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[Comment From Mike]
Good afternoon Mark. My question as always is regarding Pontiac. GM has made a bad decision in cancelling this legendary automobile and the great G8 along with it. I have driven Pontiacs for 40+ years and there is no better car that GM makes. Is there any chance this decision can be reversed?

Mark Reuss:
Hey Mike I have owned and operated and still own Pontiacs (i have Solstice that I plan to convert to Z0k SCCA car with my son). It was painful watching this from Australia. I lost one full shift of people and plant with G8. Man oh Man. Well--I cannot say at this point--cause I dont know--but it does not look good for that. Things happened.

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[Comment From Todd Lassa, Motor Trend Todd Lassa, Motor Trend : ]
Pardon me for crashing the consumers' webchat. You've had much success with the 3.6-liter gas direct-injection V-6. But the 3.0-liter version sold in North America doesn't seem to gain any EPA fuel mileage benefit, and it probably costs just about as much. Can you tell us anything about your future V-6 engine strategy for something between the 4-cylinder engines and the 3.6?

Mark Reuss:
Hey Todd arent you a newly married consumer too? Ha--any how the 3.0L v6 is a challenge to calibrate depending on the vehicle. We did it really well on the RWD Zeta in Oz--just introduced it down under and it rocks. So, I need to get into this here in NA and look at how we did it and bring some of that knowledge into it.

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[Comment From Jones Jones : ]
Are there any key products that you feel need to be accelerated to meet market demand or enter new segments?

Mark Reuss:
Ok the Volt is key for us all in NA. It is in fact creating a new segment and leapfrogging traditional hybrids. I have been spending a ton of my time in my old job on it--driving it (in rain--no i did not recieve volts so I love it and we cant wait to have it here. I launched Cruze in Oz and I cannot wait for it here as well--although we did not have the 1.4T we only had 1.8L and diesel--so all three will be really well recieved. I also like z28's.

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[Comment From doug cameron doug cameron : ]
How will the decision to keep control of Opel impact product development in GMNA, compared to what might have happened had you sold a majority stake?

Mark Reuss:
Good question. I put Karl Stracke in behind me here as VP of Veh Eng Globally. He is from Opel and one of the best eng guys ever--so he will help us raise the bar even further in how we knit Opel and everyone together to kick it. So, Opel is a really really good set of engineers that will add to our vehicles throughout the world, and they can again put the Opel DNA back into the local brand products in Europe.

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[Comment From Josh Oliver - TheGMSource Josh Oliver - TheGMSource : ]
Mr. Reuss - considering your love for performance vehicles and the publics desire for a REAR WHEEL DRIVE Chevrolet sedan, might you reconsider the Caprice program for retail sales?

Mark Reuss:
hey i am a free-thinker!!!!

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[Comment From Don Willems Don Willems : ]
How do you feel about paying back government loans faster? How do you think the public would react to that?

Mark Reuss:
Hey I am a tax payer to the USA again too! In fact when I was in Australia I got to do that too!! Anyway, I am thankful and grateful for the money from us taxpayers to give us a chance to create a new GM and do it right. So i would like a nice refund from uncle sam as much as anyone....!

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[Comment From Brandon Brandon : ]
How will you attract young customers who have zero nostalgia for past GM products and a skeptical view of GM considering its recent past?

[Comment From Adam @highmileage Adam @highmileage : ]
My thought is that, to make GMC and Buick relevant to millennials, those brands *must* have autonomous (not shared) and declarative (boldly designed) products. What do you think?

Mark Reuss:
Great question. Young folks like my kids have zero nostalgia--and i know that. At the same time, some of what made a Buick great is not all bad--but not known--I dont want to repeat old marketing stuff--it just in not relavant--the Buick stuff I said was just for fun. HOWEVER--we need to get the younger folks buying us again--as you would think. So,---HOT DESIGN is the beginning of bringing them to interest in the car--the first LaCrosse sold was a 33 yr old--a step in the right direction--but the 20 year olds need to have confidence in the car--it is a lot of money-- a high percent of disposal income--for young folks to spend--and I know when I bought my first car I want a piece of mind of what I buy--quality, safety, service, veh perfomance---you get the idea----so we will go to work on it.

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[Comment From Jeff Gilbert Jeff Gilbert : ]
How is the wind down of the Pontiac brand going?

Susan Docherty:
Jeff, thanks for your question regarding Pontiac. The wind down process is progressing very smoothly and in fact we only have about 7900 remaining Pontiacs so for all the Pontiac fans, it's time to visit one of our Dealers. Pontiac is a great brand with a loyal customer base. Unfortunately we were unable to keep Pontiac - it just wasn't profitable.

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[Comment From johnathan wills @ CAMI johnathan wills @ CAMI : ]
Is there any plans for plug in hybrids in Buick. I was excited for the "vue-ick" to be built, but unfortunately it didn't make the cut.

Susan Docherty:
Johnathan Wills - We aren't going to make any announcements today regarding Hybrids for Buick but we believe we need to provide Hybrid alternatives for all of our core brands - more to come, stay tuned. In terms of the Buick compact crossover which we decided to cancel - this is a perfect example of the new GM at work. Customers, Media and our own team members were clear that this product did not live up to the standards of a "new class of world class" for Buick. So, in the end we listened and we responded with SPEED.

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[Comment From cbaccus cbaccus : ]
With Bob Lutz no longer in the marketing role, do you plan to challenge cars on the track or is that fun over?

Susan Docherty:
There is nothing better than seeing Bob Lutz race around the track in our new launch products. I think Bob needs to continue to help us in that area - maybe I can be his co-pilot (if he agrees of course)!

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[Comment From SierraGS SierraGS : ]
Will the GMC concept shown to Technology guests and the Media in August be making any Auto show appearances?
Monday December 14, 2009 11:50 SierraGS

Susan Docherty:
Sierra GS - Hello! Well I can't give away any GM secrets here but I can tell you this, during the Media show in August the Buick compact crossover was not well received but the GMC Concept was well received ... stay tuned.

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Annalisa Esposito-Bluhm:
11:46 [Claude Chisholm]
In my opinion, your dealer network bears more[...] responsibility for GM’s decline over the last 30 years than your product line. Excellent dealers can build a loyal base of repeat customers who will come back, even if the product may be a bit less than topnotch. While on the other hand, bad dealers can sour people on even the best products. Somehow you have to impress upon your dealers that consumer satisfaction is more important than seeing customers as more than mere money machines of whom they can take advantage of.

Susan Docherty:
Claude, thanks for being so candid. Dealers are our partners and the face to the consumer and you are right that if a consumer has a bad experience it reflects poorly on our brands and our company. We have some great dealers and we also have some NOT SO GREAT dealers. It is the responsibility of my team to address the not so good dealers and either help improve their performance or the market will decide for them. Consumers perceptions are exceptionally important - we are taking this seriously and need to improve in this area.

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[Comment From Alex GMAuthority.com Alex GMAuthority.com : ]
Susan, your focus on the four core brands at GM is one that I find very exciting. What's the plan going forward with GMC? It's rumored that the brand will get a compact hatch that - in my opinion would not fit with the brand's image and target market. Can you comment on that?

Susan Docherty:
Alex - yes the focus has to be on the four brands. The plan for GMC is to continue with our Engineering Excellence driven by our "Professional Grade" positioning. We have a very strong brand in GMC and we plan to leverage and expand GMC's role as evidenced by the launch of the new GMC Terrain. Both the Terrain and Acadia are bringing women and conquest buyers which is very exciting for us.

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[Comment From Guest Guest : ]
Susan- How will your leadership differ from Mark LaNeve and Bob Lutz?

Susan Docherty:
My leadership style is transparant, inclusive and with a bias towards listening and moving fast. In my new role I plan to be spending even more time with customers and dealers because this is where I can make the biggest impact, help strenghten our brands, and earn consideration in the hearts and minds of consumers. Also want to spend time with leaders outside of our industry - there's so much to learn!

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viplala:Huvitav kui suur osa sellest mängib rolli siin lahatud kampaania http://www.tqhq.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?tid=31516

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GM today confirmed that Stephen Taylor and Peter Torngren have been officially appointed by the appropriate authority in Sweden as wind-down supervisors of Saab and in this role they will jointly replace the CEO and board immediately. They will meet with management, unions and other stakeholders, and will start working on a plan for an orderly wind down.

As stated previously, the wind-down process is expected to take several months, and will ensure that employees, dealers and suppliers are adequately protected. Also as stated previously, Saab customers can be assured that warranties will continue to be honored and that service and spare parts will continue to be available.

GM today also reaffirmed that it is continuing to evaluate the several purchase proposals it has received for Saab, an evaluation not affected by today’s official appointment.

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"Beautiful cars and attractive models have long been part of the auto 'show' fabric," says Chrysler spokesman Scott Brown. "Today, this strategy is very common among high-end European brands. As a company filled with passionate, expressive brands, we felt this strategy would work with our vehicles and especially, the vehicles our new alliance partner has brought to the company."

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