[charliebrown]

Rather long article but pretty interesting - in essence, Mary Barra is fully committed to making GM the leader in self-driving electric cars that are shared, not owned.

Mary Barra is Remaking GM's Culture - And the Company Itself

 

[Raymondjram]

I like what Mary has done. As for the Steve Jobs mention, they forget that he got money from Bill Gates to recover Apple.

 

[Breezy]

Good read. Lots of good points in there.

 

[Dutch]

I recognize that, economically, shared vehicles is probably where we're headed.

But

Having taken public transit for the majority of my adult life, I don't look forward to it. Mostly because when people don't own something, they are extremely poor custodians.

It got to the point on the Washington DC Metro trains where I'd wear a special pair of gloves just so I didn't touch any of the communal surfaces and I'd skip trains because the doors would open and you could hear the coughing and hacking of all the sick people going in to work.

My "common cold" and respiratory infection rates dropped around 40% after I stopped taking public transportation in the winter.

I'm not even going to go into the various bodily fluids and similar things left behind in trains, bus, cabs... ugh.

 

[hvacman]

Great article.

The Bolt EV is Mary's first "moon-shot" and the first-drive and extended test drive reviews say that the Eagle has landed. First conceived in a brainstorming session in her office the spring of 2013 after the Envia battery GM had been banking on for their first 200-mile EV proved flawed, she targeted the Bolt's retail debut by 2017. Quietly, her team delivered. On time. Performance that underpromised and overdelivered.

Wired article on the Bolt EV

While other tweet up hype and stock prices and "virtual" orders for vapor-ware vehicles to be delivered on self-admittededly-fictitious schedules, GM actually delivers affordable world-class technology in the real steel, on time, as if it is business as usual.

Good job Mary.

 

[Steverino]

I recognize that, economically, shared vehicles is probably where we're headed.

But

Having taken public transit for the majority of my adult life, I don't look forward to it. Mostly because when people don't own something, they are extremely poor custodians.

Yes, I'm not looking forward to using a shared, self driving car for the same reason. Imagine the hassle if the vehicle has a dent. Who pays? Rental companies can be awful when they decide a pre-existing condition is your fault. Would a self driver overcome that by running it's sensors even when parked to ID when damage takes place? Otherwise, you'd need to carefully inspect the car outside and in before hopping in, potentially missing a small dent, scratch, tear, broken part that you'll later be paying for.

On the other hand, imagine the ability to switch vehicles based on need. Instead of a car, a truck pulls up for my lumber trip to the big box store. Or a lager car for a road trip. I can see some benefits to having a base car plan, with the option to swap in a different vehicle either at an upcharge or as part of a prepaid plan.

 

[hellsop]

Yes, I'm not looking forward to using a shared, self driving car for the same reason. Imagine the hassle if the vehicle has a dent. Who pays? Rental companies can be awful when they decide a pre-existing condition is your fault. Would a self driver overcome that by running it's sensors even when parked to ID when damage takes place? Otherwise, you'd need to carefully inspect the car outside and in before hopping in, potentially missing a small dent, scratch, tear, broken part that you'll later be paying for.

Rental companies are awful if you don't buy their coverage plan. If you do, then you don't have to worry about it being pre-existing or not because you're not paying for it. (Or have already paid for an incremental portion of it, depending on how you look at it.) I can't imagine that this won't be a rolled-in thing for shared self-driving vehicle plans, when it's already the defacto standard for existing car-share services. (I mean, it's a self-driving car, right? Are you responsible for damage to a taxi from it being hit by a Civic? No, you're not driving. In either of them.)

 

[charliebrown]

While other tweet up hype and stock prices and "virtual" orders for vapor-ware vehicles to be delivered on self-admittededly-fictitious schedules, GM actually delivers affordable world-class technology in the real steel, on time, as if it is business as usual.

Good job Mary.

Yes and Good Luck Mary!

She has a lot to overcome and she's not a media darling ala Elon Musk or Steve Jobs but she gets the job done.

(Imagine the hype and hoopla we'd be hearing if the Bolt was built by Tesla)

 

[Mister Dave]

The Bolt EV is Mary's first "moon-shot" and the first-drive and.......

Not being critical here (dubious for sure), but I recall watching Mary say Volt was their "moon shot". Not exactly selling gangbusters there Mary.....

It got to the point on the Washington DC Metro trains where I'd wear a special pair of gloves just so I didn't touch any of the communal surfaces and I'd skip trains because the doors would open and you could hear the coughing and hacking of all the sick people going in to work.

My "common cold" and respiratory infection rates dropped around 40% after I stopped taking public transportation in the winter.

I'm not even going to go into the various bodily fluids and similar things left behind in trains, bus, cabs... ugh.

Ummm, you can keep your cooties to yourself please. But that's hardly looking at the real logistical challenges. I'm not going to even try to list them.

On the other hand, imagine the ability to switch vehicles based on need. Instead of a car, a truck pulls up for my lumber trip to the big box store. Or a lager car for a road trip. I can see some benefits to having a base car plan, with the option to swap in a different vehicle either at an upcharge or as part of a prepaid plan.

Because there will be every such vehicle waiting just around the corner (every corner) waiting for you to pick one.

This dream is as silly as the dream of a tollway that can add lanes by itself in times of heavy traffic. No, I'm afraid there will be no such "on demand" ability.

 

[Steverino]

Because there will be every such vehicle waiting just around the corner (every corner) waiting for you to pick one.

This dream is as silly as the dream of a tollway that can add lanes by itself in times of heavy traffic. No, I'm afraid there will be no such "on demand" ability.

I dare to dream. Rental companys can do this, more or less, now. Just add self driving to the mix so the car comes to me instead of the other way around. You may need to book in advance if you want something different.

 

[Mister Dave]

I dare to dream. Rental companys can do this, more or less, now. Just add self driving to the mix so the car comes to me instead of the other way around. You may need to book in advance if you want something different.

HAH! Do they always have the car you want?

How many other cars you didn't want sit there in the lot? What does it cost to keep that many cars multiplied by your dream fleet size? It can't be done at any reasonable cost.

I have to be at work by 8. What if the car is late getting to my house? Scratch that.... How many days a week will my boss put up with me being late to work before I'm fired?

Edit: Here's your acid test on dreams. YOU have to pay for it. All of it. What are you going to do? Anyone can dream, until they have to administrate and pay for it.