2wd Reg Cab 162" Wb 83.58" Ca New 2 Dr Truck Automatic Gasoline 6.0l 8 Cyl Engin on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

GMC could have used Jeep's prized grille design on its born-again Hummer

General Motors confirmed it's bringing the Hummer nameplate back on an electric, GMC-badged pickup by publishing a dark photo of its front end. The battery-powered drivetrain under the sheetmetal represents a tectonic shift, but we noticed another flagrant break with tradition: it wears six slot-like inserts instead of seven like on every previous Hummer and countless Jeeps. Adding an extra slot wouldn't have landed GMC in hot water. The seven-slot grille has historically been associated with Jeep, and the company proved it's willing to go to significant lengths to ensure another automaker — especially one it perceives as a rival — doesn't use it. Parent company Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) bitterly sued Mahindra over the Roxor's design, including its five-slot grille, and won in 2019, forcing the Indian firm to unveil a redesigned side-by-side for the 2020 model year. And yet, stylists would have very likely been able to get away with it on the Hummer. While General Motors owns Hummer, the brand traces its ancestry to 1970, when American Motors Corporation (AMC) purchased Jeep from Kaiser and changed the name of its General Products Division to AM General Corp. The division manufactured the rear-wheel drive, CJ-based DJ for the United States Postal Service and began developing the Humvee in 1979. Jeep and AM General went their separate ways when Renault began investing in AMC. Foreign companies weren't allowed to own defense contractors, and AMC had more to gain by gradually selling out to Renault than by keeping AM General, so it divested the division to LTV Corporation in 1983. Humvee production started shortly after, but no one protested its seven-slot grille because there was no risk of it stealing sales from a comparable Jeep model. It was manufactured exclusively for the U.S. Army, and civilian sales weren't planned. H2SUV View 4 Photos The original civilian Hummer released in 1992 must have raised more than a few eyebrows but, here again, it didn't directly compete with one of Jeep's off-roaders, so no one complained. It was huge, correspondingly expensive, and its portal axles made the YJ-generation Wrangler wet its pants. It's the H2 concept (pictured above) unveiled at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show that set off alarm bells in Auburn Hills. DaimlerChrysler's lawyers counted the slots in the chrome-plated insert that dominated its front end and shuddered when they reached seven.

Diesel Power finds the ultimate modified oil-burner

For nine years, Diesel Power magazine has run the Diesel Power Challenge, this year's grindfest being "a week-long torture test that features seven events, nine trucks, 8,000 horsepower, and nearly 15,000 pound-feet of torque." The road to being crowned "the most powerful truck" starts with a dyno run, and then continues through the completion of a CDL-style obstacle course, an eighth-of-a-mile drag race while towing a 10,000-pound trailer, a quarter-mile drag race without a trailer, a fuel economy test in the mountains and finally a sled-pulling test through a 300-foot-long packed-mud pit.
What kind of trucks get into such a fight? Last year's winner, for instance - who upgraded his truck this year to prove he didn't "luck into the win" - drives a 2008 Ford F-250 Super Duty with a 6.4-liter Power Stroke V8 upgraded with a custom intake, Elite Diesel triple turbos and a two-stage nitrous system. Another competitor has a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a 5.9-liter Cummins inline-six, upgraded with Garrett turbos, dual-stage nitrous, a seven-inch exhaust stack and twin fans built into the bed to cool the Sun Coast Omega transmission. The numbers on that truck: 1,255 horsepower, and 2,063 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. Naturally, as the image above might suggest, things don't always end well.
You'll find all five videos covering this years challenge below. A scene in the dyno video sums it all up perfectly: a competitor leaves his nitrous on too long and the crew is treated to some ominous poppings, he leans out the window, throws both hands up and shouts, "Amer'ca!"