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  • GM Investing $1B Into Michigan Plants For New Combustion-Engine HD Pickups

    GM Investing $1B Into Michigan Plants For New Combustion-Engine HD Pickups

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    General Motors will add another $1 billion to its investment tab, promising significant upgrades for two of its long-standing manufacturing centers in Flint, Michigan. Rather than investing in electric tech, however, this money will go towards next-generation Chevrolet and GMC heavy-duty pickup trucks with combustion engines.

    Specifically, GM’s Flint Metal Center will gain new stamping dies and refurbished equipment, costing $233 million. Another $788 million is earmarked for the Flint Assembly plant, where numerous updates along with new equipment and expansions of various facilities are planned. Flint Assembly is where the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD trucks are built.

    17 Photos

    The latest announcement comes after another half-billion investment earmarked for Flint. In January 2023, GM committed $579 million to update its Flint Engine Operations facility, preparing it for the company’s next-generation small-block V8 engine. At the same time, GM announced $216 million for another plant in nearby Bay City, Michigan. All total, that’s $1.8 billion from the Detroit automaker going to this region of Michigan alone.

    Moving outside the Great Lake State, GM committed $650 million in February for a Nevada Lithium mine to produce EV batteries. $168 million is going to upgrade manufacturing centers in New York, Ohio, and Indiana, and these are just announcements within the last several months. It’s all part of a $30 billion commitment from GM to invest in various US-based facilities going back to 2013.

    “Today we are announcing significant investments in Flint to strengthen our industry-leading full-size pickup business by preparing two plants to build the next-generation ICE HD trucks,” said Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president for global manufacturing and sustainability. “These investments reflect our commitment to our loyal truck customers and the efforts of the dedicated employees of Flint Assembly and Flint Metal Center.”

    Built in 1947, Flint Assembly is the oldest assembly plant still operating in GM’s North American network. It’s also the last remaining vehicle assembly plant left in Flint, which was once a hub of manufacturing in the auto industry dating back to the early 1900s.

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  • Wolff: Mercedes needed early F1 season shock to be bold with car change

    Wolff: Mercedes needed early F1 season shock to be bold with car change

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    Mercedes persisted with its troubled 2022 car concept in the belief that dialling out porpoising would unlock its true potential on the new W14.

    But it turned up at Bahrain winter testing further behind Red Bull than it finished 2022, leading to a tough decision to change the concept of its floor, sidepods and suspension mid-season, with the revamped W14 debuting at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    It was last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix on the high-downforce Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, however, that provided Mercedes with a more representative sample of whether or not its bold direction change had actually been successful.

    And on Sunday Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second and third respectively to secure a double podium behind runaway winner Max Verstappen, which vindicated the Brackley team’s decision to change course.

    According to team boss Wolff, Mercedes needed its early season wake-up call of not being competitive to push it towards its new concept.

    “I think we just needed the shock at the beginning of the season to understand that this is not going forward, there was not much more performance gain in it,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after Sunday’s result.

    “And then that shook it up, and then we push forward. There’s lead times, you need to design parts. You need to produce them and the team back at base did a mega job that we have all of that on the car.

    Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG

    Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

    “I’m very happy for the hard work that has been done in the UK; in Brixworth and in Brackley. We took some decisions to go in another direction, we changed so many parts that we thought may be variables that we don’t completely understand.

    “It was a risky move, and everybody just pushed forward and we got a good race car.”

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    Wolff cautioned that Mercedes still has a lot of work ahead to catch up to Red Bull, and that it first needs to confirm its turnaround at the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time as its car was “in a mega window” in Barcelona.

    But while Hamilton finished a distant 24 seconds off the dominant Red Bull of Verstappen, Wolff insisted the actual difference was not that great.

    “I think it was less. Lewis at the end was cruising, probably it’s just around 15 seconds,” he added. “And over 66 laps, that’s still a lot.

    “That’s just not where we aim to be. I think we are much closer, but you see where the benchmark is.”

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  • Birchalls: Historic Isle of Man TT Sidecar record “hanging over us since 2019”

    Birchalls: Historic Isle of Man TT Sidecar record “hanging over us since 2019”

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    Sidecar driver Ben and his passenger brother Tom Birchall dominated Saturday’s three-wheel race on the Isle of Man for their 13th TT victory.

    They did so having also made history with the first-ever 120mph Sidecar lap of the 37.75-mile TT course, posting a 120.357mph effort on lap two or three.

    The Birchalls held the Sidecar lap record prior to Saturday, having set a 119.250mph lap in 2018. Since then, the prospect of 120mph has been a constant question for the Birchalls.

    Speaking to TT’s live television feed after their historic race, Ben Birchall said: “Thank goodness for that, it’s been hanging over us since 2019!

    “I can’t believe it. Milky [Richard Quayle] had the sign [showing the lap] and I knew they’d show it if we done it.

    “Tom was ace, the bike was ace, team was ace, conditions were amazing. It’s so cool to do it on the 100 years celebration of Sidecars at TT.

    “So, everything aligned, I just can’t thank everybody enough. Time’s are tough for everyone financially, and for us to be able to do this is so special, it means such a lot to us both. Great crowds out there.”

    Tom Birchall added that “you’ll never replace that” achievement and says he “felt something was different” when they began that record-breaking second lap.

    Birchalls, Sidecar

    Photo by: ttracesofficial/Pacemaker Press

    “I’m just living for the moment now,” Tom Birchall added.

    “You’ll never replace that. That was just something else, [after] a long delay through tragic events (a serious road traffic collision delayed racing on Saturday).

    “We just tried to keep cool, keep calm. We’ve got the experience, been here before with delays and stuff.

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    “When the time is right, it can come and you’ve just got to be patient at the TT. I seen boards that said ‘plus three’ about halfway through the lap and thought ‘fair play Pete [Founds] and Jevan [Walmsley], they’re having a go’.

    “Then it just started to come them, coming off the Mountain at the end of the first lap and carrying that speed through, I just felt it, felt that something’s different here.

    “The support we’re getting now around the course, it’s distracting. Folks were waving and cheering us on, they must have heard it announced.

    “What a cool way to start the week and to do it with my brother, it’s been a long time coming.”

    The Birchall brothers will be aiming for Sidecar TT win number 14 on Wednesday when the second and final three-wheel race of the 2023 takes place.

    Picture credit @ttracesofficial/Pacemaker Press

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  • The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: More cuts in Europe, Asia

    The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: More cuts in Europe, Asia

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    Automakers cut about 41,700 more vehicles from their production plans last week because of microchip shortages, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions.

    Most of those losses were at assembly plants in Europe and China. Europe axed about 16,400 vehicles from production schedules last week, while about 15,500 were removed in China. 

    About 8,000 were eliminated from plans at factories in the rest of Asia, while plants in the Middle East and Africa cut 1,700 vehicles.

    For the second consecutive week, no further microchip-related production cuts were made at North American factories, which have been hit harder by the shortage than those in other regions. Likewise, South American assembly plans were unaffected by semiconductor supply, AutoForecast Solutions said.

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  • F1 drivers fear unintended consequences of Barcelona track changes

    F1 drivers fear unintended consequences of Barcelona track changes

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    For the first time since 2006, the championship will cut out the oft-maligned slow-speed Turn 14-15 left-right chicane and will revert to the two high-speed open right handers to complete the lap.

    This has increased the final-corner apex speed up to 170mph, with the aim being to allow drivers to follow more closely onto the main straight to slipstream and mount an overtake.

    While single-car running during Friday practice returned rave reviews from drivers about the changes to make the lap faster, they do not expect said tweaks to do as conceived to help passing.

    With a perceived lack of overtaking so far in 2023 partially blamed on the Pirelli tyres being more limited by overheating rather than degradation, AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries reckons that will again be a major factor this weekend.

    He said: “Let’s not take to conclusions but obviously the main reason for the change is for better racing. 

    “I’m not sure whether that will provide us with better racing… the left-front suffers a lot.

    Insight: What we learned from Friday practice at F1’s 2023 Spanish GP

    “The duty on the fronts are just tough. You can feel it now, during a long run when you’re behind other cars that it’s so difficult to follow.

    “Now there is a lot of emphasis on the front axle whereas previously, there was a bit of both… They did [the changes] with the right intentions, let’s put it that way.”

    Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo Racing

    Photo by: Alfa Romeo

    De Vries reckoned it was possible to push for two laps before “you’ll pay the price eventually” from taking too much out of the tyres.

    Drivers also cited the 2023 cars for exacerbating fears that the revised Barcelona lap will not lead to increased overtaking. 

    Despite the switch to ground-effect having been intended to help cars follow more closely, the rate of development over the winter has increased levels of dirty air. Drivers have commented that it is noticeably harder to follow this season compared to last. 

    Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas told Autosport: “Faster is always more fun. [But overtaking levels] are going to be the same. It’s difficult to follow in the last corner.

    “It’s just faster, but I don’t think it’s going to improve overtaking. It’s slightly bumpy over there.

    “So, there’s a bit of movement, which makes it more challenging, but it’s quite a cool corner. It’s super high speed. Definitely a bit more challenging but also for the tyres.

    “It feels like the tyres are going quite a lot through those two corners.”

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  • Albon: losing chicane that “ruined” Spain will improve racing

    Albon: losing chicane that “ruined” Spain will improve racing

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    A return to the previous high-speed final sector, last used by the championship in 2006, has shortened the lap by 18 metres. The change was conceived to boost overtaking possibilities.

    This comes amid complaints of stale racing so far this year, claims that have been exacerbated by shortened DRS zones in Miami and Azerbaijan and teams using robust hard tyres to execute one-stop strategies.

    But Albon says the removal of the “ugly” final chicane, which previously denoted Turns 13 to 15, will help overtaking by allowing drivers to take differing lines to boost the spectacle.

    The Thai-Brit said: “The removal of the chicane is going to help [Williams] a little bit more.

    “Those three corners were always a bit of a tricky one for us. We’d always lose quite a lot of lap time through there. So, getting rid of that is perfect.”

    Albon reckoned the chicane “ruined the rest of the track” so all drivers were in favour of it being scrapped. He added that it would make Barcelona one of the “easier” tracks for passing.

    The Spanish GP chicane was never popular with drivers

    Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

    He continued: “I think it’s really good. I don’t know a driver who’s been negative about it.

    “It was always a bit of… I don’t want to call it, an ugly piece of work.

    “It was tricky. It ruined the rest of the track because the flow was just so different to before. It’s great.

    “More than anything, it’s the racing that I hope is going to improve.”

    “Coming from last year, you could always stay pretty close through [Turns] 10 and 12.

    “You can always find a bit of clean air if you went in tight through 10 or wide through 11, you could always offset the car in front.

    “But once you go through 13, 14, 15, it was always single file. You had to copy the same line.

    “I reckon it’s going to be one of the easier overtaking tracks we go to this year.

    Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said he was “mega excited” for the change and recalled his painful previous experience on the higher-speed layout while testing for McLaren in 2006.

    He said: “I’m mega excited about driving around this track.

    “This is one of those older, ‘classic’, circuits – one that I’ve always enjoyed.

    “I do remember testing here in 2006, my first test in Formula 1 with McLaren.

    “That was two or three or four days of the high-speed last corners and I couldn’t hold my head up…

    “I’d come in and be like ‘No, my neck is good’. I was just in so much pain, struggling to sleep at night.

    “I hope that we’re able to follow with the cars that we have a bit better through those last two corners now that we don’t have that little Mickey Mouse chicane.”

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  • UAW leaders: Detroit 3 can afford our demands

    UAW leaders: Detroit 3 can afford our demands

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    UAW leaders on Wednesday delivered a clear message to members: The union has high demands for this upcoming round of contract negotiations with the Detroit 3 and are prepared to strike if the companies don’t meet them.

    In a first-of-its-kind virtual town hall, UAW President Shawn Fain, Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock and the union’s three vice presidents laid out priorities that include ending the tiered wage system, reinstating cost-of-living increases and adding stronger job protections to prevent future plant closures. They said Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis have made enough profits in recent years to no longer need concessions from their work forces.

    “They can afford our demands, and we expect them to pony up,” Fain said. “This is our time to get our fair share of the pie.”

    The leaders struck a defiant tone at times, using charts and graphics to contrast corporate profits with union wages. Fain said the Detroit 3 have made so much money over the past decade that they could collectively use those profits to purchase every pro baseball, basketball and hockey team and still have billions left over.

    Vice President Rich Boyer, head of the Stellantis department, blasted CEOs Mary Barra of GM, Jim Farley of Ford and Carlos Tavares of Stellantis for their high compensation relative to the average worker’s wages.

    “Remember that when they say we’re family,” Boyer said. “We’re not family.”

    The upcoming round of negotiations are expected to be difficult and contentious as the union fights for better wages and benefits while the automakers attempt to keep costs under control. Union leaders, most of whom are newly elected and have not shied away from divisive rhetoric, said Wednesday they weren’t afraid of going on strike. The automakers’ contracts with the UAW expire in September.

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  • Honda’s Ohio Engine Plant Produces 30 Millionth Powertrain – It’s A Hybrid

    Honda’s Ohio Engine Plant Produces 30 Millionth Powertrain – It’s A Hybrid

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    Honda’s Anna Engine Plant in Ohio has produced its 30 millionth powertrain. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder hybrid unit, destined for an Accord or CR-V, signifies the shift happening throughout the industry that will be pivotal to the plant’s future.

    In the US, nearly 60 percent of Accord and CR-V sales are of the brand’s two-motor hybrid-electric system. The powertrain bridges the era of pure combustion engines the facility started producing in 1985 and the battery-electric components it will build in a few short years.

    12 Photos

    Honda is investing $700 million to retool its Anna Engine Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant, and Marysville Auto Plant so it can produce battery-electric vehicles. Anna will make the cases for Honda’s Intelligent Power Unit that will house the battery module and its controlling hardware.

    The Anna facility is Honda’s largest engine plant in the world and has produced more than just engines. Over the years, employees have made transmissions, suspension components, and wheels. It employs 2,900 people today who build Honda’s V6 and inline-four engines, including hybrids, and the company expects to sustain employment levels at its facilities during the transition to EVs.

    Honda’s EV hub will also include a new joint venture battery facility with LG Energy Solutions, which recently broke ground. The combined investment is projected to reach $4.4 billion, and the facility will produce lithium-ion batteries for the EVs that will be produced at Honda’s East Liberty and Marysville factories. Honda had initially planned to begin EV production in Ohio in 2026, but it changed course and moved the start forward to 2025.

    Honda will transfer engine production out of Anna by August as it preps the facility to produce the cases. Other changes include moving Accord production from Marysville to Indiana to consolidate production lines so the automaker can begin producing EVs.

    While the automaker is investing considerably in electric vehicles, the company believes combustion engines could linger beyond 2040. However, it’s also pushing for EVs and hybrids to account for 40 percent of its sales by 2030, as that’s the direction the industry is heading.

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  • Isle of Man TT 2023: Harrison ups the pace at midway point of practice week

    Isle of Man TT 2023: Harrison ups the pace at midway point of practice week

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    After Peter Hickman notched up a 132mph lap on his FHO Racing BMW Superbike on Tuesday evening, Harrison raised the game for practice week in 2023 on Wednesday.

    Wednesday’s running began with the Superbike and Superstock class session, with Hickman leading the pack away on his Superstock machine for two laps.

    Harrison set off behind him on his DAO Racing Kawasaki Superbike, and set the initial pace from a standing start of 133.284mph for the first sub-17-minute lap of TT 2023 at 16m59.089s.

    Hickman let Harrison through as they thundered along the start/finish straight on the Glencrutchery Road, with the Kawasaki rider released to put in a stunning final flying lap on his Superbike.

    Harrison completed the lap at 133.514mph, which would keep him top overall as the evening’s running continued.

    Michael Dunlop was second-quickest on his Hawk Racing Honda with a 133.367mph, set on his second lap on his Superbike having started on his Superstock Honda.

    Hickman completed the top three having only gotten one lap in on his Superbike at 131.862mph, with Jamie Coward (KTS Racing) fourth and John McGuinness fifth – the TT legend setting his first 130mph lap since 2016 on his Honda at 130.035mph.

    Michael Dunlop

    Photo by: Isle of Man TT

    In the Superstock class, Hickman led the way with a 133.284mph (which was the third-fastest time overall of the evening) from Dunlop at 132.694mph.

    Both Padgetts Honda riders, Davey Todd and Conor Cummins, stopped briefly on their Superbike laps, and thus didn’t register representative times.

    But in the Superstock class, Todd was third with a 131.711mph lap ahead of Cummins at 129.825mph, while Harrison was fifth at 129.148mph.

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    Hickman led the way in the Supersport class on his Trooper Beer Triumph at 127.206mph ahead of the Russell Racing Yamaha of Harrison with a 125.145mph lap.

    Dunlop completed the top three on his MD Racing Yamaha at 124.973mph, with Todd and Coward rounding out the top five.

    Coward topped the Supertwins times at 120.912mph, while Hickman was forced to stop his Yamaha early into his very first lap on the bike at TT 2023 after it wasn’t ready for night one and night two’s session was cancelled.

    The Birchall brothers continued to lead the Sidecar class, topping the session with a 118.523mph lap.

    The outfit, piloted by Ben Birchall with brother Tom as passenger, set this on their only lap of the evening after they were forced to pull off at Ballacraine of their second effort.

    They headed Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley at 118.159mph, while Ryan and Callum Crowe were back in action in third after missing Tuesday’s practice following an incident on Monday.

    The Crowe brothers were third at 114.128mph.

    Alan Founds was able to take part in Wednesday’s running after his passenger Jake Lowther was banned from TT 2023 on Tuesday for failing a drugs test.

    Founds rode with Colin Smyth – who was meant to be Maria Costello’s passenger this year, though the FHO rider was absent from Wednesday’s running – and cracked the top 20.

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  • Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling car in Q1

    Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling car in Q1

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    With more than 40,000 units sold in March, the Model Y was Europe’s best-seller in the first quarter, marking the first time a Tesla model achieved that milestone, according to market researcher Dataforce.

    Elon Musk on Tuesday visited China for the first time in three years, highlighting the importance of the world’s biggest electric car market.

    Model Y ranked first in global sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Hilux, Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Camry, according to the data. The Model Y is the only full-electric car on the list.

    Musk recently told CNBC that growing tensions between China and the U.S. “should be a concern for everyone.” Tesla also recently held talks with Indian officials about building a new factory in India.

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