2022 Cadillac Escalade on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mary Barra thinks GM is a leader in autonomous tech

Saying General Motors is "among the leaders" in autonomous vehicle technology, CEO Mary Barra rapped about her company's driverless work in an interview with USA Today. Barra covered a number of topics, including well-known efforts, like Cadillac's upcoming Super Cruise technology, as well as hinting at "a lot of efforts that are confidential." "Things are moving quickly in autonomous [cars] because there's so many different pathways and the standards aren't even set. A lot of people can claim leads because people are making advancements in different areas," Barra said. "Next year we're going to have Super Cruise on one of our Cadillacs. On highways you'll be able to take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals – with a very creative way to make sure the driver is alert and involved in the driving process." As for those "confidential" efforts, feel free to speculate. GM has recently confirmed that it'd be running autonomous Volts at its Warren, MI tech center, which certainly indicates that the company is playing with much more than Super Cruise. GM will need to continue to embrace autonomous driving, owing to both traditional competitors like Toyota, as well as non-traditional opposition, like Google and Apple. Speaking of its competition from Silicon Valley, Barra was asked about two of the region's biggest names – Apple's Tim Cook and Tesla boss Elon Musk. "I have tremendous respect for Tim Cook, and I don't really think he needs advice from me," Barra told USA Today with a laugh. And when asked about Apple's future as a "viable competitor," she said, "I have no insights other than what I read in the papers. But it would be foolish for me not to assume that they're going to." As for Mr. Musk's openness about future products and how it contrasts with GM's relatively closed attitude, Barra also gave a chuckle. "I'm sure you would like me to say yes. I think we're fundamentally different. Look at our volume and look at the segments where we compete. His product line – his two products – his scale, it's completely different." The rest of Barra's interview is certainly worth a read, and includes talk about the Volkswagen diesel scandal, GM's changed relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Uber. Head over to The Detroit Free Press website for the full story from USA Today.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

Ford Bronco, Bronco Sport, sub-Ranger pickup and GM EVs | Autoblog Podcast #618

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. Top of the list this week are the leaked photos of the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport. Then they talk about the possibility of a small Ford pickup based on the Focus, as well as all the electric vehicles Snyder saw in person at GM's "EV Day." The editors have been driving the Ram Power Wagon and Hyundai Sonata, and Palmer took Autoblog's long-term Subaru Forester to New Orleans. Finally, they help a listener choose a small luxury crossover in this week's "Spend My Money" segment. then, just as they're about to wrap up the show, they learn that the 2020 New York Auto Show has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Good times. Autoblog Podcast #618 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 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport leaked photos (and, just as we predicted, more photos) Ford shows its dealers the sub-Ranger pickup More details about everything we saw at GM's "EV Day" Driving the 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Driving the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Driving our long-term 2019 Subaru Outback to New Orleans Spend My Money: Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 or Range Rover Evoque? 2020 New York International Auto Show postponed Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: