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Mark Reuss: GM can't afford product 'misses,' has 'thought about' CT6 V-Series

Mark Reuss is a busy man. He oversees General Motors' global product portfolio, an all-encompassing task for a company that sold more than 9.9 million cars and trucks last year. When GM launches a well-received product, like the road-going rocket ship that is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – he gets credit. When the company stumbles with the slow-selling Chevy Malibu or grapples with fallout from the decade-old Saturn Ion and its flawed ignition switch, he gets blamed. GM owners, the press and sometimes the federal government, demand answers. Bob Lutz famously held the job before Reuss. So did Mary Barra, who's now GM's chief executive. There's a New GM, but the lineage is connected to a long history. When he's not thinking product, Reuss, an executive vice president, also runs the purchasing and supply chain for the company, which is still one of the largest industrial empires in the world. We caught up with Reuss on the floor of the New York Auto Show, where GM had just rolled out two crucial new products: the 2016 Cadillac CT6 and the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Speaking with a small group of reporters, Reuss delved into a variety of subjects, including the new Malibu, Cadillac's future (he thinks the ATS-V is going to "flame the M3 and M4"), and other topics. On fixing the Malibu: "We can't miss. We can't have those kinds of misses [like the previous generation] on our cars and crossovers and trucks. We can't do that. If we do that, we give a reason for someone to go buy something else. It's that simple. "On a car like the Malibu we have a chance to really fix all of that, which we have, and then lead. Then you've got a real opportunity there. So that's what we've really been focused on here – to fix those things." He later added: "We need that car here to transform Chevrolet desperately because it's the heart of the market. And when you think of Chevrolet, people will come back and think about what we did with the [new] Malibu and the Cruze... It's hugely important to us." On Cadillac: "If we go out and try and out-German the Germans, it's probably not going to work. We've got an opportunity here generationally where there's a lot of people younger than me that have parents that drove BMWs and Mercedes, and I think there's an opportunity there for those people to drive something different than what their parents did, and I think that's always been an opportunity in the auto industry if you look at the history of it.

Recharge Wrap-up: U of M wins Solar Challenge, family attempts record-breaking e-bike ride

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team has won the 2014 American Solar Challenge. It is the team's eighth national championship, its fifth in a row, and its first using Siemens' product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The race took place over 1,722 miles and seven days traveling across eight states. The team's car, called "Quantum," outpaced the nearest competitor by four hours. Looking forward, Michigan Solar Car Project Manager Pavan Naik says, "The switch to Siemens tools will give us the ability to model and simulate everything and truly allow us to optimize the performance of our new vehicle. As we start on our quest to win the World Solar Challenge in 2015, we'll be leveraging a full complement of PLM solutions." Read more in the press release below. The EcoCar3 competition, in which teams will convert Chevrolet Camaros into hybrid electric cars, begins in September. The various college teams will have four years to lessen the car's environmental impact as much as possible while maintaining performance and, of course, that cool Camaro design. EcoCar3, which is put on by the US Department of Energy and General Motors, kicks off with a workshop in Novi, Michigan from September 16 - 18. Read more at the DOE website at the dedicated EcoCar3 site or watch the announcement video at our previous post. Zap and Jonway Auto are shifting to a high rate of EV production. Zap already has two lines creating the Urbee EV to met demand, and is switching over a third to make electric minivans and SUVs. The company aims to produce 30,000 EVs by 2015 for the Chinese market. Zap says it has a backlog of 25,000 Urbee orders. Read more in the press release below. A family of four hopes to make a world record-breaking, 6,000-mile electric bike journey this fall. The family, which recently drove from Argentina to Montana in a pickup with a camper, will ride from Montana to Maine, then down the East Coast to Florida in an attempt to break the record for longest electric bicycle ride. They'll use two bikes. The Father, Thomas, will ride one of the bikes carrying one of the children, while the rest of the family rides in a support vehicle, with the mother, Dylan, riding the second bike when they can find others to drive. They have started a crowdfunding campaign for some of the equipment needed to document the trip. See the video below or read more at Treehugger.

Buick Encore, Chevy Trax earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS [w/video]

The Buick Encore has been a massive sales success practically from the moment it debuted, and Buick recently decided to increase production to keep up with demand for the premium compact crossover. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently put one to the test again, and the Encore earned a Top Safety Pick award. It's the first model from the brand to score the nod since 2013, according to the IIHS, and the rating also carries over to the 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The 2015 Encore scored a Good rating in all of the IIHS' evaluations, including the 40-mile-per-hour, small overlap front crash test. That was a big improvement over the previous model the institute tested, which scored a Poor result in the overlap test. In the first test, about 13 inches of the lower door hinge pillar came into the passenger compartment, and the steering wheel airbag moved too far to protect the dummy's head. Improvements for the latest model year showed six inches of intrusion this time, and the airbags caught the dummy's head well. The dummy's sensors also indicated a low risk of injury. The two CUVs missed out on the full Top Safety Pick+ because the IIHS scored the Encore as only having a basic front crash prevention system, and there was no such equipment for the Trax. To earn the highest mark, models need at least an advanced rating by the institute for this technology. Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax earn 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK award ARLINGTON, Va. - A small SUV is the first vehicle from the Buick brand to qualify for a TOP SAFETY PICK award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since 2013. The Buick Encore's newly introduced, lower-priced twin, the Chevrolet Trax, also qualifies for the honor. The Encore's award follows improvements to the SUV's structure for better small overlap front protection. The 2015 model earns a good rating in the small overlap test. In contrast, the 2013-14 Encore rated poor in the test. The driver's space was seriously compromised with intrusion measuring as much as 13 inches at the lower door hinge pillar. The dummy's head barely contacted the front airbag before sliding off the left side, as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag deployed too late and didn't have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head. In the latest test, the driver space was maintained reasonably well, with maximum intrusion of 6 inches at the door hinge pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's movement was well-controlled.