Page 28 - MotorTrend (March 2020)

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF
Interview
Mary Barra
Chairman and CEO, General Motors
mployees past and present agree:
E Mary Barra is the right leader for
General Motors at this time in
history. She’s smart and business savvy,
knows product, and is capable of managing revealed February 4].
crises and making hard choices. She has
gained the confidence of employees but is
still able to be vulnerable and accept help
from her senior team. For the full inter-
view, head to MotorTrend.com.
Congratulations on Corvette being the
MotorTrend Car of the Year. Was it a big
debate to get rid of C7 as opposed to
offering both C7 and C8? No. We had
really taken the C7 architecture style
as far as we could go without going to
mid-engine. So it was time, and it was a
huge investment, but it was something we
really believed in.
People were shocked at the $60,000 price. Cruise. I’ve never seen a feature with so
Can you maintain it? Chevrolet is a home
for Corvette, and “Chevrolet” is American
and value and ingenuity and obtainable.
We will work really hard to make sure that
we always live true to the Chevrolet brand.
Can Cadillac get back to where it needs
to be? Absolutely. In a fairly crowded
segment, in a couple of months the XT4
was leading the segment. We’ll have the
next-gen Escalade. You’ll see us executing
at a higher level that really sets a standard. have more coming.
28 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020
I’M VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION
OF ESCALADE. IT WILL EXCEED EXPECTATIONS.”
General Motors CEO
Mary Barra (left) and
Detroit editor Alisa
Priddle connect over
cars and their shared
Finnish ancestry.
Escalade is the jewel of Cadillac now?
It is. I’m excited for people to see how
we’ve taken Escalade, the technology
and styling, to the next level. [It will be
Is the next Escalade going to blow the
Lincoln Navigator out of the water?
I’m very confident about the next
generation of Escalade. It will again
exceed people’s expectations with the
next model. It’s iconic.
How important are cars to Cadillac?
Luxury cars are different than the
mainstream market in the United States.
Clearly cars are important in other
markets around the world.
Does the CT6 have longevity as a
flagship? It’s a great vehicle and has Super
much customer interest. We also put out
the Blackwing engine, which sold out.
Does GM have enough SUVs now?
Across all three brands, we’re really
well represented. Hopefully people are
taking note of the new Trailblazer ... to
be in that under-$20,000 segment with a
product that is outstanding in styling and
performance. We also have very strong
mid crossovers and mid SUVs. And we
Will you continue to reduce your car
lineup? You’ll see us redefining segments.
We have some products coming in through
the clinics that are off the charts.
Electrification is your future. The battery
electric truck will be in customers’ hands
in the fall of 2021. There’s multiple
prongs to the story because it’s vehicles,
the battery technology perspective
from a cost point, and from a quality,
reliability perspective. It’s all the work
we’re doing on infrastructure. Range is
important. They want beautiful electric
vehicles. They don’t want something
that looks like a science experiment.
You have said you would like to skip
hybrids altogether and go right to EVs.
There’s an inherent cost because you’ve
got two powertrain systems. And when
you’re a company that believes in the
science of global warming, why wouldn’t
you get to EVs as fast as you can? Why
dedicate a lot of capital and engineering
into a segment that doesn’t get you to the
end game?
You have a huge commitment to AVs, as
well. Yes. I’m really proud of the work.
AVs are one of the technical challenges
of our generation. General Motors is
going after it first with safety. Not only is
it a technology race, it’s a trust race.
We’ll be gated by safety. It has to be safer
than a human driver.
Is Hummer coming back as a brand or the
name of a future vehicle? No comment.
Any regrets or concerns with the PSA
merger that puts your former Opel and
Vauxhall brands in the hands of FCA?
It was great for Opel because combining
with PSA secured their future; for PSA,
it made them the No. 2 in Europe; and
General Motors benefited from the success
of that deal and the cost savings that we
identified. So I think on all three fronts it
was the right decision.
Is GM still a global full line automaker
with parts of the world and segments you
have gotten out of? I very much consider
General Motors to be a global company,
and we’ll continue to strengthen the
company. A strong company has more
opportunities to invest. Alisa Priddle