The Truly Terrifying Truth about Tesla

The Truly Terrifying Truth about Tesla
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-21-2022 at 2:00 pm

The Truly Terrifying Truth about Tesla

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


GM Buyouts: Let’s Get Small!

GM Buyouts: Let’s Get Small!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-11-2022 at 6:00 am

GM Buyouts Lets 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


GM on BARRA’d Time

GM on BARRA’d Time
by Roger C. Lanctot on 07-25-2021 at 10:00 am

GM on BARRAd Time

Midway through her seventh year running General Motors it’s time to assess the legacy of CEO and Chairperson Mary Barra, the first woman to run an automobile company.  Of the 14 CEOs that have led GM, Barra’s term in office has been exceeded by only four of her predecessors:  Alfred Sloan Jr. (May 10, 1923 – June 3, 1946), Roger

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GM’s CES No Show: EmBARRAssing!

GM’s CES No Show: EmBARRAssing!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-28-2019 at 6:00 am

After failing in 2017 and 2018 to put a single woman on-stage to deliver a high profile keynote, the Consumer Technology Association featured four female keynoters in 2019. Until recently, two women were on the docket for the 2020 show in January, but news arrived last week that General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra had cancelled… Read More


GM is Burning

GM is Burning
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-27-2019 at 11:00 am

What is it about General Motors? The once largest maker of cars in the world (now sixth or seventh) has been in an all-fronts retreat for years – while Wall Street analysts and top GM brass whistle past the graveyard touting gains in the company’s stock price and profitability.

GM has exited key markets including Europe, India and

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Where Have You Gone, Lee Iacocca

Where Have You Gone, Lee Iacocca
by Roger C. Lanctot on 07-04-2019 at 8:00 am

The automotive industry is a funny business. It is simultaneously ruled by ego driven “visionaries” and penny-pinching bean counters. (Don’t believe me? Just ask Bob Lutz.) This id-superego tension plays out in business section headlines every day most recently including the death of FCA’s Sergio… Read More


GM: Stop the Downsizing!

GM: Stop the Downsizing!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-10-2018 at 7:00 am

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is known for a number of quotes one of which is: “My father was a die maker for 39 years, so I had a basic understanding of the automobile industry and what the manufacturing world was like, just from the opportunity to spend time with him, just talking, because he was a car buff.” One has to wonder what Mary’s… Read More


You Cruise You Lose

You Cruise You Lose
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-25-2018 at 7:00 am

General Motors has two media magnets in CEO Mary Barra and Cruise Automation founder Kyle Vogt. Barra is praised for boosting GM profitability while streamlining operations and making strategic investments. Vogt, the beneficiary of one of those investments – in his autonomous vehicle technology company – embodies GM’s aspirations… Read More


Nvidia’s Pegasus Putsch!

Nvidia’s Pegasus Putsch!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-29-2017 at 7:00 am

There hasn’t been this much excitement in Munich since the 1920’s. Nvidia’s great pivot was on display at the GPU Technology Conference Munich 2017. Digital dashboards are out and robotaxis are in as Nvidia narrows its focus on the tip of the automotive industry disruption spear.

To be clear, Nvidia is triangulating on the automotive… Read More


Fed Panel Asks Today: Why Waymo?

Fed Panel Asks Today: Why Waymo?
by Roger C. Lanctot on 01-16-2017 at 12:00 pm

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is holding the first meeting today of a new advisory committee focused, in its own words: “on automation across a number of modes.” The committee, made up of an array of experts from a variety of fields, is “to immediately begin work on some of the most pressing and… Read More