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Old 02-09-2009, 11:27 AM   #1
Hazdaz
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Default General Motors’ Bob Lutz Will Retire at End of 2009

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...Rrg&refer=news

General Motors’ Bob Lutz Will Retire at End of 2009
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Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, credited with leading the development of the Volt electric car and revitalizing vehicles such as the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS, will retire at the end of 2009.


Lutz, 76, will shift to a new role as senior adviser April 1 and be replaced by Thomas Stephens, 60, as vice chairman for global product development, Detroit-based GM said today in a statement. Lutz, a former Marine fighter pilot, has held key positions at each U.S. automaker during a 46-year career.



“This will have profound impact on the company,” said Mike Jackson, an auto analyst at consulting firm CSM Worldwide in Northville, Michigan. “Bob Lutz has played an integral role in GM’s transition from a company that operates regionally to a company that operates globally.”


Lutz is putting in his final year as the largest U.S. automaker scales back to survive while receiving as much as $13.4 billion in federal government loans. GM is cutting its number of brands by half and this year is slashing spending on new-product development to $4.8 billion from $7.2 billion.



“Bob Lutz was already a legendary automotive product guy when he rejoined GM in 2001,” Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said in a statement. “He’s added to that by leading the creation of a string of award-winning vehicles for GM during his time here.”


Lutz came to GM for a second stint eight years ago to try to revive its design process after 12 years each at Ford Motor Co. and the former Chrysler Corp. Lutz, who sometimes flies his own helicopter to work, oversaw Chrysler models such as the 190-mile- per-hour Dodge Viper sports car and the retro-styled PT Cruiser sport-utility vehicle.



Global Process
He led a reorganization of GM’s product-development process, requiring that models around the world share common engineering and other parts to trim costs and simplify production.



Lutz was responsible for “reinstilling a desire to execute on the product front” at GM, CSM’s Jackson said. Lutz will be most remembered for the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Enclave and Chevy Volt, he said.



He also worked three years at Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, starting in 1972, after his first stint at GM. He began at GM in 1963, and worked in a variety of positions in Europe.



Between his 1998 departure from Chrysler and his second stint at GM, he was chairman of battery maker Exide Technologies.



GM rose 4 cents to $2.88 at 11:03 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
This is big news for GM... and I honestly don't see it as good news. Lutz might have had a big mouth and said a lot of stupid things, but he did have a great eye for cars and thanks to him GM has started churning out some actually desirable cars recently.
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Old 02-09-2009, 11:46 AM   #2
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Oh well I guess we can shift our attention to Joe Biden,he's fun to make fun of..
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Old 02-09-2009, 11:53 AM   #3
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All he's doing is changing his title and Thomas Stephens is changing his title.

The same people are still running the company and the same **** will still be produced.
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Old 02-09-2009, 11:54 AM   #4
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Good riddance...the guy was a lose cannon that did nothing to represent the company in a good light. they need younger, more forward thinking people
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Old 02-10-2009, 10:26 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
Good riddance...the guy was a lose cannon that did nothing to represent the company in a good light. they need younger, more forward thinking people
Seems like a strange thing to say...

He was the only guy with passion. He is a car guy through and through. Younger people? He acted like a teenager!

If exciting cars are what you want, Lutz was the guy that pushed for them. You can fault him because they usually didn't make them $$$, but as far as wanting to deliver exciting vehicles, well, he was your man. The vehicles we wanted them to make, the ones that got axed or were shortlived at the hand of the bean counters...they were Lutz's babies....not sure if you're confusing him with someone else...

I'll take the guy that FORCED the Solstice through, and made the GTO happen. Those cars, those -failures-, were some of the best vehicles the General has put forth in a while. So, he failed. But he failed trying to make cars for the likes of us. You want a mini-van pro in there, fine. Don't ****ing cry when all GM releases it's K-Car...

Maybe they can throw Iacocca in for you?

Last edited by REX8; 02-10-2009 at 03:45 PM.
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Old 02-10-2009, 10:59 AM   #6
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The guy is 76 years old... I mean I hope I will be 1/32nd that succussful and energetic in 50 years, but I think it's about time to call it quits at that age. I'm sure his last bonus alone is probably more than I will make in my lifetime... So at least he'll have a cushy retirement.
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Old 02-09-2009, 12:18 PM   #7
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LOL - writing on the wall...
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Old 02-09-2009, 02:55 PM   #8
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Default You’re Not Rid Of Me Yet

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February 9th, 2009
Bob Lutz
You’re Not Rid Of Me Yet

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman




By now you may have heard the news that I have given up the duties of leading General Motors global product development.


Please note that I relinquish these responsibilities secure in the knowledge that the guiding philosophy of pursuit of absolute product excellence is now firmly embedded in the organization. That unquestionable fact made a very difficult decision much easier for me.


I feel very comfortable handing over the keys to Tom Stephens, and his new role makes perfect sense given that GM is preparing to integrate its Global Powertrain Operations into the Global Product Development organization. Tom will do a great job ensuring the continued excellence of GM’s new cars, trucks and crossovers, and he has a great team already in place to help, led by Ed Welburn, Jim Queen, John Smith and Jon Lauckner.


There has been speculation that I would stay until the debut of the Chevrolet Volt next year. When I do retire at the end of this year, the Volt program will be well on its way to launch and I’ll feel the same sense of pride and accomplishment that the entire Volt team will feel when the first ones are silently rolling off the assembly line.


So I’ll be around the rest of the year, helping with the transition and acting as senior advisor to Rick Wagoner, and I’m sure you’ll read further updates in this space about how it’s going. Most importantly, I remain as confident as ever in the future of General Motors and the continued excellence of its products. And you’ll see even more evidence of that as the next few years unfold.
111111
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Old 02-09-2009, 04:19 PM   #9
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Now the big question is how much of a bonus will he get when he leaves?
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Old 02-10-2009, 04:27 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justincredible View Post
Now the big question is how much of a bonus will he get when he leaves?
Chris Bangle called......he said " all of it!"
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Old 02-10-2009, 10:11 AM   #11
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Good riddance but sadly I doubt he's gone. He's a nut.
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Old 02-09-2009, 04:54 PM   #12
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Lutz will be remembered as the guy who brought us relatively cool cars that didn't make any money for anyone...

Oh yeah, here Bobby. I can get a to-go bag for the eggs.

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Old 02-10-2009, 01:41 PM   #13
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Default How Bob Lutz Destroyed GM




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Bob Lutz was not the worst thing to happen to General Motors. He was the second worst thing after CEO Rick Wagoner. Lutz’ legacy will not be the critically acclaimed vehicles attached to his name: the Cadillac CTS, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Malibu or Pontiac G8. It will be the fact that GM’s vice chairman of global product development annihilated whatever remained of GM’s brand-related equity. Bob Lutz ran General Motors into the ground.

Lutz’ career at GM proves the old adage that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Oh hell, Lutz was the problem. Within weeks of Lutz’ elevation to Car Czar, TTAC sounded the alarm. In one of his earliest interviews, a reporter asked Lutz about Volkswagen’s prospects. Astoundingly, GM’s Car Czar couldn’t name more than three of VW’s brands.

While you might expect the identity of the German automakers’ divisions to catch out a pistonhead at a pub quiz, Lutz was the newly-appointed head of development for the world’s largest automaker. If Bob Lutz didn’t have mental access to this type of competitive information, how could he possibly craft a coherent strategy for GM?

Lutz apologists flew to his defense. This quickly became a habitual practice. In subsequent years, the automotive media focused its attention on Lutz’ mal mots: his allegedly recidivist views on the auto industry’s place within society. The so-called “crock of ****” problem was actually thinly-disguised admiration.

The press painted Lutz as the straight-talking, cigar-chomping representative of an earlier time, a time when V8 engines—and GM—ruled the earth. And they loved him for it. What the media missed: how often Lutz’ opinions about the car business were ill-informed, misguided and just plain wrong.

This is the hugely compensated automotive executive that today called the Pontiac GTO “my proudest accomplishment.” After all, “That’s the car that got us convinced that we could use the global product development scheme. Up until then, no one had tried anything like that.”

Maximum Bob is, once again, flat out wrong; the “world car” idea is as old the auto industry itself. Worse: the Australian-built GTO was an abject failure. The GTO lost GM tens of millions of dollars, squandered precious development resources and drove yet another Lutz-shaped nail into Pontiac’s coffin.

You could, however, make the case that the GTO was the quintessential Lutz-mobile: a romantic expression of his personal taste that fell flat on its face. A product that Lutz quickly abandoned in search of . . . the next big thing. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. For models within brands AND the brands themselves.

Lutz never developed anything remotely resembling a coherent, focused and determined product development strategy. Automotive Attention Deficiency Disorder characterized Lutz’ tenure. Everywhere you looked, GM under Lutz was a company typified by frenetic indecisiveness. The rear wheel-drive Zeta platform program was on-again, off-again no less than seven times.

In 2005, Lutz described Buick and Pontiac as damaged brands. The media thought it a “come to Jesus moment,” withdrawn to serve GM’s PC PR needs. But it was Lutz himself who had damaged the brands. And it was Lutz who continued to kick the brands when they were down. Lutz was guilty of sins of commission (a staggering stream of badge engineered mediocrity) and omission (a singular failure to define a profitable brand remit for ANY of GM’s divisions).

Lutz’ epic incompetence was matched only by his swagger and bravado. His enablers ate it up, adding to Maximum Bob’s egomaniacal ignorance. The fact that the media perpetuated Maximum Bob’s nickname without irony—a moniker I invented in a moment of disgust—shows you the kind of bubble that protected and extended Lutz’s befuddled sphere of influence.

Although, saying that, one wonders how much power Bob Lutz actually held within the loony labyrinth of backstabbing RenCen bureaucrats that is General Motors. Did Lutz argue for the Chevy Traverse or just let it happen? Did the Powers That Be appease Lutz with his pet projects (e.g., the Pontiac Solstice) so they could do whatever they wanted to maintain the dysfunctional status quo upon which they depended?

There is no question in my mind that Bob Lutz’ resignation was motivated by personal greed. Let’s not forget Lutz’ reply to the [first] suggestion that he take a haircut to show his devotion to the team: “I already gave at the office.” By stepping aside now, the man who scoffed at the question “Is your pension bankruptcy proof?” is making damn well sure it is.

Like so many failed American executives, Lutz will not personally suffer for having ruined the livelihoods of tens of thousands of his underlings. He will sleep well, eat well, travel luxuriously and, worst of all, continue to receive the respect of his peers. He doesn’t deserve any of it, as history will one day decide.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/edi...ped-destroy-g/
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Old 02-10-2009, 01:48 PM   #14
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wonder what this means for the volt?
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Old 02-11-2009, 04:10 AM   #15
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I don't know if I completely agree with the article but I certainly understand the sentiments. No doubt Lutz is talented, and the whole mess is not his fault; but, he has to feel like this endeavor was not his best work(understatement). I feel at 76 you got to know when to fold them. I have been in my industry for almost 25 years, but am always slightly wide eyed at some of the energy and ideas young minds bring to the table. You feel like you still got it, but its a thin lin of self deception.Maybe a young mind could have added just the right touch to make a GTO or G8 boom. America has got to figure a way to hang on to young talent. The foreign automakers are raping us of our best.
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