[BlackGTP]

If General Motors were a country, it would have a GNP comparable to Albania. You may rest assured that its place on the GNP list would have been higher during Roger Smith's tenure at the helm during the 1980s. Neither Mary Barra nor Roger Smith had dictatorial powers. These are executives of public corporations. They carry-out the policies of their board of directors. This is not to say that they don't have to convince their board which policies to approve. The point is that these are not one-person decisions.

I believe that it is fair to ask questions about the success of a chairmanship. The buck stops at the top. Mary Barra was name CEO of GM after an international economic disaster followed by massive disruptions in the political and economic spaces. She is leading GM through massive technological changes that are reshaping the Globe's economic terrain. However, we are at best reaching the middle of these changes. Roger Smith took over GM following the beginning of economic upheaval characterized primarily by dramatic increases in the price of petroleum. This change dramatically widened the door for Japanese brands to exploit the North American and European markets.

Roger Smith has been called the last of GM's old time executives. However, he was significant in that he came from GM's finance side instead of the engineering side that had produced most of GM's previous top people. The test of a corporate leader is where the company ends up rather than where it starts. I am hard pressed to name any material change made during the Smith Era that is still with GM today. Mary Barra is female, but she gives me the impression that she is leading GM toward a reinterpretation of the GM of yore. As was the case of GM leaders of yore, she is a product of the engineering side of GM. The Smith Era saw horizontal integration into areas that the company has since divested. Barra is leading the company to vertically integrate supplemented by horizontal integration into markets that exploit the resources of developed as part of its vertical integration. BrightDrop comes to mind.

Force to make a choice between Roger Smith and Mary Barra, then it is Mary in a walk. However, the decisions made during the Smith Era then and the Barra Era now are corporate decisions. They have lots of peoples' fingerprints on them.

Using hindsight, Roger Smith's tenure was when GM could've turned around their path to the 2008 bankruptcy, if the right steps were taken (stop wasting money in profitless foreign operations, downsize the dealer count, get rid of unnecessary divisions, fix quality issues, turn Cadillac into something desirable for people under 60 and get the unions to see reality). But he did none of that - he clung onto the "have to be biggest" mentality which continued GM to the path of bankruptcy. Though I do have to admit I'm not sure if anyone could've turned around GM, I almost feel like GM had to be humbled by bankruptcy to jolt everyone into reality. I think if GM wanted to maintain its title of largest in the world, then the 1980's was when they had to turn it around, not 2008.

I agree - MB & team is giving GM the chance to get back to some of its grandeur and swagger GM had 50+ years ago. She's transforming GM's culture and business model - something I've not seen in my life of 53 years. I'm impressed by what she's done, I just hope the market accepts it and GM prospers.

I think it is cool that GM is going all in with Ultium vs. dragging its feet and converting ICE chassis to BEV.

 

[1958carnut]

Using hindsight, Roger Smith's tenure was when GM could've turned around their path to the 2008 bankruptcy, if the right steps were taken (stop wasting money in profitless foreign operations, downsize the dealer count, get rid of unnecessary divisions, fix quality issues, turn Cadillac into something desirable for people under 60 and get the unions to see reality). But he did none of that - he clung onto the "have to be biggest" mentality which continued GM to the path of bankruptcy. Though I do have to admit I'm not sure if anyone could've turned around GM, I almost feel like GM had to be humbled by bankruptcy to jolt everyone into reality. I think if GM wanted to maintain its title of largest in the world, then the 1980's was when they had to turn it around, not 2008.

I agree - MB & team is giving GM the chance to get back to some of its grandeur and swagger GM had 50+ years ago. She's transforming GM's culture and business model - something I've not seen in my life of 53 years. I'm impressed by what she's done, I just hope the market accepts it and GM prospers.

I think it is cool that GM is going all in with Ultium vs. dragging its feet and converting ICE chassis to BEV.

Agree. I still wish though that they'd find or would have found that happy medium in this incredibly shrinking gm scenario and righted the ship sooner before so much damage was done.

 

[BlackGTP]

Agree. I still wish though that they'd find or would have found that happy medium in this incredibly shrinking gm scenario and righted the ship sooner before so much damage was done.

MB received damaged goods that can't be fixed overnight. She's set a path for GM that can help right the ship. But anyone still dreaming of a GM with 50% market share is, well, dreaming. Unless an auto company invents cold fusion to power vehicles, there is zero chance any brand of any company can get that kind of market share. The USA auto market is now so fractured that it is impossible for on make to get that share.

I think GMI is the last big holdout for 50% market share.

 

[Oldsmobile stopped]

It took one brave little woman to take the tough decisions like cut the huge loss making cancer like the $25 billion bunch of losers at Opel Group something men failed never had the guts to do before, Mary was quite firm shipped a boat load of cash $4.5 billions worth of Silverado profits over to Opel's R & D design team for new models, letting the know they were in last chance saloon, Opel promised they would be highly profitable in a few years you just wait as see same old **** n' bull story lost count of how many time Opel had promised it. True to form Opel carried losing $1.5 billions every year with big drops in market share every year

Carlos Tavares was totally shocked with the can of worms want to take GM to court over it, once he got the books delved deeper into the Opel Group he had purchased on how well Opel were being run found it cost twice as much to produce Opel in Germany as equivalent Citroen/Peugeot car model by a French workers, so he set about slashing Opel's expensive to employ German staff something GM has been running scare of doing for decades in Detroit.

Magna had a go at buying Opel Group when GM were in Chapter 11 bankrupt, they to opened a can of worms found a massive pension deficit of $8 billions back out of the deal,GM looked at closing Opel down it would have cost £11 billions with the pension scheme liabilities and the massive redundancy package strong German car unions were facing at the time, in Chapter 11 GM did not have the money to do that, so they kept Opel on losing $1.5 billion a year, Opel were kept on by the virtue they were totally useless, cost to much to shut down get rid of.

 

[gm4life08]

YAHOO
May 5th 2022

GM (GM) CEO Mary Barra has made it her mission to surpass Elon Musk in EV manufacturing.

She promises that her 113-year-old company can pivot and take on Tesla (TSLA), the world's largest EV maker, making GM the eventual leader in that market as it's been in the past for internal-combustion powered cars.

“We're taking all the steps to do it,” she told Yahoo Finance ina wide-ranging interview this week. “We have said that by mid-decade, we will be selling more EVs in this country than anyone else, including Tesla.”

Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors Company speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The ambitious plans are not likely to faze Musk publicly, who once mocked Barra on Twitter as living “in Cloud Cuckoo Land”, over the market share of their respective companies.

But Barra says she knows the strategy to do it: Cheaper electric vehicles.

“Remember, we're not necessarily just selling at the premium end” she said Monday, drawing a clear contrast to Tesla, whose cheapest model has an MSRP of $46,990. “We're going to have electric vehicles affordable at $30,000.”

Currently, the Chevy BOLT EV is listed as starting at $31,500, and a Silverado EV has an estimated MSRP of $39,900. Other electric cars in Barra’s lineup — like the Cadillac LYRIQ and the Hummer — are more clearly in the luxury space, with suggested MSRPs of $58,795 and 79,995, respectively.

The company also recently announced a partnership with Honda to further drive EV prices down via a series of affordable electric vehicles that are expected to go on sale in 2027.

“We've really worked to listen and understand what the customer is looking for,” Barra says.

Nonetheless, Barra professes confidence that she will eventually close the gap and surpass Musk, the world’s richest man.

Tesla has a clear head start on production and holds a distinct advantage in clean technology, however. In 2021, It remained the leader in the global EV market with a market share of nearly 14%. GM sits at in fourth at 7.6%.

She says each year more and more GM drivers will gradually trade in their internal-combustion vehicles for electric ones. “They are going to be buying electric trucks,” she said of current Chevy and GMC truck drivers in the years ahead.

“I think it's a little bit longer game,” she says.

LINK

There is a video in the link of the whole interview .

If GM can drive the costs down, offer a bare bones basic cheap affordable entry sitting at bottom of each of it's US EV models range it will draw in a lot of buyers GM will soon shoot past Tesla. GM's little RWD Wuling car, is definitely not suited for the US market but it is No1 best selling car in China, outselling Tesla's 2 models.

If GM can bring more affordable EV cars to the US market they will do pretty well, definitely outsell Tesla, you still have to build some profitably in there as well, that where the better equipped mid and top of range in each models range come in. Only sad thing l don't see is a decent RWD EV sedan like the Tesla Model 3 in Chevy or Ford EV shed to take on Tesla Model 3 with yet.

Wish them all the luck. I hope they still build nice ICE vehicles for folks like me and the small block lives on. Teslas for a host of reasons aren’t good vehicles. Especially due to the lack of repair options, poor fit/finish, software glitches (basically owners are beta testing) and the fact they really are a software company trying to build cars.

I hope GM can straddle the line of going after Tesla while keeping ‘normal’ folks like me in the fold. If they can it will be an impressive feat.

 

[BlackGTP]

Wish them all the luck. I hope they still build nice ICE vehicles for folks like me and the small block lives on. Teslas for a host of reasons aren’t good vehicles. Especially due to the lack of repair options, poor fit/finish, software glitches (basically owners are beta testing) and the fact they really are a software company trying to build cars.

I hope GM can straddle the line of going after Tesla while keeping ‘normal’ folks like me in the fold. If they can it will be an impressive feat.

Being that all makes have no choice but to go BEV, do you have a choice?

 

[Mr.Buttons]

Wish them all the luck. I hope they still build nice ICE vehicles for folks like me and the small block lives on. Teslas for a host of reasons aren’t good vehicles. Especially due to the lack of repair options, poor fit/finish, software glitches (basically owners are beta testing) and the fact they really are a software company trying to build cars.

I hope GM can straddle the line of going after Tesla while keeping ‘normal’ folks like me in the fold. If they can it will be an impressive feat.

Normal folks are going to be forced to get on things like that horrid autonobus Cruise Origin. Driving for us normies will be a thing of the past.

There is an article floating around the internets talking about those perfect Swedish countries and their attempt to sway their people out of EVs and into EV autonobuses because the human operated EVs aren't "green" enough.

I feel that self driving autonobuses will become the ultimate form of Greenology in the future.

 

[gm4life08]

Being that all makes have no choice but to go BEV, do you have a choice?

I sure hope not BlackGTP.

 

[MisterMe]

Normal folks are going to be forced to get on things like that horrid autonobus Cruise Origin. Driving for us normies will be a thing of the past.

There is an article floating around the internets talking about those perfect Swedish countries and their attempt to sway their people out of EVs and into EV autonobuses because the human operated EVs aren't "green" enough.

I feel that self driving autonobuses will become the ultimate form of Greenology in the future.

We have city buses, street cars, subways, elevated trains, cabs, Über, and Lyft now. Yet we have not been forced to ride any of them. Yet, we are going to be forced to ride on Cruise. Why are they waiting?

 

[Mr.Buttons]

We have city buses, street cars, subways, elevated trains, cabs, Über, and Lyft now. Yet we have not been forced to ride any of them. Yet, we are going to be forced to ride on Cruise. Why are they waiting?

I know I know, "It just doesn't make sense", but yet we are being coaxed gently into EVs and self driving/driverless vehicles and transportation pods aren't we?

When I find the article I read, I'll post a link to it and you can make your own judgement.

Just remember, when you find yourself boiling next to Mr.Frog whom thought he was in for just a "nice warm bath" it will be too late. Those of us who are unfortunate enough to be in the pot boiling with Mr.Frog will be like crabs trying to get out. That's when they (our great and wonderful government officials) will be putting the lid on the pot while they're out there zooming around in the streets crashing their eleventy billion dollar hyper cars.

 

[MisterMe]

I know I know, "It just doesn't make sense", but yet we are being coaxed gently into EVs and self driving/driverless vehicles and transportation pods aren't we?

When I find the article I read, I'll post a link to it and you can make your own judgement.

Just remember, when you find yourself boiling next to Mr.Frog whom thought he was in for just a "nice warm bath" it will be too late. Those of us who are unfortunate enough to be in the pot boiling with Mr.Frog will be like crabs trying to get out. That's when they (our great and wonderful government officials) will be putting the lid on the pot while they're out there zooming around in the streets crashing their eleventy billion dollar hyper cars.

Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you. Sometimes, you are just paranoid.

 

[Mr.Buttons]

Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you. Sometimes, you are just paranoid.

Not paranoid in the least my man.

I'll see you on the autonobus . Hopefully we don't get T-boned by a hyper car .

 

[NHRATA01]

To be fair Mary has a yes board. She has appointed all members of her board, so its not exactly an 'independent board' in the classical sense.

That's...that's not at all how a board of directors works.

 

[hq308]

Normal folks are going to be forced to get on things like that horrid autonobus Cruise Origin. Driving for us normies will be a thing of the past.

There is an article floating around the internets talking about those perfect Swedish countries and their attempt to sway their people out of EVs and into EV autonobuses because the human operated EVs aren't "green" enough.

I feel that self driving autonobuses will become the ultimate form of Greenology in the future.

You spelt control wrong

 

[1958carnut]

Normal folks are going to be forced to get on things like that horrid autonobus Cruise Origin. Driving for us normies will be a thing of the past.

There is an article floating around the internets talking about those perfect Swedish countries and their attempt to sway their people out of EVs and into EV autonobuses because the human operated EVs aren't "green" enough.

I feel that self driving autonobuses will become the ultimate form of Greenology in the future.

I like self driving, as in the kind I drive myself in .

 

[InCogKneeToe]

It took one brave little woman to take the tough decisions like cut the huge loss making cancer like the $25 billion bunch of losers at Opel Group something men failed never had the guts to do before, Mary was quite firm shipped a boat load of cash $4.5 billions worth of Silverado profits over to Opel's R & D design team for new models, letting the know they were in last chance saloon, Opel promised they would be highly profitable in a few years you just wait as see same old **** n' bull story lost count of how many time Opel had promised it. True to form Opel carried losing $1.5 billions every year with big drops in market share every year

Carlos Tavares was totally shocked with the can of worms want to take GM to court over it, once he got the books delved deeper into the Opel Group he had purchased on how well Opel were being run found it cost twice as much to produce Opel in Germany as equivalent Citroen/Peugeot car model by a French workers, so he set about slashing Opel's expensive to employ German staff something GM has been running scare of doing for decades in Detroit.

Magna had a go at buying Opel Group when GM were in Chapter 11 bankrupt, they to opened a can of worms found a massive pension deficit of $8 billions back out of the deal,GM looked at closing Opel down it would have cost £11 billions with the pension scheme liabilities and the massive redundancy package strong German car unions were facing at the time, in Chapter 11 GM did not have the money to do that, so they kept Opel on losing $1.5 billion a year, Opel were kept on by the virtue they were totally useless, cost to much to shut down get rid of.

And Bailed before reaping the rewards of her efforts.

From 2009 - GM Europe Sale, Losses were getting smaller quickly. And there still is no clear picture of how much Opel, Vauxhall R+D $$$$'s made it to NA or China. A Global Company can make any region look Great or Dismal, depending on How it wants to look.

PSA didn't have any trouble turning a profit.

 

[mbukukanyau]

And Bailed before reaping the rewards of her efforts.

From 2009 - GM Europe Sale, Losses were getting smaller quickly. And there still is no clear picture of how much Opel, Vauxhall R+D $$$$'s made it to NA or China. A Global Company can make any region look Great or Dismal, depending on How it wants to look.

PSA didn't have any trouble turning a profit.

Opel R&D? Lol, they were not exactly known for innovation

 

[fastdriver]

YAHOO
May 5th 2022

GM (GM) CEO Mary Barra has made it her mission to surpass Elon Musk in EV manufacturing.

She promises that her 113-year-old company can pivot and take on Tesla (TSLA), the world's largest EV maker, making GM the eventual leader in that market as it's been in the past for internal-combustion powered cars.

“We're taking all the steps to do it,” she told Yahoo Finance ina wide-ranging interview this week. “We have said that by mid-decade, we will be selling more EVs in this country than anyone else, including Tesla.”

Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors Company speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The ambitious plans are not likely to faze Musk publicly, who once mocked Barra on Twitter as living “in Cloud Cuckoo Land”, over the market share of their respective companies.

But Barra says she knows the strategy to do it: Cheaper electric vehicles.

“Remember, we're not necessarily just selling at the premium end” she said Monday, drawing a clear contrast to Tesla, whose cheapest model has an MSRP of $46,990. “We're going to have electric vehicles affordable at $30,000.”

Currently, the Chevy BOLT EV is listed as starting at $31,500, and a Silverado EV has an estimated MSRP of $39,900. Other electric cars in Barra’s lineup — like the Cadillac LYRIQ and the Hummer — are more clearly in the luxury space, with suggested MSRPs of $58,795 and 79,995, respectively.

The company also recently announced a partnership with Honda to further drive EV prices down via a series of affordable electric vehicles that are expected to go on sale in 2027.

“We've really worked to listen and understand what the customer is looking for,” Barra says.

Nonetheless, Barra professes confidence that she will eventually close the gap and surpass Musk, the world’s richest man.

Tesla has a clear head start on production and holds a distinct advantage in clean technology, however. In 2021, It remained the leader in the global EV market with a market share of nearly 14%. GM sits at in fourth at 7.6%.

She says each year more and more GM drivers will gradually trade in their internal-combustion vehicles for electric ones. “They are going to be buying electric trucks,” she said of current Chevy and GMC truck drivers in the years ahead.

“I think it's a little bit longer game,” she says.

LINK

There is a video in the link of the whole interview .

If GM can drive the costs down, offer a bare bones basic cheap affordable entry sitting at bottom of each of it's US EV models range it will draw in a lot of buyers GM will soon shoot past Tesla. GM's little RWD Wuling car, is definitely not suited for the US market but it is No1 best selling car in China, outselling Tesla's 2 models.

If GM can bring more affordable EV cars to the US market they will do pretty well, definitely outsell Tesla, you still have to build some profitably in there as well, that where the better equipped mid and top of range in each models range come in. Only sad thing l don't see is a decent RWD EV sedan like the Tesla Model 3 in Chevy or Ford EV shed to take on Tesla Model 3 with yet.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[jack1234]

This gives me the deja vu back to when GM kept saying Pontiac or was it Cadillac was going to surpass BMW.
rrou
Hey Mary quit worrying about what Tesla is doing and focus on making GM the best it can be regardless of what your competition is doing.

I can tell you have not kept track of GM for the last 5 years. GM has done it's homework to surpass Tesla ane willn do it.
It's seems GM still has many haters out there who can not give credit to GM no matter what. I know GM is first on many things and has a history of not following through, but this time GM is dead serious.

 

[InCogKneeToe]

Opel R&D? Lol, they were not exactly known for innovation

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