2004 Gmc Sierra 1500 Denali on 2040-cars

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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.

Hacker jury rigs Amazon Echo into voice-controlled remote start

A lot of automakers have smartphone apps to start, lock, or unlock a connected car. Some automakers will even let you do that with a smartwatch. Then, there's YouTube user Jryanishere, who decided to use Amazon's chatty Echo voice-controlled, internet-connected information thingy. Yes, we said thingy, because we aren't really sure how else to describe the Echo. While the Echo system has received a hearty ad campaign – featuring Alec Baldwin asking Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, questions and ordering socks – we think this might be the first really useful thing we've seen it do. Using a MacBook, a Raspberry Pi, an Echo, an OBDLink plug-in, and his 4G LTE-equipped GMC, Jryanishere has basically made a voice-controlled remote-start system. Now, like so many voice-controlled things, this strikes us more of an extravagance than something that's functionally worthwhile. After all, the remote start on the a GMC keyfob isn't exactly rocket science. You can check out the Echo in action up top. Jryanishere gives a pretty thorough breakdown of how the setup works in the video above, but if you're at all into this sort of technological mischief, you'll want to watch (and check out the hilariously detailed blog explaining the job). Related Video:

2022 GMC Yukon AT4 to offer 6.2-liter V8

A year ago, GM said it was considering making its 6.2-liter V8 available outside the flagship trims of its full-sized SUV trio of Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon. There has been a year of gnashing teeth on GM forums since the automaker decided to meditate on the issue, but GM Authority reports The General has finally made the call — the 2022 Yukon AT4 will offer the 6.2-liter. This follows last week's news that three 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban trims would also add the 6.2-liter as an option. With the Yukon Denali already in the 6.2-liter camp, only the Yukon SLE and SLT will be left out. Those latter two levels will continue to offer the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel as the optional engine, which the AT4 trim cannot take advantage of because the AT4's front fascia and skid plate interfere with the diesel's plumbing. The 5.3-liter V8 that's the standard engine makes 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque. The 6.2-liter makes 420 hp and 460 lb-ft. As has been pointed out, the 5.3-liter can tow 200 pounds more than the 6.2, but fuel economy is a wash — the 5.3 only gains 1 mpg in the city over the 6.2. This is a pure power play. For the moment, it looks like Yukon AT4 buyers won't need to do anything other than check a box to get the 6.2-liter. That's the opposite of what some Tahoe and Suburban buyers will face when trying to get the 6.2-liter for their rigs; outside of the Premier trim, Chevy put the engine behind a paywall of option packages. Since GMC hasn't revealed pricing for the 2022 lineup yet, we don't know what the surcharge will be for the big engine. The GMC Sierra AT4 pickup charges $2,195 to go from the 5.3 to the 6.2, so that's probably in the ballpark. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.