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GM puts e-commerce shopping in car dashboards

DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday said it will equip newer cars with in-dash e-commerce technology, betting it can profit as drivers order food, find fuel or reserve hotel rooms by tapping icons on the dashboard screen, instead of using smartphones while driving. GM's Marketplace technology, developed with IBM, will be uploaded automatically to about 1.9 million model-year 2017 and later vehicles starting immediately, with about 4 million vehicles across the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands equipped with the capability in the United States by the end of 2018, GM said. GM will get an undisclosed amount of revenue from merchants featured on its in-dash Marketplace, Santiago Chamorro, GM vice president for global connected customer experience, said during a briefing for reporters. Customers will not be charged for using the service or the data transmitted to and from the car while making transactions, he said. "This platform is financed by the merchants," Chamorro said. GM will get paid for placing a merchant's application on its screens, and "there's some level of revenue sharing" based on each transaction, he said. It is too soon to say how much revenue GM could realize from the Marketplace system, he said. The GM Marketplace will compete for customer clicks and revenue with hand-held smartphones, which offer a far richer array of applications than the GM system will at the outset. Amazon.com is partnering with other automakers, including Ford, to offer in-car e-commerce capability through Amazon's Alexa personal assistant system. For example, GM will launch Marketplace with just Shell and Exxon Mobil icons in the fuel category. The only restaurant available for in-car table reservations at launch is the chain TGI Fridays, GM said. In addition, there will be apps for parking, and ordering ahead at coffee shops and restaurants such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Applebee's. "We will be adding more vendors," with some coming in the first quarter of 2018, Chamorro said. In addition, he said GM plans to expand integration into its vehicles of music, news and other information services. GM also hopes to use its in-car Marketplace connections to expand purchases of products and services, such as additional access to in-car wifi, from its own replacement parts business and dealer network. Customers can "expect to see more service promotions coming through the platform," Chamorro said. Reporting by Joe WhiteRelated Video:

Buick Electra-X concept teased for Chinese audience

Buick is about to show its largest market, China, how the brand does an electric vehicle specifically for that clientele. The Tri-Shield released two images of the shark nose that will grace its Electra-X concept, a follow up to the Electra concept that debuted at the Auto Beijing in 2020. Instead of the 583-horsepower, high-riding, thick-bodied fanciful sedan of yore, the Electra-X should be a much more production-ready version of what Chinese buyers can expect. Buick China said that "The Electra-X concept takes Buick's innovative thinking and imagination of future electric mobility to the next level. It is designed to provide a safer, smarter and more desirable EV experience, building on Buick's deep understanding and insights of local consumers toward electrification and intelligent driving." This will be a different vehicle than the "groovy" EV concept Buick showed its American audience in February of this year, although there are similarities. Buick China also said of the Electra-X that it is "defined by the brand's all-new design language" that embodies "distinct and forward-looking styling, along with an airy interior." Another design trait will be slim, sloping DRLs, seen on the Chinese and U.S. concept teasers, with slight differences. The Asian market can also expect minimal surfacing, an ornate grille treatment, side mirror cameras, and trim A-pillars. Tech-wise, Buick says the Ultium-based product will come with Super Cruise and its Virtual Cockpit System. The China debut happens next month at 2022 Buick Brand Day. Our groovy EV debuts this summer, the automaker planning to have two electric vehicles in U.S. showrooms by the end of 2023. The Electra-X could give big clues about what's headed our way. Related video:

2020 Buick Encore GX pricing makes it a better bargain than the smaller Encore

In April, Buick revealed the Encore GX at Auto Shanghai. At the time, we thought there was a chance the slightly larger GX would supplant the Encore in the U.S. By August, we learned that wouldn't happen, the Encore GX slotting into the lineup between the Encore and the Envision. With nearly $8,000 between the starting prices of the Encore and the Envision, there'd be plenty of room for the GX to find a good home leaving plenty of MSRP daylight between the crossover bookends. That doesn't appear to be what's happened, though. CarsDirect got hold of an early order guide for the Encore GX, and writes that the Encore GX in Preferred trim will cost $24,100 before a $995 destination charge, totaling $25,095. That's $900 more than the entry-level Encore in 1SV trim, but $500 less than the Encore in comparable Preferred trim.    The Encore offers an intermediate Sport Touring trim between Preferred and top-level Essence trims. The Encore GX will come in an intermediate Select trim, which CarsDirect didn't mention a price for. Stepping up to the top Essence variant with front-wheel drive costs $29,495 for the Encore GX, $800 less than a similar Encore, which costs $30,295.   If these are the figures that show up on dealer lots, the Encore GX seems like a no-brainer. The Encore rides on an older GM platform called GEM, for Global Emerging Markets, the GX model is built on GM's new VSS-F architecture. Both are fine looking vehicles, but the GX is a little more handsome. The Encore offers one engine, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder with 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a six-speed transmission. The base engine on the Encore GX will be a 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with an estimated 137 hp and 166 lb-ft, shifting through a CVT. The second GX engine is a 1.3-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with an estimated 155 hp and 174 lb-ft, optional on the front-wheel drive Select and Essence trims, standard on every all-wheel-drive model. That more powerful motor shifts through a nine-speed automatic.  As if all that weren't enough, the GX's reason for being is that it offers more room. An additional three inches in length provides an extra 4.7 cubic feet of cargo room behind the second row. The GX wins on safety, too, coming standard with tech like forward collision alert, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, and automatic emergency braking.