DETROIT, MI: General Motors (GM) said its announcement to shutter truck plants in favor of small-car production furthers its earlier message promoting fuel-efficient vehicles.
Tom Wilkinson, GM director of news relations, said that rising gas prices and stalled truck sales have forced the decision.
Beyond large-scale promotion of the electric Chevy Volt for 2010, he noted, GM has publicized environmentally focused cars since 2006.
"[Our] PR activity [has been environmentally focused]," said Wilkinson. "We realize the need to change perceptions because people often think of [GM] as truck makers."
PR efforts related to plant closures were aimed at employees, shareholders, and business media, not consumers, he said. Union leaders learned of the reductions early on.