Detroit, Michigan - During the Detroit Auto Show media day, a small group of Canadian journalists was invited to attend an informal talk with Mark Reuss, GM North America president. In this excerpt of the exchange, this GM veteran (he joined the company in 1983) shares his thoughts about the Chevrolet Volt.
Question: You won something this morning?
Mark Reuss: We did! The company and the team really was excited for the North American Car of the Year Award with the Volt. It’s a nice finish.
Question: That’s sort of why you built it?
Mark Reuss: Well it’s one of the reasons. I like driving it too!
Question: But you had to prove a point about technology?
Mark Reuss: Well, ya. That’s one of the big reasons. It’s been internally and externally really important technology-wise for us. It think proving that Detroit can lead in technology again is a good punctuation for the industry, but especially for Chevrolet and GM.
Question: Speaking of Volt, the entire show is all about EVs and hybrids. Everybody’s got to have one; you’ve got to have one too. But outside these doors, and outside the doors of the manufacturers, there is no green revolution out there. The hybrid sales trended downwards for five years in the passenger side of the market. Gasoline prices are quite high in the States, and yet you’re selling more trucks than ever. Where is the green revolution? What are you going to do if these cars don’t sell?
Mark Reuss: We are not betting the whole farm on these. We have one car that is on a dedicated electric architecture, and that’s the Volt. The rest of it is a blend of different solution sets for different customer tastes and pocketbooks. So, you know, if you want to buy an eAssist Lacrosse that gets 37 miles per gallon (6.4 litres to 100 km), because your operating costs are going to be much lower and you are going to drive a lot, you can do that. If you don’t want to buy it, don’t buy it. And we don’t have a pure electric. These cars will be third cars for people. We’ll see what happens with that.
The Volt can be the only car that you’d buy. I just bought one. I’m leasing it for $300 a month. I’m doing it for my kids -- I’ve got three kids. It costs $1,50 a day to operate. That’s pretty compelling for me because they don’t have to have gas money. That’s a good thing, right? So, I don’t know how you go to characterize that as a buyer, but I’m a buyer of it. And it’s not for me, it’s for my family and my household. So that’s good. Right?
Question: You won something this morning?
Mark Reuss: We did! The company and the team really was excited for the North American Car of the Year Award with the Volt. It’s a nice finish.
Question: That’s sort of why you built it?
Mark Reuss: Well it’s one of the reasons. I like driving it too!
Question: But you had to prove a point about technology?
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| General Motors North America President Mark Reuss. (Photo: General Motors) |
Mark Reuss: Well, ya. That’s one of the big reasons. It’s been internally and externally really important technology-wise for us. It think proving that Detroit can lead in technology again is a good punctuation for the industry, but especially for Chevrolet and GM.
Question: Speaking of Volt, the entire show is all about EVs and hybrids. Everybody’s got to have one; you’ve got to have one too. But outside these doors, and outside the doors of the manufacturers, there is no green revolution out there. The hybrid sales trended downwards for five years in the passenger side of the market. Gasoline prices are quite high in the States, and yet you’re selling more trucks than ever. Where is the green revolution? What are you going to do if these cars don’t sell?
Mark Reuss: We are not betting the whole farm on these. We have one car that is on a dedicated electric architecture, and that’s the Volt. The rest of it is a blend of different solution sets for different customer tastes and pocketbooks. So, you know, if you want to buy an eAssist Lacrosse that gets 37 miles per gallon (6.4 litres to 100 km), because your operating costs are going to be much lower and you are going to drive a lot, you can do that. If you don’t want to buy it, don’t buy it. And we don’t have a pure electric. These cars will be third cars for people. We’ll see what happens with that.
The Volt can be the only car that you’d buy. I just bought one. I’m leasing it for $300 a month. I’m doing it for my kids -- I’ve got three kids. It costs $1,50 a day to operate. That’s pretty compelling for me because they don’t have to have gas money. That’s a good thing, right? So, I don’t know how you go to characterize that as a buyer, but I’m a buyer of it. And it’s not for me, it’s for my family and my household. So that’s good. Right?