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President Biden Checks Out EVs and the C8 Z06 at the 2022 Detroit Auto Show

The 2022 Detroit Auto Show, officially dubbed the 2022 North American International Auto Show, started with a bang. None other than Joe Biden took to the stage after touring General Motors’ electric vehicle exhibits.
President Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto Show 6 photos
Photo: General Motors
President Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto ShowPresident Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto ShowPresident Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto ShowPresident Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto ShowPresident Biden at 2022 Detroit Auto Show
At the 5:53 mark of the featured clip, the President of the United States claims that he “drove all three of these vehicles,” pointing at the Cadillac Lyriq SUV and two vehicles that don’t come from General Motors. The culprits are the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, which features independent rear suspension rather than the combustion-engined model’s leaf springs, and what appears to be a blue-painted Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. Indeed, that’s a plug-in hybrid rather than a bonafide battery-powered electric vehicle.

The victory lap at the Detroit Auto Show is more than meets the eye, though. Joe Biden is an EV believer whose administration has already committed billions of dollars in this regard. But more importantly, the victory lap in Detroit Motor City has plenty to do with the midterms. All 435 of the U.S. House of Representatives seats and 35 U.S. Senate seats are contested.

Turning our attention back to General Motors, the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit waxes lyrical about its brand-new EVs. Spread across four brands, the exhibits include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Blazer EV, Silverado EV, Bolt EV, Bolt EUV, GMC Hummer EV and SUV, Cadillac Lyriq, and Buick Wildcat EV Concept. Strangely enough, General Motors didn’t bring the long-awaited Celestiq to the most important auto show in North America.

The Detroit-based automaker further pats itself on the back for the billions of dollars in U.S. investments. The Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan is getting the lion’s share in the guise of $4 billion which will create 2,350 jobs and retain 1,000 jobs. Together with LG Energy Solution, General Motors is also pouring billions of dollars into three Ultium Cells battery plants.

Last but certainly not least, the photos uploaded by GM on their media website include a photograph of POTUS in the driver's seat of the brand-new Z06. The second Corvette with a DOHC engine after the ZR-1 from the fourth generation, this corner-carving machine is much obliged to spin to 8,600 revolutions per minute and crank out 670 hp at 8,400 rpm.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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