Big changes continue for General Motors, which has been “restructuring” lately to prepare itself for the future. Today’s big announcement: product development head Mark Reuss, whom many consider a real car person, is now the president of GM.
Announced in a press release this morning, former executive vice president for global product development, Mark Reuss, will assume responsibility as GM’s president, effective immediately. The company says that, in addition to heading up Cadillac and the Global Product Group, he’ll also run the Quality team.
A big part of the decision has to do with GM’s electrification and autonomous driving plans for the future, with Mary Barra saying in the company’s statement:
“Mark has played a critical role in leading the development of the company’s award-winning vehicles while transitioning his team to prepare for growing electrification and autonomous technologies.”
Reuss, a career GM-er and the son of Lloyd Reuss—who himself was the president of GM in the early 1990s—is apparently going to be “doubling the resources allocated to electric and autonomous vehicle programs in the next two years.”
Clearly, there are lots of changes happening at GM. But unlike plant closures, this one’s being touted as a good development by car enthusiasts, as Reuss is apparently a true gearhead who’s been a commenter and “friend of Jalopnik,” and also likes wagons.
Yes. Promote the wagon-loving Jalop. That should be every car company’s strategy, really.