Introduction

  Press Kit

For release: Sept. 27, 2007

Remarks from Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager, at the 2007 Texas State Fair

Good morning!

It’s great to back in Texas – home to the Texas two-step, Big Tex, the best state fair in the USA – and one of the best damn SUV assembly plants in the world!

It’s hard to believe it’s been just a year since we were here to introduce the Silverado and Sierra Heavy Duty pickups.

A lot has happened since then…

[Silverado / Sierra]

Just last month Silverado and Sierra bucked the industry trend with retail sales up over 30 percent compared to a year ago.

Here in Texas we’re selling more crew cab Silverados than any other manufacturer. Almost 7 times as many as Tundra!

But it’s no wonder. These are the most refined, capable, and fuel efficient pick-ups we’ve ever offered.

They are the only pickups to offer more than 300 hp and 20 mpg on the highway.

So it’s no surprise that Silverado won “Truck of the Year” at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit… and Sierra won the “Texas Truck Rodeo Awards” for Full Size Pickup.

And just yesterday we announced that our Silverado and Sierra are the ONLY full-sized pickups to get 5-star ratings for side impact – this goes along with our 5-star / 5-star frontal crash rating, another critical safety claim not all of our competitors can claim.

[Malibu / Malibu Hybrid]

Chevrolet also made some news on the car side of the business this year.

In January we introduced the all-new Chevy Malibu at the Detroit Auto Show:

Redesigned inside and out, the 2008 Malibu delivers great performance, refinement and fuel efficiency… all in a clean, tailored design.

Starting at under $20,000 it’s loaded with standard content and packed with value.

With powerful and efficient drivetrains, the new Malibu is ready to go head-to-head with the leading competitors.

In just a few days from now, we’ll start production on the stylish and efficient 2008 Malibu Hybrid.

[The Malibu Hybrid has been pre-positioned in a feature location.]

Value-priced at just $22,790, Chevrolet’s first hybrid car offers customers an affordable hybrid option.

And along with improved emissions and fuel economy, the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine still gives Malibu a sporty feel out on the road.

[Tahoe / Yukon Hybrid]

The Malibu Hybrid is just one of 16 new hybrid vehicles that GM will introduce over the next four years…and one of four hybrids we’ll introduce this year.

Next month another affordable hybrid will arrive at Saturn Retailers. The new 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line will join the Aura Green Line on their showroom floor.

And two more hybrids will be built right here in Texas.

They’re the only hybrids to be built here… and like the Texas Two-Step, they’re homegrown and will soon be spreading out across the country.

And they’re here with us today… and I present to you the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid…

[The Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids drive into view.]

With the Tahoe Hybrid and Yukon Hybrid we’re doing a little two-step of our own…

The first step was to take the best full-size SUVs on the planet and completely redesign them for 2007… providing customers with:

All this helped Tahoe continue as the best-selling full-size SUV in the business.

Now we’re taking the second step… by combining the comfort and functionality of our full-size SUVs with a full hybrid system.

These are the world’s first and only full-size SUVs with full hybrid drives.

The advanced two-mode system is designed to optimize fuel efficiency in both city and highway driving – resulting in a 30% improvement in overall fuel economy… and a whopping 50% improvement in city driving, according to EPA label on our 2WD model.

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s the same city fuel economy as the 2008 Toyota Camry with its base four-cylinder engine!

The big difference is the Tahoe and Yukon both still deliver the capability that SUV customers are looking for:

Rated at 332-horsepower, these hybrid SUVs provide impressive power and towing capacity… 6,000 pounds for the 4-wheel drive… 6,200 for the 2-wheel drive.

Best of all, they’re going to be built right here in Texas, at the 250-acre Arlington Assembly plant.

Today, we've brought along some very key executives from Detroit…

Bryan Nesbitt, Vice President of Design for GM North America has joined us today.

[applause]

Thank you Bryan for joining us.

Bryan would love to tell you why the new Malibu will look great in your garage – right next to your Silverado or Tahoe.

And Russ Clark, Executive director of product development for Buick-Pontiac-GMC.

[applause]

He’ll be able to tell you why the Chevy Malibu will look great next to a GMC Sierra or Yukon!

-I'd also like to recognize one of our local executives here in Texas... Kurt McNeil, Regional General Manager for our Entire South Central Region.

[applause]

He's been a great host for us. Thanks alot Kurt!

[Nature Conservancy Donation]

Now, in addition to building fuel-saving vehicles right in your own back yard, we’re also making local efforts to preserve some of your natural landscape.

Next year we’ll be donating a new Tahoe Hybrid to the Texas chapter of The Nature Conservancy as part of our “Trucks for Texas” campaign.

This is an ongoing program where local students submit designs and compete for the chance to have their artwork displayed on the vehicle.

The day after tomorrow we’ll be donating a Silverado to the Conservancy. It’s already been decorated with the artwork of local schoolchildren.

We all appreciate what the Texas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy is doing for our environment.

On behalf of General Motors I’d like to thank everyone at the Nature Conservancy for all their hard work and efforts. And we’re glad that we can help by providing them with the kind of hard-working vehicles that they need everyday when they’re out in the unpaved territories they help protect.

[Silverado / Sierra Hybrid Annoucement]

GM is helping all Americans conserve more of our natural resources.

From the Yukon and Tahoe full-size hybrid SUVs…

But that’s not all we have up our sleeve…

Many of our loyal truck customers have been asking for a hybrid system in their pickups.

They can’t live without the capability that our pickups offer… but like everyone else, they’re also looking for fuel efficiency and improved emissions.

We’re very happy to confirm that the same two-mode hybrid system we’re putting in the Tahoe and Yukon will be available next year in the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.

Soon, pickup drivers will benefit from that same combination of efficiency and capability in a full-size truck.

[Energy Diversity]

Gas-electric hybrids are an important part of GM’s strategy to provide clean and fuel efficient vehicles.

But we’re also addressing the issue on several other fronts…

We are constantly working to improve the efficiency of our conventional engines and to reduce their emissions at the same time.

We’re also developing powertrains that run on alternate fuels. GM has 12 E85 ethanol FlexFuel cars and trucks in our lineup today
with over 2 million GM FlexFuel vehicles on the road right now. That's more than any other manufacturer by far.

Then there’s the electrically-driven vehicles.

We’re all very excited about the Chevy Volt concept. And we’re furiously working to make that car a reality.

Plus later this year our test fleet of 100 Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles will be distributed on the East and West coasts in a program we’re calling Project Driveway.

We’re determined to make these advanced technologies practical for everyday use… and available to consumers nationwide.

[Summary / Close]

So whether you’re looking for a fleet of full-size pickups or a fuel efficient hybrid family car… no other automaker provides such a diverse lineup of cars and trucks to meet those needs.

From college students to contractors, we’ve got what you’re looking for… High-quality cars and trucks that look great, drive great,
are fuel-efficient and provide genuine value to our customers.

That’s how GM is transforming itself today.

And some of the best examples of those vehicles will be built right here in the great state of Texas.

So let’s all take a closer look at these hybrid SUVs…

And I hope you all get a chance to test drive them this afternoon with some our vehicle experts.

Thank you all for coming.

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[Document in Word format]

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