A proposed contract with GM that more than 46,000 UAW members are voting on this week contains lucrative bonuses and wage gains, but it doesn't bring any production from Mexico to the U.S. or save three plants that shut down this year.

The automaker is making "deliberate, tough decisions" to transform its business and its culture, Dhivya Suryadevara said at the Automotive News Leading Women Conference last week.

UAW leaders have agreed to close one of the training centers that the union formed with the Detroit 3 in the 1980s. It likely signals the end, or at least a major overhaul, of the other two as well.

The plant, which was scheduled to close in January, would employ 2,225 people at full capacity, GM told the UAW as part of the tentative contract agreement being sent to workers for ratification.

The UAW said its GM national council voted to keep workers on the picket lines while rank-and-file members vote on a four-year deal covering wages and benefits. Ratification votes are expected to be completed by next Friday, Oct. 25. 

With the 2020 Bolt EV, Chevrolet says it has solved the electric vehicle range-price puzzle. But getting everyone who sells the car or may want to drive one to understand it remains a hurdle.

The most notable change on the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV is a more powerful battery, which extends the Bolt's range more than 20 miles to 259.

A LaFontaine Automotive Group dealership general manager's climb up the company's ladder began with a neighborly chat with group founder Mike LaFontaine.

As corporate controller, Marissa Hunt oversees compliance, accounting and human resources, but she also has a seat at the table as the LaFontaine Automotive Group hones its vision and considers acquisitions.

LaFontaine Automotive Group seems to have mastered the employment conundrum, boasting a stellar turnover rate of 16 percent annually for the group.

At just 5 years old, Nicole Welch, the daughter of a dealership general manager, was mesmerized by cars and numbers. When she visited her dad at work, she would pretend to crunch numbers. She's not pretending anymore.

By the end of last week, some 150,000 workers either had been laid off or had their pay reduced, a consulting firm said. Most of those affected don't even work for GM.

The UAW responded over the weekend to GM's latest contract proposal, but neither side issued updates on the status of the talks by mid-afternoon on Monday. The UAW over the weekend increased members' strike pay to $275 a week and also called an unrelated strike against Mack Truck by 3,600 members at six plants. 

The meeting Wednesday marked the first time GM CEO Mary Barra has been formally involved in labor talks since the previous contract expired Sept. 14. GM is pushing for around-the-clock negotiations to resolve the strike.