Drew Dowdell

Ford announced this morning that it will be making $3.7 billion in investments to expand plants and add 6,200 workers at several of its facilities in the Mid-West. An additional $1 billion investment over the next 5 years will be put towards improving the workplace experience for manufacturing employees, including healthier food, EV chargers, better lighting, and more. As many as 3,000 of the workers added will be converted from temporary hourly workers currently on staff. As part of this announcement, Ford confirmed a new all-electric commercial vehicle that will be produced in Ohio to debut around 2025. The Mustang will be going global with an all-new design and the international and domestic Ford Ranger, currently different vehicles, will be consolidated into an all-new global design. In Michigan, Ford will be investing $2 billion in three plants to increase production of the Ford F-150 Lightning to 150,000 per year in Dearborn, the all-new Ranger at Michigan Assembly in Wayne, and the all-new Mustang coupe at Flat Rock. Ford expects to expand the workforce by 3,200 in these facilities. In Ohio, Ford will be creating 1,800 jobs with a $1.5 billion investment at the Ohio Assembly Plant that will be producing the new Commercial EV, along with $90 million for the Lima Engine and Sharonville Transmission plants. Ohio Assembly currently produces the E-Series, Medium duty trucks, and Super Duty Chassis cab trucks. Missouri will get 1,100 jobs to add a third shift in the Kansas City Assembly plant which produces the Transit van and will be adding the all-new E-Transit EV van. View full article

I"m trying to get back into multiple daily articles.

Yeah, they barely make any sedans, and only two sports coupes.... they're not building this. Although...... if they move the Camaro to being an EV, it could share a platform with this.

Mercedes-Benz has released information on the new 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300. While the GLC is all new, the most newsworthy change is under the hood where the turbocharged 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder gains the assistance of a 48 volt electric motor-generator mild-hybrid. The gas engine makes 258 horsepower, up 3 from the prior year, and 295 lb-ft of torque, up 22, however that torque peak is available in a narrower band of 2000 rpm - 3200 rpm compared to the 1800 rpm - 4000 rpm of the outgoing version. The combined system more than makes up for the narrower torque band with a boost from the electric motor of 23 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque. Most of the electric boost is available in the lower end of the rpm range. Estimated acceleration times improve by just 0.1 second. The 48-volt starter-generator allows the engine to utilize the start-stop feature in a significantly smoother way, being nearly imperceptible to the driver. There is also a glide mode function where the gas motor is able to power down in low-demand situations and the transmission shifts to neutral allowing the vehicle to coast. While gliding mode has been avaible on previous, non-electrified models, the addition of the hybrid system allow for a smoother transition when the engine powers back up. The 9G-Tronic 9-speed automatic carries over driving either the rear wheels or Mercedes' familiar 4matic all-wheel drive. The rest of the GLC 300 is new as well. It gains nearly 2.5 inches in length, 0.5 of an inch in wheelbase, and nearly 2 inches in rear track. That does not, however, translate to more room for passengers. Interior dimensions remain the same with less than a 10th of an inch change in most. Cargo room is up 2.5 cubic feet. Visually, Mercedes clearly took the conservative approach as the new model looks like a refresh of the prior one. Aero is improved to a .29 Cd along with an optimization of the vehicle to reduce wind noise. The interior is all new with a large, 11.9 inch infotainment screen in the center stack. While there is a row of hardware buttons, most functions have been moved into the screen or are activated via "Hey Mercedes" using the MBUX system. With this latest version of MBUX, updates are now able to be downloaded over a mobile data connection built into the vehicle. For those of you who wish to take your luxury crossover off-road, there is a new feature called "transparent hood" that uses exterior cameras to display a view under the front of the vehicle, including the wheels and their position. This allows drivers to avoid large rocks or holes in their path. For 2023, Mercedes has slimmed down the number of package offerings, making more features standard and reducing the number of à la carte options. The Mercedes-Benz GLC is built in Bremen, Germany with Beijing China, and Sindelfingen, Germany being added later this year. Production should start later this summer. Key dimensions: GLC X 254 Preceding model Difference Exterior dimensions (in) Length 185.7 183.3 +2.4 Width 74.4 74.4 0 Width incl. exterior mirrors 81.7 82.5 -0.8 Height 64.6 64.7 -0.1 Wheelbase 113.7 113.1 +0.6 Track, front 64.1 63.8 +0.3 Track, rear 65.6 63.7 +1.9 Interior dimensions (in) Max. headroom, front, driver 41.3 41.9 -0.6 Headroom in the rear 39.65 39.61 +0.04 Legroom, front 40.7 40.8 -0.1 Legroom, rear 37.4 37.3 +0.1 Elbow room, front 59.0 59.0 0 Elbow room, rear 58.3 58.0 +0.3 Shoulder room, front 57.3 57.2 +0.1 Shoulder room, rear 56.6 56.5 +0.1 Luggage capacity acc. to VDA (cu-ft) 21.9 19.4 +2.5 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC / GLC 300 RWD Engine Number of cylinders/arrangement 4/in-line Displacement cc 1999 Rated output hp 258 at engine speed rpm 5800 Add. Output (Boost) hp 23 Rated torque Lb-ft 295 at engine speed rpm 2000-3200 Add. Torque (Boost) Lb-ft 148 Compression ratio 10.0:1 Mixture formation High-pressure injection Power transmission Drive/front:rear distribution All-wheel - 45:55/ Rear Wheel Drive Transmission 9G-TRONIC Gear ratios 1./2./3./4./5./6./7./8./9./Reverse 5.35/3.24/2.25/1.64/1.21/1.00/0.87/0.72/0.60/R1 4.80 Suspension Front axle Four-link steel suspension with selective damping system Rear axle Independent multilink suspension with selective damping system Braking system Internally ventilated disk brakes at front and rear Steering Speed-dependent, electro-mechanical direct steering (rack-and-pinion) Wheels 8J x 18 H2 ET 32.5 Tires 235/60 R 18 Dimensions and weights Wheelbase in 113.7 Front/rear track in 64.1/65.6 Length/width/height in 185.7/74.4/64.6 Turning circle ft 38.7 Boot capacity, VDA Cu-ft 21.9 Performance Acceleration 0-60 mph s 6.2 Top speed mph 130 (electronically limited) View full article