From the July/August 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Mark Reuss has served as General Motors president since January 2019 and has devoted his entire career to the nation's biggest automaker. He began with a factory internship in 1983 while in college and joined full time in 1986 as a mechanical engineer. He later completed an MBA. He advanced through roles that included leading the Australian Holden unit, managing international operations, global product development, purchasing, and worldwide vehicle programs. He also founded and ran GM's Performance Division before heading GM North America in 2013. A lifelong Detroit-area resident, Reuss is a dedicated enthusiast who helped shape Cadillac V-Series models, revived Chevrolet SS variants, supported Corvette's ongoing refinement, and guided the firm's Formula 1 return.

Reuss is the son of the late Lloyd Reuss, a longtime GM engineer and executive who led Buick and briefly served as president from 1990 to 1992 before departing amid rising global competition and internal challenges. His exit coincided with the end of early electric-vehicle efforts such as the EV1 and a shift toward tighter budgets and marketing focus. Mark Reuss's rise has sometimes been questioned as favoritism, yet his father's exit occurred decades before he reached senior leadership.

Car and Driver contributing editor Jamie Kitman met Reuss at the GM Design Center in Warren, Michigan, for an in-depth conversation.

C/D: In the early 1980s GM held such dominant share that observers feared global takeover. Much has shifted since, yet the old tension between product-focused staff and financial controllers persisted for years. Recent moves suggest product priorities are regaining ground. Does this reflect the current leadership pairing of a known enthusiast like yourself as president alongside CEO Mary Barra?

Mark Reuss: This leadership setup has not existed for quite some time, and it works well. When I started in 1986 the company faced mounting issues and frequent restructurings.

Technical insight and market competition must stay aligned with sound business practices. Skilled engineers and finance teams work best together when engineers develop features customers may not yet realize they need years in advance.

Last year we sold roughly 700,000 vehicles priced at $30,000 or below, a challenging segment. We have led large-SUV sales for 51 straight years. Super Cruise has logged 800 million incident-free miles across more than 600,000 customers and 23 models. These results show we are meeting buyer expectations across segments.

Reports indicate a stronger push back into passenger cars rather than only trucks and SUVs. What prompted this shift?

We have confirmed the Cadillac CT5 on the new Alpha platform. Everything else remains speculation.

Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.

Buick and Chevrolet sedans plus a fresh Camaro have also surfaced in speculation, all of which sound promising.

We continue to evaluate those possibilities. I remain enthusiastic about models that have long defined our brands and still hold meaning for them.

Chinese rivals appear free of impatient investors, allowing longer-term bets on future technology. Does that structural difference help them?

They pursue extended strategies. Only a handful of Chinese firms turn profits, largely through battery supply. We remain profitable there thanks to disciplined operations and strong Buick and Cadillac brand positions. We do not simply rebadge local platforms. Success comes from delivering high-quality, desirable vehicles. Our interface technology ranks first in China, and our driver-assistance systems also score well. Quality and relevance drive customer willingness to pay anywhere.

Beyond individual firms, does our broader system sometimes hinder sustained investment?

Short-term pressures versus long-term needs remain a constant tension. We will not abandon sound decisions. Mary Barra shares this view. The company we inherited will evolve into something stronger and more enduring. That matters because thousands of employees across plants, engineering, and design rely on stable careers that support families and education. Such contributions to the wider economy are significant even when markets do not immediately reward them.

General Motors

General Motors is developing EV batteries at the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan.

Electric vehicles continue to face hurdles. The new Wallace battery center represents a substantial commitment. Balancing current revenue against future-oriented spending remains difficult.

Those investments are necessary. We are among the few integrating battery chemistry development in-house. Mastering new cell technologies is essential, much like our long-standing expertise in engine casting and cylinder-head production.

GM once shifted substantial production offshore, with some executives describing the firm as primarily a marketing entity rather than a manufacturer.

Losing sight of core strengths leaves a company vulnerable. We now operate battery and cell plants to high standards, something new for us. We have produced electric motors for other uses but are now creating a dedicated passenger-vehicle family. In-house control of key efficiency components reduces battery-size requirements and improves customer value. While suppliers contribute valuable ideas, we must excel at the major cost elements ourselves.

Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Chevy Bolt EUV.

Recent geopolitical events appear to be boosting EV demand, an outcome contrary to some policy preferences.

Outcomes are never fully predictable. Past fuel-price spikes show that sustained prices at or above four dollars per gallon begin to shift buyer behavior. We delivered 100,000 electric vehicles last year. We avoid extreme swings in either direction and have maintained all current EV production while expanding capacity.

We also support sustainability goals and recognize climate change as a genuine concern. I want to contribute solutions for the next generation. These vehicles are enjoyable to drive, and the convenience of skipping fuel stops proves transformative for owners.

Bankruptcy eliminated several brands. Without that process, Saturn and others might have survived.

Decisions on brand survival were not simply internal choices.

Did government involvement dictate the outcome?

Yes.

Bankruptcy reduced domestic operations, and later moves trimmed European and Australian footprints. How do you view those changes over the longer term?

We invested heavily in Europe for years through plants, dealers, brands, and engineering. We built strong vehicles there.

Opel models were excellent, and the Buick Regal TourX derived from Opel was impressive. Losing that engineering capability felt like a notable loss.

I developed two vehicles on the Epsilon platform there, both highly capable yet costly to produce. The brand struggled to support those costs and never gained full acceptance as a local player despite our American ownership. The cars we imported as Buicks, such as the Regal GS, performed well, but currency swings and trade imbalances complicated planning.

Jessica Lynn Walker|Car and Driver

Buick Regal GS.

We are returning to Europe with a measured strategy focused on Cadillac electric models. Earlier approaches emphasized volume over demand creation and led to oversupply. This time we will keep supply deliberately below demand to strengthen brand perception.

Beyond the Opels, are there other vehicles you worked on that underperformed relative to expectations?