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GM Super Cruise beats Tesla Autopilot again in latest hands-free test

DETROIT — General Motors' Super Cruise once again edged Tesla's Autopilot in an evaluation of 17 vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS) by Consumer Reports, the testing organization said on Wednesday. A Tesla Model Y fitted with Autopilot finished "a distant second," the group said, to a Cadillac CT6 equipped with Super Cruise, which GM is rolling out to more than 20 vehicles — including its new Hummer electric pickup truck — over the next three years. Safety and insurance researchers have frequently warned of the risks of consumers overestimating ADAS systems' abilities, a misconception increased by some automakers calling their products Autopilot, ProPilot or Co-Pilot. In 2018, the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise scored higher than a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot, in a Consumer Reports test of just four vehicles equipped with ADAS. In the latest test, conducted this summer on a track and on public roads, the Cadillac scored 69 points out of a possible 100, while the Tesla scored 57. A Lincoln Corsair equipped with Ford's Co-Pilot 360 system, finished third with 52. The critical difference in the Super Cruise system is a driver-facing infrared camera to make sure he or she is paying attention to the road and is ready to take over manual control when necessary, said Kelly Funkhouser, head of connected and automated vehicle testing at Consumer Reports. The group noted that Autopilot can shut off abruptly in some situations, while Super Cruise did a better job of notifying the driver when the system is disengaging. In recent European safety testing, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot placed sixth out of 10 systems, getting high marks for performance and ability to respond to emergencies, but falling short on its ability to maintain a driverÂ’s focus on the road. Related Video: Green Cadillac GM Hummer Tesla Safety Technology Autonomous Vehicles Electric Super Cruise

Are orphan cars better deals?

Most folks don't know a Saturn Aura from an Oldsmobile Aurora. Those of you who are immersed in the labyrinth of automobilia know that both cars were testaments to the mediocrity that was pre-bankruptcy General Motors, and that both brands are now long gone. But everybody else? Not so much. By the same token, there are some excellent cars and trucks that don't raise an eyebrow simply because they were sold under brands that are no longer being marketed. Orphan brands no longer get any marketing love, and because of that they can be alarmingly cheap. Case in point, take a look at how a 2010 Saturn Outlook compares with its siblings, the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. According to the Manheim Market Report, the Saturn will sell at a wholesale auto auction for around $3,500 less than the comparably equipped Buick or GMC. Part of the reason for this price gap is that most large independent dealerships, such as Carmax, make it a point to avoid buying cars with orphaned badges. Right now if you go to Carmax's site, you'll find that there are more models from Toyota's Scion sub-brand than Mercury, Saab, Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn combined. This despite the fact that these brands collectively sold in the millions over the last ten years while Scion has rarely been able to realize a six-figure annual sales figure for most of its history. That is the brutal truth of today's car market. When the chips are down, used-car shoppers are nearly as conservative as their new-car-buying counterparts. Unfamiliarity breeds contempt. Contempt leads to fear. Fear leads to anger, and pretty soon you wind up with an older, beat-up Mazda MX-5 in your driveway instead of looking up a newer Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky. There are tons of other reasons why orphan cars have trouble selling in today's market. Worries about the cost of repair and the availability of parts hang over the industry's lost toys like a cloud of dust over Pigpen. Yet any common diagnostic repair database, such as Alldata, will have a complete framework for your car's repair and maintenance, and everyone from junkyards to auto parts stores to eBay and Amazon stock tens of thousands of parts. This makes some orphan cars mindblowingly awesome deals if you're willing to shop in the bargain bins of the used-car market. Consider a Suzuki Kizashi with a manual transmission. No, really.

Humvee maker AM General reportedly for sale, with interest from FCA, GM

WASHINGTON — AM General has put itself up for sale and has hired investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd to seek potential bidders in a deal that could value the builder of Humvee military vehicles at more than $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said this week. Potential bidders include competitors in the military ground vehicle market, such as General Dynamics, Oshkosh Corp and BAE Systems, according to two people familiar with the matter. Automakers like Fiat Chrysler and General Motors may also be potential buyers. GM licensed Hummer from AM General in 1998 to build civilian SUVs. None of the companies would comment or reply to a request for comment. The South Bend, Indiana-based AM General is currently owned by private equity firms. A possible sale of AM General follows a rash of deals over the past 18 months among defense contractors. But relatively fewer makers of defense equipment have gone on the auction block. Last year, United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins for $30 billion, and in March, TransDigm Group continued its acquisition spree with a $525 million deal for Extant Components Group. AM General could fetch about 10 times its annual earnings of $160 million, one of the people said. The company's favorable tax treatment because of its current status as an limited liability corporation, would allow a buyer to reduce the company's taxable earnings for 15 years. That coupled with recent contract awards could push the ultimate value of the company to over $2 billion in a sale. The sale, should it happen, comes as the U.S. Army is gearing up for a broad effort to modernize its forces, including seeking prototypes of its Next-Generation Combat Vehicle in fiscal year 2022. Last month, AM General was awarded an Army contract for as many as 2,800 new M997A3 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) ambulances. The contract could be worth as much as $800 million if all options were exercised, AM General said at the time. Last year, the Pentagon awarded AM General a $550 million contract to deliver HMMWVs for use as protected weapons carriers, cargo transporters and ambulances to Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Jordan, Slovenia, Bahrain, Columbia, Bosnia and Kenya as a part of a larger Foreign Military Sales agreement. The sale of AM General offers an opportunity to purchase a prime contractor that delivers a finished product to the Pentagon, and not just an add-on system or service.