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I'm sure, somewhere out there, someone is hoping & praying that mercedes doesn't revert to it's roots; a few vastly-underpowered, spartan & outdated sedans, and a 4-banger convertible 'sports car', with black rubber steering wheels from the bus division, an exposed gas filler neck poking out the rear fascia like a mail truck, and some of the worst body hardware engineering this side of World War II. I mean... it's probably come up in the board meetings...

CVTs are cheap to build and can sometimes gain a manufacturer a mpg or 2 in the EPA test (real world, your mileage may vary of course) CVTs are also not great with large amounts of torque. The first few years Nissan was putting them behind the VQ V6 there were a lot of failures below 60k miles. Subaru with the 2.0T and Nissan with the VQ are the two torquiest engines I can think of with a CVT. CVTs perform great with a lot of torque, they just can’t handle it from a durability aspect.

Porsche ADDED SUVs, it didn't convert the 911 into one. Corvette = forever a 2-seater.

To hit a price target. I also believe CVT's don't handle a lot of power, thus the engine pairings. GM has a 310 HP turbo 4, but you're not going to see it in front of a CVT.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28197754/chevrolet-corvette-c7-nurburgring-lap-time-jim-mero-interview/ JM: I was three minutes behind him. Within five seconds, through the Stefan Bellof esses, it went from perfectly dry to almost putting me into the guardrail. Our objective was to beat the [991-generation Porsche 911] Carrera S, which did a 7:37.9. Back then, the fast-lap opportunity was the last lap of the day, and [the track] gave each company who requested it one lap a week. R&T: But those chances were rained out. JM: Yep. But somebody canceled on a Friday, so it was last lap, last day, last everything. No pressure. I got a little overanxious… I mean, I was hauling ass right up until I got through Wehrseifen. I dropped two wheels there and then made the mortal sin of thinking, "Now I have, what, maybe four or five minutes to make up that second I just lost?" I started overdriving the car. At Brünnchen, I put all four off, and I lost another two seconds. R&T: That was a 7:39. Because it didn’t beat the Porsche, GM wouldn’t publish the lap time? JM: I tried to convince them, and they just decided to punt. R&T: You went back to Germany the next fall with a Z06. What happened? JM: The fall is the wrong time to be there. There are times the dew point is so low, it won’t rain for a week and the track will still be half wet. R&T: That’s when you crashed, right? JM: Yeah. It was our first day with the Z06 on the Nürburgring. We had just started dialing in the MagneRide calibration. After that, I overlaid the data of the lap before [the crash] on top of that of the next lap, and I didn’t do anything different. All we could surmise was something got spilled on the track between the two laps. R&T: That was that for 2014. You went back in spring of 2015 with another Z06. JM: We just said, “Let’s put the 100-octane calibration in the car and see where we’re at.” That’s when we ran a 7:10. R&T: Why was that time never publicized? JM: Because we didn’t have this 100-octane calibration available for sale at that time—it still needed to be validated. They didn’t want to go forward with the lap. R&T: But that calibration was eventually offered to the public. Why not show off the lap then? JM: A marketing guy said, “Oh, nobody cares about it.” They said, “They’re going to want to know how the car ran without the 100-octane cal.” I said, “They’ll never know that, because we never ran it.” Unfortunately, at that point, it was like talking to a wall.

President Biden was joined by the auto industry Executives of FORD, GM and Stellantis in the executive order targeting 50% of new auto sales by 2030. While largely symbolic, this nonbinding order sets federal expectations for automakers to rapidly transition from ICE to BEV cars and trucks. Transportation is the largest share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. While not in attendance, BMW, HONDA, VOLKSWAGEN and VOLVO have all signed off on this executive order backing to target 50% of their new auto sales to be BEV by 2030 mirroring these companies pledges to hit this as they sided with California and their CARB mandates a few years back. UAW is backing Ford and GM push to go all electric by 2035. This on top of the following statements from auto industry executives. “It has been said that this generation is the first to feel the impact of climate change, and the last that can do something about it. I am proud that Ford is leading the electric revolution and standing for stronger standards that protect people and the environment as we progress towards a zero-emissions transportation future. Ford has always been a leader in sustainability and our employees continue their tremendous efforts to leave our children and our grandchildren with a cleaner planet.” - Executive Chair Bill Ford “Ford is on an ambitious trajectory to lead the electrification revolution -- from being the only full-line American automaker to side with California in favor of stricter greenhouse gas emissions, to electrifying our most iconic and popular vehicles, like the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit. Customer demand has exceeded our expectations. So, we expect to be well positioned to have fully electric vehicles account for 40 to 50% of our U.S. sales by 2030. We’re counting on strong cooperation among the Biden Administration, Congress and state and local governments, and are doing our part by developing high-quality, zero-emission vehicles that customers want.” - CEO Jim Farley Mary Barra(She/Her) • • FollowingChair and Chief Executive Officer at General Motors2w • 2 weeks ago Yesterday, we met with the Biden administration and leaders across the industry to announce our shared aspiration to bring the nation closer to a more sustainable future by achieving 40-50% annual U.S. sales of electric vehicles by 2030. I want to thank the administration for its leadership and support for the necessary policies that will accelerate #EV adoption, strengthen U.S. manufacturing, and provide good jobs for people and communities. This is a critical moment in time, as we work together to advance the industry and achieve our shared goal for a better planet for generations to come. https://lnkd.in/ec4aKSY3 As such, the support and focus from the auto industry will drive new technology and new choices in personal mobility. Ford, GM and Stellantis Joint Statement on Electric Vehicle Annual Sales Ford Statements on Electric Vehicle Sales and White House Announcement | Ford Media Center Stellantis Media - Ford, GM and Stellantis Joint Statement on Electric Vehicle Annual Sales (stellantisnorthamerica.com) California Framework Automakers’ Joint Statement on New Federal Vehicle Emissions Standards. (bmwgroup.com) California Framework Automakers’ Joint Statement on New Federal Vehicle Emissions Standards (hondanews.com) FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Steps to Drive American Leadership Forward on Clean Cars and Trucks | The White House Statements on the Biden Administration’s Steps to Strengthen American Leadership on Clean Cars and Trucks | The White House View full article

I saw a newish Armada today. That thing is a bombastic tub of lard. What were they thinking? Within half an hour, I saw a Juke, and was studying its ugly and oddly placed lamps. I realized that Nissan makes some ugly vehicles.

No one @ GM is discussing making 'Corvette' a brand. You'r post is a ridiculous snipe hunt.

Because Corvette is not a brand. If they are going to make a Corvette brand, then it should have a stand alone dealership like Cadillac, and no longer be at Chevrolet dealers. If they want to make Corvette the 5th GM brand, and supply it with a full line, 2 coupes, a sedan, 2 SUVs, and perhaps more like Porsche has, then that is another story. Also would be a dumb move to dump billions into making a new brand, rather than giving Cadillac these performance models, but GM likes to do dumb things.

This is a game changer and will help Tesla survive. Going from 370 parts to 3 pieces that are connected to give you the under pinning of the auto not only reduces weight, but increases stiffness. Tesla is using the IDRA to make a front, back and battery container. As such, you have just 3 modules to connect and seal compared to the existing 370 pieces. More details here: Tesla's Giga Press Die Castings for Model 3 Eliminate 370 Parts (designnews.com)

GM has plenty of SUVs and CUVs. No need to convert a Corvette into a CUV. Now, if you want a Cadillac CUV that will crush what Tesla is offering, GM should do that instead of using the Corvette name to sell a CUV.

Cheapness??????

Ford reported a 70% conquest rate on the Mach-E; these aren’t ‘Ford customers’. Just like before the Model 3 came out, there weren’t any Model 3 customers.

7:10 for a 2015 Corvette Z06. Unofficial time... Not too shabby for 2015... Not the fastest but one of THE fastest for lap times at the 'Ring in a car of this class for 2015... Corvette never went back. Not with a Z07 packaged Z06, not even with a C7 ZR1. 2015... Mercedes GT R has a 2:10 time in 2017... The car you like to shove in my face... Mercedes has a hard on for Nürburgring. That is why the Black Series has a 6:43 time... Corvette's new fanbase might have a hard on for 'Ring lap times just like you... Dont be surprised if the C8 Z06 trashes those times...and is actually faster than the Porsche GT2 RS's 6:38. Waaaaay faster. And like you said, that time is with a 'special' GT2 RS that has been emptied of the factory spec excess weight... Because YOU made a big deal out of that...

He doesn’t post here often, but @HoLottaBuicks is my Buick-GMC salesman and friend of 20 years

Great picture of Sean Connery Also for today

I used to listen to her religiously when she was on the air dispensing advice. As did many of my friends. - - - - - So, a younger person is on the line telling her they are beginning to experiment sexually. RW: "Do you use condoms?" Caller: "Yes." RW (rolling those r's like only a native speaker of German could): "Brrrrravo. I like to hear dat!" My friends and I would be doubling over laughing.

RIP Charlie Watts