Faces of GM

Whitney: Adding a mom’s perspective to Chevy crossovers

February 24, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Editor’s Note: The Chevrolet Equinox was one of three finalists for North American Truck of the Year, an honor voted on by the automotive press.

Whitney Krause, Assistant Program Manager for Chevrolet Equinox

Close to home:  I am from a large GM family, and knew as a kid that I wanted to work for GM at the Warren Tech Center.  I wasn’t sure in what capacity at the time. I just knew that I wanted GM in my future.

Outside Interests:  I am a mother of two teenagers, so most of my time is dedicated to raising them, which includes exhausting shuttling services to and from hockey, football and dance competitions.  Spending so many hours in a car driving kids gives me the perfect opportunity to give input from a mom’s perspective on the features and functions needed in a vehicle that our customers also want.  When time allows, and in between the kids’ schedules, I cherish the time spent with friends trying out the latest restaurants, or just soaking up the sun and the laughs up in northern Michigan.

Favorite Features:  It is really difficult to pick my favorite Equinox feature.  32 mpg highway on the 4 cyl. is certainly impressive, and the quiet cabin is segment leading. The seat comfort is great for an aching back, but if I had to choose a feature I am most proud of, I would narrow it down to the rear-vision camera.  It is located in the inside rear view mirror, or in the Nav. screen (depending on the how the vehicle is ordered).  Although this feature has been available in other high-end models, the Equinox is the first in its segment to offer this feature.  We felt this vehicle would have a high percent of female buyers who would consider this feature a wow factor, and others alike as well.

I began my GM career as a manufacturing engineer in 1994 (at the Warren Tech Center, just as I predicted as a kid). In 2005, I began work on the original Equinox, and then moved to work on the 2010 Equinox about three years ago.  My team and I were all thrilled that Equinox was one of three finalists for North American Truck of the Year. We’re also pleased to see it doing so well in the marketplace with strong sales.

When we started working on the new Equinox, we wanted to make sure we did it right. We wanted to make a vehicle that consumers wanted and would get excited about. We wanted to make a vehicle to meet all of their needs. By that, I mean everything from fuel economy and safety to the comfort of the seats, and enough cubbies for storage.

We went to great lengths to design the vehicle for a wide range of customers, including women in high heels and mothers with young children. The acceleration pedal is angled so it’s more comfortable for women driving in heels. We made sure to include lights in the visor mirror. When you’re trying to put on lip gloss for dinner in a dark parking lot, you need a light and you need it to be discrete. You don’t want to turn on the dome light.  Making lit sun visors standard equipment is small addition to the vehicle, but a huge dissatisfier if it is not there that our male co-workers may or may not understand.

We also insisted on having a rear-vision camera available on Equinox. Originally, it was not part of our vehicle content, but during the vehicle development, the “Today Show” and “Oprah” ran segments on the dangers of vehicles backing up on small children. I brought tapes of those segments to one of our team meetings. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. Because of the passion of our team, we decided that we had to make rear-vision cameras available on our vehicles.

It was all of the little things that our team did that made sure the interaction between the driver and vehicle was a good fit. I could not be more proud of how everyone on the team worked together to create a vehicle that meets the needs of so many consumers.

Tweet