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GM sees 'strong year' in 2018, then gold in Chevy Silverado for 2019

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it expects earnings in 2018 to be largely flat compared with 2017, but that profits should pick up pace in 2019 as its revamped line of high-margin pickup trucks hits the U.S. market. The 2018 earnings outlook was above market expectations, sending GM shares up more than 3 percent in premarket trading. "GM had a very good 2017 as we continued to transform our company to be more focused, resilient and profitable," GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said in a statement. "We are positioned for another strong year in 2018 and an even better one in 2019." GM and its Detroit rivals, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, are bringing on new trucks at a time when overall U.S. new vehicle sales have been falling, but truck sales continue to grow as consumers abandon passenger cars in favor of pickups, SUVs and crossovers. GM on Saturday fired a new round in the battle for profits from one of the U.S. auto industry's most lucrative segments when it showed a new generation of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck at the Detroit auto show. The new Silverado, a highlight of the event, is the successor to GM's best-selling vehicle in North America. Sales of the current Silverado rose nearly 2 percent to 585,000 vehicles in 2017. In the coming months, the company will also reveal a revamped GMC Sierra pickup truck. U.S. new vehicle sales fell 2 percent in 2017 after hitting a record high in 2016, and are expected to drop further in 2018 as interest rates rise and more late-model used cars return to dealer lots to compete with new ones. GM said on Tuesday that while it retools a factory in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to make the new pickup trucks, it will shift some production to an Oshawa, Ontario, plant in order to avoid missing sales in a hot market for the vehicles. The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it will record a $7 billion non-cash charge for its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings related to deferred tax assets. GM said it expects capital expenditure in 2018 of around $8.5 billion, about $1 billion of which will go toward funding self-driving car technology. Last week, the company said it is seeking U.S. government approval for a fully autonomous car — one without a steering wheel, brake pedal or accelerator pedal — to enter the automaker's first commercial ride-sharing fleet in 2019. GM said it expects 2017 earnings per share at the high end of its previously forecast range of $6 to $6.50.

GM investing $2 billion in Tennessee plant to build Cadillac Lyriq, other EVs

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it will invest $2 billion to convert its Spring Hill, Tennessee, factory to produce electric vehicles, starting with the new Cadillac Lyriq, alongside existing combustion-engine Cadillacs. Spring Hill will be GM's third U.S. electric vehicle factory, along with existing plants in Detroit and Orion Township, Michigan. The Tennessee plant was built in 1990 as the exclusive source for GM's now-defunct Saturn brand. The Cadillac Lyriq crossover is slated to go into production in Spring Hill in late 2022, according to AutoForecast Solutions (AFS), which tracks industry production plans. AFS said it expects some electric vehicle production will be announced at a later date for a factory in Mexico. Among additional investments, GM on Tuesday said it will spend $32 million at its truck plant in Flint, Michigan, to increase production of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups. GM will spend $100 million to shift production of the redesigned GMC Acadia crossover from Spring Hill to a plant near Lansing, Michigan. Spring Hill will continue to build the gas-engine Cadillac XT5 and XT6 crossovers. The plant also will build other future electric vehicles in addition to the Lyriq. The automaker's plans for investing in U.S. factories comes with two weeks left in the U.S. presidential election campaign. President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden are competing for support from auto workers in Midwestern swing states. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has outlined plans to invest $20 billion by 2025 in new electric vehicles and battery technology. The automaker is spending $2.2 billion to overhaul and retool its Detroit-Hamtramck factory to build a GMC Hummer EV electric pickup truck in late 2021, followed by an automated robotaxi and other electric vehicles. GM builds its electric Chevrolet Bolt at a large assembly plant north of Detroit.

General Motors designers sketch the GMC pickups of the future

It's been a busy few years for GMC's team of stylists. They penned a new look for the Yukon and the Yukon XL, and they gave the Sierra 1500 a nip-and-tuck that we'll discover in the coming months. Overhauling these hugely significant models hasn't stopped them from exploring how the firm's design language can evolve. General Motors Design posted two forward-thinking renderings on its official Instagram account that illustrate two ways to move GMC's design identity forward. Karan Moorjani, who works as an exterior designer for the company's autonomous and electric vehicle division, created a truck that breaks all ties with the Sierra. It's characterized by a tall front end with a wide grille and thin LED headlights, sculpted sides, and an unusually low cab. Generously-sized fender flares and tires suggest Moorjani envisioned it as a serious off-roader. Joe Boniface, a member of GMC's Strategic Advanced Design team, took a more realistic approach to moving the design language forward and away from sister company Chevrolet's. His rendering shows a Heavy Duty model with a Denali-branded grille that takes up most of the real estate on the front end and encompasses horizontal rows of LED daytime running lights. It wears less chrome than the current-generation Sierra HD. Nothing suggests either truck is currently on its way to production; General Motors Design regularly publishes sketches from the brand's stylists. Its fascinating Instagram account also shows a Cadillac off-roader, a battle-ready Chevrolet pickup, and a high-riding, open-top two-seater with General Motors emblems that looks like a race car for the Moon.  "Often, these works are not intended for production," a GM spokesperson told Autoblog. "Instead, designers create them to hone their creative skills, to try new shapes or themes, and sometimes simply for the fun of sketching something badass. The GM Design Instagram account was launched to share some of the most compelling, most badass works GM Designers produce." They're sketches created for the sake of sketching, but they give us a peek at the ideas floating around the minds of the men and women who will draw the next generation of General Motors products. Related Video: