2007 Cadillac on 2040-cars

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GM’s Charlie Wilson was right: Stronger regulations can help U.S. automakers

Charlie Wilson had been the president and CEO of General Motors before being nominated to become secretary of defense by Dwight Eisenhower. During his Senate confirmation hearings, he controversially said, "For years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa." And he was right. While car companies aren't necessarily the most progressive when it comes to things that might have the slightest possibility of political blowback, General Motors should be credited for doing something absolutely forthright in this regard with its announcement that it wants the federal U.S. government not to squash the California Air Resources Board's emissions requirements but to actually create a 50-state "National Zero Emissions Vehicle" program that, in the words of Mark Reuss, executive vice president and president, Global Product Group and Cadillac, "will drive the scale and infrastructure investments needed to allow the U.S. to lead the way to a zero emission future." Filing comments to the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks is one thing. But a graphic the company developed for this announcement — shown above — is something else entirely, something that is absolutely credible, creative and clever. There is a photo of a Chevrolet Bolt EV driving along a highway, which seems to be in Marin County (based on the blurred San Francisco skyline in the background). Text on the photo states: "It's Time for American Leadership in Zero Emissions Vehicles." It seems to say, in effect, "If we want to make America great again, then we're going to do it by leading in technology, not by retreating behind weakened regulations." General Motors understands that the auto market is globally competitive, and if U.S.-based companies are going to be in the game, then they'd better be able to out-innovate the companies based elsewhere, where emissions and economy standards are not being weakened. What's good for our country ... Related Video:

Bronco Scout, Ford and Rivian, and next-gen Land Cruiser | Autoblog Podcast #578

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Reese Counts and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. First, they dicuss recent news, including the upcoming next-gen Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford's trademarking of "Scout" and "Bronco Scout," and Ford's $500 million investment in EV startup Rivian. After that, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the Jeep Wrangler, Cadillac XT4 and Buick Regal GS. Last but not least, they help a listener choose a new car in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #578 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Toyota promises a next-generation Land Cruiser Ford trademarks "Scout" and "Bronco Scout" Ford invests $500 million in Rivian Cars we're driving: 2019 Jeep Wrangler 2019 Cadillac XT4 2019 Buick Regal GS Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

GM will expand Super Cruise to entire U.S. lineup after 2020

General Motors plans to bring its Super Cruise semi- autonomous highway driving technology to its entire U.S. lineup after it rolls it out to all Cadillac vehicles in 2020. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president for global product development, made the announcement at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America conference in Detroit. Automotive News reports he also announced plans to offer vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication in a high-volume Cadillac crossover by 2023 — technology that will also eventually spread across the luxury brand's portfolio. Super Cruise is GM's semi-autonomous, lane-centering driving system that uses lidar mapping, GPS, cameras and sensors. The system offers hands-free driving on the highway, with an infrared camera and lights that track the driver's head position to make sure the driver is paying attention, ready to take over when needed, and not nodding off. If it senses the driver is unresponsive, it can bring the vehicle to a stop on the shoulder and activate OnStar. Super Cruise is already an option on the 2018 CT6 and standard on the Platinum trim model. You can read our First Drive review of the technology here. Meanwhile, Cadillac launched vehicle-to-vehicle technology in the 2017 CTS sedan, allowing equipped Cadillacs to share information regarding speed, direction and location at distances of up to 980 feet to help avoid collisions. By going one step further with V2X, Cadillac can tip off drivers to hazardous road conditions, the status of traffic lights, work zones and threats of crashes. It's the first major announcement from the luxury brand since the departure of former CEO Johan de Nysschen and his replacement by Steve Carlisle in April. Related Video: Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac GM Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles cadillac ct6 vehicle to vehicle communications Super Cruise