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The Latest News,Rumors and Changes in the Truck World

Ford Announces Team Rubicon Powered by Ford

Ford Motor Company, the Ford Fund, and Team Rubicon announced Team Rubicon Powered by Ford, a new disaster relief initiative that will serve the growing number of communities across the United States that are impacted by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfires. According to studies, 90% of U.S. counties experienced a federal climate disaster between 2011-2021. Ford’s investment—which includes a fleet of vehicles, a $2.5 million philanthropic donation, and a commitment to deploying employee volunteers—greatly expands Team Rubicon’s ability to provide no-cost services to vulnerable communities in the wake of these disasters and crises.

Team Rubicon Powered by Ford builds on nearly 25 years of disaster relief efforts by Ford. The company has invested in disaster relief efforts since 1999, when a catastrophic earthquake struck Turkey. Ford mobilized vehicles, volunteers, and other lifesaving aid in the region.

Since then, Ford has consistently supported disaster relief efforts in communities across the country and around the world. From Hurricane Harvey (2017) to the Texas ice storms (2021) to deadly storms in eastern Kentucky (2022), Ford has shown up for communities in need by deploying vehicles to provide emergency transportation and power, delivering essential goods, and funding direct service providers.

Over the last few years, the Ford Fund has donated $7 million to disaster relief efforts globally, including $1.5 million in previous investments to Team Rubicon.

GM Energy Simplifies Energy Management

Three Easy Bundle Options Assist Ultium Home Customers

GM Energy recently announced product details and specifications for its initial suite of upcoming Ultium Home offerings.

They will be the first solutions to be made available to residential customers through GM Energy and are designed to provide greater energy independence, resiliency, and value, enabling the use of backup power for essential home needs during times when energy is unavailable from the grid.

In addition to the initial suite of Ultium Home products, customers seeking to integrate solar energy will have the opportunity to work with SunPower, GM Energy’s exclusive solar provider and a preferred EV charger installer, to deliver power to their home and vehicle with clean energy generated on their roof, providing additional value and potential electricity cost savings.

Each of these Ultium Home products will be connected to the GM Energy Cloud, a software platform that will allow customers to seamlessly manage the transfer of energy between applicable and connected GM Energy assets.

MSRP and timeline for delivery for each of Ultium Home’s initial product bundles will vary. For more information about GM Energy and its ecosystem of available product and service offerings through Ultium Home, Ultium Commercial and Ultium Charge 360, please visit gmenergy.gm.com.

Lordstown Motors Files Chapter 11, Prepares to Sue Foxconn

Lordstown Motors Corp. of Warren, Ohio, announced a strategic restructuring process to maximize the value of its assets: its on-the-road Endurance all-electric pickup truck and the intellectual property, platform, and people who developed it.

In addition, and as a consequence of Foxconn’s alleged material and irreparable harm, Lordstown is commencing a comprehensive marketing and sale process for the Endurance vehicle and related assets. To accomplish this expeditiously and provide a prospective buyer that the asset is free and clear of any legacy issues, Lordstown is restructuring under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in bankruptcy court. Lordstown further anticipates that the restructuring will enable an expedited timeline for hearing Lordstown’s litigation against Foxconn.

Edward Hightower, chief executive officer and president of Lordstown, said, “As one of the early entrants to the EV industry, we have delivered the Endurance, an innovative and highly capable EV with significant commercial and retail potential, and had subsequently engaged with Foxconn in a purposeful, strategic partnership to leverage this expertise into a broader EV development platform.

“Despite our best efforts and earnest commitment to the partnership, Foxconn willfully and repeatedly failed to execute on the agreed-upon strategy, leaving us with Chapter 11 as the only viable option to maximize the value of Lordstown’s assets for the benefit of our stakeholders,” Hightower continues. “We will vigorously pursue our litigation claims against Foxconn accordingly.”