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Ken Gratton5 Aug 2009
NEWS

What's right for Holden is right for GM: Reuss

Ahead of his return to the US, departing MD Mark Reuss expects to retain a strong bond with Holden

Mark Reuss leaves Holden in a healthy state. The company has endured as much hardship as any other in the current economic climate, but Commodore remains the top-selling car and migration to direction-injection V6 power will consolidate its position in the market.


Currently handing over the reins to Alan Batey, Reuss is moving to a new role as vice president, global vehicle engineering for GM.


Probably his last official act as the head of Holden, Reuss announced the SIDI engine upgrade for the V6 Commodore to the press yesterday. It's a testament to the regard in which Reuss is held in the GM world that he was outed by Senator Kim Carr at the launch yesterday, as "one of 10 people who put 'the New GM' together".


Given his new position will distance him from Holden geographically, but there'll still be some interaction with the company's engineers, the Carsales Network asked Reuss to outline his views on Holden and its export-market product. 


On the issue of the Commodore returning to the US market in the foreseeable future, Reuss was careful not to pass comment on the prospects.


"We've been working on export programs to replace some of the export volume that came out of Elizabeth for Pontiac going away in the United States -- and I'll leave it at that."


Earlier, Reuss had explained that, in his view, export potential for the car can be hampered by waiting for new-model-year upgrades. That acknowledgment has informed the company's decision to go with on-the-fly running changes without slowing production or delaying the introduction of necessary new features while a significantly upgraded model is tested for crash safety and durability.


"I have a philosophical approach here, that our team at Holden has executed over the last 18 months -- and that is: a dramatic improvement in the car, all the time. Waiting for a new model year change or waiting for a big lot of improvement and then launching that means that we don't draw natural customers for export, because we've held off making those big improvements.


"Every month, I don't care what it is -- next week -- someone comes and says 'this is the idea, it's a wind deflector, it's better aerodynamics, it's lowering the car, it's more fuel efficiency'. Whatever it is, we're going to take it and put it in the car -- and we're going to create our own luck.


"People are going to see this platform and this car as world-class efficiency, world-class value -- and they're going to come to us and ask us 'how can we get your car?'


"I never want to be in a place where we have to rationalise what we did on this car anywhere. The export markets will happen naturally, because the excellence... is going to be inherently evident.


"It's a big change from the way we have operated... we're going to do this all the time. This is going to be a path to greatness for quality, for efficiency, for value -- all of them."


Holden product exported to the US has attracted criticism from the export market buyers for reasons of quirky engineering and design. The location of electric window switches, the 'fake' hood scoops and the sheer weight of the Pontiac G8 were three elements that came under fire from the Americans.


That weight issue for the G8 also plagued the GTO (Monaro rebadged) while that car was on sale in the US. It's not unknown within the local industry for pundits to say that the 'tough, uniquely Australian' transport environment is a myth perpetuated by local manufacturers to justify design and engineering autonomy.


The flipside of that coin is that Aussie cars exported to the US (the Pontiac G8 and GTO), are possibly more durable for Australia, but seem relatively heavy for the American market. So that was a question we put to Reuss; are the company's products over-engineered for the world stage -- or under-engineered even?


"No, not at all," he responded. "This car [the Commodore] is engineered pretty right for this market. We're selling as many as we do year-in and year-out. It's pretty well executed for what we're doing here and I think when we go into different markets, I would say the thermal capability is something that we need to probably improve going into some really hot places.


"Just from a performance standpoint... We don't have autobahns here -- and we don't engineer for it, which is good. So that's a good example of not over-engineering.


"I don't know whether the [Pontiac G8] was heavy or not. That's a very subjective comment. It was a well-equipped car, number one... I don't think it was over-heavy."


Reuss paid tribute to the local team for their 'can-do' attitude.


"You know the first word out of everybody's mouth [at Holden] is 'gee, how can we make that happen?' -- not 'we can't do this or we haven't got that...'


"It's none of that, it's 'sounds like a good thing, how can we make that happen?' [or] 'we think we can make it happen, let us go try and make it happen'. That's the most refreshing thing here.


"I'm going to bring that back to everybody."


"Taking a new 3.0-litre engine into an existing platform and making a great car out of it is not an easy thing to do. So these are highly skilled engineers that have been around and love cars and can integrate a car. And that's a big thing. It's a huge deal.


Reuss also speculated that the company could be the 'Mister Fix-It' in the world of the New GM, citing Holden's work on LPG as one example of that already in place.


"You know, these LPG engines we're going to introduce over the next couple of years are a great case in point. We have dynamometers here. We can do liquid versus vapour [injection]... We can do all those comparisons instantly. And [Holden's engineers] do it and they love it and we know exactly what those technologies are and how to develop them -- all of that."


From this, Reuss is a strong supporter of Holden's design and engineering ethos -- which is evolving over time, of course. As outlined above, Reuss has played a part in shaping that ethos. We asked him whether his experience here was more or less important than what he's likely to learn in his new role -- and will the new position provide him with a broader perspective from which Holden can benefit?


"I think that this job has been the opportunity of a lifetime for me here -- with engine, vehicle, engineering/design, its own brand... this is its own company, which I'll take with me for the rest of my life. Will it have influence on me in my job in the United States? Boy, you bet."


Will he feel conflicted by a sense of loyalty to his 'home' over the past 18 months or his long-standing loyalty to the corporation over which his father presided? One example of potential conflict arising is the American market's migration to front-wheel drive for larger passenger cars. For the time being at least, Holden's rear-wheel drive commitment in the Commodore seems safe, but would Reuss feel compelled to guide Holden in the direction of front-wheel drive, for instance? And would he feel pressured from above to be 'impartial' with the company he once headed?


"Hell no, I love this place, I love the company..." was his succinct response.


"We're going to do what's right. I would do what's right... what's right for here and what's right for GM -- there's no conflict in that, at all."


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Written byKen Gratton
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