I know; TTAC has no business taking GM Car Czar Bob Lutz to task for stomping on political correctness. And anyway, Maximum Bob's challenge to readers of his fastlane blog to out-run the police in a "Blue Devil" ZR1 Corvette is a joke. But this website is keenly aware of our power– real or imagined– to influence young and impressionable pistonheads. So we don't advocate or celebrate hoonage. And if you've detected a slightly angry not to say profane tone to our work (ya think?), try and remember that it comes from a place of love. Love of honesty. Truth. And we love the fact that Bob has a playful side. But it's a little worrying that the guy who has to get the entire GM global empire to build green machines that meet or beat new mpg requirements– that meet or beat the competition in terms of sales– happily reveals himself as a lover of high horsepower toys. And it's a bit scary that Maximum Bob doesn't understand his influence on his "people." But the real question is this: where is Bob's love of truth? The man has a longstanding habit of spinning, ducking, diving and conniving. The caption to Bob's blog post says "Your Worst Nightmare." For hundreds of thousands of people dependent on Bob Lutz' product plans, their real nightmare is that the man in charge of GM's fate is a belligerent, clueless relic of a bygone era who longs for a simpler time, when outrunning the cops was a bit of a hoot. [thanks to Kurt B for the link]
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Ok, I know you guys aren’t a fan of Lutz, and I typically feel the same way – but come on, it’s a joke. This time I think you were just out looking for something bad to say about Big Bob. Loosen up a bit…
Lutz is apparently stuck in the 70s and beyond. Smokey and the Bandit and the Dukes of Hazzard were fun to watch in their day, but it would be unfortunate if Lutz created a GM culture of screw the cops, joking or not. But then again, why should that surprise us? GM’s been saying screw the consumer and UAW employee for decades.
oh come on Farago… you’re over analyzing here, I think. haha.
Well, the schizophrenia exhibited by GM brass makes me less likely to consider GM for my next vehicle; I just can’t trust the clueless with my hard-earned jack.
Lighten up, Francis. It is refreshing to see some kind of passion for the product coming from the higher ups at GM. This has been lacking for the past 30+ years and look at the results. If Lutz had been talking up some alternative fuel vehicle you’d be complaining about that too.
Wow, create a product with passion that can be fun and entertaining to drive for a group of people who appriciate. Who’d a thunk it? Thats right, real piston heads now adays all want to drive Camcords. For shame Bob, creating a sports car that will sell in obscenely limited numbers when you should only be thinking of super high miliage boring toasters.
C’mon Farago. I don’t like Clinton or Obama, but I don’t hunt down every little thing they do just to bad mouth them. Maybe you should chill out a bit.
And on that note, I had the privledge of meeting with Mr. Lutz yesterday, and I think you would be very surprised on where he feels the future of automobiles is going. Of course, I’d tell you, but then you’d point out something he said back in the nineties when he worked on the Viper or something, and say “see, he’s lying”.
And in closing, no, a ZR1 is not my worst nightmare for a chase car. My worst nightmare would be an FD powered by a twin turbo LS7 driven by Chuck Norris.
The issue is not the fact that Lutz is goofing around. RF said, “And we love the fact that Bob has a playful side” so telling him to lighten up is moot. The issue is that Bob does not understand the power of the internet. As a front man for GM a company with so many problems and greatly in need of improved credibility, he is projecting the wrong image both on his blog and in his many contradictory public statements. He is widely seen as a goof-ball albeit a likable one. GM needs the public to realize that what they say is what they will do. GM unfortunately has not realized the damage his verbal hoonery is doing and that projecting an image of integrity backed by really having it, is essential to their survival. In this area Lutz is really letting the side down. The fact that he is still there making all kinds of prognostications real or imagined proves beyond measure that both he and RW and the upper crust at GM are clueless and in denial.
Virtual Insanity :
And on that note, I had the privledge of meeting with Mr. Lutz yesterday, and I think you would be very surprised on where he feels the future of automobiles is going. Of course, I’d tell you, but then you’d point out something he said back in the nineties when he worked on the Viper or something, and say “see, he’s lying”.
First of all, where is the moral compass pointing these days?
It’s one thing for a bunch of bloggers to celebrate outrunning the police– which isn’t right and we don’t do it– and quite another for the top car guy of the world’s second largest automaker to celebrate Smokey and The Bandit style hijinks. See today’s post on police chases to understand the consequences of telling kids they can maybe even should try to outrun the cops.
Second, all I do is hold Bob accountable for what he says. If MB steps up and says “I was wrong about hybrids. Here’s where we’re going now,” well, fair enough. But no, the man is inconsistent and intellectually lazy. Don’t take my word for it. Read what he says and compare it to what GM does or doesn’t do. Or, God forbid, what GM should do.
I would be delighted to hear what Bob’s vision of the future is these days. But is it so wrong to compare it to what he said before, or hold him to SOME level of accountability? GM is a public company, lest we forget.
Bob Lutz is to Rick Wagoner what Bill Clinton is to Hillary. Give Bob a certain number of talking points, set him loose on the population, and keep attention away from the CEOs.
Maybe Lutz is just warming us up to the concept of allowing the police to remotely disable our cars – and inaugurating that “new reality” with the ZR1?
Robert:
Man, you lost me on this one, and on the same day Lieberman leaves the Jalop to come here.
1. You’re really getting on Lutz for daring people to outrun his fantasy Vette? Have you thought about this? Do you really want to take the stance that the guy is not allowed to ever say a less than perfectly politically correct remark on the public record? The cop Vette is a child’s fantasy, just like the car chase Lutz alluded to, and you know that. Why would you pretend otherwise?
2. We’re not in a recession. The GNP has not declined for two quarters, and those who call the shots don’t do so based on how people feel or the scary headlines on USA Today. Wake up, stop promoting the scare mongering, and smell the coffee yourself.