Motor City Buick GMC General Manager John Pitre was a guest on “The Richard Beene Show” this week, and he presented a ton of information about the fast pace of technological changes in the car industry.

We broke down five key takeaways from the conversation between Pitre and Richard Beene.

THE FUTURE OF SELF DRIVING CARS: 

“It’s really on the near horizon that technology is evolving fast enough that cars will be able to drive themselves. Self driving cars are really a function of the systems on the cars.

“Self driving cars is really the next horizon. I think will drive a lot of people back to the market is the ability for the car to drive itself.”

UPGRADING THE SOFTWARE

“Pacing of upgrades comparable to the phones. That kind of pace is comparable with the cars. The last couple of recalls on our cars have had as a dealer have been a refresh on the computer.  Most cars have 7-10 computers on board that control everything from the transmission to the radio and everything in between.

CONNECTED CARS

During the conversation, Pitre pointed out to typical technology most drivers are aware of including, expanded entertainment offerings and navigations. “There are less obvious ones, like 4G (wifi). A lot of people don’t know that 4G exists in cars. General Motors has it in every model. Your car operates much like your phone.  The 4G almost enables (the car) to become a router. On most GM products you can operate up to seven different devices at one time. It’s standard on all GM models at this point.

ON HOW LONG WE KEEP CARS TODAY

The average age of cars in the United States is 11 years old. There wasn’t a lot of new technology introduced in that period lets say from 2000 to 2008. Those cars that are 11 years old and back are really technology deficient. It’s not surprising when someone comes in with what they’re driving and it’s a lot of shock.

LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW FROM NEWSTALK 1180 KERN

WATCH A VIDEO OF JOHN AND RICHARD DISCUSSING THE NEW TECHNOLOGY