When I think about Tesla’s impact on the wider automotive industry, I conjure images of auto CEOs waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. It isn’t just that Tesla virtually or actually gets away with murder, it’s that the level of impunity is almost completely unchallenged by regulators and is actually celebrated by consumers… Read More
Author: Roger C. Lanctot
The Truly Terrifying Truth about Tesla
GM Should BrightDrop-Kick Cruise
The GM Authority newsletter informed us last week that General Motors’ BrightDrop commercial vehicle group was planning to adopt autonomous vehicle technology created by GM-owned Cruise Automation for its delivery vans. Days later, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt announced plans to bring its nascent autonomous taxi service to Phoenix… Read More
GM Buyouts: Let’s Get Small!
“I sell new cars to legitimize my used car business.” – Wes Lutz, president Extreme Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, RAM Inc., Jackson, Mich. National Automobile Dealer Association board member
Since taking over at General Motors, CEO Mary Barra has made many radical adjustments in the company’s international footing in the interest… Read More
MAB: The Future of Radio is Here
Good story telling is what helps drive change, engage consumers, and define progress. Steve Newberry, CEO of Quu, is a master of the craft.
He told two stories, in particular, at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters event last week in Traverse City, Mich. The first story was to simply note for the broadcasters in attendance
GM: Where an Option is Not an Option
How does a General Motors executive react when they get a transfer to work at OnStar? “What am I going to tell my partner?”
Twenty-six years after its founding, OnStar remains an appendage to GM – a team set apart from the heart and soul of the larger company. Team members assert that the group is profitable, thanks to millions of GM… Read More
C-V2X: Talking Cars: Toil & Trouble
Last year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission sought to resolve the lingering dispute over the use of 75MHs of Wi-Fi spectrum in the 5.9MHz range, previously allocated to the automotive industry for safety applications, by designating 45MHz of that spectrum for unlicensed use while preserving 30MHz for automotive … Read More
Auto Makers Face Existential Crisis
Auto makers are burdened and blessed by an eco-system of thousands of suppliers. The industry is also bound by a B2B business model. These realities combine to create unique customer relationships that are challenging and riddled with risk.
The B2B business model is a particularly thorny proposition and extends to the franchised… Read More
Time for NHTSA to Get Serious
In the final season of “The Sopranos,” Christopher Multisanti (played by Michael Imperioli) and Anthony Soprano (James Gandolfini) lose control of their black Cadillac Escalade and go tumbling off a two-lane rural highway and down a hill. Christopher dies (spoiler alert) with an assist from Tony, before Tony calls “911” for… Read More
What is Your Ground Truth?
When my son bought a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV a couple of years ago, I was excited. I wanted to see what the Xevo-supplied Marketplace (contextually driven ads and offers) looked like and I was also curious as to what clever navigation integration GM was offering.
I was swiftly disappointed to discover that Xevo Marketplace was not… Read More
What’s Wrong with Robotaxis?
For some reason the obsession with robotaxis persists throughout the world and throughout the transportation industry. The collective conventional wisdom appears to be that getting rid of the human drivers of taxis and letting these vehicles freely operate presumably around the clock will save money and the environment.… Read More
Enjoy the Super-Cycle it’ll Crash in 2023!