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A Wall Street Journal report today, citing “people familiar with the matter,” says General Motors is planning to spend about $3 billion and add some 2700 jobs to produce EVs and batteries in Michigan.The paper noted that Ford and Toyota both announced big expenditures on EV and battery production recently, both in the southern U.S. rather than in Michigan.We have reached out to GM for details and will update this story when we know more.General Motors will reportedly invest around $3 billion to produce electric vehicles and batteries in Michigan, according to a report today by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources. The automaker is set to update the Orion Assembly plant, which currently produces the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, to serve as a production facility for its electric pickups.

Additionally, GM is preparing to build a battery production facility in Lansing. This project will supposedly be done in partnership with LG Energy Solutions. Each project is estimated to cost approximately $2 billion, with the latter battery plant’s cost split evenly between GM and LG. The two investments are set to create more than 2700 jobs, with more than half of those new jobs reportedly earmarked for the updated Orion Assembly plant, according to the WSJ. We’ve reached out to GM for comment and will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Ford announced earlier this year that it will make batteries for the upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup at a new plant under construction in Georgia. The automaker will also produce EVs and batteries in Tennessee and Kentucky and will develop batteries at the newly announced Ion Park in southeastern Michigan. Stellantis, parent company of Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, will produce battery cells for future vehicles in North America but has not yet said where. Toyota is opening an EV battery production “megasite” in North Carolina that will open in 2025.
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The next-generation Mini Cooper Hardtop has leaked in new spy shots that show an uncamouflaged prototype testing in China.The front end is similar to the current model, but the taillights now feature a sharp, triangular design and are missing the Union Jack motif.The next Cooper Hardtop is due in 2023 and will come with both electric and gas powertrains.Back in November, Mini showed off a camouflaged prototype of the next-generation Cooper Hardtop and told us that it would be offered with both internal combustion engines and an electric powertrain. Now the next Mini Cooper’s design has been leaked in full, thanks to journalist Greg Kable, who snapped photos of the future Cooper Hardtop undergoing testing with disguised prototypes in China.
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The front end isn’t a drastic departure from the current Cooper Hardtop, featuring the same bulldog-like face with big round headlights and a chunky grille. The grille looks mostly blocked off, with only a small opening in the lower third, and the prototype appears to lack exhaust pipes, leading us to believe this is the electric version of the next Mini. The interior includes a large circular screen in the center console and what appears to be a head-up display taking the place of a gauge cluster behind the steering wheel.

The most noticeable change is at the rear, where the rectangular taillights have been swapped out for triangular units that seem to have ditched the kitschy Union Jack motif. A gloss-black trim piece spans the width of the tailgate and links the taillights, while the bumper sports a simple, clean design. The next-generation Mini Cooper Hardtop is expected to arrive in 2023, when a new Countryman SUV will also debut. The electric version will ride on a platform jointly developed by BMW and Chinese automaker Great Wall and will be built in China, while the gas-powered Cooper will be built in Oxford, England, likely on an updated version of the current Cooper’s platform.
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Volkswagen has confirmed that a camper version of its ID.Buzz van will be made. No other details were released, but we can imagine such a vehicle would ride on the longer-wheelbase version of the ID.Buzz MEB electric platform, with front- or all-wheel drive offered. Range could possibly reach 342 miles. We in the U.S. haven’t been offered a VW camper since 2003, and they weren’t big sellers then.Buried deep inside a European press release, camouflaged under the headline “Electrification of more European plants,” was this little snippet: “Another vehicle derivative, the ID.California, has likewise been approved for the [Hanover, Germany] site.”Woo-hoo! That means ID.Buzz campers. Rejoice, hippies!

The release is the first acknowledgment from VW that the much-buzzed-about ID.Buzz will, indeed, get a camper variant. Used-car sale prices of past VW camper vans have been steadily increasing, and with good reason. As the pandemic got more people out on the road with their laptops to work remotely and anywhere they darn well pleased, the need for practical camper-style transport grew exponentially. A Westfalia camper van offers much of the same #VanLife practicality as a Sprinter or a full-fledged motorhome while being a lot easier to drive and park.

Here’s a more recent rendering of the coming VW ID.Buzz electric van. Imagine that with a pop top and swivel seats.
VW

Details of the ID. California are scant, but the regular ID.Buzz van is expected to come with a choice of 82.0- or 111.0-kWh batteries, good for a possible range of up to 342 miles. There should be two powertrain options in the ID.Buzz: single-motor rear-drive or front- and rear-motor all-wheel drive. Volkswagen has already announced that there would be a cargo version of the ID.Buzz called, cleverly, The ID.Buzz Cargo. It will be built on the longer-wheelbase version of the ID.Buzz. All will ride on the purpose-built MEB electric-car platform that sits under all of Volkswagen’s EVs. While Europe and other markets have been getting Volkswagen camper vans since the very beginning, we here in the States haven’t had the option since the T4 van (Type 4, the fourth-generation van) was last offered here in 2003. That one came in a pop-top version with sleeping for two upstairs and for another two down below when you folded all the seats flat. There was a flip-up table and a cute little refrigerator under the rear-facing seat, too. Winnebago offered a more fully equipped camper version. Problem was, even when the T4 Westfalias were being offered in American showrooms 20 years ago, few were buying them. Low sales combined with the cost of federalizing the T5 and T6 versions killed any business case anyone in Wolfsburg may have been trying to make for them. It’s still not clear from today’s “announcement” if U.S. sales will be part of the plan for what is being referred to as the ID.California. We got to spend a few days camping in a Euro-spec T6 California camper three years ago, glommed onto a larger worldwide press launch of that fine camper bus. We found that thing roughly 400 times better than the rickety 2003 T4 we actually own. But it was just cruel of VW to tease U.S. van lovers with that. Now, maybe, we’ll be getting our own. Maybe.”No word on anything at this point,” said a spokesperson when asked. “Let’s hope it comes here!!”Note the two exclamation marks. That’s gotta mean something, right?
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Mercedes will launch a new Level 3 autonomous driving system in Germany at the beginning of 2022.Called Drive Pilot, it will be available for the S-class and EQS models.The system is operable at up to 37 mph on designated highways in Germany.Mercedes says it has received regulatory approval in Germany for its latest Level 3 autonomous driving system, called Drive Pilot. This technology allows for hands-free driving under certain conditions and, unlike Level 2 systems such as Cadillac’s Super Cruise, does not require the driver to be looking at the road while the system is active. Audi had previously pioneered a similar system in the A8 but later gave up on seeking government approval in both Europe and the U.S. Honda launched Level 3 technology in Japan in a small batch of Legend sedans earlier this year.Drive Pilot will first be available in Germany for the S-class sedan starting in early 2022 and later for the electric EQS, and Mercedes says it is testing the system in the U.S. and China. So far it can only operate on designated highways in Germany, comprising a total of 8197 miles, and only works up to 37 mph. It uses the existing suite of sensors that enable other driver-assistance features and also includes additional LiDAR sensors, cameras, and a moisture sensor in the wheel well. There are also failsafes for the steering, braking, and electrical systems.

Mercedes-Benz

The Drive Pilot system will prompt the driver to take over control if certain conditions are not met. If the driver fails to do so, the system will bring the vehicle to a stop, start the hazard lights, and activate the emergency call function.

Drive Pilot’s potential availability in the U.S. will depend on how regulations and laws for autonomous driving develop on our shores. Earlier this year, NHTSA finalized and clarified the rules for vehicles with Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 autonomous systems. But Mercedes has not yet detailed how or if it plans to seek approval for Drive Pilot in America. We also don’t know how much the Drive Pilot option will cost for the S-class in Germany, so stay tuned for more information to come on this new feature.
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Bugatti is introducing a division for customization called Sur Mesure, and this Chiron Pur Sport is its first creation.This Chiron pays homage to the Bugatti’s raced by Louis Chiron in the 1930s with its baby blue paint job and the number “32” appearing on its doors and seats.The red stripes on the front and rear actually consist of dozens of tiny “EB” logos, commemorating founder Ettore Bugatti.After years of building one-offs and limited edition models, Bugatti finally officially created its own bespoke division, Sur Mesure. Meaning “tailored” in French, Sur Mesure allows customers to craft unique versions of Bugatti’s already-special supercars by choosing from the nearly endless options for paintwork and interior materials. The eye-catching Chiron Pur Sport seen here is the first product of Bugatti’s speciality team, and sports a design inspired by the hypercar’s namesake, racing driver Louis Chiron, who piloted several Bugattis in the 1930s.
One of Chiron’s greatest wins came at the 1931 French Grand Prix, where he and Achille Varzi led for over eight hours in a Bugatti Type 51 bearing the number “32.” The Chiron Pur Sport customized by Sur Mesure wears the same number hand-painted on its doors to honor Chiron’s victory. The baby blue paint also recalls the Bugatti grand prix race cars of the 1920s and ‘30s, as does the vivid red pattern adorning the front and rear of this Pur Sport. Those red accents are actually made up of hundreds of tiny “EB” logos—for company founder Ettore Bugatti—applied by hand to create a fading stripe look.

The same motifs are found inside, with “32” emblazoned on the headrests and the fading “EB” stripes appearing on the door panels. The door sills and side of transmission housing feature the words “Grand Prix,” and the center console inlay is fashioned from black anodized aluminum. The Sur Mesure Chiron Pur Sport is mechanically unchanged, meaning it still packs a 1479-hp quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engine that takes the Bugatti to a top speed of 217 mph. More breathtaking creations from Bugatti’s Sur Mesure program should arrive in the coming years.
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