The 2017 Chevy Bolt Joins the Ranks of Nissan LEAF, Tesla and BMW - http://clapway.com/2016/01/08/the-2017-chevy-bolt-jons-the-ranks-of-nissan-leaf-tesla-and-bmw-123/

General Motors has officially unveiled the 2017 Chevy Bolt, which had only been seen as an all-electric concept car, at the Consumer Electrics Show in Las Vegas. The all-electric long-range car was first announced in January 2015, and General Motors claims that it will start production by the end of 2016. This will come as a great addition to the electric cars currently on the market, like the Nissan LEAF and the Tesla Model S, as well as upcoming all-electric cars like the VW electric car.

General Motors Hits the All-Electric Market

The 2017 Chevy Bolt will be coming with the best of the best and the newest of the new. It will even feature an app that will bring in car sharing and what they call ‘advanced GPS routing’. According to the official statement, the app will be able to predict driving range through the weather. It will also be able to monitor and predict driving habits, even how many hills the car will climb on the way to its destination.

2017 Chevy Bolt vs Tesla Model S and Nissan LEAF

General Motors executives called the initial 2017 Chevy Bolt concept ‘a game changer’. The car is set to run 200 miles on a single charge. The current Chevy Volt only runs about 53 miles and features a gas engine for extra range. The Bolt will not have the extra gas engine.

The new car’s price is also quite pretty. After tax incentives, it stands at a proud $30,000. This makes it cheaper than other electric cars with similar range. The Tesla Model S, for example, runs 230 miles on a single charge, but it costs $70,000. The new Tesla Model 3 is set to come out sometime in 2017 which will allegedly be cheaper. The Nissan LEAF is another tough competitor in terms of quality and price. Although it is runs half the range, Nissan is a valuable brand.

Chevy Bolt Will Be An Exciting Car for GM

The 2017 Chevy Bolt wil probably make a significant mark on the mid-priced plug-in vehicle market, and it has even received positive responses from competing car makers. Tesla was reported as having a hopeful outlook on all zero-emission vehicles on the road, though it didn’t make the statement without making a reference to itself. Efforts from General Motoros further ‘advance Tesla’s mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable transportation.’ Now there’s a representative Elon Musk would be proud of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erVHuXJLR3c

The 2017 Chevy Bolt Joins the Ranks of Nissan LEAF, Tesla and BMW

Buick Teases at 2017 Buick LaCrosse - http://clapway.com/2015/11/19/buick-teases-at-2017-buick-lacrosse123/

Buick Announces New Car that Will Change the Face of the Company

Buick has released a mere snippet of information of the 2017 Buick LaCrosse to entice customers in the new car, which promises to give Buick a prettier face and a bigger wallet. The new car is hoping to change Buick’s face in the automobile market, and its specs look like it’ll do just that.

buick.com

2017 Buick LaCrosse Borrows Some Things from the Avenir Concept Car

Buick unveiled an Avenir concept car at the Detroit Auto Show in January that is strikingly similar to the 2017 Buick LaCrosse, with the same tricolor badge and new grille. The 2017 Buick LaCrosse has a nice full-size car width and comes with apt technology, with exterior LED taillights and running lights, HID lights and active grille shutters for improved aerodynamics and speed.

Buick Boasts That the 2017 Buick LaCrosse is the Quietest Buick Yet

Buick has been continuously stressing that the 2017 Buick LaCrosse is the quietest Buick yet, featuring active noise cancellation technology and triple sealed doors. It also has acoustic glass, wheel-well liners and wipers that are hidden beneath the hood. This makes for a nice and quiet interior.

The 2017 Buick LaCrosse will be built at General Motors’ Michigan facility and it’s set to hit dealerships next summer. Pricing and market availability have not yet been announced.

 

 

Buick Teases at 2017 Buick LaCrosse

General Motors Cars Catch Fire, 1.4M Recalled - http://clapway.com/2015/10/27/general-motors-cars-catch-fire-1-4m-recalled123/

In the past seven years, General Motors has had three instances where they’ve had to recall a number of their cars for the risk of leaking oil and catching fire.

1.4M are being recalled, dated to the 1997 model year, because repairs from the other two recalls did not work. The company reported that 1,300 cars caught fire even after they were fixed by GM dealerships.

A Repetition of the 2008 and 2009 GM Recalls

The issues with GM models started in 2007, when 21 customers filed complaints about engine fires from their cars, and this prompted an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate. Three injuries came from these engine fires, and the agency concluded that all fires happened 5-15 minutes after the engines were turned off.

This investigation resulted in the GM recall of 2008, which took back over 200,000 American cars with supercharged engines. In less than a year GM recalled an additional 1.5M cars, these did not have supercharged engines. The recall was for replacing the spark plug wire channels that spread the fires, but documents on the progress of this did not show any indication that there was anything being done about the oil leaks.

GM Cars Responsible for 267 Fires

Naturally, American safety regulators became aware of these fires, and since then, GM has reported nineteen minor injuries related to the oil leakage. In 2008, a spokeswoman from the company declared that the cars were responsible for 267 fires, 17 of which burned entire structures.

The issues are likely caused by worn valve cover gaskets, which degrade with time. This can cause oil to leak, and with hard braking, these oil droplets can fall on the exhaust manifold and catch fire. These embers can spread to one of the plastic spark plug wire channels and set the rest of the engine ablaze.

This recall includes the 1997-2004 Pontiac Grand Prix and the Buick Regal; the 2000-2004 Chevrolet Impala; 1998-1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue and the 1998-2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. All of these models have one thing in common: they are all equipped with 2.8-liter V6 engines.

Alan Adler: ‘GM Recall Could Result in Material Charge to Earnings’

Alan Adler declared that GM has not come up with a solution to the oil leakage problem and that the recall was planned after they discovered that 1,300 of the reported fires were caused by 2004 models. GM plans to use state registration databases in an effort to track down car owners.

This recall is so large that the company’s fourth-quarter earnings may be affected, but Adler insist it is to early to say, adding that since a remedy has not been decided, it is not known whether the cost may result in a material charge to earnings.

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General Motors Cars Catch Fire, 1.4M Recalled

Detroit is Broke, GM Brings Jobs - http://clapway.com/2015/10/22/detroit-is-broke-gm-brings-jobs123/

The city of Detroit, Michigan, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in July 2013, making it the 8th city to ever do so. The Motor City also holds the record for the highest amount of debt, owing creditors about $18-$20 billion.

GM Steps In and Makes 2,800 Jobs for the Motor City

General Motors is on its way to help restore some of what the city is best known for by opening a second shift at their plant there, giving citizens more jobs and more hope as they continue to struggle through what has been an increasingly difficult time of change and slow restoration.

A Steady But Sure Rise for Detroit

Detroit reached its peak population in 1950, housing 1.8 million in total, but the city has only 700,000 now, joined only by many abandoned buildings and empty streets. General Motors, which has seen great work in their current Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, now has every intention of amending some of the damage and giving honor to the city. This development will create 2,800 jobs which are necessary to meet the demand for the cars that the plant currently produces: the Chevrolet Volt, Chevy Impala and Malibu, the Cadillac ELR and the upcoming Cadillac CT6.

Analysts are expecting that the production of the Buick LaCross will be rerouted to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant within the year, but GM gave no comments on this particular allegation.

They did say that the change, though it puts Detroit one step in the direction of restoration, is the result of the award-winning vehicle that Detroit-Hamtramck currently produces, and of the confidence GM has invested in the team there. Plant Manager Gary West adds that the company relies on the plant’s mission to build world-class quality vehicles for its customers, so it is only right that they extend the workforce.

GM is Currently Hiring!

Hiring for this new shift is currently underway, and it’s planned to start in early 2016. Shop Chairman of UAW Local 22 Don LaForest adds that the workforce at Detroit-Hamtramck is second to none, and that the opportunity to expand is much appreciated.

The factory was opened in 1985, and GM as invested over one billion dollars in the astounding 4.1 million sq. ft. factory to ensure the quality of the cars being made there, but also to ensure that their team is top of the line despite the crumbling surroundings of the Motor City.

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Detroit is Broke, GM Brings Jobs

Auto Companies Withhold User Data From Google and Apple - http://clapway.com/2015/07/11/auto-companies-withhold-user-data-from-google-and-apple678/

It seems that in-car web technology has really gained speed, but major auto manufacturers have announced that they will not share user data with mega-corporations like Google and Apple, revealing that this traction is not without friction.

IT’S NOT ABOUT CHARITY or concern for drivers’ privacy

To add insult to injury, auto manufacturers like General Motors (GM) and Volkswagen will withhold their user data not for the sake of their drivers’ privacy, but to analyze and exploit the data for additional revenue. In fact, such auto companies are hopeful that vehicle user data will help them generate billions of dollars in e-commerce.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW

Obviously, auto titans are new to the info market, but it’s presumed their use will mirror what consumers are already familiarized with–digital music and targeted advertising on user interface is as quotidian as checking one’s email, thanks to Apple and Google. But auto designers are also going to integrate phones into car systems, the potential for efficient multitasking in transit begins to look like a market of its own kind.

“THIS SPACE IS OCCUPIED”

However, this isn’t exactly happening in a vacuum. Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto have already proliferated. The good news for auto companies is that, since they’ve put a hold on info-giants’ access to user data, there is still a well of potentially profitable information to mull over.

META-ANALYTICS TO COME

Some of the information withheld includes the vehicle’s most basic functional systems, e.g. steering, brakes and throttle, but some higher-order analytics like range, or the distance a car can travel on one tank of gas, travel planning services, auto-repair and insurance companies, make one’s imagination broaden with possible meta-maintenance applicability.

Consultant AlixPartners has opined that global revenues from digitally connected cars will increase to $40 billion annually by 2018, up from $16 billion in 2013. That is twenty-four billion dollars to be created within the next three years. One finds it hard to blame the auto tycoons for respectfully declining Google’s and Apple’s esteemed services.

DRAWBACKS

The downside of this data-withholding is actually ironic. Third-party infotainment systems, e.g. GPS coordinates for navigation, time-of-day dashboard adaptation, and reverse gear notification alerts, are all directly affected by automakers’ decision.

However this plays out, it seems drivers may have to make an additional meta-choice about their driving preferences when they hit the road–to stay reliant on their phone alone for continual connection to the web, or to bring their cars, and consequently their car’s company, into the fold.

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Auto Companies Withhold User Data From Google and Apple

First Humanoid Space Robot Earns NASA Invention Award - http://clapway.com/2015/06/21/first-humanoid-space-robot-earns-nasa-invention-award987/

Humanoid robots working with astronauts may sound like part of a science fiction movie. Yet, they are slowly being implemented in the real world. Case in point- the first humanoid robot in space, Robonaut 2, has recently been picked for NASA’s Invention of the Year award for the year 2014. Robonaut 2’s home is ISS, where it works side by side with human astronauts. The technologies needed to make this space robot aren’t just useful to space exploration, as those technologies will be adapted for use on Earth.

Robonaut 2 was judged by six different criteria

R2 was chosen for the award by the NASA General Counsel, the NASA Invention and Contributions Board, and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. It was rated in six different areas: Aerospace Significance, Industry Significance, Humanitarian Significance, Technology Readiness Level, NASA Use, and Industry Use and Creativity. It is interesting to note how heavily usefulness to people on Earth was weighed during evaluations for this award. Due to its number of possible Earth tech applications, Robonaut 2 did very well in those areas.

Who was behind development of the space robot?

R2 was developed together with General Motors through a Space Act Agreement. The original prototype, R1, was built as a ground prototype meant to examine the potential uses for a humanoid space robot. R1 was envisioned to help astronauts conducting spacewalks by preparing their worksites and providing a precise set of mechanical hands for helping to perform maintenance and repair objectives. R2, predictably, is a better version of R1, upgraded to be faster and more dexterous than the original. It features greater mobility and a safety system that permits it to work alongside astronauts and potentially be of great help.

What are some technologies employed by R2 that may be useful in Earth applications?

Robonaut 2 is truly cutting-edge. It is the first robot ever in a human space vehicle operating without a cage, and also the first robot in space to work with tools designed for human us. Technologies originating from this project have given way to 39 patents issued, with more being reviewed. A few examples of the important technologies showcased by this remarkable space robot are a robotic glove, a robotic exoskeleton, and certain telemedicine tech.

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Robonaut 2 DEFINITELY isn’t as cute as this little robot.

First Humanoid Space Robot Earns NASA Invention Award