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GM faces possible class action lawsuit over 8-speed transmission

General Motors has been hit with a class-action lawsuit from owners who allege the eight-speed automatic transmission found in several rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC models between the 2015 and 2019 model years has a defect that causes the vehicles to hesitate and jerk when accelerating or slowing down. The lawsuit was posted to ClassAction.org and spotted by GM Authority. Problems with GM's Hydra-Matic 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions have been well-documented on Internet forums and via complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with many reporting damage to their vehicles. The lawsuit was first filed in December in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida but appears to have been transferred recently to New York. Autoblog sought comment from Theodore Leopold, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "These transmissions have a common defect," the complaint reads. "Drivers attempting to accelerate or decelerate their cars feel a hesitation, followed by a significant shake, shudder, jerk, clunk, or 'hard shift' when the vehicle's automatic transmission changes gears." The problem also occurs when the vehicles accelerate in a single gear, without shifting, the plaintiffs allege. "Drivers have reported that the shift is sometimes so violent, they feel as though they have been hit by another vehicle." The problem is believed to center on the transmission, torque converter or both. The complaint says it causes undue friction, causing hydraulic systems and gears to function improperly and sometimes leaves metal shavings throughout the transmission, leading to costly repairs and replacement of parts or the entire transmission. It says GM has known about the problems since shortly after it introduced the transmissions, and has issued 13 technical service bulletins, none of which have resolved the problem. GM declined to comment on the lawsuit. The plaintiffs say GM should have warned consumers about the issues and covered repairs under each vehicle's three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. They're seeking statewide classes in at least six states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

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.

2021 Cadillac Escalade getting a star-studded introduction

Now that Chevrolet's Tahoe and Suburban are out of the bag, it's Cadillac's turn to introduce its new body-on-frame SUV. The next-generation Escalade will make its public debut on Feb. 4, 2020. The Escalade could have been one of the stars of the 2020 Detroit Auto Show had the event not moved to June. That's far too late for Cadillac, so the company will introduce the model during a special event held in Beverly Hills, Calif. The date wasn't chosen at random; it's less than a week before the 2020 edition of the Academy Awards, an event Cadillac has partnered with for the past six years. It's reasonable to assume the Escalade will play a key role in the ritzy event. The Escalade won't look anything like its Chevrolet-badged siblings, as leaked images show a tall, upright rendition of Cadillac's shield-shaped grille, but we expect many similarities beneath the sheetmetal. It will be bigger and correspondingly more spacious than the outgoing model, and an independent rear suspension will make it more comfortable. Inside, the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment system's screen will blend into a single unit angled toward the driver. Powertrain specifications remain under wraps, though we expect a naturally-aspirated V8 will come standard. An earlier report claims the twin-turbocharged Blackwing engine available in the CT6 will not make its way to the Escalade, and we doubt Cadillac will follow Chevrolet's lead by making a 3.0-liter straight-six turbodiesel available at an extra cost. An electric model is in the works, however. The 2021 Cadillac Escalade will go on sale about halfway through next year with a base price in the vicinity of $80,000. It will again be available with a short or a long wheelbase. Once it's unveiled, the coast will be clear for GMC to round out General Motors' portfolio of full-size SUVs with new variants of the Yukon and the Yukon XL. They'll likely break cover during the first half of 2020.