Sometimes typos make one double-check the source to see if that’s really what their author and editors published. (See the boldface portion of the article.)
Of course, that’s far from the only chuckle in the article.
GM Wants to Produce a Lot of Cars — and Less of Everything Else
https://www.barrons.com/articles/general-motors-has-a-plan-for-climate-change-crashes-congestion-51581004001 | February 6, 2020 | Al RootGeneral Motors, the auto maker that sells millions of cars and trucks each year, has a new production target: zero.
… I’m guessing this caught the attention of GM investors.
The George Costanza sales pitch?
CEO Mary Barra hasn’t lost her mind. Instead, GM’s goal is a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, the company said at an investor event following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings.
… (to be discussed below. Too embarrassing to bring up here.)
It’s a bold vision to say the least.
Zero Emissions
No greenhouse gases coming from a tail pipe, of course, is all about vehicle electrification. GM (ticker: GM), it seems, is leaving the traditional motor behind.
“We believe climate change is real, it’s a global concern and the best way to remove automotive ambitions from the environmental equation is an all-electric zero emissions future,” said Barra at the investor event.
… after deleting a PowerPoint slide showing coal-burning electricity-generating plants …
“The National Zero Emissions Vehicle Program that we have proposed across all 50 states will help accelerate the transition to EVs…..
… does it include a taxpayer-funded government component? …
“it would also position the United States as a leader in electrification.”
… ? We aren’t? …
The GM plan calls for credits for zero-emission vehicles and incentives for battery development, among other things.
… I smell a taxpayer-funded government component …
GM isn’t waiting for federal regulation, though. The company said in January that its Detroit-Hamtramck plant would be its first devoted to just making electric vehicles.
… also known as walking the walk.
The stock was down 1.6% at $34.44 Thursday afternoon.
… Oh.
Zero Crashes
No accidents is all about active safety. That’s industry jargon for what the rest of America thinks of as self-driving cars.
… You damn rubes! Stop not calling things what we call them!
The company’s Cruise division is the core of its autonomous driving.
… because it feels the need … the need for regulated speed …
“The Cruise portion of the day was extremely compelling,” Levin Easterly Partners portfolio manager Christopher Susanin told Barron’s. “GM’s rate of improvement on their internal safety metrics have been [huge].”
… n.b.: Barron’s felt the need to find a substitute for whatever word was used instead of “huge” …
GM says self-driving safety features
[Emphasis Added:]
can
eventually save millions of lives. The data shows,
[Emphasis Added:]
for the most part,
that robots are,
[Emphasis Added:]
or can be,
safer drivers than humans.
[Emphasis Added:]
People, however, will have to get over the fact that autonomous crashes and other tragedies will generate headlines for years to come.
?!
“Another major growth opportunity for General Motors is commercializing autonomous vehicles and mobility services,” said Barra.
To that end, GM reviewed its Cruise “Origin” platform.
[Emphasis Added:]
It’s a car without a steering wheel.
!?
In the Meantime
GM has been successfully shifting away from lower-profit to higher-profit products.
Genius!
The company exited its European business, which produced substantial losses in the past.
Even smarter!
It is also selling more trucks and crossovers than cars. Larger vehicles are more profitable for GM.
… and have got to get better mileage, right?
The stock hasn’t responded to some of the internal gains made by the company or analyst bullishness either. Shares are down about 4.3% year to date and 8.8% over the past three months. Both figures trail behind returns of the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
… Oh.
I do like an article, though, that ends with a little sanity.
Cleanses the palate. Or, as Barron’s might say, the pallet.
And remember: people will have to get over the fact that autonomous crashes and other tragedies will generate headlines for years to come.
Those are unrealistic goals for even people who ride horses.
You will drive what we tell you to drive peasants. OR ELSE!!!
General Motors, still largely owned by the government, held a press conference to introduce their next car: the “Chevy Forward”. In keeping with the name, it won’t go in reverse. It also won’t turn right.
… n.b.: Barron’s felt the need to find a substitute for whatever word was used instead of “huge” … “humongous” I imagine.
maybe “MAGA.”
Power company officials admitted years ago that we do not have the electrical generation capacity to have everyone switch to electric cars charged by the power grid. Not even close. My peak month for electric use last year (in FL) I used 2,400 kWh. An efficient car running at highway speed uses 30 kWh/hour (SUVs use a lot more). So the amount of electricity it took to operate my house, including the A/C, for a month (720 hours) would only run a car for 80 hours. Last month my house required 900 kWh, which would only run a car for 30 hours. Moving 2 tons around takes a lot of energy, and that will not change until the laws of physics changes.
And the “can save millions of lives, eventually” bit? I don’t know the numbers world-wide, but here in the USA, deaths due to car crashes are under 40,000 per year. Even if ALL of them were due to GM cars, it will take 50 years of zero crashes to save 2 million. But self-driving cars will only wind up being used in taxis. People won’t buy them as soon as they, and the legal system, realize that the private buyer isn’t responsible for any damage or injuries/deaths caused by them, and so the manufacturer will need to have insurance, for the life of the car, included in the cost of the car. That will turn a $10,000 econobox into a $30,000+ car. But I’ll bet the banks won’t finance 80% of that.
You can’t spell Government Motors without GM.