Bob Lutz changes mind about retiring - will stay on at GM

Bob Lutz in Right-Hand-Drive Hummer H3

An announcement could come as early as today

By Michael Gauthier
July 10, 2009 2:00 PM
Filed Under: American, Corporate/Financial, General Motors, Industry

GM's automotive mastermind, Bob Lutz, has apparently changed his mind about retiring.

As you may recall, in February, Lutz announced he was retiring from his role as vice chairman of global product development to become GM's vice chairman and senior advisor before leaving the company at the end of 2009.

While nothing is official yet, Automotive News is reporting that several sources are indicating Lutz will stay with GM. If the sources are correct, GM's outspoken public defender will become the new head of marketing and communications. This would be a logical transition, since Lutz has become the company's main spokesperson in the wake of Rick Wagoner's forced resignation by President Barack Obama.

An official announcement may come this morning, when GM holds a press conference about their exit from bankruptcy.

Source: AutoNews (sub req)

email print digg facebook fark reddit delicious myspace

Tags: GM, Bob Lutz

Comments

awhk

July 10, 2009 2:43 PM

Janitor might be a good position.

Edited by user on July 10, 2009 at 2:43 PM

LMS

July 10, 2009 3:15 PM

What's up with obsolete old men clinging to their positions?

There are countless young and (more) qualified people who can do his job...

Xanavi23

July 10, 2009 5:05 PM

When you and i get old and we have nothing to do with our time and we don't feel like just waiting for death to come for us, you'll get your answer.

LMS

July 11, 2009 6:05 PM

Very optimistic of you to say that, I suppose every retired person is in that respect "waiting for death".

Don't be ridiculous.

pmontero

July 10, 2009 4:47 PM

sorry to disagree there dudes, but Mr. Lutz sure knows his craft and can definitely help in getting the General back on its feet. He is one of very few really car-oriented people in top positions in the industry, even more so in the case of the USA.

radmeister

July 10, 2009 8:31 PM

Huh one of the few? Chairman of Porsche, VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Toyota...Does GM even have a F1 team? most car oriented chairman in the industry, that is a laugh.

Xanavi23

July 10, 2009 5:04 PM

Anybody who underestimates Lutz is a fool, there was a reason he worked at BMW and why even Porsche wanted him during the late 70s and 80s. He knows what hes doing. What he did at GM was just try to keep them in line with the classic ideals of an American car corporation, hence their large volume of highest quality trucks. GM didn't bite it because their trucks weren't the best in the business,they bite it largely because construction of all manner of buildings and homes grinded to a halt for reasons everyone on the planet should be aware of. Lutz helped make the Corvette the world beater it is, at a fraction of the price of european cars, it competes competently in every regard.

TheAlchemist

July 10, 2009 7:28 PM

This may all be true, but over the last dozen years GM has been going down and he was the man in charge. This isn't the 70s and 80s, it's 2009! Things don't work like they used to. So get rid of him, and get someone in there to change things up.

Edited by user on July 10, 2009 at 7:29 PM

car-o-bar

July 10, 2009 8:08 PM

REALLY..! What's there to underestimate him. He is a useless piece of crap good for nothing.

radmeister

July 10, 2009 8:28 PM

Competes in every regard except for build quality and sales, the "overpriced" 911 sells 5x as much/year...What does that tell you? Trucks? who cares about trucks, thats proof of their near sightedness, the world is not the USA, sorry the world is on the other side of the pond, precisely 300million vs 7billion. Does europe need trucks? Does China? Does India? Hell does ANYONE really need trucks? NO! So you tell me Lutz is a genius and everyone under estimates him, let me tell u if GM was in Russia during communist times he would of been shot by the state for destroying the company and thousands of lives.

rsrtampa

July 10, 2009 5:27 PM

Lutz is a true car guy and GM needs him now more than ever. He is responsible for the hits GM has had in the last couple years like the CTS, Malibu, the G8 and the ZR1. If they keep producing cars like these then GM will survive and succeed.

car-o-bar

July 10, 2009 8:11 PM

What is your definition of 'HITS'. None of the cars you mentioned topped comparison charts, or quality or reliability, or performance numbers, barring the CTS, which received rave reviews but not got the top slot. And it looks like an overdesigned and over chiseled piece of iron.

radmeister

July 10, 2009 8:23 PM

hits? What for car magazines that got them for free? I haven't seen a single ZR1 on the streets, Malibus are few and rare compared to accord and camry, CTS few and rare compared to the new C-Class merc or BMW 3. Nobody buys those cars, hits in the magazines, flops in the account books.

Narco

July 10, 2009 5:48 PM

Maybe so...but I still kind of think it was shady that he decided to retire when things were going bad....then all of the sudden sees the light when the bankruptcy activity is all clear.....

I will admit though...his support for high performance vehicles does keep the bean counters at bay.

Fishes,

Narco.

Edited by user on July 10, 2009 at 5:51 PM

petrolhead_sotos

July 10, 2009 6:12 PM

Big Bob go home. Enough is enough. And actually all of the executives and managers should go home. Let younger people with engineering expertise and genuine passion for the automobile take over and you'll see a whole new GM.

need4speed

July 10, 2009 7:11 PM

lutz is a putz...out with the old in with the new. do you guys agree?

radmeister

July 10, 2009 8:14 PM

I agree, we want a GTI like car from GM! Or an STI! Give us something that we would actually drive/buy not borrow from our parents. This guy is building cars that people his age would drive, or that he would buy for his kid...No kid likes the car their parents wants to buy them. We need someone closer to our age group, someone that at least remembers what chasing tail felt like. This guy is passed his expiration date.

radmeister

July 10, 2009 8:11 PM

They need someone that doesn't need to use viagra to get some creative thoughts going. Times are changing right now the money market is young ppl like myself in their 20s-30s, we want fun attractive fast cars with plush interiors with heated rear seats for taking back a girl after the club on a cold winter night. They need to start looking at current trends, men want thin big breasted blondes, energy drinks with coke in them, crazy nightclubs, we want to live our lives like every day was our last and spend our $ the same way. Women want the macho man big spender with the David Beckham hair cuts, wallets full, and fast cars. What does GM offer that meets today's trends? The generation that GM has been catering to has been the one that was 20-30 in the 70s and now they are 50-60, retired people don't buy new cars. They should been trying to convert us young people and build brand loyalty, now they wake up and find themselves with nobody buying their cars, the ppl they depended on retired, and the youth switched to Euro/Jap that has been paying attention to what we went and has given it to us..

tbrodie

July 11, 2009 4:54 AM

So you want a Scion?

The cheeky-keen segment is very volatile and not worth chasing unless you can retool faster than four years. Someone who lives for today only and gets a woman knocked up may find he can't buy new cars as frequently once he starts paying child support.

Yup, let's all just be David Beckham.

car-o-bar

July 10, 2009 8:13 PM

Bye bye Lutz. The biggest disappointment to his credit are the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. GM's most hyped cars of the decade but dud on balance sheets.

davethepetrolhead

July 11, 2009 8:56 AM

Radmeister just because you haven't seen a ZR1 in your neck of the woods doesn't make it a flop. Using your same lame theory just because i never see one of your beloved Audi A8L where i live does that make them a flop?? i see heaps of 7series & Sclass' but no Audis.

hata0101

July 15, 2009 6:20 AM

er...to be honest with you, i haven't seen ONE ZR1 on the road...but i've seen quite some GTR...btw, i'm NOT living in the woods, i'm living in metro Boston. & i've seen more & more Audi on the road these days...i'm sure they're doing good. maybe, you better get out of Detroit, explore the rest of the country please.

Dolomight 74-86

July 12, 2009 4:49 AM

All I know is that if I was Lutz, I'd skip town w\ my bonus bailout money. Then I'd laugh as some poor young sucker attempted to fix my insolvent company.

EMBJATI85

July 12, 2009 9:58 PM

i see all sorts of crazy were i live my nighbor has a zr1 and a r8 and still lives with his parrents stupid rich people buying there kids 100k dollar cars just because there spoiled. gm does make a gti market car the astra gtc but we dont get the good european spec anything here in the states. like no one here buys saabs either which is a shame. i dont get why americans hate the american brands so much. if we brought opel and vauxhall here and brand them as chevys and buicks and cadillacs than they might sell well.

View Comment Rules