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Showing results for tags 'hydrogen'.
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John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 9-13-2018 General Motors is recalling 10 models and about 1 million total vehicles for a reason we have never heard before. The apparent cause of the recall is that the rear brakes may contain trapped hydrogen gas. As any mechanic knows, any trapped gas in a brake line can cause problems, notably a soft pedal as the gas expands and contracts. GM says it knows of no accidents due to the issue. The solution is to bleed the brakes. The affected models includes 2018 and 2019 MY vehicles: GMC Terrain, Buick Lacrosse and Regal, Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox, Volt, Impala, Bolt, and the Chevrolet Malibu. To see if your brakes may contain a hydrogen bubble check it here at GM's VIN lookup.
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John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 4-30-2018 From 1950 through 2003, General Motors had a military defense division that supplied vehicles and services to the U.S. military. GM sold that to General Dynamics in ’03, but may be planning a new military division. A new trademark filed for a logo that would be a possible part of such a new brand has been filed. The assumption is that GM’s new hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicles would make up the bulk of the new brand’s portfolio. Charlie Freese, executive director of GM global fuel cell business, said in a statement back in October, “This new business structure will enhance GM’s productivity, agility, and affordability in a very dynamic customer environment. Our goal is to make it simpler and more seamless to do business with General Motors.” The new venture is expected to be called GM Defense LLC. The former announcements and new logo trademark make it seem likely the new entity will soon emerge. The expectation is that GM will have a portfolio of hydrogen and electric vehicles it will then customize to the needs of its military customers.
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Neither GM, nor Honda want to build FCEVs, nor does Toyota, Mercedes, or Hyundai. However, these companies must all manufacture a certain number of zero-emission vehicles if they want to do business in California and the 11 other wannabe states that mimic Cali's mandates. The reason that Toyota, and now GM and Honda, are building these vehicles instead of EVs is that California's Air Resources Board (CARB) credits manufacturers more for vehicles that can demonstrate fast refueling and long distances between fill-ups. FCEVs nail both of these metrics in comparison to battery electric vehicles. Many industry analysts say that one FCEV is worth three battery electrics to the manufacturers seeking compliance. With electric vehicle sales down last year compared to 2014, manufacturers want to build the least zero-emission EVs they can in order to lose less money.
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To this writer, it seems obvious that a fuel-cell Colorado would be a huge asset to GM, particularly if the Army is paying to help develop it. Although pretty much nobody, not even green car advocates, like fuel cell vehicles, CARB assigns them three times the ZEV credits that EVs get due to their long range. That is why Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz have production vehicles coming to market. Even if GM leased or sold the FCEV Colorados to private owners and fleets at a huge loss it be offset by the credits GM needs to meet mandates. The attached image is a sketch released by GM that shows the proposed look of a hydrogen fuel cell Army Colorado. The sketch artist is apparently not familiar with the color scheme of every single military vehicle in our arsenal. However, we do like that maroon running light bezel!