Sometimes, you really do wonder if automakers are listening to their customers. Sure, focus groups for new models are run, but when it comes to general brainwaves, where do you write to? As it turns out, General Motors has something called the New Devices portal, where you can submit just about any idea to the General. You can probably already see where this is going.
As the portal announces, “The General Motors New Devices Section provides our customers and friends who are not General Motors employees with an opportunity to submit ideas, inventions and suggestions.” While you almost certainly won’t get an email back due to the sheer volume of submissions, there’s almost certainly a human looking at what people submit.
The wild part of this portal is that theoretically, there’s nothing to stop hundreds of people asking GM to bring back the Geo Storm, or build dipping sauce holders into their vehicles’ center consoles, or request an off-road ZR2 Corvette. You know, like a Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, but for the people. So, to get your idea juices going, here are a few I’ve already cooked up.
A Virtual Toggle To Decouple Reverse Lights From Courtesy Lighting
For some reason, when you unlock a General Motors vehicle with automatic headlights at night, the reverse lights come on as part of the courtesy lighting package. In a way, I sort of understand. Some areas are both sparsely populated and dimly lit, so a little extra light around the car can make a difference out on the trail or in a dark campsite parking lot. However, most of the time this feature is simply aggravating because people around the vehicle aren’t sure if it’s in park or not. After all, reverse lights are the universal signal that a car is either about to move backwards or is currently moving backwards, and that’s a clear safety function.
How do you give outdoorsy people a little extra light while potentially minimizing confusion in more populated parking lots? It’s simple: Have a virtual toggle for “Courtesy Reverse Lights” and have it switched off by default. That way, people wanting more light can get more light but the majority of vehicles probably won’t be as confusing to passers-by as current models are.
Bringing Back Apple CarPlay
Look, in the wake of GM announcing it’s getting rid of CarPlay, this one’s a no-brainer. While GM’s latest Android Automotive OS user experience does come with built-in Google Maps, signing into apps in a car is unnecessarily clunky, and wireless network support and cost are real concerns for the future. Even though the latest generation of vehicles features integrated 5G connectivity, that technology will eventually become outdated – just look at the 3G sunset of a few years ago as an example. Plus, to access in-vehicle apps like Spotify and Waze, drivers are going to be paying for a plan once the free trial runs out. OnStar One currently runs $34.99 a month, and that feels like a rip-off to use apps you already pay for when your phone has a data plan anyway. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are really just cheap future-proofing for the next generation of used vehicle customers coming into the traditional aftersales stream. If enough people keep complaining, surely GM has to bow to pressure, right?
Augmented Reality Trackday Line And Braking Markers
It’s no secret that General Motors makes some of the best performance cars on sale today, and it’s willing to back up their prowess with warranty support for trackdays. That’s some top-tier stuff, and GM’s Performance Data Recorder for collecting trackday footage is also pretty great. However, what about some racing game-inspired support for newbies to prevent them from blowing braking zones or ending up off-course? From “Forza Horizon” to “iRacing,” pretty much every driving game lets players turn on a virtual driving line complete with braking zones. There’s no reason this can’t be done in real life through a head-up display, so why not add it to the Performance Data Recorder package?
Costco Hot Dogs On Demand Through OnStar Concierge
We’ve all heard “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet,” right? Items ingrained in the American culture, but we haven’t tried all combinations of this mantra yet. Let’s say you’re stuck in traffic and craving something you can eat with one hand. A hamburger probably isn’t the move, and a burrito is liable to fall apart and get sour cream all over the leather. At the same time, GM and Costco have a vehicle discount partnership, so why not bring DoorDash or Uber Eats into the loop, hook it all up through OnStar concierge, and effectively dropship hot dogs to hungry owners? Payment would function like plug-and-charge EV charging, where it would just bill whatever card’s on file, and boom: Glizzys on the go. Scooter riders could even lane-filter where legal to deliver the dogs in traffic jams. Tell me this isn’t a great idea.
Alright, so maybe the hot dog thing is a little far-fetched, but the portal seems wide-open for normal people to suggest ways General Motors can make its future cars better. So, go forth and go nuts. Have fun with it. Who knows? Maybe if enough of us submit the same idea, it might actually happen.
Top graphic image: Cadillac
NGL I might hit that portal hard.
All signs seem to indicate gm running scared. Good. I hope they find some useful data correlations that lead to products that people actually want a prices people will pay and quality that isn’t terrible.
The small truck or trucklet market seems to be heating up that seems fair game. Cheap cars lots of cheap fuel efficient little cars and hybrids. They can do the small cheap bevs too. And 2000s size full size pickups. Do something with their steering. And bring back the Astro in some way. Use their Suzuki connection’s to do some kei trucks and vans.
Rumble seats
Spare tires in all cars. Oil and transmission dipstick. No more electric parking brakes.
Somebody have AI write a description of The Homer that doesn’t make it obvious that it is describing the Homer, and submit that.
Bring back a Cruze or Malibu, and ute-ify it. Sell the sedan to fleets / ride shares and the few holdouts who like sedans. Sell the ute version to people who can’t afford mid-size, want a little aussie life, and maybe even aftermarket lift them to trash on maverick owners for a bit of fun Chevy v Ford banter
Bring back the Malibu, except make it the ’78 Malibu but four inches wider and the rear windows roll down and the powertrains don’t suck.
I had planned on it already and I’m glad the article mentioned it: Permanently disable the reverse-light-as-parking-light function on ALL gm vehicles present, past, and future. It’s moronic and even dangerous. Let the reverse lights be for, y’know, indicating REVERSE. Use different lights for parking lights or perimeter lights or whatever. The license plate lights are already back there, or a small LED could easily be added under the bumper for the same or better effect. Do a marketing campaign about how they’re encouraging all gm owners to come to the dealership to have this disabled along with a public apology, and I’ll think significantly better of the company.
First time I saw this on my dad’s Equinox, I thought he was going to back into me.
Wheels that don’t look like food processor disks
Tires that have sidewalls
Modular and interchangeable “infotainment” stack, and make an optional only what the law requires + Apple CarPlay version.
Something that’s a cross between a two door wagon/minivan/sedan delivery.
Headlights designed as lights rather than than design exercises
None of that was GM specific, but they are free to use any of it.
If you rush a car to market, cutting costs at the last minute moment, then over a few years fix the problems, sell the fixed version rather then kill it off a year later. That’s pretty GM specific.
I’ll do you one better, do everyone else the courtesy of never using the reverse lights for anything but being in reverse!
Bring back the IR camera HUD option like the Cadillac DTS had. Killer app for people who regularly have to dodge deer on their evening commute home.
Eliminate the electronically opening glovebox from all GM products, FFS.
S-10 as an ICE / hybrid competitor to the upcoming Slate EV. The 1.5T powertrains from the Equinox would do the trick, if you do the work to switch them to longitudinal orientation.
Now that you can’t claim small CUV’s as trucks anymore, bring sedans back, especially small sedans. Something Cavalier/Cobalt sized, but I’d argue it would be better to call it a Nova for Chevrolet and Skylark for Buick. This would not be a Cadillac product.
Gauges. Not gages.
Buick Solstice?
3rd Gen Volt
Something that is a car and not a Cadillac (Buick Avista please?)
Brake lights and turn signals in the right spot (not bumper mounted!)
PHEV Truck
Good Colors!
Amber turn signals, as well, I’d say
More good colors, anyway, or an awareness campaign or something—GM actually has quite a lot of very nice colors currently on offer, they just don’t seem to be making it to customers all that often.
Physically separate courtesy lights, not virtually. Light the ground around the car with dedicated lighting that is not to be confused with the purpose of a light that has been around for decades.
Bring back the Geo Storm? What kind of weirdo would suggest a thing like that?
(opens another browser window and starts writing a request)
With oil hitting $118 a barrel this morning, now would be the perfect time to bring back PHEV/EREV hybrid vehicles under the Saturn name. Make them optimistic. Make them start under $25k. Make them have excellent back seats and storage space for the Lyft/Uber/Door Dash crowd.
The price squeezed car buyer is back and offering them something great that they can finance for less than $400 a month and run at better than 50mpg seems like a winning bet.
Lest there be any doubt, I would buy any of the vehicles I suggest below with real money if GM made them:
-A full size removable roof SUV ala K5 Blazer. The ’69 Blazer was a hit because it offered the same fun, top down experience as a Bronco or Jeep in a larger size. The same would be true today.
-A track-focused Camaro with the LT6 from the Z06 attached to a Tremec 6 speed. This was rumored to happen in ~2022 and I went as far as getting first rights of refusal at the local Chevy dealer if such a thing ever materialized. I would do so again if they did it.
-A large, RWD, Cadillac luxury sedan or coupe styled after the Elmiraj concept and priced around $100,000. 8 cylinders or more, or 200+ kWh battery EV. True full size dimensions. Classic and handsome proportions, not an awkward $350K Celestiq.
-A Raptor competitor with a V8. No Ecoboost or Hurricane for me, and no need for a 700 hp truck. Give me 450-500 hp from a NA V8, Multimatic or desert-running shocks, and 37s.
Stop letting the bean counters from doing the engineering.
Heated floor mats, I rigged some up for the Bolt last fall with a generic heated seat kit, and they are probably the most incredible upgrade I’ve ever done in a vehicle. Instead of my feet freezing after 20 minutes in the winter even with the inefficient heater going, I can have toasty feet in 5F temps, with the defrost set on low blowing cold air.
Sounds like a great aftermarket thing.
I have never once in my life thought about the temperature of my floor mats in the winter. I think you may have just ruined it for me.
This is actually a neat idea. There are heated mats for melting snow on sidewalks and driveways, so having heated weatherproof floor mats would be rather nice, especially because it seems no manufacturer can make floor vents put out sufficient heat nowadays.
Diesel Canyon/Colorado
Front-engined RWD V12 small block based Cadillac flagship
Small light 6MT sports car, probably under the Buick badge. Turbo 3 and turbo 4 for powertrains
Raptor fighter
Bronco fighter
Hybrid passenger cars/crossovers
Names for things instead of just random numbers and letters (looking at you ZL1 1LE and AT4X AEV)
Camaro sedans with aa manual option and chevy badges to keep the price low.
Chevy had a diesel Colorado for a few years in the late 2010’s. A friend of mine had one and said it was the biggest gutless wonder he’d ever owned and couldn’t wait to get rid of it.
My logic is that they spent untold millions on the 3.0 I6 diesel for the half-tons which sell crazy well, while at the same time getting rid of the diesel on the mid-size trucks.
I told my GM corporate rep that it’s really hard to sell a mid-size truck when the full size diesel next to it gets better gas mileage, hp and torque.
Take that 3.0 I6 diesel, lop off a cylinder or two and put it in the mid-sizer. If the 3.0 gets 300hp and 500lb/ft and over 30 mpg in the full sizers then the I5 version would be around 250hp and 420lb/ft and should easily get over 30-35 mpg
NAMES! Yes bring them back.
My idea is not going anywhere, but, new Cadillac sedan on lowered GMT1XX chassis, 126.5 inch wheelbase
Make me specifically a 1988 Fiero with an LGX in it.
Make a Flat-plane crank V6 using the LT6 from the ZO6. 4.1L V6 with 500 hp.
Make a new manual sports car with a mid-engine or front engine design with this engine.
I submitted an idea to bring back the compact pickup truck based on the Trax platform in both 4-door/shorter box and 2-door/longer box versions.
In a few years, I’m going to need a replacement for my 2WD, regular-cab, 5-speed GMC Canyon. It’s really getting rusty.
Seems like other OEMs don’t want to challenge the Maverick.
Let your engineers design the vehicles and leave the bean counters out of it. Until this happens, no GM for me, ever.