Latest news with #ChevyEquinox
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tips lead to arrest in 2024 rape, kidnapping case in Cleveland
Editor's Note: The video above is previous coverage on this story. CLEVELAND (WJW) – A suspect has been arrested in connection with the June 2024 kidnapping and rape of an elderly woman, Cleveland police announced Thursday. James Collins was taken into custody on May 27 by members of the Cleveland Division of Police NICE Unit after investigators received multiple tips from the public, police said. He was located on the city's West Side following a renewed appeal for help in identifying the suspect. Sandusky man enters plea in dog stabbing; Ivy the pitbull recovering The assault occurred June 25, 2024, near East 79th Street and Rawlings Avenue. The victim, an elderly woman, was severely beaten and raped. The suspect fled the scene in a dark-colored Chevy Equinox with a distinctive small spare tire on the rear driver's side. After a renewed call for help in the case was issued, police said the Sex Crimes Unit received several leads that ultimately led to Collins' arrest. Cleveland Clinic updates new copay policy after backlash 'The Cleveland Division of Police extends its sincere thanks to the public for their assistance and to all officers involved in the investigation and apprehension,' the department said in a statement. The investigation remains ongoing. Collins was given a $150,000 bond in court Wednesday. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 6. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Why GM is Investing Almost $1 Billion in Combustion Engines While Others Go Electric
GM's been resolute, for the most part, on electrification. With the Silverado EV released and a mix of electric SUVs across the Chevy and Cadillac brands (Escalade iQ and Lyriq, Chevy Equinox and Blazer EV), the brand has committed harder than any other American automaker. That's not to say the automaker's commitment to internal combustion is gone, though. Tonawanda Propulsion, a GM-owned plant covering 190 acres and comprising three separate facilities, has received nearly $900 million in funding, securing over 850 jobs and production of GM's sixth-generation V8 engine. The investment is important to a lot of people. "This investment marks an exciting new chapter for our plant," said Tara Wasik, the plant's director. "This is a testament to the hard work of the membership of Local 774," said Raymond Jensen Jr. in an interview with local news. "It's extremely important to the community, to the surrounding areas, and to New York State itself." The impressive sum of $888 million will go towards new machinery, equipment, tools, and renovations as part of the more than $1.5 billion GM has invested in New York State in the last 15 years. It's also hardly the first time in recent memory that GM has extended the V8's lifespan. In 2023, GM invested $579 million in its Flint, Michigan production site. There, too, V8 production will continue to chug along. However, it doesn't account for the $300 million commitment made two years ago in union negotiations to produce electric vehicles, specifically at Tonawanda. And it's not the first area where GM has had to pump the brakes on EV endorsements. The company has sold off its stake in a battery production facility to its partner, LG Energy. In other areas, GM has pushed back against California's 2035 plan to eliminate sales of gas-only vehicles, which is now, by the way, completely dead. On the other hand, GM pushed into the number two spot for April EV sales, capturing nearly 15% of EV sales. Getting mixed signals? Us too, but we blame the current political and economic climate, not necessarily GM. Outfitting the plant for V8 production is important for CEO Mary Barra, too. "Our significant investments in GM's Tonawanda Propulsion plant show our commitment to strengthening American manufacturing and supporting jobs in the U.S.," she said in a press release. She further emphasized the plant's importance to the brand, citing its 87 years of operation. The plant will finish production of GM's fifth-gen V8 before commencing work on the sixth-gen product. This $888 million investment marks the largest single investment GM has ever made in an engine-producing facility. The fact that it happens to make V8s is almost irrelevant; it implies the combustion engine at large still has several decades of work ahead of it. GM isn't faring poorly in the EV arena, either, so unlike other automakers that have rekindled V8 production, this isn't a crutch. GM's going where the money is, and that's just good business. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pedestrian struck after driver falls asleep on I-35, Iowa State Patrol says
DES MOINES, Iowa – A pedestrian was injured in Webster County Sunday after a driver fell asleep at the wheel on I-35. The Iowa State Patrol said the crash happened around 6:35 p.m. at Mile Marker 62 on southbound I-35. That's about four miles south of the Cumming exit. Police say West Des Moines teen, missing two days, has been found Dale Acker, 62 of Greenfield, was driving a Chevy Equinox southbound when he fell asleep and entered the west side ditch, according to the ISP crash report. The SUV struck Eric Randolph, 42 of Des Moines, who was in the ditch. Randolph was transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. His condition was not listed. The Iowa State Patrol crash report did not detail whether Acker faces any charges or citations related to the crash. The investigation into the crash continues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Hernando couple looking for suspect that drove into their property
HERNANDO, Miss. — A Hernando couple could be out of thousands of dollars after someone crashed into both of their vehicles and their garage over the weekend and took off running. That couple is now calling on the community to help them find the driver. The Garrity Family said shock was their initial reaction after they were awakened by the sound of their property being hit. They said it's a situation you just can't make up. The moment you see the dark-colored SUV hit their vehicle is about the same time their dog began to alert them. The vehicle, believed to be a Chevy Equinox or something similar, was seen driving away moments after the collision. Accidental photo captures moment MS man saves couple from burning truck By the time the couple got outside to assess the damage, the SUV was gone and their truck and Jeep were damaged, their garbage can was crushed, their garage was totaled and even some potential structural damage inside. The family said that while this has been a lot to process, their community has been there to support them as they look for answers. 'We've got neighbors right behind us that came over the very next day or the same day actually and we were all playing super sleuth, driving around looking for the car, walking down the street picking up the parts that had fallen off of their car and stuff like that, trying to find the matches,' Mike Garrity said. 'That's how we ended up finding what kind of vehicle it was because one of the part numbers was lying on a piece that was in our driveway.' 'And the bigger pieces, the police took [them] with them once they came and took the report,' Bobbie Garrity said. The family said that due to it being a holiday, they will have to wait to get estimates on the damages. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Wall Street Journal
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
An Ex-Tesla Engineer Is Turning EVs Into Affordable Family Cars
General Motors GM -1.20%decrease; red down pointing triangle is in a fight for its life. One day, nearly all cars will be electric vehicles. And GM, like any automaker that wants to stick around, must be on the forefront of making them—even amid regulatory shifts like the end of the EV tax credit, tariffs boosting materials costs, and a growing list of EV-only competitors. Survival depends in part on whether its bets on battery technology pay off. In 2024, GM hired one of the most experienced battery geeks on the planet to head its battery and sustainability efforts. Kurt Kelty is a 30-year veteran of the industry who spent 11 years at Tesla leading the company's pathbreaking efforts to perfect this most critical EV component. 'I'm a firm believer,' in the global shift to EVs, says Kelty. Switching to an electric powertrain means better performance, less maintenance, more space inside the vehicle, a lower center of gravity and a higher crash rating, he adds. Evolution away from fossil fuels is 'unstoppable.' Worldwide, EV sales rocketed 30% in March of 2025 compared with the year before. A self-effacing avoider of the spotlight, Kelty is hardly a household name. And he wasn't at the company when GM developed its own in-house battery tech with longtime collaborator LG Energy Solution. Not only does GM sell one of the most affordable EVs in the U.S., the Chevy Equinox, but it also recently announced a novel type of battery that promises to be significantly cheaper, while still providing long range, due to be rolled out in 2028. In 2024, Tesla sold more than five times as many EVs in the U.S. as GM. And yet by April of this year, GM was manufacturing more batteries in the U.S. than Tesla. That's because Tesla imports a substantial portion of its batteries, GM's sales are rising as Tesla's decline, and many of GM's vehicles are big and require many more batteries. If GM can continue to grow demand for its EVs, in a few years the rollout of its latest tech could give it a price and performance advantage that even Tesla would have a hard time matching. While the EV transition is happening more slowly than projected in the U.S., GM hiring Kelty is a bet that the country's current EV struggles are temporary, and that technologists like Kelty will help GM get past them. The key: continuing to lower the cost of EVs. 'When we reach cost parity with [internal combustion engine] vehicles, I think that's one big milestone,' says Kelty. 'When you get there, then you're really going to see the transition happen very quickly—and we're not that far away from it.' Battling Industry Headwinds Like many of its competitors, GM has made huge investments in EV battery factories, and in production lines for the vehicles themselves, and it faces challenges in generating a return on investment in the short term. Both of GM's existing battery plants are operating at less than full capacity, and the company recently sold its stake in an under-construction plant in Michigan to LG Energy. Last year, GM said it would delay building a fourth battery facility, with Samsung, in Indiana. The problem, according to Telemetry automotive analyst Sam Abuelsamid, is that GM projected EV demand would grow much faster than it has. Three or four years ago, companies like GM, Ford and Stellantis thought 50% of the vehicles they sold in the U.S. by 2030 would be electric, he adds. 'We're nowhere near that.' In the long run, however, GM's focus on creating a North American supply chain for batteries could prove savvy, says David Whiston, U.S. auto equities analyst at Morningstar. The company is investing $625 million to mine lithium in Nevada. It is working on sourcing every material and every part in its batteries domestically, down to the copper and aluminum foils that go into its cells, says Kelty. GM already makes one of America's least-expensive EVs. The 2025 Chevy Equinox has an MSRP of $33,600. Even without the federal tax credit, it is only $5,000 more than the MSRP for a gas-powered Equinox. When you factor in savings on fuel and maintenance over the first three years or so, it's basically a draw. Later this year, GM will take the covers off a relaunched Bolt, which will use a cheaper battery known as lithium iron phosphate, or LFP batteries. This tech was invented in the U.S. but has come to dominate the battery industry in China. LFP shows up in a few vehicles in the U.S., but its lower energy density—they are bigger and heavier, and they yield less range—makes it less desirable for the premium market where EVs hold sway in the U.S. New Battery Tech GM recently unveiled a new type of battery the company has been working on for a decade called lithium manganese-rich batteries, or LMR. These batteries combine the low cost of LFP batteries with the longer range of conventional, expensive lithium-ion batteries. What makes LMR batteries more affordable is that they use far less nickel, cobalt and other minerals that have become increasingly expensive. Instead, they use more manganese, a common element. LMR batteries have been a laboratory curiosity for decades, with a number of shortcomings that GM's engineers had to overcome. A change in the shape of the battery—big rectangles instead of flat pouches—has proven particularly amenable for trucks and other larger vehicles. This could give such vehicles nearly the range of today's most expensive, energy-dense battery packs at around 70% of the cost. Ford is also working on this same kind of battery. The company's new battery innovation center in Warren, Mich., completed in 2022, was essential to take these batteries from research project to something GM can produce millions of, says Kelty. Engineers here can go from lab bench to a pilot line inside the same building. The other big challenge in battery innovation is talent. To compete with Chinese battery giants like CATL—the world leader by volume—GM had to attract its own experienced innovators. Cue Kelty. 'Kurt has an extensive network of people in the battery industry, and he's been really helpful in hiring and recruiting some new folks,' says GM battery engineer Andy Oury. The company's next initiative, says Kelty, is to further drive down the cost of its batteries by putting more of another common element, silicon, into them. Trump Trouble As much materials-science magic as GM's battery boffins are able to conjure, the one thing they can't control is geopolitics—and in particular the actions of the Trump administration. Today, the biggest threat to the EV future is the tremendous uncertainty caused by the current administration. What hangs in the balance are incentives for manufacturing and purchasing EVs, and how tariffs will affect the import of raw materials critical for their manufacture, says Whiston. Since Trump took office, around three dozen separate tariff policy announcements affecting autos have been made, says Mika Takahashi, an automotive technology analyst at IDTechX. When I ask Kelty when the average American will be able to walk into a dealership and see no difference at all between the price of electric and gas vehicles, Kelty emphasizes that fluctuating material prices are the big unknown. 'If you can tell me where nickel and lithium prices are going to be in three or four years, I can give you a better answer,' he says. 'But we just don't know. There's lots of volatility in these costs, and that's probably the biggest question mark.' Write to Christopher Mims at
