So Long Bob, And Thanks For All The Fish (GM’s Bob Lutz Retires)
Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, Maximum Bob, will retire from General Motors by the end of 2009. This will occur following a demotion to an advisory position on April Fool’s Day. Seriously. I’ve got mixed feelings about this because Bob brought some great products to the GM stable but he was (is) also a clueless twit. Follow the jump to see some of the cars that Bob was responsible for.
1. Pontiac GTO
2. Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice
3. Chevy Malibu
4. Cadillac CTS
5. Chevy Volt
6. Chevy Camaro
7. Buick Enclave (and relatives)
8. Pontiac G8
Pretty respectable list, if you ask me. Unfortunately, Maximum Bob failed to differentiate any of the brands or even make any of them profitable. He was an indecisive product developer and he was always more interested in his own pet projects than building cars with a wide enough demographics to make them profitable. Despite these short-comings, the cars he did develop were right up our alley. The Pontiac G8 GXP, Chevy Camaro, and Cadillac CTS are all fantastic cars that we can’t wait to pick up on the used car market in a couple years for pennies on the dollar.
Seeing Mr. Lutz go is a sign that GM doesn’t have room for such an narrow-minded ego-maniac anymore. That, or he’s getting out while he still has a severance package to take with him. I’m hoping that it’s the former because GM could really use someone with an understanding of global economies, global companies, and profitability right about now. Here’s hoping that Rick Wagoner is next out the door.
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4 Comments
1. Holden Monaro.
2. Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220.
3. Based on Opel Epsilon platform.
4. Based on Holden Sigma platform.
5. That’s the concept. Now show the nice readers the production version.
6. No comment.
7. Buick’s are for pensioners who enjoy driving half the posted speed limit, creating traffic queues behind them. They enjoy it. Really! THEY DO!
8. An ugly Holden Commodore.
Now about Ricky… He’s got a bachelor’s in economics from Duke and an MBA from Harvard. His previous posts with GM have included analyst, treasurer, & CFO of various divisions until he eventually became CEO in June of 2000 when their stock price was US$60.00 per share. Today, as I type this, GM stock closed at US$2.70 per share. Nice.
Now for some Jeopardy…
Answer: The General Motors executive responsible for killing the Electric Car (EV1)!
Question: Who is Rick Wagoner?
Hold on…
Rick Wagoner + Bob Lutz = Ricky Bobby?
Rick and Bob together are about as funny as Talladega Nights was. As for a “production version” of the Volt, I’ll post it when it becomes a reality. Still just vapor-ware as far as I’m concerned. Plus, the concept is much better looking. Too bad it had the aerodynamics of a Ford Explorer.
Shake and Bake!
I’ll make sure we get a good photo of Jolt from the Transformers on the show floor today—it’s bound to be more attractive than the production version will actually be.