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GM isn’t saying anything official just yet, but the Wall Street Journal spoke with “people familiar with the matter” who said the upcoming luxury EV will start at around $300,000 and will have options that could push the price “well beyond” that threshold.The Celestiq won’t be just any Caddy, or just any EV. Plans call for a roof made of smart glass that each person in the car will be able to adjust for their quadrant, as well as using more than 100 3D-printed components.GM is spending $81 million to revamp part of its Global Technical Center so that it can hand-build the Celestiq there. It will be the first production model to come out of the tech center, which has been operating since 1956.Cadillac’s first plug-in vehicle was the ELR, which wasn’t exactly a success. The sleek luxury coupe that used a version of the plug-in-hybrid powertrain from the Chevrolet Volt only sold around 3000 units in its three-year life span. The ELR bore a starting MSRP of $75,995 when it launched. Now Cadillac reportedly isn’t afraid of slapping an even higher price tag onto its upcoming halo plug-in model, the all-electric Celestiq.According to the Wall Street Journal, the Celestiq EV will cost somewhere around $300,000, with options potentially pushing that to “well beyond” that number, the newspaper reported this week. To make one comparison within the brand, the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V will start at around $150,000.Understandably, General Motors isn’t saying anything about price just yet, as the Celestiq isn’t expected to arrive until late 2023 and the vehicle won’t even be fully revealed until late July. The Journal based its pricing expectation on conversations with unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”One reason for a solid six-figure cost is the fact that GM is planning to make the Celestiq a limited edition, with plans to build fewer than 500 copies.Another reason the Celestiq could be expensive is because it will be hand-built at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. When production starts, the Celestiq will be the first production vehicle to come out of the tech center since it was established in 1956. This center is not currently set up to build production vehicles, but GM announced this week that it would spend $81 million to upgrade the center with the equipment needed to set up a production line. Renovation work at the tech center campus has already begun, GM said.”Each [Celestiq] will be hand-built by an amazing team of craftspeople on our historic Technical Center campus, and today’s investment announcement emphasizes our commitment to delivering a world-class Cadillac with nothing but the best in craftsmanship, design, engineering and technology,” GM president Mark Reuss said in a statement.

Cadillac

Cadillac

The Celestiq will feature plenty of tech that sure sounds expensive. GM has said the EV’s roof will be made of “suspended-particle-device smart glass” divided into quadrants so that each occupant will be able to adjust the level of their part of the roof’s transparency to their own desired level. A pillar-to-pillar dashboard screen and more than 100 3D-printed components will also be used in the Celestiq. GM has already started using 3D-printed (also known as additive manufactured) components including shifter emblems and parts in the transmission in the Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V. GM makes these parts at the Additive Industrialization Center, which opened on the tech center campus in 2020. The Celestiq EV will also come with the latest version of Ultra Cruise, an updated version of GM’s hands-free-on-the-highway driver assistance Super Cruise software.Despite all of these moves, GM will use some economical methods when it starts producing the Celestiq. The EV will use GM’s Ultium platform, which the automaker will also use in multiple all-electric models, including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and Chevy Silverado EV. Using the platform will allow GM to use parts in the Celestiq that it also uses in other Ultium models, including things like battery cells and packs, motors, and integrated power electronics.
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Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise over the last few years and show no signs of slowing down, as the prices of the precious metals that they contain continue to skyrocket. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converter thefts saw an incredible 325 percent increase from 2019 to 2020. Much of it can be related to the state of global supply chains and the prices of the precious metals that allow a catalytic converter to function.

Catalytic converters are muffler-shaped devices that are part of the exhaust system that removes harmful pollutants from engine emissions. The inside of a catalytic converter contains a honeycomb structure that is coated with precious metals. Those precious metals act as a catalyst in order to break down those harmful pollutants and convert them into less harmful emissions. (Here’s a video showing how it all works.) Engines put out harmful gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide, and the catalyst process inside a catalytic converter converts these to less harmful substances such as water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.Modern catalytic converters typically have two stages with the first stage being a reduction catalyst, which is there to eliminate nitrogen oxide, and the second stage being an oxidation catalyst, which eliminates carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. These stages are typically supported by cerium and ceramic honeycomb catalyst structures and coated with those pricey precious metals that thieves are after.The three precious metals that are most commonly contained inside of a catalytic converter are platinum, rhodium, and palladium. All three have seen spikes in prices as the pandemic surged and as global supply chains slowed. According to kitco.com, the spot price of Rhodium went from $2,300 per ounce in January of 2019 to over $14,000 per ounce by December of 2020, so it’s not surprising that the NICB recorded thefts in the triple digits. The price increases of Rhodium didn’t stop in 2020 as it peaked at a price of $27,000 per ounce in April of 2021 and still remains well above those 2019 levels with a current price over $11,000 per ounce.Platinum and palladium increases weren’t as drastic, but spot prices are still up over 2019 prices and the price of palladium roughly doubled from the beginning of 2019 to the end of 2020. While they have settled down to some extent, palladium is still up over 30 percent today compared to where it was at the beginning of 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on the supply of these precious metals and the economic situation caused metals prices to increase in general, resulting in price spikes and increased values for secondhand catalytic converters that could be torn apart to extract these precious metals.According to Waste Advantage Magazine, the average catalytic converter contains from three to seven grams of platinum, from two to seven grams of palladium, and from one to two grams of rhodium. Current prices in June of 2022 put platinum at around $30 per gram, palladium at around $60 per gram, and rhodium at around $440 per gram. Taking those prices into account allows us to see that the average catalytic converter can contain anywhere from $90 to $210 worth of platinum, from $120 to $420 worth of palladium, and from $440 to $880 worth of rhodium. This leaves the average catalytic converter with an average precious metals value from anywhere in the low hundreds all the way up to over $1,500 depending on the model.While a catalytic converter could have precious metals that are valued into the four figures, those prices are not what a thief typically sees. They often sell to a recycler who then turns around and sells them to a facility that can extract the metals. A thief is likely to see less than half of that, but the job is still valuable considering that they can get over $500 for certain models with just a few minutes of work. The contents and quantities of precious metals in certain catalytic converters are well known, which often translates to certain models being targeted at a higher rate.We often hear of the mid-2000s Toyota Prius being targeted in these thefts and that’s not by accident. They contain one of the most precious metal packed catalytic converters which is known as the GD3 model. Ecotrade Group currently shows that model as a bestseller and shows a market price of over $600 for it at this time. Units with similar quantities of these precious metals can be found in other vehicles of the era such as the Chevy Trailblazer, which employs a catalytic converter that can fetch over $400 according to the same recycling group. Taller vehicles such as the Trailblazer are often more susceptible for this type of theft simply from a standpoint of convenience; a thief doesn’t have to jack them up and can just slide underneath with a battery-powered saw to cut off the exposed catalytic converter. Not all catalytic converters are built the same, though, as we see prices well below $100 for other Chevrolet and Toyota catalytic converters from the same era, which likely translates to the known quantities of precious metals for those specific model numbers.States are trying to curb these thefts by enacting legislation to make punishments harsher on those that are found with stolen catalytic converters along with laws on how they can be sold but it’s an uphill battle that’s closely tied to those precious metal prices and as long as they stay high, many are likely to take the risk of trying to acquire these valuable catalytic converters.

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A brand-new Range Rover was destroyed Thursday morning after it apparently fell off the back of a car transporter while traveling down a highway in New Jersey, The Daily Voice reports.The incident occurred on the northbound side of Route 17 in Paramus at around 8:30 a.m. A black Honda Accord was caught up in the ensuing chaos, with both cars having to be towed from the scene. According to photographer Boyd A. Loving, who was on the scene, at least one person was injured. The extent of their injuries was not revealed.From the photos, it appears none of the other Range Rovers in transit were damaged. It’s unclear what caused the SUV to fall off the transporter.

It’s important to note the 2023 Range Rover in question was wearing California manufacturer plates at the time of the incident. The transporter it came off was carrying five identical Range Rovers in the same exact color, seemingly with the same exact specifications. This leads us to believe the transporter was likely on its way to Jaguar Land Rover’s headquarters, just up the road in Mahwah, New Jersey.
A Land Rover spokesperson confirmed to Road & Track via email it was aware of the incident, but did not confirm whether the vehicles were owned by the company or where they were headed. Paramus police did not immediately respond to our request for additional information.

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Ford has removed the end-of-lease buyout option for its customers who lease an EV such as an F-150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E after June 15, 2022.Customers who’ve leased EVs prior to June 15 are in the clear; they can still do a buyout at lease end if they want.It comes as part of Ford’s plan to make its electric vehicles more affordable and to keep those batteries in the Ford network.Ford has made a change to its lease policy that will prevent people leasing the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit EVs from choosing to purchase the vehicle at the end of the contract. The customers will need to return the vehicle, at which time they can either lease a new vehicle or simply return the car. The reason, a Ford spokesperson told Car and Driver, is the desire to keep EVs “in the Ford network longer” to maintain control over battery recycling and materials. The news came in a letter to dealers earlier this month and, Ford said, affects 38 states now and the rest by the end of the year, so customers should check with their local dealers to find out where they stand.It’s worth noting that other automakers in the recent past have limited customers’ ability to sell their lease to others outside the brand, in a move to keep their stock to themselves as the used-car market continues to be tight and prices go up.

Ford

As automakers continue to move toward a future where EV sales are the mainstream, battery production has remained a thorn in the side of many manufacturers. A fairly major part of that issue is the cost associated with battery production and research. Ford itself is investing $185 million on a battery center labeled Ford Ion Park.

The Ford spokesperson told C/D, “Ford’s battery strategy includes recycling and localizing battery production, and Ford Credit’s plan for EV leasing enables customers to replace their vehicles with the newest model at lease end while keeping the vehicle in the Ford network longer so Ford can better manage battery recycling and materials.” We confirmed with Ford that the changes only apply to leases that began June 15 or after. If you began a lease on a Ford EV before then and think you may want to buy out at the end of your lease term, you remain in the clear.
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Toyota has issued a recall of Tundras from the 2022 model year to fix a problem with nuts on the rear axle assembly.Approximately 46,000 Tundras are part of the recall in the United States.The recall report filed with NHTSA blames the loosening of certain nuts on the rear axle assembly and said, “If complete separation occurs, this can affect vehicle stability and brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.”Nearly 50,000 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks are being recalled due to risk of rear axle assembly nuts loosening and potentially falling off the vehicle completely. The automaker says that “Vehicles in this recall have certain nuts on the rear axle assembly that can loosen over time.” In the event that the nut does fall off, Toyota said it could potentially cause the axle subassembly to separate from the axle, potentially risking a crash.The announcement states that owners of affected vehicles will be notified by late July 2022, but does not give a specific date. Dealers will inspect and tighten loose nuts or, if necessary, replace them, Toyota said.

2023 Toyota bZ4X.
Toyota

The Tundra recall comes just one day after the company issued a separate recall on the just-released 2023 bZ4X EV over wheels that could fall off. In this case, the hub bolts on a wheel could come loose, causing the wheel to detach from the car. While the bZ4X recall only affects 260 vehicles in the U.S. and about 2700 total worldwide, the company stated that no one should drive these cars until a remedy is found. Owners of these cars should have been notified on June 23. In both cases, vehicle owners can check the NHTSA recalls website where the recall information should be posted soon, to find out if their vehicle is included

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