TRENDING NOW:
No, the man smiling in the photo is not Joel Ewanick, who recently got appointed other another position requiring somebody with a beard, but rather the one and only Tom Stephens. Stephens will be making a lateral movement from being the vice chairman of GM’s global product operations, to the newly created position of global chief technology officer (CTO) effective February 1st. The new position is a part of the company’s hustled strategy to focus more on developing technology for all GM vehicles. Expect a replacement for Stephens’ former position to be announced soon.
Ah, the Motor Trend Power List. In case you need a refresher, it’s an annual standing list consisting of 50 of the most influential and most powerful movers and shakers in the entire automotive industry. According to this list, GM North America President Mark Reuss is the most influential and powerful mover and shaker within The General’s ranks, placing sixth on the board, jumping from number 18 last year. The second-highest ranking GM executive was CEO Dan Akerson, who snuck in at no. 27. The car guy prevails!
Every member of the GM Authority crew has dreams for General Motors that he would love to see come to fruition. Some of us want Pontiac to rise from the ashes to become that performance brand it always deserved to be. Others want to see GM ratchet up Cadillac to be the world class brand it once was. And others want to see a (non-truck) diesel vehicle make its way to the United States. As such, we’re glad to report that at least one of these wishes could come true. Really? Continue reading here.
Earlier this week, General Motors held a conference in the heart of its Tech Center in Warren, MI. where it gave financial analysts an overview of its global business as well as an opportunity to drive the company’s new vehicles. The beginning was, of course, about the “important” stuff. You know, internal matters such as the amount of meetings the company holds per month, how the managerial hierarchy has been simplified, and how The General has cut spending in areas such as incentives. Important topics, indeed.
But if you’re interested in GM’s IPO plans, you’re reading the wrong article. Despite being fairly black and white in the beginning, the conference was also highly product-oriented. This transformation occured when Global Product Operations head Tom Stephens took the floor. Journalists were not allowed to ask any questions since they were not invited – and were only able to listen through a webcast as The General gave financial analysts a taste of what’s to come from GM in the next couple of years. Here’s what they discussed. Keep reading…
Why is GM's Ed Whitacre smiling?
Welly well well… not too long after the government hired a New York firm to prepare General Motors’ post-bankruptcy IPO, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that the company’s highest ranking officers and executives received over 100,000 total shares of stock estimated to be somewhere in the ballpark of $13 million. Those who have been disclosed that received shares include:
While it’s been a widely-publicized goal of General Motors to go public as soon as possible, Ed Whitacre has cautioned that an IPO will not happen until he believes its maximum value can be attained. According to some analysts, this could take as long as another year or two. Considering Whitacre now has 24,547 reasons for a successful IPO, it’s easy to understand why.
I understand the logic behind providing GM’s senior management team with this amount of yet-unsold stock. Instead of being awarded bonuses or salary raises, stock is used to compensate for salary cuts and certain lack of benefits. It also provides a huge incentive to make the overall organization a success. But GM’s senior management team isn’t the only one within GM to have taken a cut – there are thousands of other GM employees that were forced to see salary and benefit cuts as well. In all fairness, all of those hard working men and women should also receive the spoils of free shares of the company they have worked so hard to bring out of its darkest period in history. Wouldn’t you agree?
[Source: The Detroit Bureau]
By the end of July of this year, the once cutting edge and much-hailed Northstar V8 engine that’s always been associated with the Cadillac brand will retire to the history books.
Having made its debut in the 1993 Cadillac Allante roadster, where it made 295 hp and 290 pound-feet of torque, the Northstar was once something of genius, having brought many cutting-edge features to the table. Among others, these included spark plugs that would last 100,000 miles and a “limp home mode” that was created to keep the engine running even if the coolant tank ran dry. But arguably the Northstar’s most important quality was that it was GM’s first-ever overhead-cam V8 design – something that GM’s current small-block V8 engines don’t have to this day. Despite its unique design compared to the rest of The General’s V8 lineup, the Northstar hasn’t evolved much since its debut. Continue reading.
In what is easily the biggest executive shuffle of the year, General Motors has repositioned dozens of executives in product development and – most importantly – appointed new heads of global product planning, powertrain engineering, and quality.
The biggest news of the shakeup is that CEO Ed Whitacre will take the responsibility of global product planning from Tom Stephens, who will retain control of product development, design, engineering and purchasing. Interestingly, nobody was removed from the company as a result of this top-down reorganization.
Steve Carlisle moves from his position of VP of U.S. Sales Operations (a position he held since only March) and replaces Jon Lauckner as VP of Global Product Planning. Carlisle, who will report to Whitacre, holds previous experience in The General’s product planning department in markets outside the United States as well as GM’s truck group. Lauckner will become the head of GM’s new Venture Capital Unit and will report to Vice Chairman Steve Girsky.
As for Carlisle’s old position, it will go to Don Johnson, GM’s International Operations VP of Marketing. Johnson will report to GM North America President Mark Reuss.
Onward to Jamie Hresko, who is replacing Don Hancock as the VP of Global Powertrain Engineering. Hresko, who will report to Stephens, was the VP of Global Quality since September 2008. Hancock will take on an all-new position as VP of Global Strategic Product Alliances, focusing on joint ventures and partnerships with other automotive companies. He will report to Stephens. Dan Nicholson, the former Executive Director of electronic integration and software, has replaced Hresko and will also report to Stephens. Nicholson will be replaced by Kent Helfrich. (more…)
There is much debate in the automotive industry about what types of vehicles should or should not receive hybrid powertrains. Whether you believe it should be the cars that are already fuel efficient and that – consequently – will post the most gains after being ‘hybridized,’ or those that need the most help and show the largest percent improvement, GM will soon have you covered.
In stark contrast to the competition at Toyota, General Motors has long been a player in the full size SUV and pickup hybrid game. GM’s two-mode system in GMT900 vehicles has received considerable accolades across the automotive industry, posting impressive fuel economy gains over gas-only counterparts. And with GM making the decision to move electric motor development and production in-house, we can only expect more electrifying vehicles in the future (pun intended). As such, it would come as no surprise that The General is currently in the process of improving this two-mode electric hybrid system and will make it available in future rear-wheel drive luxury vehicles – that much according to Tom Stephens, GM Vice Chairman of global Product Development. (more…)
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