YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT GENERAL MOTORS' reinvention into a smaller, leaner organization with fewer manufacturing plants, fewer dealers, fewer brands and fewer, stronger models. Most of these changes have already taken place, and the company — and its vehicles — are the beneficiaries of the transformation.

While GM's President and CEO, Fritz Henderson, has said that the focus must be on changing the culture internally, as well as focusing on customers and products, here's how the transformation translates into reinvented products. In the past, GM had some very competitive vehicles, some that were middle of the pack, and some that, frankly, missed the mark. Those days are over.

To wit, in one of the fastest growing segments of the market — the compact crossover — there are many worthy competitors, including the Honda CRV and Toyota RAV4*. But while these vehicles only achieve highway fuel economy ratings in the 20s, the new Chevrolet Equinox five-passenger crossover blows past them all with an EPA-estimated 32 miles per gallon highway (FWD model). It even beats the Ford Escape Hybrid** on the highway. The Equinox is the compact crossover, reinvented.

You may have seen the new Chevrolet Camaro on the road or in the movies; one glance tells you that the accountants didn't tell the designers what to do. Frankly, the resulting challenge is building enough of them — hard to believe that a coupe could do so well in a recession, but great design can do that. To be clear, great design isn't the only magic that the Camaro can conjure; the 304-horsepower base engine has an EPA-estimated 29 mpg on the highway — and it starts under $23,000 (excludes tax, title and license).

The new Buick LaCrosse has already been called an "American Lexus" (Dan Neil, L.A. Times, August 7, 2009). "GM's first new car since it emerged from bankruptcy is as good as or better than the ES350 in every way, and is actually desirable," said Neil. But see for yourself; for understated, unadulterated luxury, the midsize LaCrosse will exceed your expectations and hopefully reset your idea of what Buick is and can be.

Cadillac's reinvention began a few years ago, and the new SRX midsize luxury crossover takes this renaissance to the next level, especially from the viewpoint of sporty driving dynamics, and cutting-edge design and technology. While you're visiting the Cadillac display, look very, very closely. We're reminded that "God is in the details," and Cadillac's designers and engineers have been inspired by this kind of thinking in places like seat stitching, headlight "jewelry" and switch/control precision.

At the 2009 New York Motorexpo, you'll have a chance to experience many of GM's new vehicles currently in the marketplace that go a long way to drive GM's reinvention. Coming in 2010, you'll see what GM is doing to globally reinvent the auto industry. GM's long-term vision for the future of personal transportation is that cars will become electric in order to diversify ourselves away from imported petroleum (the U.S. has 250+ years of proven coal reserves, as well as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and nuclear power to make electricity). The Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle is expected to achieve 230 miles per gallon city†. As 75% of Americans drive fewer than 40 miles roundtrip to and from work every day, Chevy Volt drivers will be able to commute using virtually no gasoline (the Chevy Volt will go 40 miles on pure electrical power)††. GM hopes you enjoy Chapter 1 of the reinvention. The proof is in the pudding. So bring a big spoon.