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Frustrated GM investors ask what more Mary Barra can do

DETROIT — General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra has transformed the No. 1 U.S. automaker in her almost five years in charge, but that is still not enough to satisfy investors. Ahead of third-quarter results due on Oct. 31, GM shares are trading about 6 percent below the $33 per share price at which they launched in 2010 in a post-bankruptcy initial public offering. The Detroit carmaker's stock is down 22 percent since Barra took over in January 2014. After hitting an all-time high of $46.48 on Oct. 24, 2017, the shares have declined 33 percent. In the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.8 percent. Several shareholders contacted by Reuters said GM could face a third major action by activist shareholders in less than four years if the share price does not improve. "I've been expecting it," said John Levin, chairman of Levin Capital Strategies. "It just seems a tempting morsel to somebody." Levin's firm owns more than seven million GM shares. Barra has guided the company through the settlement of a federal criminal probe of a mishandled safety recall, sold off money-losing European operations, and returned $25 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks from 2012 through 2017. GM declined to comment for this story, but the company's executives privately express frustration with the market's reluctance to see it as anything more than a manufacturer tied mainly to auto market sales cycles. GM's profitable North American truck and SUV business and its money-making China operations are valued at just $14 billion, excluding the value of GM's stake in its $14.6 billion Cruise automated vehicle business and its cash reserves from its $44 billion market capitalization. The recent slump in the Chinese market, GM's largest, and plateauing U.S. demand are ratcheting up the pressure. GM is one of the few global automakers without a founding family or a government to serve as a bulwark against corporate raiders. In 2015, a group led by investor Harry Wilson pressed GM to launch a $5 billion share buyback, and commit to what is now an $18 billion ceiling on the level of cash the company would hold. In 2017, GM fended off a call by hedge fund manager David Einhorn to split its common stock shares into two classes. Einhorn, whose firm still owned more than 21 million shares at the end of June, declined to comment about GM's stock price. Other investors said there were no clear alternatives to Barra's approach.

2024 GMC Acadia drops lowest trim, entry price starts at $43,995

GMC unveiled the third-generation Acadia at last summer's Detroit Auto Show, loading as many instances of "More" as it could. The all-new midsizer is longer, taller, with more room for occupants and cargo, more standard features, and a more powerful engine with a higher tow rating. The exterior dimensions return the Acadia a footprint closer to the SUV's first-gen proportions, that SUV about 201 inches long. For the 2024 version, overall length stretched another 10.6 inches to 205 inches, swallowing a wheelbase that grew 8.4 inches to nearly match that of the related Chevrolet Traverse, and overall height climbed 3.2 inches — except on the AT4 trim, which sits another inch higher thanks to a suspension lift. Plumping the exterior makes more room for occupants and cargo, GMC saying second-row passengers enjoy 27% more seat room while cargo gets 80% more space, 12.8 cubic feet formerly compared to nearly 23 cubes now. The new engine is a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 328 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, outdoing the 2023 Acadia's retired, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that made 228 hp and 258 lb-ft, and the retired 3.6-liter six-cylinder that made 310 hp and 270 lb-ft. It shifts through an eight-speed automatic, a loss of one cog compared to the 2023 Acadia transmission. The additional gumption means gains for the tow rating, now maxed at 5,000 pounds. That's anywhere from 1,000 to 1,700 pounds more than before. The new Acadia also comes standard with new ADAS features like enhanced lane keep assist, front pedestrian and bicyclist braking, and rear park assist, and offers Super Cruise. Early pricing info reveals that "More" extends to the window sticker, which should surprise no one. These aren't minor bumps, either. Assuming destination holds steady at $1,395, MSRPs for the 2024 Acadia and their differences from 2023 are: Elevation: $43,995 (New trim) AT4: $51,395 ($6,600) Denali: $55,695 ($6,195) Some small print: These figures pay for front-wheel drive except on the AT4, which is AWD only. Getting AWD on those other trims costs $2,000, same as now. The 2023 Acadia started with an entry-level SLE trim that cost $38,195, and that's been booted from the lineup, so too the SLT trim that started at $42,495. The 2024 Acadia Elevation brings GMC's familiar trim name into the Acadia ranks, its MSRP representing a $5,800 rise over the former entry price for the Acadia line.

2022 GMC Sierra spotted with minimal camouflage

By all accounts, GM's current full-size truck twins, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, are good trucks that are in many ways competitive with the sales-leading Ford F-150 and a fresh Ram 1500 that's regularly nipping at the Bowtied truck's tailgate. Considering the cashflow generated by the segment, though, it's no surprise to see a refreshed version of the GMC Sierra testing with some light camouflage hiding some of the upgraded bits and pieces. We'll get to what we can see in just a moment, but first we'll point out what we can't see in these spy shots. What the GM pair really needs is a competitive interior. The current Silverado and Sierra are bridled by dashboards, door panels and instrument clusters that simply aren't good enough when compared to their Ram and Ford competitors. We've spoken with a few designers from GM, and they are well aware of the criticisms that have been levied at their full-size truck duo, so we'd be shocked if there wasn't a heavily revised interior lurking for the trucks' next refresh. Hopefully a future set of spy photos will give us a better look at what's inside, because from this far-away, through-the-windshield look doesn't give us much information. Will the Sierra share an interior with the redesigned Yukon? We'll just have to wait and see, but suffice it to say that any improvement will be welcome. Moving to the exterior, we can clearly see that the blocky, angular look of the current Sierra will continue through this refresh. A tiny look through the heavy tarp covering the truck's face reveals a black plastic mesh grille, but we're sure there's plenty of chrome hiding under there, too. We're left to wonder if that opening allows for a camera or radar to peek through, but rumors suggest GM's well-regarded Super Cruise could be on the menu within the next few years. We have no idea what's under this test truck's hood, but we wouldn't imagine there will be much change to the current truck's solid list of powertrain options. Here's hoping the 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six diesel engine gets the cooling it needs to raise its tow rating to match its class-leading efficiency, because it's arguably otherwise the best light-duty diesel offering in America. We know the automaker is working on electric powertrains, too, but we expect to see those debut first in the Hummer-branded truck that will be sold in GMC dealerships.