As is the (unfortunate) case with many announcements, comments from executives and product managers often get lost and don’t make it to the public past the initial event. It’s these comments that show the true sentiment of a company and provide an indicator of where it is headed, often way before any products or financial results. Luckily, few things get through our GM news coverage unnoticed — such as this (all too brief) video containing the remarks of GM North America President Mark Reuss during his portion of the 2014 Malibu reveal this past Friday.
Here’s the video; we also have the transcript along with the world-famous GM Authority Take just below the footage:
[Combined], compact cars, compact utilizes, and midsize cars — represent seven million sales in [the United States]. [GM] has very strong players in these segments, with the Cruze, Equinox, and Malibu, but we can always be betters and we’re not gonna stand around and be complacent, especially in the hugely-competitive midsize segment of the Malibu — and that’s why we’re here today.Our surveys show that in general, our Malibu buyers are very happy with their choice, and they’ve provided us with great, detailed feedback on some of the areas we can improve on the car. Armed with that feedback, we developed the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu.
In this hotly-competitive segment, we can’t afford to stand still ever. We have to move quickly, invest heavily, and strive for continuous improvement and perfection. And with the voice of the customer ringing clearly in our heads, that’s exactly what we’ve done.
We’ve repackaged the entire rear seat area to make it roomier and easier to get in and out of. We redesigned the center console to make it more functional and user-friendly and appealing, and redone the front fascia design to line up with the new face of Chevrolet.
We’re very proud of the speed, the teamwork, and the commitment that the team I’m representing here today brought this car to market.
The GM Authority Take
While we only have this condensed segment of the full presentation, Mr. Reuss’ remarks demonstrate GM’s overarching passion, energy, and vigor for making the best vehicles in the world, and for making The General the best in the business. Heck, it’s not every day that we hear an executive use words like “perfection”. In fact, we’ve already been told by others that this is only the beginning in GM’s return to greatness, and the presentation seen above, along with GM’s resolution to update the eighth generation Malibu a year after its initial debut, confirm this even more.
All that makes this a great time to be a GM fan — today and well into the future.
Comments
Thanks for posting this story, I think the new Malibu looks sharp. One question though, when is it supposed to hit the market? I have heard this summer but then seen in print lately this fall.
Paul — the 2014 Malibu will officially become available this fall. I don’t think it will be any earlier than that.
I’ve heard September 2013 for new Malibu. New changes are welcome, glad to see GM being more proactive now with initial flops instead of just ignoring it for a full model cycle.
Next up for a one year refresh……..the 2015 Chevy Silverado. Please.