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GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

GMC Canyon, Chevy Colorado diesels finally heading to dealers

Customers who have been waiting to receive their diesel-powered Chevrolet Colorados and GMC Canyons should be relived to hear that GM will finally start to ship them out of the Wentzville Assembly Plant. "The highly anticipated 2016 GMC Canyon diesel has begun shipping to dealers," a company spokesperson confirmed to The Detroit News. The trucks originally had a fall launch date, but a final review forced a delay in deliveries. The 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel in the midsize trucks produces 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the company touts the engine's low emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board even put the mill through extra scrutiny with a real world test in the wake of VW's diesel scandal, and the Duramax passed with no problems. At that time, a Chevy spokesperson told Autoblog that the models' launch was on track. The Duramax engine adds $3,730 to the price of a comparable V6 model, but they're the most fuel-efficient pickups on the market. The EPA estimates the twins at 31 miles per gallon highway, 22 mpg city, and 25 mpg combined in two-wheel drive form and 29/20/23 with four-wheel drive. Buyers likely can't wait to finally experience these pickups after reading a heap of positive reviews. The Colorado diesel recently earned Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award. We also came away impressed with it during our First Drive and liked the Canyon during our Quick Spin. Related Video:

Hennessey HPE1000 builds a 1,000 hp 2016 Chevy Camaro

If the 455-horsepower 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS isn't powerful enough for you off the showroom, ring up the folks at Hennessey Performance. The company can bump the coupe's output up to 650 hp if you want to keep the engine naturally aspirated, but supercharged versions can more than double the stock rating to 1,000 hp. To achieve such a massive boost in performance, the company performs a thorough suite of engine modifications in addition to installing the supercharger and intercooler. Among the biggest tweaks is stroking the motor to 6.8 liters from the stock 6.2 liters. To make sure the mill can handle the boost, it also gets forged pistons, billet steel connecting rods, ported cylinder heads, an upgraded valve train, new engine management, and more. Hennessey tests each car before and after on a chassis dyno and does up to 100 miles of road evaluations. The company claims this tune works with the factory automatic and manual gearboxes. The HPE1000 Camaro is available to order now. Clients send the company their 2016 Camaro SS, and the upgrades cost $65,000, which includes installation, John Hennessey tells Autoblog. The improvements also come with a one-year / 36,000-mile warranty. Unfortunately, Hennessey Performance doesn't have a video of the HPE1000 Camaro, but it does have a clip (below) showing the naturally aspirated HPE600 version, which boasts 526 hp at the rear wheels. Think of it as just a taste of what the forced induction model might offer, but we'd imagine with a screaming supercharger.