Four months into her new job leading the marketing efforts for General Motors, Deborah Wahl told Cheddar from the floor of CES that the feeling inside the storied automaker was akin to a "war effort," with different parts of the company all marching together toward the same electric, autonomous future.
"The auto industry is probably going to change more in this next decade than we have since the turn of the last century," Wahl said. "Our teams are feeling that purpose."
GM, which, like its Detroit brethren, has performed poorly relative to the broader market, is banking on the eventual electrification of its fleet paired with onboard tech advances, such as over-the-air software upgrade, to juice sales and help offset rising costs related to new emissions standards around the globe. GM and others have benefited from strong sales of SUVs and trucks, but it is losing the messaging war to rivals like Tesla, which now vastly eclipses both GM and Ford combined in terms of market value. Wahl says the increased competition is going to lead to a "creative explosion" as the carmaker works to differentiate its vehicles not only on the outside but with plenty of new features.
As for Wahl, who is GM's first chief marketing officer since 2012, her task is to tell a fresh story about a company that dates back more than 100 years.
The two pillars of GM's strategy, according to Wahl, are to highlight the transformation of the core business of selling cars, while at the same time focusing on the challenge delivered by CEO Mary Barra, to work toward a world without car crashes, congestion, or emissions. That challenge is both "motivating and galvanizing," Wahl said.
The first part of that strategy is showing that GM is not really a legacy automaker anymore. Wahl noted that the company now hires one STEM position every 26 minutes and said she predicts that the distinction between legacy companies and disruptive startups will soon vanish now that pretty much every business is trying to innovate. One of the ways she said GM is doing that is by creating intuitive "pre-sponse" technology for the driving experience. Imagine a situation when you get into your Cadillac in the morning, the radio starts playing the latest episode of your favorite podcast, and the onboard computer puts in your Starbucks order on the way to work. That's coming soon, she said.
The lines between the auto and tech industries have been blurring for years ー see CES, which has begun to look more like the Detroit Auto Show than a gadget trade show ー but the change is only just getting underway, she said.
"It's about to be an incredibly fruitful time for the customer."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Starbucks’ AI barista aims to speed service and improve experience. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune Business Editor, explains its impact on workers and customers.
As Big Tech reports Q3 earnings, investors await proof that massive AI and cloud investments from Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet are driving real growth.
