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GM CEO to meet with U.S. lawmakers over job cuts

WASHINGTON — General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra plans to visit Capitol Hill next week to discuss the company's plans to halt production at five plants in North America next year and cut up to 15,000 jobs, two congressional aides said on Friday. GM has come under harsh criticism from lawmakers from both major political parties, and from President Donald Trump, since Monday when it announced the biggest restructuring for the U.S. No. 1 carmaker since its bankruptcy a decade ago. Barra is expected to meet with lawmakers from Michigan and Ohio, where GM plans to shutter three plants, as well as senior leaders in Congress. GM did not immediately comment. Barra has been calling lawmakers this week to explain the decision to end production. Trump has threatened to revoke subsidies for GM. The Detroit automaker plans to halt production next year at three assembly plants: the Lordstown small-car factory near Youngstown, Ohio; the Detroit-Hamtramck complex in Detroit; and the Oshawa, Ontario, assembly complex near Toronto. It will also stop building several models now assembled at those plants, including the Chevrolet Cruze, the Chevrolet Volt hybrid, the Cadillac CT6 and the Buick LaCrosse. Additionally, GM plans to shutter the Warren transmission plant outside Detroit and a plant that makes electric motors and drivetrains outside Baltimore, Maryland. The Cruze compact car will be discontinued in the U.S. market in 2019, although GM may continue building it in Mexico for other markets, Barra said. Reporting by David Shepardson. Related Video:

2021 Cadillac Escalade to have a massive 38-inch curved OLED display

The redesigned 2021 Cadillac Escalade is going to be revealed Feb. 4, and it’s going to have a huge screen. Cadillac released a video teaser today showing the enormous display — watch it above. This screen is a curved OLED display that measures 38 inches from corner-to-corner. The exact resolution wasnÂ’t revealed, but Cadillac claims the pixel density is twice that of a 4K television. That particular stat is also rather nebulous, as the pixel density of a 4K TV varies with the TVÂ’s size. Regardless, itÂ’s safe to say that the screen is going to be very sharp and look fantastic. CadillacÂ’s use of an OLED screen will ensure it has spectacular color representation and the best blacks that a screen is capable of. Smartphones with OLED displays typically offer a better experience than those with LCD displays, and we can hope the same is true for this Cadillac display. On top of it being a huge screen, Cadillac also says itÂ’s the “first curved OLED” in the industry. Most infotainment screens in cars these days are flat displays, but Cadillac appears to be sticking its best tech foot forward with this curved screen. Other details worth noting in this teaser is the obvious presence of Super Cruise. The green light stretches across the steering wheel, indicating that the new Escalade will definitely offer the semi-autonomous driving technology. The rest of the interior is difficult to make out, but there appears to be a row of shiny buttons below the screen. Below this we can see what might be the top of the gear lever sticking up. ItÂ’s tough to know for certain what it is, but itÂ’s similar in size, shape and style to other new Cadillac gear levers. However, both the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban use push-button shifters. The switch to an actual gear lever would be more consistent with other Cadillacs, but inconsistent with its full-size SUV brethren. We wonÂ’t have terribly long to wait to find out. Cadillac says itÂ’s going to reveal the new Escalade in Los Angeles during Oscars week. Expect some of the big stars to roll up to the red carpet in new Escalades. ItÂ’s hard to think of a better place to show off the chromed-up, shiny new Cadillac. Related Video:      

Seventies super-salesman challenges new car-sales record

Some of the fondest memories from my youth were the Sunday afternoons spent walking between rows of new and used cars. This preceded the advent of widely available internet, so the cars didn't sell themselves online: A tentative buyer had to come see the cars in the metal, with old-school salesmen taking well-earned smoke breaks after putting someone behind the wheel of a new Saab 900. All-inclusive subscription services were unheard of. If you open a Guinness records book and look up car salesmen, you'll find Joe Girard. The definitely old-school Detroit salesman regularly sold over 1,000 new cars per year, with a particular high point of 1,425 cars in 1973 guaranteeing him a mention in the Guinness book. To reach that kind of sales figure, you had to be a pretty special salesman, and Girard was. He didn't take breaks unless absolutely necessary, and even his lunch hours were dedicated to selling more cars instead of shooting the breeze with other sales persons. By 1977 he was worn through, having sold over 13,000 cars in his career, and his physique couldn't take it anymore. He's been a motivational speaker since. Now, 44 years later, a Dearborn, Mich., Cadillac and Chevrolet salesman named Ali Reda has reportedly broken Girard's record. The books at Les Stanford Chevrolet Cadillac say Reda sold 1,530 new cars and 52 used cars in 2017, averaging 130 vehicles per month. But after Girard, 89, heard of the sales record, he called his attorney, not letting his record be broken without a fight — or at least an audit. The Dearborn dealer isn't too concerned about Girard's doubts, at least according to Gary Stanford, whose father founded the dealership. "It's very official, trust me," said Stanford to the Detroit Free Press. "Ali is the hardest worker I've ever seen. And if someone doesn't believe the data, well, they're more than welcome to consult with GM. It's all there in black and white." What Girard doesn't get is that Reda was honoring him with the accomplishment. "I read his book, 'How to Sell Anything to Anybody,' and it said it would teach you how to become the best," said Reda, who at age 44 was a newborn when Girard hit his peak. "He's an absolute legend in the industry. Your whole career, you're chasing his name.