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http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/../photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Q: Will people ever be that passionate about how clean and efficient their car is? Lutz: Some people are like that now. We certainly see an emerging movement like that in the [plug-in Chevy] Volt. There are Toyota Prius owners who are absolutely freaked on putting in a second battery pack and converting it to a plug-in and boasting about how far they can go on one charge. (http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/10/robert-lutz-general-motors-business-autos-0210_robert_lutz.html?partner=relatedstoriesbox)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/lutz.jpgJoann Muller – Forbes - Feb. 10, 2009

Love him - hate him, but never a dull moment. --Ed.

Detroit--General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, a legendary Detroit car guy who also worked at Chrysler, Ford Motor and BMW, announced his retirement Monday. He'll step down as product development chief on April 1 and move into a senior advisory role until the end of 2009.

Lutz spoke with Forbes Detroit Bureau Chief Joann Muller about his legacy and the auto industry's current crisis.

Forbes: You're leaving at a time when Detroit needs a handout, and Congress is clamoring for a change in management. Are you offering yourself up as a sacrificial lamb?

Lutz: No, but there's no stopping chronology and physical aging. There comes a time when getting up at 4:30 in the morning for a 6 a.m. meeting doesn't seem quite as thrilling any more. You know that Tommy Lee Jones movie, No Country for Old Men? Well this is no profession for old men...http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/10/robert-lutz-general-motors-business-autos-0210_robert_lutz.html?partner=relatedstoriesbox

I do think he's right about this:


Some people are like that now. We certainly see an emerging movement like that in the [plug-in Chevy] Volt. There are Toyota Prius owners who are absolutely freaked on putting in a second battery pack and converting it to a plug-in and boasting about how far they can go on one charge.


Frankly, I think that's going to be a fringe group. Most people just want the car for what it does. Only 5% of the public is dedicated enough and concerned enough about the environment that they will make the personal financial sacrifice to buy an electric car.
Ultimately, people interested in cars (whether for performance or fuel economy,) are a niche group. Most people just want the car to do what a car has always done, and (generally) as safely as possible, as cheaply as possible, and as reasonably fast as possible. And they don't want their cars to be ugly. Beyond that, the average person will only go above and beyond to care about things such as fuel economy if they see a direct connection to their budget.

To this day he is in denial. Fuel economy standards have only changed within the last year or so (can't recall the exact point), yet his company has been going down hill for a decade. Oh Bob by the way, this line of thought "because what the market wants to have will become secondary and we're going to have to produce cars that satisfy regulations." is what got you in this place. The "market" has shifted to better quality and fuel economy from imports for the last 15 years.

What will be the inducement to customers to buy an expensive car, with very expensive technology, that meets fuel economy regulations, when gas is $1.50? Will the government wake up one day and start regulating cars down to the individual and say, "You must buy a fuel-efficient vehicle or we'll take your driver's license away"? That's one way to force them. With today's cheap fuel, people are back to buying trucks and SUVs. Nobody can sell the small fuel-efficient cars right now.
There will always be a penalty to pay for a hybrid. It'll be interesting to see in four or five years, when people are confronted with all these more expensive vehicles, and if gas is still cheap. They'll come in and say,"I want a Chevy Tahoe." And we'll say, "I'm sorry, we won't be able to sell you that vehicle."

He still doesn't get it, does he?

Regardless of how Bob see's his reign at GM, the cold eye of history will surely document his dictates at GM as one of the most profoundly irresponsible directions in America's history. His name, and his policies, will go down with the unethical, immoral oil industry, as the cartel that triggered the depression we are now in.

And, the crying shame is that their unethical successes over the last few decades still has America in a fog. With all of the problems that have been precipitated on us as a result of their restraint of trade (keeping the high MPG cars they make for Europe out), price fixing and all of the catastrophes that have resulted from our dependence on foreign oil, we still tie energy efficient cars to the cost of gasoline!!!???

Bob, our economy is now, as we speak, in free fall.

Thank you, Bob. How much of those record "windfall profits" have you managed to divert to your own personal coffers?????

What makes you different from Bernie Madoff is that what he did is blatantly illegal; yours more camouflaged illegality!

We're taking the emotional element out and replacing it with the rational element. Never mind how fast the car is, or how nicely it handles, or even how much it costs. Will it help us meet fuel economy regulations? That's going to be the driver. Everything else is going to be secondary. Other people can do that just as well as I can.

No, Bob, other people can do it far better than you, which is why you need to leave!

Thank God the fool will be gone soon.

Harry

I hope they replace Lutz with someone who has drive, innovation, and the desire to make cars that people actually want to buy. Lutz is a dinosaur who single-handedly wrecked GM.

What will be the inducement to customers to buy an expensive car, with very expensive technology, that meets fuel economy regulations, when gas is $1.50

This is a red herring used by the car manufacturers to try to scare people whenever higher FE regulations are proposed. You don't need to employ expensive technology to produce a car that meets fuel economy regulations. My car is a good example of an inexpensive non-hybrid car using older engine technology getting hybrid level mileage by employing an intelligent air cheating design.

GM can blame regulation for all it's problems (while begging to Washington :rolleyes: ) but what has killed them the last year is and uncertain oil supply that had a lot to do with triggering a deep recession...not to forget way too easy credit they were an accomplish to.

GM got their wish on letting the free market dictate fuel economy standards and the marketplace has been more brutal than CAFE.

To be fair, Bob Lutz was responsible for bringing a number of barely disguised race cars to market, in street-legal clothing. They may have been fuel monsters, but no more so than a number of more famous marks (Ferarri) and they performed well at a fraction of the fancier cars' costs.

That said, the market has changed so dramatically, that I don't see quite what Bob Lutz is going to add to the new direction that cars seem to be going. When I see him down in the dirt in his fancy suit, measuring up Basjoos' car, and taking notes, then maybe I'll have to reconsider.

History has a funny way of changing our perceptions, and if fuel-savings continue to drive the ship, then we may end up valuing a gas-sipping Datsun 240 a whole lot higher than an old Corvette that gulps the stuff. The old boat-tailed Alfa's might just be the best classic car investment around --- right shape, light weight, smaller engine size --- all the things Bob Lutz fought against.

Hi All:

___When Ford finally gets their $*** together, they will make Bob Lutz last will and testament (legacy) look foolish. I like his drive and push for the Volt but not at the prices being discussed nor his past Viper’s and such. Malibu was good but not with gasoline at $4.00...

___He and Wagoner have guided a ship that ruled the seas for decades into the iceberg and kept the accelerator pedal to the metal to smash it into the ocean bottom forever.

___If he was so damned visionary, why is GM losing almost $10 Billion a quarter and without our help, worth less than the scrap it could be sold for to the recyclers?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

History will tell whether GM's current blunder that effectively tears a hole in the US economy is worse than GM's thuggery to get tetra-ethyl lead into gasoline. That was in the olden days. It might be tough to choose, but in my mind this is a company whose bookends are profoundly antisocial acts.

DAS

GM would still be in their present condition without Bob Lutz,

Just saying their corporate culture is that toxic.