GM's Super Cruise Technology Coming This Autumn

This fall,General Motors is introducing its Super Cruise (TM) technology on the Cadillac G6.It will only be available on the G6.The company has no comment on future plans for the system.*
The point of Super Cruise is to allow you to safely relax or lightly multitask as long as you keep your eyes on the road.The car's sensors and navigation system will keep you in your chosen lane and prevent you from striking other cars.
The technology is for highway use only.You cannot sleep,watch videos and so on.It isn't perfect,but is intended as a good first mass market step in this technology,which is believed to be the next big thing in the auto industry.
With Super Cruise,you could eat,adjust your audio system,rear view mirror,etc.As long as you don't look away for too long in relation to your speed,the car will keep running.
If you look away for too long,the vehicle will warn you with a red light on the steering wheel and then a seat vibration.If you still don't respond,it will safely get the vehicle off the road and bring it to a stop.*
General Motors (GM)

What GM Has To Do

GM has been reborn as a public company,exceeding its listing price of 33.00 a share last week.Behind the shares is a business model with a level playing field between union costs and management costs.
Each of GM's four regions has a different set of challenges and objectives,according to CEO Dan Akerson.The North American blueprint is how GM will address the European issues:reduce costs;match capacity with demand;offer the best vehicles.GM has a great auto portfolio in Europe.They hope to see profitability there in 2012.
The great car that GM has today is based on the resilience of the GM employee.GM has the resident expertise to provide the best cars you can buy.They have a pretty good balance sheet right now,in Dan Akerson's opinion.
Mr.Akerson wants to make GM more of a consumer marketing company.Their goal is to have zero debt on the balance sheet,and even pay down their entire pension liability to the extent possible.
GM is much more global than Ford.They have to have the ability to make a car unique for the particular market,Mr.Akerson feels.
General Motors(GM)

A Central Industry

The auto industry is of the utmost importance to the U.S. economy,says John Engler of the National Association of Manufacturers.There's overcapacity,and capacity is gonna have to come out.The auto industry accounts for 20% of manufacturing Gross Domestic Product.The failure of even one automaker could have a crippling effect.Our top priority is to get the economy moving and see job creation.Without a growing economy,very little in the public sphere is possible.We support funding now for 20 billion in shovel-ready infrastructure projects,the former Michigan governor stated.We still need global trade,but we need to be careful in an era of global recession that trade barriers aren't snuck in,Mr.Engler warned.

Shop Talk Update

It now looks as though Congress will adjourn without reaching agreement on an auto industry rescue.It will be up to the White House to provide aid through the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Recovery Program,the 700 billion dollars already appropriated for the financial industry.If need be,Congress will reconvene before January 20 to deal with emergencies.Have an informative weekend.

Shop Talk Early Edition

Please note that,because of an appointment,I may not be in on Friday,so I have decided to post today.Congress would like to adjourn for the year,but they have yet to complete a rescue for the automakers.The Democrats have reached agreement with the White House,but the Republicans aren't there to this point.It has been said that they gave plenty of money to the financial industry,so why won't they give a bit to manufacturing?That says something about the standing of manufacturing in America today.The nation was built on factories,but the service sector is predominant in our day.Nonetheless,we should not dismiss the factory workers.Ultimately,we still need the things they make.A little support for manufacturing is in order if we don't want to vaporize into the cybernetic realm.And we don't want a hole in the heartland where the factories are still a daily concern.

Michigan Saves the Dream

The state of Michigan is addressing the economic crisis.Governor Jennifer Granholm says that,for the state,we're doing everything we can to encourage refinancing of mortgages,rather than foreclosure.When you combine the auto industry restructuring and 4.00 a gallon gasoline,together with the economic downturn,it's a triple whammy for the citizens of the state.Since 2000,Michigan has lost 400,000 jobs.Michigan will be announcing its Save the Dream effort of 14 initiatives-especially in the alternative energy industry.For me,it's all about diversifying this economy,Governor Granholm explained.