Auto Industry News: Nissan News, GMC Concept You Must See to Believe, Hamilton Takes It All
Nissan Nostalgia
Nissan nuts looking for parts for that Skyline GT-R, fear no longer. No more secret back alley deals, dark web purchases, or all-nighters on eBay. Because as much “fun” as those ventures do sound, Nissan has announced it will begin a program called Nissan Heritage. The program will manufacture and sell brand new parts for older models. And the company is not the first to do so. Earlier this year, Mazda debuted a similar program to tailor to the parts needs of Miata fans. And while it’s hard to know if efforts such as these will stick around, or if manufacturers are capitalizing on nostalgia to generate sales, we do know that you should get while the gettin’ is good.
Honda to Change Charging Game
But Nissan isn’t the only one making headlines. In an EV market packed with promises and just as many uncertainties, the biggest players innovate and walk the walk. And Honda, well, they recently laid out plans to change the game for good. The company said that by 2022, its EVs will be able to travel 150 miles on a 15-minute charge. Now while that seems lofty, new regulations will aid Honda in reaching that goal. Currently, the fastest charger is a 150 kWh unit. But Japan expects 350-kW chargers to launch in 2020.
Hyundai Crossover Expansion
Hyundai announced last week that it’ll be expanding its line of crossovers. That’s muy beuno news for U.S. drivers as they will receive models not yet debuted in the country. Hyundai announced eight new or re-engineered crossovers by 2020 in total. Though there are no super specific details about what models the expansion entails, it’s clear Hyundai wants to reach a broader market. The expansion is set to introduce both an EV and a diesel unit. And though some studies indicate that diesel is on a decline, Hyundai believes they will offer something different to tweener car owners seeking to move up from sedan but want better fuel efficiency.
Crazy GMC Sierra Concept
The most off-road capable GMC Sierra (or any vehicle ever) debuted at Vail Mountain. “Capable” may be an understatement, actually. Because by the looks of this thing, it could scale Everest before breakfast. The GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali 4WD Crew Cab sits gloriously atop custom Mattracks 150 series tracks to handle wildest terrain. For some, this may be the closest they’ll ever come to operating a tank. The Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel has 445 horsepower and 910 lb-ft of torque. Just in case you need to take out a few pesky trees, or an entire block…
Turtles All the Way Down
While on the topic of purpose-built rigs: the Wescotts, who run Turtle Expeditions and spend their lives traveling the world and conducting wildlife research, have built themselves a serious truck. The vehicle, affectionately known as the Turtle V, is a Ford Super Duty F-550 4X4. And it’s powered by an International Power Stroke 7.3L Intercooled Turbo V8 (235 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque). The Turtle V is equipped with a custom, European-style expedition camper mounted to the chassis with a three-point suspension system. Not only is it an absolute beast, but it’s also equipped with two roof-mounted BP85 Laser Grooved solar modules to keep the Wescotts powered on their expeditions in the live-in vehicle.
Around the Circuit
We close out this week’s auto industry news with a look around the circuit. Valetteri Bottas managed to hold off Lewis Hamilton to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He endured pretty much the whole race with his Mercedes team-mate and now official world champion on his tail to claim his third win of his career. As for the now four-time world championship, it was another day at the office. When asked how he felt about his lack of victories toward the end of the season, Hamilton simply said, “I have zero concerns.”
He continued, “All l can say is that the week after l won the championship I partied a lot. I celebrated because that’s what you do. That definitely wasn’t the case before the other races.” So much for being lonely at the top.
