*By Chloe Aiello* The future is all-electric ー at least for General Motors, the carmarker's Chairwoman and CEO Mary Barra said on Cheddar Friday. "At General Motors, we believe in an all-electric future," Barra told Betty Liu, executive vice chairman for the New York Stock Exchange, through a special partnership between Cheddar and NYSE. "We believe that's the path forward, and that's why we are dedicating resources to build on the Chevrolet Volt first and second generations, now the Chevrolet Bolt EV." General Motors ($GM) is taking serious strides into that electric future with Cadillac leading the charge. The Detroit-based automaker [announced on Friday](https://media.gm.com/content/dam/Media/gmcom/investor/2019/jan/Press-Release-1-11-19.pdf) that Cadillac would be the lead electric vehicle brand, built on GM's new battery electric vehicle infrastructure. Barra said it's an obvious choice, since Cadillac needed a face-lift, anyway. And what GM needed was a luxury electric vehicle ー one that could compete with luxury automakers, like Tesla ($TSLA), Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. "We are working hard to really regain the status that Cadillac once had. I mean, Cadillac is an iconic brand, it's a luxury brand. People still use 'it's the Cadillac of something,'" she said. "And one of the ways we'll do that is through technology and innovation on that vehicle. So what better vehicle to launch this all-new battery electric vehicle than Cadillac?" For today's automakers, it's impossible to look forward without considering autonomy. Barra called self-driving technology "probably the biggest technical challenge of our time," but one that has potential to unlock major rewards. "To create an autonomous vehicles where it doesn't need a driver, you have to really have thought through and have a system that is going to learn and know exactly where it's at, know exactly what's happening around it, and, therefore, know the safe path to go forward," Barra said. "I think what most people don't realize is just how hard that is, but solving that has tremendous benefit." Despite the challenges inherent in autonomy, Barra said she felt GM was well-equipped to produce safer, cheaper autonomous vehicles. "We have scale and the ability to manufacture hundreds and millions of vehicles ー we can pull that all together and change the way people move," she said. And much like the future of GM, Barra said, the future of autonomy is electric. GM said in November, it will cease production of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt in early 2019, [as part of a broader move](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/gm-to-close-factories-cut-jobs-as-consumer-tastes-change) to shutter five plants in North America and cut as many as 14,000 jobs. The announcement immediately drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers.

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More