OEM NEWS

June 6, 2022

A CITRUS SITUATION

Some eagle-eyed EV enthusiasts have noticed “orange peel” paint on the RT1 pickup trucks recently delivered by Rivian. Orange peel is the term generally used to describe the texture of paint that has not dried evenly on a vehicle, leaving it with a bumpy and sometimes coarse finish. In a video posted to his YouTube channel in early April, automotive influencer Average Car Guy took a walk around his new Rivian RT1, literally shedding light on the uneven orange peel paint texture present on nearly every panel of the vehicle.

PRIOR ENGAGEMENTS

Ford and Honda have announced that they will not be showing up to this year’s SEMA trade show, set for November in Las Vegas, Nev. Normally high-profile fixtures at the annual auto show, Ford and Honda were named in a recent SEMA press release announcing the pair’s absence from this year’s show, citing “a change in corporate strategy.” Ford responded to initial reporting of its withdrawal from SEMA, saying “We are refining our approach to the annual SEMA Show to better reach and highlight how customers can personalize their Ford vehicles today and tomorrow. Our new approach showcases our winning portfolio of Cars, Trucks and SUVs and the comprehensive catalog of Ford Performance Parts and Accessories that customers can purchase online or from their local Ford dealer.”

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE

The frame of the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV “is not a unibody and it is not a body-on-frame,” according to General Motors’ chief engineer for battery-electric trucks, Nichole Kraatz. Rather, it is what the automaker is calling “Ultibody”; a nod to GM’s original Ultium EV battery platform. Forgoing a traditional body-and-frame approach to vehicle assembly, Kraatz says this new design integrates the floor of the frame with the Ultium battery structure, which makes up “a good portion of the structure and those two are connected after the body exits the body shaft.” Chevrolet’s communication lead for the Silverado, Kyle Suba said that because the battery pack is such an integral part of the vehicle’s structure, repairs “will follow different processes due to the change in architecture but will not be markedly more time consuming with the new vehicle structure.”

PAINT PAYOUT

About 30,000 owners of the Honda Civic and Acura CSX in Québec could receive a cut of a proposed $27 million payout for unresolved paint peeling issues, following a class action lawsuit that investigated models from as far back as 2006. In 2019, two law firms launched cases against Honda to seek compensation for defective paint on 2006 through 2013 model year Honda Civics and 2006 through 2011 Acura CSX models. The firms alleged that Honda Canada knowingly sold cars with paint defects in the North American market for 15 years. The Superior Court of Québec will rule on the proposed settlement on June 27. If a settlement is reached, the minimal amount owners will be eligible for will be $125.