Former AT&T Chief To Be New GM Chairman

GM is in bankruptcy and in the midst of all that they're working to present a positive face to the public through advertisements and in speaking to the news. Today comes the news that Ed Whitacre, Jr. is to become chairman of the "New GM" once it emerges out of bankruptcy at the end of the summer (if all goes to plan, at least).

The announcement was made by GM's interim chairmanKent Kressa, who will still serve in that post during the bankruptcy process. This is a good announcement for GM, putting someone with a successful business experience and valued brand name (AT&T) in connection with GM.

Of course, I couldn't make a post about AT&T without mentioning the iPhone! Yesterday was WWDC where Apple announced new hardware and software. Most relevant to automotive fans though is two new applications, Zipcar and TomTom GPS Navigation. The TomTom system will finally bring a real turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation system to the iPhone.

It is rumored to be around $150, an very expensive application to be sure, but less then the price of a new dedicated unit. Going along with that as a separate item is a cradle that will stick via suction cup to the windshield, charging the iPhone, enabling music playback through the stereo and boosting the GPS signal.

Zipcar also employs cool technology like the ability to locate a Zipcar near you as well as being able to unlock it (!). Pretty amazing stuff. I'm looking forward to the new 3.0 MP camera, video abilities, and voice technology, not to mention improved processor speed. I've got a white iPhone 3G S on order!