Itsuo Inouye, Associated Press Beaver Falls native Mark LaNeve serves as GM's North America vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. Click photo for larger image.

As it moves to right its sagging ship, General Motors has made progress in sorting out the marketing positions of its various brands that sell under different nameplates but for roughly the same price. But it still has work to do, particularly with Buick.

That's the view of Mark LaNeve, the Beaver Falls native who serves as GM's North America vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. In an interview at the recent New York International Auto Show, he said that while "positioning Chevy and Cadillac in the market is easy,'' Buick is more difficult to differentiate because of its narrow lineup.

" That's one of our challenges,'' he said, noting the brand currently has only three distinctive models -- Enclave, LaCrosse and Lucerne. "We think we can re-establish Buick, but the success must come first and then we will add new models."

Buick sales have fallen 29.9 percent year-to-date through March, according to J.D. Powers, while Pontiac sales are down 20 percent year to date and Cadillac sales are down 8.1 percent. Overall sales for the nation's biggest automaker are down 5.5 percent so far this year.

There are some bright spots. Sales at the GMC truck division are up 6.8 percent, helped by strong sales of its Acadia crossover and Sierra truck. Saturn also is enjoying a resurgence, thanks to the new Outlook crossover, Sky roadster and Aura sedan, with sales up 20.2 percent.

Mr. LaNeve thinks the Aura can do better. While it has received positive reviews and was selected as the North American Car of the Year at this year's North American International Auto Show, it's " doing a little less in sales than I thought it would.''

Part of the problem, he said, is that at about $24,000, Aura costs more than Saturns typically have in the past, Mr. LaNeve said. "It's a new market for Saturn -- and certainly is generating more traffic for us."

Mr. LaNeve and other GM executives say they also are particularly excited about the strongly positive dealer and media reaction to the all-new Chevy Malibu that will debut this fall.

But there's some nervousness, too, since it will be going up against perennial big-sellers such as " the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry," Mr. LaNeve said. "We'll still have to fight like hell for every sale we get."

The problem is a familiar one: Living down a checkered history during the 1970s and 1980s when shoddy workmanship, look-alike styling and poor fuel economy were prevalent among all domestic brands.

In designing the new Malibu, GM benchmarked the Camry and Honda Accord, and for good reason: They were -- and still are -- considered by consumers to be superior products to anything offered by Detroit, a viewpoint auto industry observers say is tough, if not impossible, to overcome.

Mr. LaNeve begs to differ. He believes that the quality and fuel economy of the new Malibu are comparable to the Accord and the Camry, and that the lower price and expensive-looking styling may win over consumers.

"The current Malibu looks its price [between $15,000 and $20,000], but the new one looks like it costs at least $30,000" while being priced at about the same as the old model, Mr. LeNeve said.

Mr. LaNeve also would like to see GM compete at the very upper end and the very lower ends of the market.

To that end, Chevy displayed three small car concepts at the New York auto show and consumers were asked to vote for the one they'd like to see produced.

"But maybe we should do all three. We should look at that. This is a nice, emerging segment we need to be in. These kinds of cars are perfect for kids to have at college, or people who drive in urban ares or who are empty nesters," Mr. LaNeve said.

Other plans for GM's lineup may include an ultra-luxury sedan powered by perhaps a 10 or 12 cylinder engine. Industry rumors claim the car will be built with an engine related to the one powering the Corvette on a platform shared by a number of future GM products.

"We need a flagship of a $70,000 to $100,000 or over sedan to sell to the person who can buy anything. I'm on Bob Lutz [GM's vice chairman of Product Development and chairman of GM North America] about this all the time. He says, 'Just be patient, kid,' " Mr. LaNeve said with a smile.