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The Chevrolet Express and its twin GMC Savana will take their final bows after the 2025 model year.The pair will be replaced with electric models similar to the new BrightDrop Zevo 600, though with much smaller capacity. The van pair’s basic designs can be traced back to the 1971 model year, with an all-new model for 1997 and its last major update for the 2003 model year.Last of the big-box American-style cargo and passenger vans, the Chevrolet Express and its badge-engineered GMC Savana clone finally will be discontinued after the 2025 model year, with battery-electric vans replacing them in the 2026 model year, according to a competitive analysis source. Unlike Ford’s new E-Transit battery-electric full-size van, the Express/Savana replacements will be based on GM’s EV-specific “skateboard” chassis and Ultium modular battery pack, and it could be similar in design to the all-electric BrightDrop Zevo 600 commercial fleet delivery van, though very likely quite smaller.The Zevo 600 has cargo capacity of “more than 600 cubic feet,” while the current Chevy Express/GMC Savana has capacity of 284.4 cubic feet for the long-wheelbase version.BrightDrop delivered its first 150 Zevo delivery vans to FedEx last week. Unsexy as this part of the EV business is, it’s huge, with perhaps the best potential to quickly get the automotive business out of carbon-spewing internal-combustion engines. FedEx plans to eventually have 2500 BrightDrop vans in its fleet, on the way to an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2040.The lame-duck GM van twins—their tooling long ago paid off—fall short of Ford and Ram competitors based on much fresher European styling, though the strategy to go directly from 35-year-old designs to EVs might prove smartest. The Chevy/GMC’s basic designs can be traced back to the 1971 model year, with an all-new model for 1997 and its last major update for 2003.
By comparison, the Ford Transit, with three roof height options, has cargo capacity of 246.7-542.2 cubic feet (excluding bare-chassis vans from any of these brands available with larger “cube” cargo boxes that cannot be accessed from the driver’s seat).The BrightDrop Zevo 600’s range of 250 miles practically doubles the Ford E-Transit’s top-range of 126 miles on low-roof versions. The Zevo 600 can be recharged at the rate of 170 miles an hour using a 120-kilowatt fast charger.Ford has delivered some 2022 E-Transits and says the average commercial customer drives 74 miles per day. The 2023 model is now available for order, with cargo and cutaway chassis cabs available.

Ford’s 2022 E-Transit electric van comes in eight configurations, including three roof heights and three body lengths, plus cutaway and chassis cab versions.
Ford

The 2026 BV1 Chevy Express/GMC Savana replacements will add significant volume to GM’s Ultium battery platform—key to easing the cost of the new technology—while the E-Transit is based on the conventional gas-powered Transit van. Ford might not have that disadvantage for long: A dedicated battery-electric Ford E-Transit is expected about the 2027 model year, according to another source in competitive analysis. Stellantis’s Ram is expected to offer a ProMaster EV, also based on the current ICE model, about the 2024 model year.What about window vans? The 2022 Chevy Express/GMC Savana can be configured for seating of up to 15, but there’s no intel, yet, that the BV1 will be available as a family bus. Another key segment for EV conversion—school buses—proves modern battery chemistry makes high-capacity EV passenger vehicles viable. The World Resources Institute this month announced it has tracked commitments for 12,000 battery-electric school buses out of the nation’s fleet of about 500,000, largely consisting of 10,000 diesel-to-EV conversions planned for Midwestern schools as part of the organization’s e School Bus 4Kids initiative. It gets a big push from government: Conversions will be funded by the $5-billion clean school bus program included in last year’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

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The 2023 Acura TLX Type S PMC Edition will be built at the same Performance Manufacturing Center that is currently building the final version of the NSX, the 600-hp Type S.The TLX Type S PMC Edition will be offered in three paint colors from the NSX—Curva Red, 130R White, and Long Beach Blue.The PMC Edition also gains a carbon-fiber lip spoiler and rear diffuser, as well as blacked-out trim and unique interior treatments paired to each exterior hue. The Acura NSX bows out after the 2022 model year, ending a six-year run with the limited-production 600-horsepower Type S variant. But while Acura’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio will soon be finished building the hybrid mid-engined sports car, the Center’s technicians will stay busy crafting the 2023 Acura TLX Type S PMC Edition, which takes inspiration from the NSX with design updates and a fresh color palette.

Acura

The PMC Edition gains minor visual changes—the roof, antenna, and door handles are painted in Berlina Black, while the quad exhaust tips are finished in black chrome. The 20-inch wheels feature a copper hue, while the special edition also adds a carbon-fiber lip spoiler and rear diffuser, as well as black side sill trim and exterior badging. The PMC Edition will be offered in three colors borrowed from the NSX—Curva Red, 130R White, and Long Beach Blue.

Acura

Carbon fiber also makes an appearance on the PMC Edition’s interior, along with exclusive floor mats and illuminated door sills. Each exterior paint option is paired with a different interior color—Curva Red is matched with a black interior with red stitching, Long Beach Blue comes with an white interior and blue stitching, and 130R White gets a red interior. There is also a small numbered plaque on the lower center console to serve as a reminder of the PMC Edition’s exclusivity.

The PMC Edition also receives the same special post-production treatment as the NSX, with a dyno check, paint inspection, and rough-road simulation test. The vehicles are protected by a car cover and shipped to dealers in closed, single-car carriers. Orders for the TLX Type S PMC Edition will open later this year ahead of a limited-production run, but Acura hasn’t said how much it will cost. Expect a sizable increase over the Type S’s $54,795 starting price.
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Vehicles equipped with Apple CarPlay might soon move the payment part of gassing up at the pump to the dashboard, without the need to pull out a credit card each time.Exactly how this will all work remains a bit under wraps, but the 1600-station Sinclair network hopes to make CarPlay payments an option when the software is updated this fall.GM tried a version of in-dash fueling in 2017 and 2018, but the automaker ended the Marketplace technology behind the service this past March.Most of the hype surrounding easy, contactless payments in the automotive space has to do with plug-and-charge electric vehicle stations, but gas-powered vehicles might not be left out of updates to a more tech-driven future if rumors about changes coming to Apple CarPlay pan out.

Reuters is reporting on a new, dashboard-based fuel payment feature scheduled to be released this fall in an updated version of CarPlay. While Apple apparently showed off the feature at its developer conference in June, details about the fuel payments were not made public until now. Reuters has confirmed with at least one gas station chain owner, HF Sinclair, which markets its diesel and gasoline brands at over 1600 stations in 30 states. The company said that it hopes to integrate the new CarPlay payment options with its stations and will provide more details soon. “We are excited by the idea that consumers could navigate to a Sinclair station and purchase fuel from their vehicle navigation screen,” HF Sinclair’s Jack Barger told Reuters. Gas station pumps have increasingly been equipped with contactless tap readers that can get payment information from a compatible credit card or a digital device like an Apple Watch. The general idea for the CarPlay update is that you will be able to use your car’s touchscreen to pay for fuel without the need to pull out a credit card. The technical details of how a car with Apple CarPlay will communicate with compatible pumps was not divulged by Apple or Sinclair, but you will need to download compatible gas station apps in order to make it work. Once everything is installed, the navigation app will be able to not only direct you to a station but also be able to start the refueling session. CarPlay can already be used to pay for parking sessions, EV charging, and ordering food, Reuters notes, saying that the ability to use the software to log miles driven on business trips is also on the horizon.GM’s Short-Lived ExperimentFive years ago, General Motors introduced a pay-from-the-dashboard feature in some 2017 and 2018 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac models, but the technology only worked at some Shell stations and was accompanied by what The Verge called a “baffling” user interface that required so many steps to make work – registering with Shell, getting three-digit codes that needed to be entered into the pump’s keyboard and more—that customers never really took to the service. GM shut down its Marketplace technology in March 2022, telling Reuters it was because of “a supplier exiting the business,” but said it plans to introduce another, similar technology in the future.
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General Motors is starting up a new EV First Responder Training program to go along with its expanding lineup of electric vehicles that includes the Chevrolet Bolt EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac Lyriq. The new training materials are being made available online as well as through in-person sessions throughout the U.S. and Canada. Anyone who works as a first responder will be able to get a completion certificate from the Illinois Fire Service Institute when they pass the session.The National Fire Protection Association, which is assisting GM in this new project, already has EV and alternative-fuel safety materials from more than 60 vehicle manufacturers available on its website. And Tesla also has emergency-response manuals for all of its models. Much has been made of the massive battery pack in the GMC Hummer EV. After all, that pack weighs 2923 pounds, nearly as much as an entire small car—say, a 2018 Honda Fit, which has a curb weight of 2595 pounds. With that kind of heft, the amount of energy potentially contained in the Hummer’s battery pack could be a source of concern for first responders approaching the scene of an incident involving one of these new electric vehicles. GM says its OnStar system already has the ability to tell first responders know if an EV is involved in an incident. To give those first responders confidence that they know how to handle such a situation, General Motors announced this week that it is expanding efforts to train emergency personnel in the U.S. and Canada to better deal with EV emergencies.

Illustration of battery pack in the Chevrolet Bolt EV, from emergency guide.
General Motors

GM has released a new EV First Responder Training program that not only provides vital information on the technology inside of an electric vehicle but also details industry best practices for dealing with EVs—and electrified vehicles like hybrids—in all kinds of potentially difficult situations. GM will train people using the program not only with live presentations but also presentations from experts, videos, and virtual demonstrations, the company said. GM is scheduling four-hour safety presentations in various cities through its gmEVFirstResponderTraining.com website and is offering certificates through the Illinois Fire Service Institute to those who successfully complete the sessions.

“The best way for the public and private vehicle fleet owners to rapidly adopt EVs is to train firefighters and emergency responders on how to handle incidents involving battery powered vehicles,” Andrew Klock of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) said in a statement. “The fire service has had more than 100 years to gain the knowledge needed to respond to internal-combustion engine fires, and it is critical that they are now educated on EV safety.”

From the GMC Hummer EV emergency guide.
General Motors

Guides for EV EmergenciesGM is, of course, not the first or only automaker to provide these kinds of educational materials to first responders. Tesla has a website devoted to “helping fire departments and first responders safely handle emergency situations involving all Tesla products,” including all of the company’s EVs as well as Superchargers and solar roof panels. The NFPA hosts a collection of Emergency Response Guides from more than 60 alternative-fuel-vehicle manufacturers, ranging from small companies like Lucid to large truck builders like Freightliner. The NFPA has been working with alternative-fuel automakers since 2010 on making these kinds of guides free and easy to access.

From the Tesla Model S emergency guide.
Tesla

In announcing its new program, GM said learning about safe ways to deal with an EV in an emergency situation can also benefit owners. If you’re an EV owner, it might be worth clicking around to find a first responder guide for your own car and think of it as beach reading this summer.
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There are increasing numbers of new car buyers who are financing their purchases and paying more than $1000 a month. Data from Edmunds revealed that 12.7 percent of all new-car loans came with four-digit payment plans in June 2022.You can probably guess the reasons: inflation and limited new-vehicle supply have led to high new-car prices, which result in these higher monthly payments.To deal with the high cost of new cars, car shoppers are taking out longer loans and accepting higher annual percentage rates.As average prices of new cars just keep moving on up, up, up, the number of people accepting monthly payments of over $1000 a month is also going up. It’s shocking, but it’s not surprising.This tidbit comes to us from a data analysis of the month of June just released from Edmunds, which found that a record 12.7 percent of new car buyers took out vehicle loans with monthly payments over $1000. Edmunds said this is the highest level it has ever recorded, with the percentages of four-digit payments in previous Junes hitting 7.3 percent in 2021, 4.6 percent in 2019, and just 2.1 percent in 2010.

Earlier this month, we noted that the average monthly payment for new cars was somewhere around $650 to $700 in the U.S., which could be expected considering that the average price of a new car hit $47,148 in May, according to KBB. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show that new-car prices have risen 12.6 percent in just the past year.There are other indications of changes to our car-buying habits due to the industry’s high prices in the Edmunds data. In the second quarter of 2022, the average annual percentage rate (APR) on new financed vehicles hit 5 percent. It hadn’t been that high sincethe first quarter of 2020. Another indicator is that more new-car shoppers (36.1 percent) are choosing longer loan terms of 73 to 84 months than the 32.8 percent who did so in June 2021.Also, the average total amount that new-car buyers are financing also hit near-record highs last quarter, climbing to $40,602, compared with the $39,726 average in the first quarter of this year and $36,215 in the second quarter of 2021. Edmunds said that the only other time when the average was over $40,000 was in the fourth quarter of 2021 and at that time, the average APR was 4.1 percent. Higher APRs mean a larger total repayment amount. Edmunds said that with a 72-month car loan for $40,000, going from a 4 percent APR to 5 percent raises the total cost by $1324, while signing up for a 6 percent APR (compared to 4 percent) means you’ll pay $2672 more over the course of the loan.
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• This 1995 Mazda MX-5 Miata on Bring a Trailer is the recipient of a LS1 engine sourced from a fourth-gen Chevy Camaro.• The 5.7-liter V-8 has been heavily modified and sounds menacing, as heard in a video of it running (included below).• This LS1-swapped NA Miata auction ends on Tuesday, July 5.Ever since the LS1 V-8 debuted in the 1997 Chevy Corvette, people have been stuffing versions of the third-gen small-block into machines that originally had fewer cylinders and much less displacement. One such recipient of the popular LS1 transplant is this 1995 Mazda MX-5 Miata that’s currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.

The first-generation (a.k.a. NA) Miata offered a naturally aspirated 1.6- and 1.8-liter four-cylinder during its production run that spanned the 1990 through 1997 model years. The bigger engine arrived in 1994. We tested one, and its 128 horses sent the 2330-pound, rear-drive roadster with a five-speed manual to 60 mph in a lackadaisical 8.8 seconds. Not great, Bob! For comparison, the aluminum-block 5.7-liter LS1 rocketed the 1999 Chevy Camaro Z/28 we tested to 60 mph in 5.2 ticks, and that thing probably weighed around 3400 pounds. The donor motor for the BaT Miata is said to be sourced from a fourth-gen Camaro and was rated at between 305–325 horses and 345 pound-feet of torque in stock form. Needless to say, a lightweight Miata plus a LS1 equals endless entertainment—and likely lots of wheelspin.

Bring a Trailer

Unlike the Tremec T56 six-speed manual available on fourth-gen Camaros, this Miata swaps cogs via a Tremec T5 five-speed unit. The gearbox feeds a Ford 8.8-inch IRS rear end with a limited-slip diff that has the difficult job of keeping the 225/45R-17 Hankook Ventus R-S4 summer tires from spinning into oblivion. Interestingly, the front tires are different (225/45R-17 BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S). This Miata rides on a coil-over suspension that pairs with several other chassis modifications including a much-needed brake upgrade, with a set of larger 11-inch front rotors with Wilwood calipers replacing the stock setup. Those will probably come in handy.

Bring a Trailer

While we don’t know exact power figures, based on its myriad modifications, it’s safe to assume the LS1 in this Miata is making more than 305 ponies. The motor is said to have an aftermarket camshaft, forged connecting rods, LS6 cylinder heads, and headers connected to a 2.5-inch exhaust system exiting a center-mounted muffler. As someone who’s owned multiple Chevy small-blocks with custom exhausts, they can make beautiful music, even if it annoys the neighbors and scares their kids. The seller of this Miata wisely uploaded several videos featuring the modded LS1’s pushrod symphony. We included one below of it angrily idling for your viewing pleasure.
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Some might say swapping an LS motor into a Miata is blasphemous. That it muddies the easy-to-control, fun-to-drive nature that’s made the tiny sports car so popular for so long. Those people are probably a lot of fun at parties. I’d love to add this demonic Miata to my garage. Hell, I wish I could get my hands on the 525-hp LS3 version by Flyin’ Miata that we tested a few years back. Alas, that’s out of my price range, but this modded ’95 Miata is likely to be more attainable. The auction ends on Tuesday, July 5.

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Steve Fecht for Chevrolet

Chevy has shown an engineering prototype for the upcoming Silverado EV.The new EV pickup is shown testing at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds in Michigan. Deliveries of the new truck are set to begin in the fall of 2023. While Chevy’s initial photos of the 2024 Silverado EV showed the truck its top-trim form in an eye-catching, shiny shade of blue, we’re now getting a more rough-and-tumble look at the upcoming electric pickup. GM released photos of an engineering prototype of the new EV testing at the company’s Milford Proving Grounds. CEO Mary Barra said that prototypes will begin testing on public roads around Michigan within the next month.
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The Silverado EV seen here has a black, unpainted body, smaller wheels and tires, and all sorts of unfinished pieces such as the headlights, taillights, and fender surrounds signifying it as a test mule.The new truck is set to arrive for the 2024 model year, with the first deliveries said to begin in fall 2023. The Silverado EV uses GM’s Ultium battery platform and claims an estimated range of up to 400 miles. DC fast-charging capability will also be standard. The Silverado’s most direct competitor, the Ford F-150 Lighting, currently offers a maximum EPA-rated range of 320 miles.

Steve Fecht for Chevrolet

Chevy also said the full-size pickup will offer a towing capacity of up to 10,000 pounds of towing. The electric Silverado is expected to start around $42,000 for the base WT trim, and around $107,000 for the line topping RST trim. For comparison, the Lightning starts at $41,769 at its base and $92,669 for its highest trim.

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST
Chevrolet

While the name may be familiar, the electric pickup offers different styling to set it apart from the current gas-powered truck. The front end features narrower headlights and a new front grille.Look for more information to come on the 2024 Silverado EV as Chevrolet readies this new truck for production and prepares to hand it over to the first buyers.

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It’s an art that needs to be learned. The tender dance of clutch, shifter and human being that is operating a manual transmission. For those of us burdened with teaching this subtle activity, the first challenge is finding the perfect training ground. That is, a vehicle with a manual transmission that is perfect for a beginner on which to earn mastery.That’s the challenge of this week’s Window Shop episode on the minor miracle that is YouTube. It’s Car and Driver’s somewhat-weekly, sometimes-not-so-weekly game show where those in the orbit of this media mélange get together on a Zoom call and duke it out in utter violence. Blood, guts and all sorts of gore! Or, maybe not.The budget this week to find the perfect manual-transmission training ground was $40,000. Of course, no actual purchases were made because that’s the sort of commitment we all avoid. But it’s always (okay, sometimes) edifying to see what the hangers-on hang up on when they scour the Internet.This week’s contestants are John Pearley Huffman, on loan from C/D’s Hearst Autos brother Road & Track, newly installed executive editor (he rose as most people do here, by assassination) K.C. Colwell, senior editor Joey Capparella, and longtime fugitive from the crushing authority of the Hardin County, Kentucky public library system, contributor Jonathon Ramsey. Hosting duties are handled by epaulet owning martinet and editor in chief Tony Quiroga.What did the group find? Watch the damn thing and find out. Large Ram trucks, an Acura, a Mazda, a Toyota and a Honda are involved. The show is presented in living color.And if you don’t know how to drive a manual transmission, learn now before they’re all gone.

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