Title says it all, I know there are a few others, so they might jump in with their experiences.
But fire away, I’ll try to answer everything. I still am not allowed to talk about what I know about Future GM products, but from what I have heard, most of what I knew about has been / re-scoped / killed / delayed.
Background 2 grandfathers in the auto industry / father in the auto industry with Chrysler then a supplier GKN (upper management) , Brother worked for supplier, uncle worked for Ford, I had 33 yrs at gm. Testing vehicles, and working in the advance design space, worked ICE, Diesel, Fuel Cell, EV’s Hybrids, Hydrogen vehicles, I was not on the propulsion teams, but responsible for making shit quiet and everyone of those creates unique problems. There through the bankruptcy, Covid, some long strikes, lots of short strikes. Open to salary, benefit discussions, really any questions you have. As a former colleague use to say, there are no dumb questions, just dumb people asking questions.
What is your take on quality? The Toyota Production System gets a lot of play, beyond auto manufacturing. Various “brand” business system, etc.
What is your take on percieved quality rankings from JD Power and others?
What is your take on dealer laws on the books in many states, preventing DTC, ala Tesla from disrupting the industry?
What’s your take on Too Big to Fail, as public policy? Should it be used less or more, in what ways?
Any take on the CAFE standards?
Incentives for EVs? Is the lower income public subsidizing early adopters/ upper middle class consumption?
What is your take on increased registration costs for EVs, to make up for the gas tax?
Would you recommend the indistry to others? Why/why not?
Did you spend your career at the same plant?
What is your take on regulatory change or evolution? Example - backup cameras, airbags, windshield wipers seatbelts, were all optional , absent at one time. Whats next for the industry?
What are your thoughts on GM and other manufacturers? For example, I spend a summer as an intern at Boeing and the engineering staff were often disgruntled (not as much as the production crew), but they thought that Boeing walked on water compared to Airbus. Do you look at non-GM cars with respect or disdain?
Approximately what model year are cars no longer serviceable by the owner and need to be taken to the shop because of proprietary software etc.? Thinking not only about cars like Tesla, but simple things like not be able to change a battery in a BMW without needing to take it to the dealer for a “reset”.
I really like electric technology but not the batteries, my hope is hydrogen cells take over but the interweb keyboard experts say it won’t happen, is hydrogen viable on a large scale? Please say yes…lol
I was not on the propulsion teams, but responsible for making shit quiet and everyone of those creates unique problems.
So were you an acoustics engineer? If so, what specifically was your role - design, analysis, test?
What iis your take on safety of lithium batteries in cars?
Years ago, prior to the ipad coming out, I was an engineer in avionics working to get certified a product that had lithium batteries in it, prior to faa having a standard approved. I used faa’s draft test, and, well, in a thermal chamber, battery expanded and smoked, destroyed the cast aluminum casing. So, yeah, we had to redesign for no lithium batteries.
My understanding from material handling industry, the cell manufacturing and safety has improved.
Why did GM kill the Volt and the Voltec platform? Why didn’t they put the Voltec platform in a small to mid sized truck?
This. As a Volt owner, I felt the Voltec platform was the killer app for the future and the perfect bridge for the 25-30 years while EV `technology and infrastructure improved.
I had toured the GM Newport, DE plant in 2007 and they were extremely excited about the possibility of getting the Volt to manufacture.
GM has a long history of abandoning models, most recently the Volt. The Volt got hurt by low gas prices but everyone who had one loved it.
So now they say that they are coming out with a line of pickup truck plug in hybrids. Does this mean that there are bailing on the Silverado EV, which they really seem to be dragging their feet on.
I’d love to have a Colorado size plug in with 40 miles of EV range, and 40 mpg in hybrid. I just don’t trust GM to make it and not change their minds 3 or 4 years later, leaving me with another abandoned vehicle.
Was there an employee discount for GM vehicles? Do you still have that as a retiree? Does that extend to family/friends? Can we hit you up? (asking for a friend
