CEO Mary Barra Discusses GM's Short & Long Term Priorities - Here's What She Said About Trucks

[Gorehamj]

 

 

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
9-17-2018

 

Nothing. That's what Mary Barra has on her mind when it comes to pickup trucks and the future for GM. In her recent discussion with Fast Company, Mary Barra discussed, "...GM’s immediate priorities and the broader, bigger vision that it’s working toward." We read over the interview that Fast Company published and looked carefully for any discussion of trucks. Trucks are presently what pays GM's bills and pays its employees paychecks. Barra focused mainly on electrification of cars and ride-sharing. Presently, electric vehicles like the Bolt cost GM money. The company has a target date set for profitability on EVs in 2021.

 

Barra answered a direct question on what she sees as the future of transportation. She said, "Well, we see four major areas that are transforming the way people move today, and one is propulsion. That’s our focus on electrification. We’re putting significant investment there, not only in electric vehicles but fuel-cell electric vehicles. The next is autonomous, and clearly we’re putting significant investment there. The next is connectivity, and we think we’re just scratching the surface of how we can really create value for consumers from a connected point of view. And then the last is sharing, which we’re also making investments in with Maven." We really didn't expect her to say "Every vehicle after 2020 will come equipped with a snorkel." But how does a profitable truck company that dabbles in money-losing cars ignore its core competency?

 

Let's be sure we enjoy the diesel Bisons and V8 Camaros folks. They are not part of GM's future. It looks like if GM is still making trucks they will be electric, self-driven and connected to a geo-fenced boundary, and owned by a ride-sharing company you will subscribe to. 

 

 

[j-ten-ner]

22 minutes ago, Gorehamj said:

...self-driven and connected to a geo-fenced boundary, and owned by a ride-sharing company you will subscribe to. 

I think that I could live with an electric powered truck. But this ^^^ scares the shit out of me.

Please stop writing such horror stories.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Sierra Dan]

Can you imagine an autonomous electric Truck?

Tesla is already working on one or is planning to produce this...….

 

 

[Logan Lanfear]

Sadly, its the way the world is going.  Some people disagree with global warming/climate change and that's their opinion.  Keep those old trucks on the road as long as you can.  Someday, you wont be able to buy a gasoline vehicle anymore.  

[AvalancheZ71]

I think it will be incorrect to characterize the "new" GM as a truck company for much longer. The profitable sales of trucks may make the shareholders happy in the short term, but it is only subsidizing the development of technologies for the future of transportation, which will probably look a lot different than it does now.

 

GM has already had its brush with death and is seeing that in the long term it will be better positioned to survive as a tech company that (perhaps) also builds cars and trucks, than as an auto manufacturer, which it has historically been. There may even be a day in the not-too-distant future where GM spins off its auto production business altogether. I would not be surprised.

[Darmichar]

My daughter is 4.  She likely will never get to drive a gasoline powered vehicle, unless I still have one.  Her child likely will never drive.

[mopac]

On 9/17/2018 at 6:31 PM, Gorehamj said:

The next is connectivity, and we think we’re just scratching the surface of how we can really create value for consumers from a connected point of view.

While I do see value in On Star in the event of an accident or a theft, I don't see enough value for $25 a month.  Similarly, $15 a month for me to use my iPhone as a key fob.   Maybe once every 4-6 weeks I have a situation when that might be useful.   How about an in-app purchase per use for the rare occasions when it would truly come in handy?  The infrastructure is already there.  

 

If this is your "value" in connectivity Ms. Barra - KEEP IT.  The functionality is priced too high to be a value to me.  

[Nargg]

1 hour ago, mopac said:

 

If this is your "value" in connectivity Ms. Barra - KEEP IT.

 

You are obviously not an average consumer of vehicles.  The items that have no use for you have a lot of use for most others.  In other words, the World does not revolve around you.

[Imcrazy]

I will keep on driving, none of this self driving electric car bullshit.... F that... Give me a gas sucking 4x4 pickup truck till the day I die..

[Joey Roth]

Ms. Barra how did you ever get put in charge of GM, or let alone anything else? Gasoline powered cars and trucks will be here for another 30 to 40 years. Why? Because gasoline works, that's why. When your electric cars get 400 to 500 miles per charge, then you will have my attention. What happened to the hydrogen cars everyone was so "big" on a few years ago? I thought so. Driverless cars? Who are they for? There is no person in this world that will sit in the back seat of a driverless car and cruise the freeways of southern California. Period. Also, the technology is not there anyway. No computer can tell the difference and act accordingly to multiple changes in road conditions instantly. Don't believe me? Then you hop in the back seat and we can watch you go for a ride. Stop assuming people can't drive. I don't have accidents or get tickets, just like millions of other people. So it begs the question, "who are these future cars for"? Why pay for this technology just so I can sit in the driver's seat and read the newspaper? Stick with what you know, build us a mini-truck for the masses, listen to your customers, and tell the EPA to drop dead. So simple maybe I should apply to become President of GM. I'll even work for half your salary.

[mookdoc6]

You guys really think she is an idiot?  Get a clue she is pretty dang sharp lady up in the attic!  The T1's are specifically designed and engineered for mild assist electrification...... 

[Colossus]

I'm not concerned.  Gas powered self driving vehicles will be around for a long long time yet. 

[Joey Roth]

Maybe she should have stayed in the attic? She keeps trying to put the cart before the horse. Have you ever met anyone that is just exhausted from driving to the point they need a self-driving car? No. GM is scrambling to met these impossible fuel requirements yet they won't build a small truck similar to the Chevy Luv or S-10 for which the public has been screaming about for years. Instead they give us full size trucks that are getting bigger every year. I thought my 2011 Silverado was a tank but it pales in comparison to the 2019 Silverado. It also makes my 2005 look like a child's backyard toy. They force nonsense on us like start/stop just to satisfy the EPA and raise the prices to the point where you need a second mortgage on your home just to buy one. Ms. Barra needs to come back to the world of today. If she thinks this is the "future" she is sadly mistaken.

[j-ten-ner]

19 hours ago, Joey Roth said:

... Stop assuming people can't drive...

Well, have you been to Canada lately?

Some users on here can't even merge onto a highway with less than 500hp under the hood.

Jokes aside, it's on us in which direction this is all going.

We as consumers have quite some power. It's called "money".

 

"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want."

Anna Lappe

 

And then there is that other thing, called "democracy"...

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Joey Roth]

Yes, exactly. That is why I won't purchase any 2019 Silverados' in the future. Neither will a great many other people for various reasons. The point I was trying to present was that Ms. Barra, as well as GM and the rest of the automakers, are out of touch with reality. By not buying a certain product one would think the maker would realize something is wrong and change directions. This is not the case with GM. The public wants a smaller affordable truck similar to the Chevy Luv, GM gives us the Colorado. They complain about meeting fuel economy requirements, so they make the Silverado even bigger. GM says it listens to customer needs, they raise the prices on cars and trucks and force ignorant concepts like the start/stop feature on us. What happened to the hydrogen cars that everyone was so thrilled about just a couple years ago? Why can't they build an electric car that gets 500 miles per charge? I drove the EV-1 back in 1991, it had flaws but they were moving in the right direction. You would think after all these years there would have been a significant improvement? I guess nobody noticed that Ms. Barra's home address happens to be Fantasyland.