The Chevrolet Silverado, made by General Motors, won the title “Truck of the Year” on Monday at the North American International Auto Show. Just to ensure that General Motors enjoyed a clean sweep, their Corvette Stingray picked up the “Car of the Year” award for 2014.
The incoming CEO of the company, Mary Barra, spoke proudly to reporters following the double-whammy victory for Chevrolet:
“I’m really proud of the whole global product development team, starting with design through engineering and powertrain. They’ve worked really hard. They’ve sweated the details of each and every aspect of those vehicles.”
Of course, the bigwigs at GM are hoping that the recognition at the auto show will translate into increased sales.
Barra continued:
“I hope that people look, and if they haven’t considered General Motors or Chevrolet , they’ll get into the showroom because I’m confident if they get to the showroom, they’re going to see a lot of vehicles they’ll like.”
The last time the award for best car and best truck were given was back in 2010, when Ford Motors saw their Fusion Hybrid win Car of the Year and their Ford Transit Connect the best truck prize.
The Chevrolet Silverado offers a somewhat conservative design , but boasts a lot of new features under and over the hood. Alan Batey, GM’s incoming president of GM North America, spoke about the recent recalls of 370,000 Chevrolet Silverados. A software problem has apparently been causing them to idle hot:
“You have to put the customer in the middle and respond fast and we did that. Everything that’s in the factory is pretty much customer sold,” Batey said.
He continued to speak more positively about the brand:
“We acknowledge that our brand health isn’t where it needs to be over the long haul. So this external recognition… just again reinforces to the public that General Motors, Chevrolet and Cadillac last year is really on the move.”
Mark Reuss, GM North America President, continued to extol the virtues of Chevrolet: “This industry is all about momentum. There are people here who believe we can win again, and this demonstrates it.”
