Brent Dewar is a sales and marketing guy, and like any good salesman, he's a good storyteller.
In a nearly 30-year career with General Motors, he's sold the automaker's stories on two continents.
You've undoubtedly heard one of them. "Chevrolet: An American Revolution," the largest ad campaign in Chevy's history, debuted under Dewar's watch as general manager of the division. It's supposedly the sixth most recognized ad campaign in automotive history.
These days, Dewar is GM's vice president of field sales, service and parts. He was in Janesville on Thursday to tell the story of GM's ongoing turnaround and its future direction.
GM and other domestic automakers have significantly ramped up their marketing and public relations efforts since the Senate passed an energy bill in June that includes stricter fuel efficiency standards. The automakers say the standards are unattainable in the short term and would cost $114 billion over the long run.
Brent Dewar
Plant and union officials in Janesville have said GM hasn't received the recognition it deserves for making huge gains in fuel efficiency and alternative fuel innovations. The message, they've said, just hasn't been heard.
"We're not in a crisis mode; we've been telling the story consistently for some time," Dewar said. "It's just that we're competing with what Kobe Bryant is doing tonight, what's up with the Runaway Bride and who the next American Idol will be.
"Plus, ours is a good news story, and good news doesn't always play as well."
Other national debates, including those on the war in Iraq and the country's health care crisis, are making their share of headlines.
But on one of those issues-the debate over Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards-Dewar said one thing is crystal clear: "GM is for fuel economy."
GM has 24 models that get 30 miles per gallon or better on the road today, and the automaker leads a majority of car and truck segments in fuel economy, he said. The company is committed to improving efficiency in its gas, alternative fuel and hybrid engines.
"We want to take the automobile out of the energy debate," he said. "We want to be part of the solution."
But if things don't change on Capitol Hill to the liking of Dewar and his colleagues at GM and competitors at Ford and DaimlerChrysler, the solution could hinder truck production at GM's Janesville plant.
The recently passed Senate bill would boost fleet average fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a requirement that critics say fails to recognize the inherent weight differences between cars and trucks.
Averaging a fleet puts the domestic automakers at a serious disadvantage because they sell far more large vehicles than small, which get better mileage.
The energy bill is awaiting action in the House. A fuel economy amendment supported by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, would keep separate standards for passenger cars and light trucks but require that the average standard for the overall fleet of vehicles sold in the United States would be no less than 32 mpg and no greater than 35 mpg by 2022.
"It's a very aggressive amendment, and, quite frankly, we're all a little nervous about it," Dewar said. "But we think it's the right direction."
Under the Senate-passed bill, there's a concern that domestic automakers will be forced to curtail production of their larger vehicles. That could spell trouble for the Janesville plant, which is one of two in the United States building large sport utility vehicles for GM.
While GM controls 70 percent of the full-size SUV market, a decrease in production and sales, coupled with over-capacity at the two GM plants, could force the automaker to take a hard look at its two-plant production system.
Dewar won't speculate on that.
"There are no guarantees on anything," he said. "It's a global economy that we live in."
And Dewar won't use "fair" as an adjective in describing the global economy. Last year, Toyota imported more than half the vehicles it sold in this country, a fact that few people talk about, he said, adding that Japan, with a closed-door policy to U.S.-made vehicles, has manipulated its currency to an all-time low to support its own export markets.
"It's tough enough to compete with Toyota on the normal stuff without giving them any more help," he said. "They're definitely on the predatory side of the business."
But GM will compete, he said, adding he'd love to see the automaker improve its full-size SUV market share from 70 percent to 100 percent.
Ed Peper Jr., general manager of Chevrolet, said GM will continue to dominate the market, whatever its size.
"People who buy these vehicles need the room, they need the comfort and they need to have the dog and the kids and all the stuff transported," he said. "There are alternatives in the marketplace, but if people really want to get it done with a utility, we're the only game in town."
GM's confidence in the product is evidenced by the fact that later this year the automaker will offer the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon in a two-mode hybrid version that's expected to boost fuel efficiency by 25 percent.
"We're putting our two-mode hybrid and ethanol into these vehicles for a reason," Dewar said. "It's because we recognize that's where the demand is going to be."
But with uncertain gas prices, a trend of downward sales and stricter fuel economy standards on the horizon, the story of truck production in Janesville will likely turn into a real cliffhanger.
