FastLane

Dear Mr. Sindell -

While your blog post was an open letter to Fritz Henderson, I personally felt compelled to respond to you directly. As global vice president of GM Design, I have the pleasure of leading one of the most diverse industrial design organizations in the world. Across the globe, over a thousand talented GM designers and sculptors are bringing the heart and soul of GM to life. I have the pleasure of participating, developing and approving every product our passionate design team creates.

Since taking on this role, my team and I have taken immeasurable strides to bring manufacturing, engineering and design together on a global scale. We no longer work in silos, we work together. We have cut down barriers, removed obstacles and have returned to the essence which made GM great - Design.

Great design surrounds us. Harley Earl invented the modern design studios of the 20th century. Eero Saarinen designed our Technical Center, where I am privileged to work. Great design is a part of our DNA; for every misstep through the years like the Aztek, I’ll point to a Camaro, a Malibu or a CTS - cars that were created in a cutting edge 21st century environment.

I mention three recent examples of well-received GM designs and wonder openly if perhaps you have experienced them, especially their interiors. I challenge you to visit a GM dealer and sit in the Chevrolet Malibu or Camaro, Cadillac CTS or SRX, or the Buick LaCrosse before you question our commitment to design and quality.

It is obvious design elicits an emotional response in all of us. It is rational and irrational at the same time. The hallmark of good design is sublime yet overt in its detail, beauty and craftsmanship. We at GM are artists, innovators and problem solvers and are passionate about our work. Above all, we are listeners. I cannot tell you how many research events, nontraditional focus groups, and dialogs with potential customers, we at Design conduct, much less the entirety of GM to understand what customers want, what they like from competitive vehicles, what they dislike - all in the name of exceeding expectations.

Regarding your taking exception to our wearing suits . . . at Design, I manage a diverse team and I don’t care what my people wear. What I do care about are creative results and their style of dress has nothing to do with delivering great design. I want them to be comfortable. I believe, like many customers, that style and design count in everything. Done well, it makes people feel great. And style and elegance is what we design into each car and truck GM produces.

And as for quantifying my colleagues as old white men, I can only point you to my opinion , that diversity is not only represented in skin color or gender; it is diversity of thoughts, ideas, experiences and opinions of our people, that matters and makes us strong.

Our job today is to recapture, reconnect broadly with consumers, and help them feel good about GM vehicles again. It will be difficult, but not impossible, and our designers have the best chance of rebuilding that confidence. My team is designing some of the best vehicles ever, in studios right here in Michigan and across the globe - designs that inspire me and the customers we’ve met with - keep your eye on us.

Ultimately, you and your readers will judge for yourselves. To that end, I’d like to invite you to reacquaint yourself with our award-winning cars and trucks. I would be happy to take you, Mr. Sindell, on a personal tour of GM Design Headquarters in Warren, MI. I implore you to see what we’re working on; and then let folks know what you think. In the interim, the GM design staff will do its part to ensure that design stays in the asset column.

Kindest regards,
Ed Welburn
Global VP, GM Design

We hope that many of you were able to watch the press conference with our new President and Chief Executive Officer, Fritz Henderson, yesterday. There’s no question that we have a lot of work to do, both in the next 60 days and in the months and years ahead. But we’re confident that we will get there.

One of the things we wanted to highlight from Fritz’s comments yesterday: The recovery and reinvention of GM will be taking place on two fronts, both equally important but one getting a bit more focus right now in the media. Yes, restructuring is important, and we’ll be working toward that goal in the coming weeks and months. But we’re also going to continue to focus on building the best vehicles in the market — cars and trucks that consumers want to buy, cars and crossovers that place our stake in the ground as leaders in design, technology, quality and reliability. At the end of the day, restructuring GM is about better positioning us to sell cars. That’s what we do. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do moving forward.

Here are Fritz’s closing remarks from yesterday’s press conference, on his vision for how to make GM competitive and viable in the future. - Christopher Barger, Director Social Media, GM

By Tim Herrick
Chevy Equinox Chief Engineer

Over the many months of developing the new 2010 Chevy Equinox, I almost had to wrench the keys to our early development vehicles from the hands of the other engineers on the team so I could drive it myself.

Why? Because the new Equinox is one great, comfortable ride.

The Equinox has lots of features that drivers will appreciate — a USB port and the ability to control your iPod through the steering wheel controls and the rear-vision camera system, to name just a few. But I want to talk a little about the Equinox’s seats, which are the most comfortable in the compact crossover segment thanks to a process we call “pressure mapping.”

Pressure mapping enables our engineers to assess the contact and pressure points of various people’s backs - and backsides - to figure out the contour of the seat padding needed to optimize comfort. Although everyone is at least a little different, we were able to draw some conclusions by looking at the data from people of all shapes and sizes. Working with the seat designers for the new Equinox, we have developed very comfortable seats for the driver, front passenger and even rear seat occupants, which we believe are the best in the segment.

But it’s not just about comfort in the seats. We set out to make the 2010 Equinox a great driving vehicle, too.

We started with two, new direct injection engines-a 4-cylinder and a 6-cylinder-which provide an excellent balance of fuel economy and performance, with the 4-cylinder delivering 182 horsepower and 30 mpg on the highway. The new Equinox also has a lot of structural enhancements, including a front, under-cradle brace that provides very good lateral stiffness. The Equinox is outfitted with hydraulic ride bushings and the right shock tuning. Larger brakes, premium steering gears, wider tracks and stability control also add to exceptional ride and handling. And the fact that the Equinox has a longer wheelbase than our competitors’ products means that it will ride more smoothly than other vehicles in the segment.

Now that we’re getting closer to production, I finally have the keys to a new Equinox for internal evaluation before it goes into regular production and I’m loving it!

That’s the engineer’s perspective. I’d like to hear about your perspectives - particularly those of you who are driving another compact crossover.

(Editor’s Note: Challenge X is a four-year competition series that challenged teams of students from 17 top North American universities to re-engineer a stock Chevrolet Equinox to achieve better fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing performance, utility and safety. It began in the 2004-2005 academic year and concluded today in Washington, D.C. GM and the U.S. Dept. of Energy [DOE] were the headline sponsors of Challenge X.)

By Beth Lowery
Vice President, GM Environment, Energy & Safety Policy

Today I had the privilege of waving the checkered flag at the final Challenge X finish line.

The Mississippi State University Challenge X team with its Chevrolet Equinox

This is the second time in my life that I’ve been an official at an important race. Two years ago, I was the Official Starter at the GM FlexFuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway, which opened the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

And for the second consecutive year, Mississippi State University was the winning team today at Challenge X.

But Challenge X has been much more than just a race to see who takes home the first-place trophy; it is also part of an international race to find new choices to our current reliance on oil to supply the world’s automotive energy requirements.

In this extraordinary student engineering competition, governments from the U.S. and Canada, industry, and academia joined forces to explore sustainable and innovative vehicle solutions to energy and environmental issues.

The winning Challenge X team from Mississippi State designed a through-the-road parallel hybrid vehicle powered by a 1.9L GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by bio diesel (B20).

In a very real sense, all of the teams were winners - as were GM and the DOE.

We’ve found Challenge X to be exceptionally valuable, not only for the students, but for the sponsors as well.

The program has provided students with the necessary hands-on education to learn the skills they need to start an engineering career with an important, competitive advantage.

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Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

General Motors Vice President for Global Design Ed Welburn just gave a speech unveiling the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Here are some highlights from his speech:

• “As the design team was completing the development of the CTS sedan, the creative ideas continued to flow. Our designers had a great idea for a CTS coupe. The design quickly progressed from a hot sketch to a wonderful full-size clay model. It looked so good that we had to build it!”
• “The CTS Coupe concept builds on the success of the CTS sedan, but is an expression of the ‘Art & Science’ design language that is even more dramatic. The body shape is crisp, lean, and has a lot of energy. The bold front end is straight from the CTS sedan and the rear is just as striking as the front. The rear has a strong centerline crease, and aggressive proportions and plan view sweeps.”
• “The interior is based on the production sedan, but we used this opportunity to explore new materials, colors and finishes. I was so excited about the seat design that I had an extra seat designed to display as a piece of artwork at the Design Center.”
• “In terms of performance, the CTS Coupe concept offers the flexibility to accept a broad engine range of gasoline and diesel engines for international markets.”

Click over to GM’s media web site for more information about the CTS Coupe concept, including a complete list of specifications and comments from the car’s designers. And check out Flickr for more photos of the CTS Coupe concept.

This just in: Spotted on The GM test track, this early, preproduction Camaro Coupe. The new Camaro is quickly evolving into final form, but some of the details you see here (such as the headlamp design) may change before production begins this year. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor

…from America

By Ed Peper
Chevrolet General Manager

If you were online yesterday and had even a passing interest in performance cars, you probably read about the new 2009 Corvette ZR1. The car will go on display to the public during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, but we released some photos and the all-important technical information on this ultimate Vette. It’s the Corvette that challenges the supercar hierarchy, with world-beating performance offered at a world-beating price.

Just in case you missed it, here’s the story: The ZR1 is the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever produced. In fact, it’s the fastest and most powerful production car in General Motors’ history. We’re still conducting performance testing, so I can’t throw out 0-60, quarter-mile and braking numbers, but suffice it to say that we couldn’t use the Corvette Z06’s 200-mph speedometer because there weren’t enough numbers on it.

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By Eric Clough
Director of Design, Cadillac Interiors

Thank you to all who responded about the new CTS interior. I appreciate the feedback and enthusiasm. I’d like to answer a few of your questions and topics that have been posted here on FastLane.

Radio and screen
The radio is usable with the navigation screen retracted. In fact, the only time the full screen is necessary is for nav use.

Wood
The Sapele wood is a species of African mahogany and is nursery grown for consistency, sustainability and to avoid rainforest depletion.

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By Eric Clough
Director of Design, Cadillac Interiors

Designers are often asked, “What inspired you to create this design?” It’s a natural question about the creative process, but it’s seldom easy to answer.

Unlike an artist’s singular vision, designers are awash with influences, competitors, requirements and history, and work in teams to synthesize a vision for a specific product for a select range of customers. What inspired us? The desire to create a bold new direction for Cadillac interior design, to build a car that is better than the competition, and to raise Cadillac to its rightful place as a luxury brand.

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John Manoogian

By John Manoogian
Director of Design, Cadillac Exterior

We all know plenty of examples of “one-hit wonders” in literature, music, cinema, and, yes, even in car design. When the time came to redesign the original Cadillac CTS, the design team wanted to steer clear of this syndrome.

As Cadillac’s design vocabulary suggests, its brand essence is extravagant, exclusive and one that offers a dramatic presence. Let’s face it, the CTS is bold and makes a very strong statement about Cadillac’s “Art & Science” design philosophy. The design team understood that the successor to the original CTS needed to be recognizable as a Cadillac, but look like a CTS with a great upscale presence.

All these things were going through my mind as I was given the assignment to lead the exterior design team of designers and sculptors to design the 2008 CTS. And believe me, there was a lot of competition. It’s said that competition improves the breed. Well, I am convinced it certainly raised the bar for the CTS design.

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