GM President Mark Reuss weighs in on a wide range of topics during an hour-long webchat.
One thing you can say about the Internet: it gives you a way to get up close and personal with just about anyone – including Mark Reuss, the man in charge of General Motors’ core North American operations.
In an hour-long type-fest, the one-time engineer-turned-executive fields an array of questions about everything from the future of battery cars to the need for more colors in GM’s paint palette.
Among other things, Reuss discusses his hands-on approach to dealing with customers, while also giving some hints about products to come. Could a 2-door Chevrolet Cruze be in the offing? Well, read the real-time transcript, after the break, to see what Mark Reuss has to say.
Here’s the transcript of Mark Reuss’s Wednesday webchat, exactly as it occurred:
| 12:59 |
Wednesday March 10, 2010 12:59 Christopher Barger |
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| 12:59 |
Wednesday March 10, 2010 12:59 JKujo |
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| 13:01 | Mark Reuss:
hi chris–good to talk to you again….yes we are doing lots of things on colors. The green from Oz (atomic green as you would know)….is coming on Camaro–shown in sema. Also, probably a special violet metallic…and Mike Simcoe in design is from oz as you know and leading charge…thanks Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:01 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:02 |
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| 13:04 | Mark Reuss:
Lyle–long term demand on BEV could be higher as EREV intially leads the way with battery technology like the lithium ion pack in volt is first gen, then feeds BEV like vehicles. So, while EREV will be wildly pop at first with Volt, as the tech flows down to BEV in what will be smaller cars to carry smaller packs that may be the higher volume play over a longer time if that makes sense. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:04 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:06 | Mark Reuss:
Ernie–2 door cruze is a nice idea, and it may show up in the global market. As we have 2 door Cobalts currently, NA would naturally look at a Cruze 2 door, but I believe our small car portfolio will be WAY beyond what it is now, so a 2 door something still is needed. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:06 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:06 | Christopher Barger:
Eric – please send me an email at christopher.barger@gmblogs.com & I’ll connect our customer service team to you. Thanks. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:06 Christopher Barger |
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| 13:07 | Mark Reuss:
quite possibly Pete……. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:07 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:08 |
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| 13:10 | Mark Reuss:
Big Todd how are ya. In fact your comment is not true. Previously, a small point but large topic on the reorg would indicate we previously had no NA Planning in my org–it was done centrally. So, to correct this i assigned Mary Sipes to do NA planning and fully integrate–next to the dealer and customer–planning by division. thanks mark Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:10 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:13 | Mark Reuss:
Floyd– where GM was primarily a truck based portfolio in the past, we see that gas prices are volatile at the least. We need to be a company that is agile and responsive from a capacity and sales standpoint. So, GM will provide in a fast way, the products that the market demands—quickly and with high quality and safety as we do today. So, that includes the vehicles that have a great duty cycle for work, play, and commuting efficiently and safety with a lot of fun and style. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:13 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:16 | Mark Reuss:
Chevrolet and Corvette have been together forever. I feel we do not leverage the Corvette name or the Camaro name to help halo Chevrolet. If you go to races you always see the red bowtie, but when have you ever seen vettes and camaros in ads for Equinox or Malibu? this will change. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:16 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:19 | Mark Reuss:
Um yes i loved these cars and had many including GNX #446. However, what GN and GNX meant (not literally) then is what Regal GS means today. Really sophisticated perfomance (not just 0-60), but steering, brakes, beautiful torque delivery, styling etc. Remember “Fast with Class”? think Regal GS, which was developed at the Nordeschlief north course at Nurburgring–with Opel–as today’s much more capable car than GN’s. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:19 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:22 | Mark Reuss:
Well–we have a better car with Malibu. I was with dealers today and we need to re-energize the car as we kind of launched and left it through BK. So, with a better car , and at the end of the lifecycle we prepare for the new one with much excitement…. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:22 Mark Reuss |
| 13:24 | Christopher Barger:
Sorry – screen is freezing so I’ll cut & paste next question. From RD Henard: “Congrats on your new position. I’ve got a tough question for you. GM’s upper m[…]anagement seems to be really committed to the company’s success. No offence, but I don’t get the impression that the same sense of urgency has trickled down to the lower echelons. Do you have any plans to prevent the old “business as usual” attitude from creeping back in?” Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:24 Christopher Barger |
| 13:27 | Mark Reuss:
No offence taken! Lets assume you are correct. I look at this as my job. If I dont model the behavior that I would like then how can I ask others to do this too? If I dont talk to customers on Facebook and solve problems or use our new mobile application to help customers than how can i ask others? if I dont call customers live and help them get parts then how can i ask others? It starts with me, and i take it personally. If people dont believe in me then we have a massive problem. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:27 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:29 | Mark Reuss:
Cami is heroic. They are doing EVERYTHING humanly possible until June when new things happen there and we expand to help. These folks are top notch and the quality is awesome…….plans at other plants full steam Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:29 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:30 |
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| 13:30 | Mark Reuss:
Well here is some really good news. 1LS on Camaro is $23530 and upward so buy one dude…. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:30 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:32 | Mark Reuss:
matt—chevrolet re vamp in ads is well under way with Susan Docherty–you will like it a lot–shows the car, and uses “excellence for everyone”….you will really like it. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:32 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:33 |
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| 13:34 | Mark Reuss:
Colin–I saw a nice contemp Trans Am at autorama–but we have no Pontiac so it is a myth….sorry Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:34 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:39 | Mark Reuss:
Mae—absolutely covered 100k for your Vue by any GM dealer!! Also, to keep you in the family we are offering up to $2000 dollars depending on the model… Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:39 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:40 | Mark Reuss:
no i am not….the new spots come in the next 2 months Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:40 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:42 | Mark Reuss:
Dan–the incent landscape is complex so i cannot answer for competitors–but we have decreased our incent spend by a huge amount and still grown share–that is what we will continue to do….profitable growth only…. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:42 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:43 |
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| 13:46 | Mark Reuss:
Mike–i am a current and past Pontiac owner too. We have offered free service to people like us and we have taken up on that to the tune of 82k people. So, we do care about us, and the decisions were made in BK, but I never would say we would NEVER talk about Pontiac again. But, we need to pay back us taxpayers too…and go public. And make money. And make Americans proud of who we are again. Any other focus would be wrong. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:46 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:49 | Mark Reuss:
Bill!!!! Good on YA mate!! I do miss it all….ya know my first weekend in Oz rolling off the plane was in Adelaide at the Clipsal race…..and 105 degree F heat!!! Love the plant, loved all of it –especially all the people….I hope the rain falls….. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:49 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:50 |
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| 13:52 | Mark Reuss:
Hello Paul—-i miss you so much as it has been SO LONG since we chatted….ha ha . The market ran at about 10.5M in Feb which we all said was weather and strange conditions. SO, I think we all will have a good March, and some economic indicators are somewhat positive. I think GM is in a good place these days with our products, safety, FE, and performance–and our customers are asking for more. And, our dealers and network work we are doing are going to obviously add a lot of postive things for our customers as well……. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:52 Mark Reuss |
| 13:53 | Christopher Barger:
Shirley White – pls contact @GMCustomerSVC on Twitter, or send me a note at christopher.barger@gmblogs.com. We’ll try to help. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:53 Christopher Barger |
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| 13:54 | Mark Reuss:
James–we have not announced any plans for pure Voltec beyond Volt and Ampera…. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:54 Mark Reuss |
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| 13:56 |
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| 13:58 | Mark Reuss:
Yes the Cadillac sales worry me. However, with some good new dealers back in the game, our product is OUSTANDING, I am confident that the new team and agency will do wonders here….. Wednesday March 10, 2010 13:58 Mark Reuss |
| 13:58 | Christopher Barger:
Thanks everyone for your time today, we appreciate the questions — and as always, we’re sorry we can’t get to every question in the space of an hour. |