall. GM also will voluntarily recall and repair these models in other countries where they are sold, including Canada, Mexico, and several countries in Latin America and the Middle East.

Recharge Wrap-up: Panasonic, Tesla on Gigafactory deal?

Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.

Buick Encore, Chevy Trax earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS [w/video]

The Buick Encore has been a massive sales success practically from the moment it debuted, and Buick recently decided to increase production to keep up with demand for the premium compact crossover. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently put one to the test again, and the Encore earned a Top Safety Pick award. It's the first model from the brand to score the nod since 2013, according to the IIHS, and the rating also carries over to the 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The 2015 Encore scored a Good rating in all of the IIHS' evaluations, including the 40-mile-per-hour, small overlap front crash test. That was a big improvement over the previous model the institute tested, which scored a Poor result in the overlap test. In the first test, about 13 inches of the lower door hinge pillar came into the passenger compartment, and the steering wheel airbag moved too far to protect the dummy's head. Improvements for the latest model year showed six inches of intrusion this time, and the airbags caught the dummy's head well. The dummy's sensors also indicated a low risk of injury. The two CUVs missed out on the full Top Safety Pick+ because the IIHS scored the Encore as only having a basic front crash prevention system, and there was no such equipment for the Trax. To earn the highest mark, models need at least an advanced rating by the institute for this technology. Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax earn 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK award ARLINGTON, Va. - A small SUV is the first vehicle from the Buick brand to qualify for a TOP SAFETY PICK award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since 2013. The Buick Encore's newly introduced, lower-priced twin, the Chevrolet Trax, also qualifies for the honor. The Encore's award follows improvements to the SUV's structure for better small overlap front protection. The 2015 model earns a good rating in the small overlap test. In contrast, the 2013-14 Encore rated poor in the test. The driver's space was seriously compromised with intrusion measuring as much as 13 inches at the lower door hinge pillar. The dummy's head barely contacted the front airbag before sliding off the left side, as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag deployed too late and didn't have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head. In the latest test, the driver space was maintained reasonably well, with maximum intrusion of 6 inches at the door hinge pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's movement was well-controlled.