General Motors had a rough end to the year as its Ultium-based vehicles slowly sputtered into the market, its plants closed due to a strike, and its Cruise division’s robotaxi program ground to a halt. If there was a ray of sunshine, it was that the Chevy Blazer EV won the MotorTrend SUV of the Year award as GM had to issue a stop-sale on the very same vehicle over software and charging issues.
The massive profits from trucks probably softened the blow. In any case, in today’s installment of The Morning Dump, there’s good news for Blazer EV owners and even better news for Blazer EV buyers. There’s good news for Audi fans who want an F1 team as well, as Audi says it’s going to rush its plans to reappropriate the Kick Sauber team.
Rivian is probably going to get some sweet sweet incentives from Illinois, which tracks. And, finally, a car dealer in Texas gets arrested for trying to burn down… an Austin bike shop. What?
The Chevy Blazer Is Now Decently Affordable And Probably Works
I haven’t driven a Blazer yet. In fact, I don’t think any of us have? We should probably fix that. I think it’s an attractive-looking vehicle, although the price is a little high. Or, I should say, the price was a little high.
Good piece of news #1: GM says it fixed it. Our old pal Patrick George has a whole article on how GM drove something like 16,000 miles a day across various testers in different parts of the country to get the DC charging fixed, the infotainment to work, and otherwise further test the vehicle. If you own a car, you can bring it in and get it fixed soon (still no OTA?). All new vehicles should be fixed soon.
Good piece of news #2: There was a small part that was sourced from a country on the no-no list (probably China) and that meant that Blazer EVs were no longer able to qualify for the tax credit. GM covered the difference, but now the government will foot the bill.
Good piece of news #3: GM lowered the price. A bunch. Here are the details from the Detroit Free Press:
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The LT all-wheel drive Blazer EV had an original starting price of $56,715, it now starts at $50,195. After the $7,500 tax credit, the price would be $42,695.
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The next trim level is the RS all-wheel drive. It moves from the original starting price of $60,215 to a starting price of $54,595. After the tax credit it would be $47,095.
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The RS rear-wheel drive trim level drops from an original starting price of $61,790 to $56,170. After the tax credit it would be $48,670.
Even better news, the entry-level FWD model goes on sale next year and it’ll probably cost sub-$50k, so maybe they can get it into the upper $30s? With a range between 279 and 324 miles the lower price definitely makes it a little more competitive with the Ioniq 5s and Model Ys of the world.
Audi: Screw It, We’ll Just Buy Sauber Now
Stake F1 Kick Sauber, the F1 team made up of an online casino and a weird live-streaming app, will slowly sluff off its ongoing indignity by becoming wholly owned by Audi. Like, now. I guess it just happened.
Here’s what Audi is saying:
Led by Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, the brand with the four rings has made clear what the company is focusing on in the future with the Audi Agenda. Product and technology as well as the stronger positioning of the Audi brand on the global stage are in focus. Against this backdrop, the Members of the Supervisory Boards of AUDI AG and Volkswagen AG have now decided to strengthen the commitment to Formula 1 and accelerate the preparations for the start of the 2026 season. Audi plans to take a 100 percent stake in the Sauber Group. Oliver Hoffmann is set to be the person responsible for the Audi Formula 1 programme overall as a General Representative. As CEO of the Audi F1 Team, Andreas Seidl will be responsible for the implementation of the F1 project as well as the management of the Audi F1 Team.
Watch out, kids, it’s the freakin’ Audi Agenda. Audi has an Agenda. This is happening.
You’ll maybe remember that Andretti wanted to jump into the sport and was told: maybe later (and clear your spam filter). Audi had already planned to buy F1 Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber Kick.
The Audi Agenda suffers no fools. The Audi Agenda doesn’t wait. The Audi Agenda is hip. It’s happening.
Rivian To Illinois: MONEY PLEASE
In all the hubbub over the Rivian R2, Rivian R3, and bonkers cool Rivian R3X I was most intrigued with the idea of Rivian delaying its plant in Georgia and sticking with Illinois for a little longer. From a cash and investment basis, this makes a lot of sense.
Now it makes even more sense, from Crain’s Chicago Business via Automotive News:
Rivian’s decision to build the new vehicle in Illinois reflects both the reality that the Georgia plant is far behind the original schedule as well as the company’s need to get a lower-priced product to market quickly while conserving as much cash as possible.
Illinois has the chance to double down on Rivian, which already has created more than 8,000 jobs at a former Mitsubishi plant about 125 miles south of Chicago. The state is competing with others like Georgia to grab as many jobs and investments as possible as the auto industry transitions to electric power.
“Once again, Rivian has reaffirmed the message that Illinois is one of the best places to do business in the country,” DCEO said in a statement. “We stand by Rivian and stand ready to support them as they increase capacity at their Bloomington-Normal facility to rollout the R2.”
Illinois gets jobs, Rivian gets money, and… Georgia still has a factory that makes Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I guess.
Dealership Group Founder Suspected Of Trying To Set Former Austin Bike Shop On Fire
Of all the most cartoon-villain moves a founder of a series of car dealerships could undertake is trying to set a former bike shop on fire. Especially a bike shop in Austin, Texas!
That is, though, what Austin Police are alleging happened, though it somehow sounds both more and less nefarious the more you learn about it. Police are alleging that Bryan Hardeman, founder of the Continental Automotive Group of dealerships in Texas, set fire to a bike shop. Poorly.
Fire crews found smoke from a fire inside the building, which had been contained by sprinklers, and found evidence that fires had been burning in multiple areas, according to an affidavit for Hardeman’s arrest. The affidavit said the door lock appeared to have been drilled out.
Footage from the bike shop owner’s security cameras revealed an older man entered the building around 3:45 p.m., and left the building at about 3:56 p.m. It also showed the man coming to the property in a white Mercedes-Benz SUV, which appeared to be a GLS 580.
The GLS 580 is a fine automobile for being caught doing an arson in. You need that kind of luxury when set fire to things.
It should be noted that Hardeman is no longer the active CEO of the company, having transferred it to his kids. The arson, it seems, wasn’t a great arson:
“This person that we recognized as Hardeman [was] carrying a red container, you know, consistent with the shape of a five-gallon gasoline container inside the building and pouring a liquid, some type of liquid accelerant and then shortly after doing that, dropping the matches, and igniting that liquid and starting the fire,” Deane said regarding camera footage of the Feb. 25 arson. “He spent about 10 minutes in there, which was a pretty good amount of time in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon.”
So what’s the deal here? Did this guy snap and get mad at Austin’s thriving bicycle scene? Not quite. We don’t know, really, though Hardeman reportedly owns a nearby property and has been trying to buy the property. Thankfully, the fire didn’t spread and no one was hurt.
It’s still super weird, though.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I’m in the airport so I’m listening to some nonsense, but for the Rivian news let’s do Sufjan Stevens and “Come on feel the Illinoise!”
The Big Question
I think we’ve done this with the Mach-E so let’s do it with the Blazer EV. At what price are you buying? Or will you never buy it at any price?
With these new price reductions, I’d say the Blazer EV is a good buy and one I wouldn’t mind plunking the cash down for (if I had the cash, anyway). When the ICE Blazer, Atlas CS, Passport, and others all max out in the low- to mid-50s, the EV Blazer maxing out under $50k strikes me as a decent deal.
My problem is both that I wouldn’t want to deal with the Blazer’s inevitable problems (because GM is a software company now) and that I just don’t want a CUV in general. This thing is a Malibu that they stretched to make taller. I can’t come up with a price I would pay because I would struggle to think of whether I’d even keep it if it were free or if I was paid to take it. I think I would get paid to have it depending on how much was offered.
And before they try this, no, I wouldn’t be interested in the exact same vehicle with a “Vette E” badge hastily stuck on it.
My main barrier to buying a Blazer EV is that it’s needlessly long. I don’t see why I need a CUV that’s a full 192 inches. This is the last thing I want.
Pffft. Fucking amateurs.
$BL,UNT
This is OBOG, right?
All of these non Tesla EVs still feel like early adopter stuff to me. I’m going to give all of these companies a few years to work the bugs out and get control of their pricing before I consider making the full EV transition.
I hope you’re not letting Rivian and Lucid’s scaling problems or GM’s General Incompetence color your expectations too much. I mean, how much can you expect from a legacy automaker that has had problems with building reliable ICE engines and transmissions for at least the last 40 years?
I have the full EV that constantly seems to fly under everyone’s radar, the Niro EV. And that’s probably because, well, it’s not full of drama. It just works. It looks like a car, feels like a car, and drives like a car. The model as a whole had some very minor teething issues right at the start, but nothing that isn’t in line with a brand new ICE model. The second generation has 10% better range with only minor tweaks compared to the first gen.
Oh, and unlike a Tesla, it has buttons. So it’s probably Torch approved.
And no timing chain, so DT approved.
There are some good ones on the market certainly. I think battery tech and infrastructure is going to improve quickly in the coming years, so I expect we’ll see even more good ones on the market soon. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more in the price range of that Nero that you’ve got. I’m rooting for Rivian and Lucid, and I assume the legacy automakers will get there shit more together-ish as well, we’ll see.
I do like the concept of the new R3, but I still prefer the design of the Ioniq 5.
but I’m a sucker for 80’s designs, so….
While this was clearly his first arson, I’d reckon at this age this is not the first time he’s done shady things in the name of business.
Well, he is a car dealer, so that’s a given
That Blazer EV is still a lot more expensive than a Bolt…
The dealer should lose its license to sell cars. The state DMV should suspend or revoke its license. Since the bike shop is probably covered by insurance, that insurance should sue the shit out of the dealer.
Rivian should buy Lordstown, so they can actually make cars there. Better than the vaporware shit that’s been promised to them for years from various outfits. Or some other recently-closed auto factory.
I really want Rivian to succeed. Better than Tesla because Rivian’s actually run by adults that take it seriously as a car company. Better than the other American car companies, too. As long as the R2 and R3 are still available in cool colors and even cooler interior colors, they will be awesome 😀
The Equinox EV is still coming, so the gap is going to be closer to getting filled with that model.
Which doesn’t excuse GM’s product lack-of-planning – cancelling the popular entry-level model YEARS before an adequate replacement could exist was definitely a move – but there was no reason to expect the significantly larger Blazer* to fit that role in the lineup.
*Maybe it’s the proportions but I did remark to my boyfriend “I did not expect that thing to be that long” when I saw one for the first time.
*Maybe it’s the proportions but I did remark to my boyfriend “I did not expect that thing to be that long” when I saw one for the first time.
Be good. Be good. Be good…
I mean I’ve also been in that situation, don’t get me wrong.
My last-5-years car journey:
Mk VII GTI to MkVI Sportswagen TDI that I lifted and added a hitch and later gave to my 16 yr old kid, now driving a Maverick Hybrid.
The R3X with a tow hitch, exterior in an actual non-greyscale color and a plaid or houndstooth fabric interior would meet nearly all my automotive needs and dreams. Take my money and sign me up.
Foxconn currently owns Lordstown with the intent of building the Fisker Pear (speaking of vaporware), Lordstown Endurance, and some kind of BEV tractor.
Buying an old factory and updating it is a good way to go, but there aren’t many disused facilities that haven’t been redeveloped and torn down. Those that exist have likely been out of commission long enough that they’d need too much work. The Normal, IL plant was only closed for about 2 years, and even that took a fair bit of work to get ready for use.
C’mon, you don’t think someone could refurbish the old Packard plant?
LOL yeah sure, like Foxconn/Fisker will actually make anything there 😉
Didn’t Foxconn recently scam Wisconsin too?
Hey! I said they have the intent to build them there. It’s hard to
carry out the griftget an operation off the ground if you sell the factory tosomeone that’s actually going to build cars thereanother automaker.Yes. Yes they did. They took a bunch of tax incentives, ran some people off their land, and so far have only built a weird glass orb looking thing on the property that I’m aware of. They have changed their minds on what they are building at the site, and on what scale, so many times that I can’t recall what the initial purpose was.
Same answer as the Mach-E. It has OK range at 279 miles (LT), but the charging speed isn’t there. Based on forum reports, around 45 minutes 10-80%. For a $50k car. C’mon now. The Kia Niro EV (253 miles, 43 minutes) can be found for under $35k new, and it’ll be obsolete once the Volvo EX30 (275 miles, 29 minutes) hits the lots at the same price. For all its numerous faults, a VW ID.4 Pro (291 miles, 26 minutes) costs $44k. The Ioniq 5 SE (303 miles, 18 minutes) is $46k.
Stats aren’t everything in an EV. You can live with bad stats if the car brings something special to the table. But the Blazer ain’t special. The LT and RS aren’t even particularly fast. It’s yet another SUV in a sea of identical SUVs all vying to be the most generic. Stats are all it has, and it doesn’t have enough of them.
$35k, final offer.
Not only is the Blazer not stat-competitive with others, you also don’t get Car Play or Android Auto! So you get a subpar user experience forced on you as well.
That’s my problem with EVs (the way they’re being implemented): they’re designed to be even more disposable than ICE. With essentially the same driving experience from any of them, they’ve made tech with short shelf-lives their defining features, which dates them all the sooner and, since there’s no special experience or looks to make someone care about keeping it for the joy of it, there’s no incentive to hold onto the car very long. Then with the expense and difficulty of (present) battery replacement essentially giving it a countdown clock and terrible depreciation, there’s additional negative incentive to take care of them for trade/resale to later owners who would find a replacement vehicle more economically sensible than battery replacement. Then there’s those who can barely get into a used vehicle. What do they do when the battery bill comes and they can’t afford it nor get another used car in the present market, never mind what the future used market is likely to look like? Then they can’t get around, they can’t work, they can’t afford a place to live . . . Were it me, I’d do what a lot of people in hopeless situations have done since at least the beginning of civilization: turn to crime. Lack of cheap used cars might be a kind of funny reason for the civilizational collapse in a dystopian novel.
I agree on the disposability, though I differ a little on why. Batteries (except those made by Nissan) have a 200k mile service life. The real issue is everything but the drivetrain.
Herein lies the problem: Bluetooth beat aux jacks not because it was faster or better, but because it was cooler.
Car companies are trying to sell EVs to the sorts of people who think tech should be a disposable fashion statement. That’s why they make trendy decisions like stupid handles, stupid touchscreens, stupid phone apps, stupid camera-mirrors, stupid motorized vents. That’s why they often have cheap materials and bad support. It’s also why they look so damn weird — if it looks like science fiction, it sells. EVs depreciate so fast because being on the cutting edge is everything to this tech-as-fashion trend, and nothing stays cutting-edge forever.
Personally, I buy tools at the flea market because they’re cheap and effective despite being ostensibly “obsolete.” I’m good at fixing door handles and servos, so the prospect of getting a low-mileage used EV at 25% of MSRP has me pretty optimistic about my next car.
The AWD Blazer would have to be price competitive with the Model Y before I’d consider one. The Tesla is a very known vehicle. Ultium platform vehicles aren’t at this point. Plus the local dealer is a scumball.
More press needed, and this rollout isn’t helping matters.
So, in reference to today’s Shitbox Showdown, is the Blazer EV today’s Chevy Citation?
It will play the same role, but do while not looking heinous.
Wait which one is the not heinous one? Because the Blazer EV is genuinely ugly while the Citation is actually pretty cleanly styled (it’s an engineering failure, but not a visual one).
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so love what you like. I lived through 6 years of Citation ownership and carry the scars (physical (from wrenching) and mental (from the jeers)).
Oh God do not pretend that I am discounting the sheer horror of what’s happening under the skin of a Citation.
It was nicely proportioned and had clean lines, which I can’t say about the Blazer EV. That everything underneath those lines was a dumpster fire in the middle of a shit show doesn’t mean it didn’t look okay on the outside.
Y’know…clean lines, garbage powertrain, light vehicle, pretty simple…someone should convert that Citation from the showdown to EV. It’d take a lot of work, and wouldn’t really be worth it, but you’d likely have the only electric Citation ever.
Having Rivian jobs is great, but please J.B., don’t fall for it.
It sounds like Rivian would have made this move without any incentive packages. I hope the state of IL takes that into consideration and doesn’t try to get into some kind of incentive bidding war with Georgia. I’d think more state and local governments learned their lesson after the whole Amazon HQ2 thing.
Everybody knows the best way to get an owner to sell a property is to create a local monster legend and then dress up as said monster to scare the owners and customers away. It is a nearly foolproof plan as long as no kids and their dog meddle.
Conversely, if you’re going to do secretive things, it’s best to use an inconspicuous ride. As in, don’t be like Mark McCormick, committing burglaries and then jumping into a one of a kind street-legal racecar for your cop-filled getaway chase.
Next time, on Floridaman:
“Mark McCormick, committing burglaries and then jumping into a one of a kind street-legal racecar for your cop-filled getaway chase.”
I don’t think I would be interested in a Blazer at any price. My objection is that it is a crossover/car-ish SUV, and I view those as generic practical transportation appliances that aren’t nice looking or interesting. At this point in my life I don’t need a generic practical transportation appliance, so I would rather spend my money on something I like.
I guess if I found myself in need of a generic practical transportation appliance, I would probably be willing to pay $12,000 for a decent, low to moderate mileage used Blazer EV. I am sure the Blazer is fine, but it would have to represent a better value than other generic practical transportation appliances available to me at the time.
Maybe the dealership founder needed to offer more money for the bike shop property. Now the bike shop can buy his nearby property for a fire sale defense price!
I have heard many people say “It’s not for sale, but can be bought for the right price” when referring to property. It just takes a high enough offer, unless there is sentimental value.
This is Texas… the dealership owning moron will eventually be elected into the statehouse where he will get all of the other buttheads there on-board that bicycles need to be banned. I know that this sounds crazy, but other, far more bat-shit stuff has happened there in the legislative branch.
Waaaa, waaa, you’re talking politics on a car website! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Property values are super wicked high (Zillo est $600,000+), but if the owner of the property (which used to house Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop) holds out, there are a lot of high rise, higher rent development going on. Not sure of the size of the property, but $600,000 won’t even be starting point in the next Austin bull market.
To do really profitable things, you’d need more than just that one lot. If I had to guess, Hardeman has a case of “As a great man, comes great entitlement.” syndrome.
I really hope Rivian makes it long enough to get those R3s out the door. Maybe Illinois will help them with that. My spouse doesn’t care about cars and demanded one after I showed her.
She really likes AMC Eagles and Gremlins, though.
Sounds like a keeper! I’m lucky my spouse likes weird-looking critters too.
Same. When I ran some hypothetical prices and ranges by her, along with a picture, her first questions was “what colors does it come in and when can I have one?”
Mine wanted the demo color, easy peasy!
There is no price point at which I would be willing to trust a Chevy EV. Unless I decided to park it in a bike shop in Texas and wait for it to catch fire…maybe.
You see, in the olden days, you could have just used a Ferrari.
In the even olden-er days, you could use a Flaming Thunderchicken.
The Blazer EV: I wish the grey color was more purple and also the the interior color options are limited to which exterior and that sucks. I wouldn’t buy one, but open to renting one maybe
All Audi needs is an Elfbar tie-in for the complete package.
Saw a Rivian pulling an honest to bog beat-up dump bed trailer at the local trash transfer station Friday. Good to see someone using a truck as a truck
If I could get the loaded Blazer EV for under about 49k before tax credit, I would strongly consider one. The drop of an AWD RS to 55k is nice, but not far enough for me.
But I’d also like something narrower than the Blazer. If someone were actually looking at this size, it might be a decent deal.
I have a soft spot in my heart for GM so I hope they succeed with the Blazer, but an anonymous EV crossover with such short range is so far outside my use case that I wouldn’t buy one at any realistic price.
Since I couldn’t replace either my truck or my van with it (because it can’t tow or road trip), the only use would be replacing my wife’s commute and some around town stuff. By the time I insured it, installed a home charger, etc, the gas savings would only be something like a few hundred bucks a year. So even if it cost $20,000, the payoff is going to be measured in decades. Just doesn’t make sense.
Props, BTW, for today’s album choice. “Chicago” is one of my top-five desert island songs.
GM+EV=NO.
There, fixed it for ya.
Would maybe buy at under 30K. Maybe…