• Detroit Free Press, Friday, November 20, 2009 10:42 AM

Columnist Tom Walsh writes that upcoming auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit will be the most important in General Motor's 101-year history and the newly reconfigured company is doing things differently than it usually does. The biggest change, he says, is that it intends "to take the brands and new products directly and aggressively to consumers, instead of just to the news media for traditional unveilings."

It will do that by building buzz on the streets, with new GM models popping up, for example, "in the trendy hangouts of Los Angeles this month, sometimes with stars like Jay Leno or singer Colbie Caillat behind the wheel." Leno will take a spin in a preproduction electric-drive Chevrolet Volt next Friday. The car will later be on display at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, then at Century City Mall for display during the Thanksgiving shopping weekend.

"We're grateful for the second chance," says Tom Pyden, a GM manager. "We want people saying, "Oh, no, who woke these guys up?'"

Read the whole story at Detroit Free Press »