INDUSTRY NEWS
to install dedicated 5G fixed mobile network technology.
GM EV Plant to Feature 5G Technology
General Motors announced that Factory Zero, the company’s all-electric vehicle assembly plant at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, is the first automotive plant in the United States to install dedicated 5G fixed mobile network technology. Verizon’s 5G ultra-wideband service is operating now at Factory Zero, with its exponential increases in both bandwidth and speed supporting the ongoing transformation of the plant as it prepares to begin producing EVs in 2021.
Factory Zero is being completely retooled with a $2.2 billion investment, the largest ever for a GM manufacturing facility. Once fully operational, the plant will create more than 2,200 U.S. manufacturing jobs. Both the upcoming GMC Hummer EV and the Cruise Origin will be built at Factory Zero on GM’s Ultium battery platform. Ultium is flexible enough for a wide range of EVs—cars, trucks and more—and is the heart of GM’s future EV lineup.
Key benefits of 5G in a manufacturing plant include reliability, speed and sheer scale. 5G’s massive bandwidth offers scalability to manage thousands of devices across Factory Zero’s more than four million square feet of space, with ample capacity to support emerging technologies.
viewing online. Visit the SEMA YouTube channel for more details.
SEMA360 Education Seminars Now Available on Demand
Thousands of participants took part in the SEMA360 Education program last November, where they heard from leading experts and innovators and left motivated and educated on how to work better and smarter on various topics relating to the automotive specialty-equipment industry.
SEMA Education programs encompass all of the association’s educational efforts. For the first time ever at SEMA360, the education seminars took place virtually in absence of the in-person SEMA Show in Las Vegas, with each session designed to help businesses succeed and automotive aftermarket professionals advance their business goals.
For those who might have missed any of the SEMA Education seminars, many of them are now available to all industry members on the SEMA360 Education Playlist at the SEMA Show YouTube channel. Viewers will be able to see the actual presentations that took place during the exclusive SEMA360 event, including live questions and answers. The learning tracks and seminars available include such topics as advanced vehicle technologies; business management; hot-rod and off-road builders panels; vehicle accessorization demonstrations; Brew Talks; and interviews with industry leaders, legends and influencers on The Stage.
For more information, visit the SEMA360 YouTube page.
offer a V8 option for Jeep’s iconic bobtail for the first time in 40
years.
’21 Jeep Wrangler 392 to Feature 470HP V8
For the first time since 1981, Jeep will bring its flagship bobtail to market with a V8 option in 2021. The 6.4L V8, rated at 470 hp and 470 lb.-ft. of torque, will be mated to the TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission and Selec-Trac fulltime active transfer case. The powertrain is said to power the Wrangler Rubicon 392 from 0–60 mph in 4.5 sec. and produce elapsed times in the quarter-mile of 13.0 sec., and it comes with a factory-backed warranty.
Away from the pavement, the trail-rated Wrangler Rubicon 392’s potent powertrain meshes with heavy-duty wide-track Dana 44 axles, a 3.73 final drive ratio, a transmission torque converter lockup control, a 2-in. lift, and standard 33-in. tires on 17-in. beadlock-capable wheels. The result is said to be the most capable Jeep Wrangler ever, with 10.3 in. of ground clearance; improved suspension articulation and maneuverability; approach, breakover and departure angles of 44.5, 22.6 and 37.5 degrees respectively; and the ability to traverse up to 32.5 in. of water.
The ’21 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 goes on sale in the first quarter of 2021 and will include 11 premium feature packages for consumers to choose from.
