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A conversation with GM's Mark Reuss on MPG, aluminum and Corvettes

There was plenty to talk about when General Motors hosted its annual mid-December holiday media reception a few months ago. GM had just decided to pull its global Chevrolet brand out of major European markets, where Chevys have competed directly with GM Europe Opel and Vauxhall vehicles, and the US government had sold its last remaining shares of GM stock. But most important was the company's just-reshuffled leadership. Post-bankruptcy CEO Dan Akerson had announced that he would step aside and that 52-year-old Mary Barra would replace him on January 15. Not only would she be the first woman to lead a major automaker, she would also be GM's first engineer CEO since Bob Stempel in the early 1990s. "I look at 2013 and 2014, as the retooling of General Motors" - Mark Reuss Replacing her as executive VP for global product development (and purchasing and supply chain) would be 49-year-old Mark Reuss, who had served a stellar four years as North American president, and elevated to corporate president (from executive VP and CFO) would be 42-year-old Dan Amman. All three are relatively young auto enthusiasts who are liked and respected inside and outside the company, and their collective talents and experience are highly complementary. I've interviewed Barra and found her smart, personable and knowledgeable, though she carefully walks the corporate line in speaking and answering questions. I met and chatted with Ammann for the first time at that holiday reception, and he made a good first impression. But I've known Reuss for some time as a genuinely good guy and a highly capable and inspiring leader, and I believe he is exactly the right person for the global product responsibility once famously held by the outspoken, oft-controversial Bob Lutz. So I jumped at an opportunity to join a group interview of Reuss (with mostly business reporters) at the Detroit Auto Show in January. It was an interesting session of mostly good questions, which he answered with refreshing candor and humor. "I look at 2013 and 2014, as the retooling of General Motors," Reuss said. "We've taken down almost every plant in North America, converted and turned it this last year, and to do that with award-winning vehicles and pretty flawless launches is key. We have to keep the train rolling on great product, because the rest won't happen without the best product, period." A reporter asked whether GM was pushing big trucks, SUVs and Corvettes again because gas is cheap. "No," Reuss said.

2020 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon all spied with production lights

One of our spy photographers just caught a smattering of full-size GM SUVs out testing, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon. Previous spy photos of the next-generation of these big GM SUVs have revealed that GM is going with an independent rear suspension design, and these shots confirm the news once again with our best look at the hardware yet. Check them out from the rear, lined up like ducks in a row to see the beefy control arms down there. This will undoubtedly give the big SUVs a more compliant ride, and should bring it back into touch with the refinement from the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The new bits we get to see with these shots are production headlights and taillights that are shaping up to look pretty neat. Most distinguishable are the GMC Yukon's LED DRLs. These look a lot like the C-shaped LEDs outlining the headlights on the Sierra, but they have an extra LED strip on top of the C. The parts of the taillights that we can see look significantly different than that found on the Sierra, showing GM is planning on having a great deal of differentiation there. We can sort of see through the mesh covering the grille to what appears to be a classic horizontal bar style front opening. Chevy is predictably dialing the crazy LED strip design back for the Tahoe and Suburban. The parts that are lit up look a whole lot like the headlight fixtures on the 2019 Silverado. That truck uses a stack of lights with the actual headlights separated from the DRLs. We can see the same thing going on here, with the headlight up top and curved LED DRL strip sitting below. It's tough to say if the designs are exactly alike, but we expect to see an extremely Silverado-esque look once all the camouflage comes off. Chevrolet's taillight design differs from its donor truck like the GMC, showing off a curved, vertical series of LEDs out back. Once production lights start popping up like this, we know the vehicle is moving closer to its end game. A reveal sometime later this year could be in the cards for GM's next batch of full-size SUVs. It certainly needs them quick, as Ford rockets ahead with increased Expedition production announced earlier this week.

J.D. Power study identifies top seats for your tush

File under News your fanny can use: The seating systems in the Ford Escape and Edge, the Audi A3, Chevrolet Cruze, Kia Cadenza, Porsche Cayenne and Toyota Tundra received top marks in a new J.D. Power study on seating and seat belt quality and satisfaction. The J.D. Power 2017 Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study asked more than 77,000 new owners and lessees of 2017 model-year cars and light trucks to rate their vehicle's seats and seat belts within the first 90 days of taking ownership. The survey is broken up into seven vehicle segments and scored on total seat problems per 100 within each segment, with awards presented to the seating system supplier. Canadian auto supplier Magna won three of seven first-place awards for its seating systems in the A3, Escape and Edge. Ireland-based Adient got top marks for its seats in the Cadenza and Cayenne. Lear Corp. won for the Cruze, and Avanzar Interior Technologies scored highest for seats in the Tundra. J.D. Power says its study is intended for automakers and suppliers with quality and satisfaction information to be used in developing and marketing seating systems. "But the results are just as interesting to a consumer audience," the company says. "After all, some drivers spend a considerable amount of time behind the wheel, and it's helpful to know which vehicles offer the most comfortable seats for those long commutes." Ain't that the truth. Ford was the only automaker whose seat systems, both manufactured by Magna, received top honors in two segments: the Escape for mass-market compact SUV and the Edge for mass-market midsize/large SUV. J.D. Power says it used 22 attributes to measure seat quality, three measures of seat belt quality and 12 to measure satisfaction. Awards were presented to the seating suppliers. Related Video: Image Credit: Audi Auto News Design/Style Audi Chevrolet Ford Kia Porsche Toyota Safety JD Power seats