Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    A Peek Into The Mind Of GM's North American President

    William Maley

    Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

    November 8, 2013

    Forbes had the chance to talk with General Motors' North American president Mark Reuss this week. Reuss talked about key gaps that he sees in GM's lineup and what could be done to fill them.

    We'll start with the Chevrolet Cruze. Since going on sale in the U.S., a lot of us have been wondering why there isn't a hatchback version. Especially considering the number of compact hatchbacks that are on sale has been growing and that Chevrolet sells a Cruze hatchback in Europe. Reuss said “That was a pre-bankruptcy planning mistake.”

    Even without the hatchback, the Cruze has been doing quite well, with 211,862 models sold so far this year.

    Speaking about the next-generation Cruze, Reuss said “the next-generation will blow you away.” From what we know, the next-generation Cruze will adopt a design profile similar to the Sonic. Maybe the five-door Cruze will come as well.

    Reuss also talked about a "contemporary wagon for mainstream America." Something more affordable than the wagons from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and even Cadillac's own CTS Sports Wagon.

    There are a few other models that were bandied about by Reuss including a compact van to take on the Ford Transit Connect, a “black hole” pickup truck that would be sandwhich between a medium-duty and heavy-duty truck, and a a flagship model for Buick that Reuss says “a much more beautiful Panamera.”

    Source: Forbes

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    ocnblu

    Well I hope the next Cruze hatch has a more proportionate design than the current model. I think it's a good idea to bring it... Focus hatches have proliferated.

    Chevy still needs a compact coupe, too, and it should be something that is not flash-in-the-pan trendy.

    Impala wagon anyone? I'd love to see a rendering of an Impala wagon... leading to a production version.

    Home-grown reply to Transit Connect is an awesome idea. To Ford, if this pans out: "Rutroh Rastro!" ;)

    I'm spacing out thinking of this "black hole pickup truck"... not sure, based on the text above, what that means.

    And by saying Buick's flagship will be a more beautiful Panamera, he's giving himself PLENTY of leeway/snark. ;)

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    ehaase

    I agree with heavier duty pickups and a small van. I would like to see either a Cruze, Verano, or Regal wagon (but only one of the 3). I like the idea of a Cruze hatchback, but Chevrolet already has the Spark and Sonic 5 doors, and the Sonic is almost as large and roomy as the Focus. I don't think Buick needs a flagship in the U.S. (maybe in China), but the next version Lacrosse needs the larger trunk of the Impala and XTS.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    ZL-1

    I do think Buick needs a flagship, but I don't think it should be a sedan.

    Well, by comparing it to the Panamera, maybe they're thiking at something that is somewhat like a sporty wagon-ish car (i.e. a 5 door)?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    smk4565

    The Panamera is a hideous looking car, hopefully they don't copy that. Buick could probably benefit from a coupe/convertible. If they build a slightly bigger and nicer LaCrosse as the flagship, then it will just be an XTS.

    Trying to fill every niche sounds of old GM and that is what got them in trouble. They need to focus on making the core products great. The Malibu is a joke of a product and that is the #1 segment in the industry. A lot of the current products can be improved, which is a better use of resources rather than to make niche cars with low sales volume while ignoring key volume segments.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Drew Dowdell

    They made a mistake on the Malibu... pretty much everyone agrees on that... but they'll have to let that mistake run its course until a replacement comes.

    That doesn't mean throwing more engineers at it that would otherwise be working on the products Mark is talking about here.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×



  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • A Horse With No Name
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By A Horse With No Name · Posted

      Warren Buffer I believe owns a good bit of stock in BYD....interesting. Going to try to verify this.
    • A Horse With No Name
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By A Horse With No Name · Posted

      Exactly why the myth of totally free markets is just that, a myth.
    • ccap41
      Tariff Tuesday - Big Trouble in Little Crossovers

      By ccap41 · Posted

      Honestly, that's probably around when I'd buy again, too. I'm in no rush. I'd love a large EV SUV or truck, but I don't have the monies for an R1S, Lightning, Sierra EV or whenever the Scouts show up. 
    • Drew Dowdell
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By Drew Dowdell · Posted

      That's every car company out there. Toyota and Honda only exist today because of the US government getting Japan back on its feet and then later the Japanese government supporting them with currency manipulation and socialized pensions and medicine. Subaru was originally Fiji Heavy Industries which built busses, trains, heavy construction machinery, and was a major supplier of airplanes. FHI is still a major aerospace company who supplies parts for the Airbus 380 and just about every model Boeing makes or has made that starts with a 7. They also make military helicopters and both military and commercial drones. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and VW are all here today because of the Marshall Plan and later their countries' social medicine and pension programs. Mercedes makes a lot of military and construction equipment purchased by governments. BYD (and others) is where it is because the Chinese government spent loads on battery development and incentives to its citizens to by EVs. Prior to that, BYD built their industrial might on building busses and other heavy machinery for the Chinese government and local governments all over the world. GM and Ford had major defense contracts during WWII, the 2008 bailouts, the Biden EV tax credits, the Obama cash-for-clunkers incentives, and much more. However, they famously have always had to manage their own healthcare and pensions systems which are what put them at a competitive disadvantage throughout the 80's and 90's. Stellantis's ownership timeline is too convoluted to even tackle, but Chrysler was bailed out in 1979, then they bought AMC/Jeep which had been kept afloat by the military, then they were bailed out again in 2008 by both the US and Italian governments. Fiat is/was a major equipment and bus supplier in Europe. The French government has always supported Peugeot and Citroen... the list goes on.
    • A Horse With No Name
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By A Horse With No Name · Posted

      Nor would BYD. The Chinese government has dumped a metric crap ton of cash into auto development.

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search