[Tom E-Tron]

Yesterday on the call for GM's annual meeting I could not help but feel a bit sorry for GM brass, as some investors completely disconnected from reality called in with comments. A couple really caught my attention, but their voice I could tell both were older gentleman, and I kind of felt sorry for them as the world has passed them by. One of them went on and on about Mary Barra having too much power, and listed her bad decisions, the biggest was the closing of the Lordstown plant, which he believed the Cruze is just what GM needs right now. He went on to talk about how Mary let Toyota catch up to GM in Volume and how bad that was.

My thoughts on this guy, GM cancelled a lot of programs and left many markets they were not making money in. GM management did this because they knew the company was overstretched, and had too many different products for the amount of engineering / capital resources they had, so products had been allowed to become stale in the market. GM also was beginning to realize the future was electric, and knew that transition was going to need a lot of capital, and engineering resources to make happen, so they started cutting, some good products got cut, IMO Cruze was not one of them, but CT6, and Volt I felt had more potential, what did all these cut programs have in common though? None of them made a profit, or sold without incentives and advertising, basically they were a drain on GM engineering, and capital. GM had a need to right size the company and product line in preparation for the shit to EV's.

Next guy called in and his comments were that GM has it wrong on EV's and the EV movement is only coming on due to Biden's "failed administration". We can argue about Biden, but there is no argument about EV's, once people drive them, they are not goin back to ICE. He went on and on about how the EV thing is dying, hit all the right wing bullet points, not enough materials, child labor, electricity is coal, yada yada yada, but I had to laugh when he said EV's are slow and boring.

My thoughts, again, I felt sorry for someone that society has left so far behind, perhaps Mary should take him for a ride in the HummerEV to show him the boredom.

**Why nobody asked the question about keeping dealerships under control on markups, I was stunned, and wished I had prepared a question, because if you want to look at one thing that is hurting GM's relationship with customers, bingo, that is it.

 

[B4Real]

Couldn't agree with you more on this post. I also see that same kind of outdated mob rule thought process on social media as well on any post about anything EVs. People do not like change, any kind of change. It scares them. It's the same type of person that doesn't have a smartphone at this point and is angry that they can no longer attend their favorite sporting events because they now require the QR code presented on a team's mobile app.

 

[Gsolct]

I myself have a hard time seeing why people are doing anything other than heaping praise on GM for the move to electric. Electric is clearly the future and GMs early investment is going to pay off. They have a platform that they can use to basically build any car truck or suv they want. This is huge, all the engineers have to do is body and interior. It’s plug and play and it is extremely efficient.

Its clear to me, and of course I could be wrong. However, I am certain that a large part of EVs slow growth has been the selection of EVs that were available, it’s all sedans and no one wants sedans anymore. SUVs and trucks dominate the marketplace and up until recently they didn’t exist as EVs (don’t even bring up the model X it’s a tiny van at best but really just a tall sedan).

 

[Tom E-Tron]

I myself have a hard time seeing why people are doing anything other than heaping praise on GM for the move to electric. Electric is clearly the future and GMs early investment is going to pay off. They have a platform that they can use to basically build any car truck or suv they want. This is huge, all the engineers have to do is body and interior. It’s plug and play and it is extremely efficient.

Its clear to me, and of course I could be wrong. However, I am certain that a large part of EVs slow growth has been the selection of EVs that were available, it’s all sedans and no one wants sedans anymore. SUVs and trucks dominate the marketplace and up until recently they didn’t exist as EVs (don’t even bring up the model X it’s a tiny van at best but really just a tall sedan).

I find the people that are anti EV, just are not up to speed on the benefits of EV's. Like the machinist that works for me, he has been building racing engines for 30 years, and his opinion was that EV's are just oversize golf carts, that is until I let him take my Tesla Y for a drive on his own. He came back smiling from ear to ear, and said, Wow, that thing pulls harder then my Coronet (he has a Coronet with a 440 6-pack that he restored 20 years ago, and drives daily in the summer) I laughed, and told him, and I bought the cheap one, Tesla sells one with 150 more HP. Now I hear him constantly mention EV's to customers as something that should not be laughed at.

You are right, EV growth has been slow due to a lack of options and production. GM made a mistake with Volt and Bolt, when they should have built a high end Cadillac EV that had performance like a Tesla S at that time. Instead GM builds a gangly looking hatchback, that sells for twice its competitors that are ICE. Meanwhile Tesla goes on to build a brand, and leave pretty much everyone in the dust. This is the committee decision made with the old GM management that thankfully is mostly gone with Mary, she is an enthusiast, so green lights cool programs like Hummer, C8, and others that may not make sense on the spreadsheet, but draw attention to the brand. EV's now are reaching the point of mainstream adoption, it's no longer just environmental nerds buying them, and if GM puts out the right EV's at the right prices, and controls dealer markups, they will not even need marketing in a traditional sense, and have a wide open market to sell to.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

Couldn't agree with you more on this post. I also see that same kind of outdated mob rule thought process on social media as well on any post about anything EVs. People do not like change, any kind of change. It scares them. It's the same type of person that doesn't have a smartphone at this point and is angry that they can no longer attend their favorite sporting events because they now require the QR code presented on a team's mobile app.

Its nuts out there on social media, there are 2 crowds that are just lost, one is the "EV's are bad" crowd, and the other is the "Tesla and nobody else" crowd, both are annoying, and not helping the transition, but I think momentum now has been gained by EV's where both crowds are losing influence.

 

[Nebula1701]

Its nuts out there on social media, there are 2 crowds that are just lost, one is the "EV's are bad" crowd, and the other is the "Tesla and nobody else" crowd, both are annoying, and not helping the transition, but I think momentum now has been gained by EV's where both crowds are losing influence.

The weaker their audience/influence the louder and more insane their messaging gets.

 

[Dark-Fx]

but I had to laugh when he said EV's are slow and boring

I'll probably never be in an Escalade-V, but I look forward to completely embarrassing one if I encounter it on the street in my Rivian.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

I'll probably never be in an Escalade-V, but I look forward to completely embarrassing one if I encounter it on the street in my Rivian.

No doubt the Rivian will destroy the Escalade V, but don't count you chickens, when the updated Hummer Drivertrain ends up in the performance version of the Escalade IQ, you might have a more challenging experience.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

The weaker their audience/influence the louder and more insane their messaging gets.

Absolutely. I think the GM is going BK, and GM cannot do EV crowds are going to get a rude awakening each quarter going forward. Recession or not, GM is well positioned.

 

[Dark-Fx]

No doubt the Rivian will destroy the Escalade V, but don't count you chickens, when the updated Hummer Drivertrain ends up in the performance version of the Escalade IQ, you might have a more challenging experience.

I'm really interested to find out what the suspension in the other BT1 trucks will be. The Hummer is the opposite of sporty.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

I'm really interested to find out what the suspension in the other BT1 trucks will be. The Hummer is the opposite of sporty.

I think you will see from straight coil spring on the lower level Silverado E, to the RST having air suspension. The problem with the Hummer for handling is 3 fold, too heavy, too high ride height, and balloon tires, SilveradoE RST will fix all 3 to a certain extent, and drive much better in handling situations, but not to the level of Rivian, which is lighter, lower, and has the cool hydraulic system to control roll. The Rivian is a bad ass in handling, not likely to beat by any full size truck.