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?
28K is probably the price point for EV mass adoption is my guess.
Thanks to your spelling error above, I finally (at 46) realized how the verb “slough” is actually pronounced – due to my love of Citroëns I had been pronouncing it like Slough, the town in Britain.
“Slough is typically pronounced “slew” in most of the United States. In New England, you may hear it pronounced in a way that rhymes with “cow”— this is the preferred British pronunciation. You may also hear this word pronounced as “sluff.” With this pronunciation, slough has a different meaning.” – National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration
That’s what I get for trusting Google Translate – so can I say it either way? I’m gonna have to talk to my wife; she’s an English Major and nothing makes a spouse happier than being made to feel superior!
I’m not sure I’d buy any EV still. I’d be most comfortable with the Bolt-level price point, but even then I am wondering why I didn’t just buy a Prius and have a car I can take on a road trip.
Start talking $40k+ price point, and I’d buy a Prius or RAV4 Prime.
Matt, I usually try not to be pedantic, but it’s slough not sluff. That one should’ve been caught by spellcheck.
That’s not a Blazer…THIS is a Blazer! =Classic Blazers
So, no…not at any price unless it’s a real classic Blazer
What’s happened to America when you’ve got Texans who can’t even light a BBQ? All those years peddling cars must be making them soft. Time to refocus on propane and propane accessories.
My requirement is a $35k electric sedan. No stupid crossovers and a normal interior. That rules out the model 3, the mach e, and the blazer. But I can dream, I guess.
Ioniq 6 starts at $38k, and usually has cash on the hood to bring it down to $32k.
Fair! It is on my list of contenders. The ones near me didn’t seem to be getting marked down that much, but maybe I just need to be patient. I really wish there was a bit more to cross shop in the segment, though.
Regarding the bike shop fire… some additional info:
“Bart Knaggs, the owner of Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, told investigators that Hardeman was the owner of the property next door and had previously asked the owner of 400 Nueces St. about purchasing that property, but no sale was ever made, the affidavit said.”
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2024/02/29/dorsey-bryan-hardeman-continental-automotive-group-cag-charged-with-burglary-arson/72797323007/
And note that this is a bike shop in the ‘bicycles’ sense, not ‘motorcycles’.
https://www.mellowjohnnys.com/products-brands
So that means there is an element of “bicycles vs cars” going on here.
Regarding the big question:
I’ll buy it if it’s 25% cheaper than the comparable Tesla. And the reason for that is I have far more faith that Tesla has their BEVs shit together (including software and the charging network) to a much greater extent than GM or Ford.
So I would only buy the Mach E or the Blazer if I got it cheap. If I’m not getting it cheap, I might as well go for the Tesla.
I’m actually going to be in the market for a replacement vehicle later this year. And my leading contender is a used Tesla Model S mainly due to the size, style, performance and they usually come with free unlimited supercharging for life up until around the 2017 model year
Also from that Statesman link:
I also saw references to this guy’s involvement with Texas attorney general and overall alleged crook Ken Paxton and someone else named Nate Paul who was a beneficiary of some of Paxton’s alleged activity, maybe, and who accused Grandpa Firebug of refusing payment on mortgages so he can take over properties, with a YouTube video as some kind of evidence. I’m not claiming any of this is true, and whatever Texas right-wing businessman cabal might be doing may be as corrupt or more corrupt than whatever’s going on in Florida, but at least Florida’s got better costumes and weirder drugs.
(And what’s with the moderation delays, anyway? I get the need to keep out bots promoting radioactive boner pills (until the efficacy of said RBPs is established, of course), but there’s some stuff AI could check out in 15 seconds and send through. Timing is everything – and no. I’m not trying to restart the grand gang wars between the Belts and the Chains.)
The supercharging for life stays with the car?
Yes… Most Model S vehicles with the 70 kwh battery pack or larger and built in 2017 or earlier had unlimited free supercharging for life.
However, there are cases where some won’t have it anymore.
Some that had it removed because the owner had it transferred to a new Tesla.
Also when Tesla sells a used Model S, it typically won’t have the free supercharging for life anymore. It only stays with the vehicle when it’s resold by a dealer or private party.
So part of the purchase process for me will involve checking and verifying whether the given vehicle has it. If it doesn’t, it’s not a deal breaker. But it is something that affects how much I’m willing to pay for a given example.
There’s a decent looking P90D with it on Cars and Bids, kinda wishing I had gone that route over the Niro EV we got, but my wife wouldn’t be caught dead in a Tesla.
So it sounds like if you want a car of your own that she never wants to borrow, all you need to do is get a Tesla!
😀
Really no evidence accuse a CEO of arson as opposed to insurance fraud by the owner? 9 out of 10 an owner does insurance fraud but speculation from the cops who get accused of hit men for hire but now trustworthy servants of the proletariat? I would wager within 2 weeks the owner is arrested for arson and Insurance fraud and we don’t hear anything about it because moved on to the next fraud. If TV has taught me anything the first expected criminal is not the guilty person. Really any one knows enough to plant evidence. I will bet money owner is stealing or mismanaged money doing arson for insurance fraud.
Crime procedurals aren’t a great source of realistic data. I’m not saying the police don’t jump to conclusions, but you’re making a huge jump. Given the video evidence that included the vehicle, I’m guessing their evidence is better than your hunch that it’s insurance fraud.
Pretty sure he was living up to his users name in this case. He doesn’t always but this time, pretty sure.
Yeah, that’s probably true.
This. Any cop will tell you the guilty person is 99% of the time the first person you suspect, not the last. But what a boring episode of Law and Order that would make.
Unfortunately, that willingness to just accept that it’s the first person you suspect goes too far sometimes.
Now I’m looking forward to Law and Order: Open and Shut Cases. 10 minute episodes in which there’s plenty of video evidence and obvious suspects from the start.
If you ever watch the True Crime streaming channel, that’s exactly what most of the cases they cover are, except drawn out to 30 minutes or an hour. The whole time they lead you to believe it’s someone completely unexpected only to reveal at the end it was the obvious one all along and everyone knew it the whole time, and you just sit there wishing you could get that hour of your life back.
My parents sometimes put on True Crime and it’s awful. And I think it’s a bad influence (along with the hardcore right-wingers in his life). My dad now takes a gun when he visits my sister. She lives in a very low-crime area, and he stays in the same motel every time and has never had any problem or even heard of an issue there. He never used to be the guy who needed a pistol everywhere. He used to say he was afraid he’d get angry if he carried a gun.
“My dad now takes a gun when he visits my sister. She lives in a very low-crime area, and he stays in the same motel every time and has never had any problem or even heard of an issue there.”
Forget the gun, what he needs is a good UV flashlight.
https://www.amazon.com/DARKDAWN-Blacklight-Rechargeable-Ultraviolet-Fluorescent/dp/B0BF8C1MRZ/ref=sr_1_7?crid=26P7H1NEAZAWX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KvT2xFjdKAv5vcC5iktkEQRrlWpK4_ARCjoAlaRbWHYiASfOR4hsxK1yKaCmcbMEVC0E_O1VpXKaWKzOreXa0br-sSwuNDBMSbABMYVOWi_0CZwjmV0FBi2u5kPYx2QuXwk0dgmRKbV1tMjmYspXa_ebHCcBtP-litqFYgnf4TPVq7WnLNpU2Zn3GPKgxqXTSCtv1czlgUXzcjk5pz_3y9HX_y87D3JfWzRU3AnVba_zt4cJlLXkyQuTdUfwR4L1qNn_buvRKvxfGmfk_UgR1yZlzFnGkuHCYH5LT-z4oSU.jLPugsN4HjKEiBImhLGyq4KnJdNDi03-EercgShJhRE&dib_tag=se&keywords=Uv+flashlight+365+nm&qid=1710230621&sprefix=uv+flashlight+365+n%2Caps%2C333&sr=8-7
No but only an idiot wouldn’t learn the basic stuff from TV. Which makes me think you are an idiot.. who leaves fingerprints?
Masterminds most criminals are not.
Cmon even methheads watch TV and learn don’t leave fingerprints.
I’ve never known a methhead to carefully plan out their criminal activity to that level. I imagine most of their planning involves:
The part about trying really hard not to get caught isn’t real high on that list. But then, I also don’t know many methheads. Or any, to be honest. I only know about them from TV.
Typical liberal minorities and drug addicted people are too stupid to think so we need to let them do whatever and give them money.
Nobut they all watch TV and realize don’t leave fingerprints.
Well, I’m certainly idiot enough to fall for your trolling this time.
Admitting you are wrong is the 1st step. You think anyone in the world hasn’t heard of leaving fingerprints?
Christ, why are you folks going down this avenue?! No one wants to read this drivel, take it to discord. Don’t turn this into the lighting site.
You know my comments on this were something I am ashamed of. I went down a rabbit hole where I was against one individual who IMHO was abusing the ability to self claim I didn’t realize I was actually attacking the majority of people who are truly righteous in self naming. I apologize and am sorry.
That is far from a sufficient apology. You should really never show your face here again without some serious soul searching.
Well I talked to Jason and reached out to Mercedes. I don’t think it’s your call. But feel free to banish me from any of your sites.
That’s great, but there’s still a hell of a lot of other people that you owe an actual apology to.
Sorry I don’t recognize you as my god.
“No but only an idiot wouldn’t learn the basic stuff from TV.”
And that kids is how the dreaded CSI effect is born.
Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise! I played that in its entirety many times when it first came out. And now it’s a musical – although I have no idea how they combined all the disparate song styles into a cohesive theater experience.
If I recall correctly, he put together a pretty big stage show when he was touring that album. Lots of people with elaborate wings and props and shit. Maybe it’s something like that?
I am apparently in the minority in thinking that the Blazer is a nice looking CUV. I don’t know if it actually is, but it looks lower and wider than most of the competition which gives it some good presence.
That said, I’m not sure anything would get me in a current-gen EV. The ongoing massive price drops and probable huge improvements in the tech over the next five years mean you’re buying something that will be nigh-worthless by the time you’re looking to sell. I suppose there’s a number that would get me in one, but it’s unrealistically low. I’m team PHEV for the foreseeable future. Which I guess is the answer – shrink the battery, add an ICE, and I’m in.
Used EVs can be a hell of a bargain. I got a Bolt for $15k several years ago and will likely buy a Mach E once they’re under $25k
Yeah, the depreciated used price is probably the unrealistically low number I’m looking for. 🙂
You’re an Autopian reader. What kind of car guy would you be if you didn’t wait for it to turn into an old cheap shitbox first?
Guilty. 😀
I’m of two minds about over-the-air software updates. On the one hand, the owner of an OTA-capable vehicle can wake up to a vehicle suffering a botched OTA update. On the other hand, making a service appointment with the dealer, arriving at the service desk to, “We don’t have seem to have your appointment, sir,” followed by the service department bricking your vehicle.
Hmm.
Personally, I’m a fan of a user-accessible USB update option. You do the download on your home wifi or whatever, the whole file definitely downloads (or you know it failed to finish downloading), and you plug a USB stick into the car for the update. Probably faster than the in-car wifi, and there’s no weird stuff happening with failed download halfway through.
Still has the potential for issues, especially if you are quick to update, but you can watch forums before you install. I don’t trust the dealer to do any better than I can, anyway.
Interesting idea. User accessibility of the update process opens the possibility of user- or community-created updates to unlock or change a vehicle’s capabilities.
That’s probably why we won’t see it happen. But I can still dream.
My wife’s Corrola Cross has this option. Plug a flash drive into it’s usb port and tell the car to export it’s info. Connect flash drive to computer and check for it’s updates. If there is one you download to the same drive plug it into the car and run the update. I could have just linked to wifi and and have it check for updates but I’m not a fan of uber connected cars at this point.
That just sounds like a roundabout way for Toyota to collect data on your driving habits. Who knows exactly what info that car is putting on the flash drive and then sending to Toyota when you have it “check for updates” in your PC. You might as well be using wifi at that point and saving yourself the trouble.
I did look at what Toyota claims was going to the flash drive, do I know that their claim is true? No. I do know that they make no claims as to what data is transferred while hooked up to wifi. I’m not super paranoid but I try to maximize what little control I have over our data.
Easy solution, just reformat the flash drive before checking for updates and Toyota can suck it with their Spyware. (real or not)
I was presuming that checking for updates wouldn’t work unless you exported the data from the car first. Otherwise there’s no way to know if it needs updating. Nothing to compare it to. But I wouldn’t know. I don’t have a Toyota. I’m just speculating
“I could have just linked to wifi and and have it check for updates but I’m not a fan of uber connected cars at this point”
That’s how the Cylons keep winning after all.
All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.
So say we all.
The original Sync system in our 09 Escape worked like that. Or at least it was supposed to work like that, but never did.
My 08 Focus’s Sync was also supposed to work like that, and it similarly did not. It didn’t really need updates, since all I used it for was bluetooth calling, but still.
Six months in and no updates needed for the Cross either. I haven’t checked recently and will probably forget to even after this reminder.
I’d be in a Blazer EV for $34,000 after incentives. However, depending on what the next-gen Bolt is like, I’d rather that as a small electric runabout that can do some occasional highway runs is more what I’d be interested in. I’m also more interested in the Rivian R3 if it’s a decent price…
I really hope Rivian keeps investing in volume production at Normal. Illinois is a better state for workers and that particular area could really use that kind of job.
In the GM picture of the red Blazer the lighting causes the rear to fade into the background, making it look like a good-looking, slightly lifted sedan/liftback. Sigh.
When I look at the Blazer I’m not seeing $50-$60k. Sorry y’all, that’s nuts.
Why is the RWD RS more than the AWD RS?
You beat me to it – makes no sense.
I’m not sure I’d be up for buying any of the modern EVs, or many modern cars, as they’re starting to just get all too ‘integrated’. I’ve got my Bolt, but even that’s on the edge of too much.
My next one I may look at a conversion or a compliance one that the batteries can be updated on.
I just want a nice reliable EV with no oil/transmission/spark plug maintenance, the newest ones are all about the tech, even the Charger will have it’s ‘Fratzonic’ junk, they should’ve gone more resto-mod on it, maybe the next gen bolt with the LFP will be worth a look, and look a little better.