Back in the day, I mistakenly asked Gary Witzenburg to write for TTAC. The aftermath was… intense. To this day, Witzenburg remains the only [non-spam] person I’ve ever banned from my email account. Even though I knew Gary was wrapped a little tight on the whole stop picking on the domestic automakers deal, I never suspected that the former GM spinmeister would make an entire career out of defending the indefensible. Nor would I have predicted that he would make Autobloggreen his spiritual home. But there he is, and his most recent rant could well be his magnum opus. Witz begins with a long defense– of GM, the EV-1 and his own career– that puts Richard M. Nixon’s “My Mother Was a Saint” resignation speech to shame. And then we’re off into the lazy journalist’s favorite format: Q & A. A highly edited Steve asks “What I cannot fathom is how all three auto manufacturers fell into the big-car trap. This happened before in the 1970s – fuel prices went up and U.S. automakers were left with obsolete product lines.” Gary responds “Come on, Steve, they’re not making sandwiches.” Seriously, this is a fascinating read, on many levels. Just imagine Jack Nicholson playing Gary Witzenburg, insert expletives where needed (everywhere) and you’re there.
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“..but – contrary to what many believe – GM leadership under current CEO Rick Wagoner has been outstanding.”
Provided my laugh of the day!
I like how he ask who coulda seen $4.00 a gas coming, then says in the next paragraph everyone knew it was inevitable.
“How many U.S. car owners saw it coming and downsized their vehicles just before it did?”
The typical American (even largely in debt) doesn’t risk financial ruin when their SUV or truck unexpectedly loses 25% +/- in value. An automaker who relies on trucks/SUVs for a lions share of their profits does risk that ruin. Perhaps it’s the consumers fault for not demanding reliable decent fuel-efficient cars? I guess all those Civics/Accords/Camrys/Corollas/ect being sold through the years weren’t a clear enough sign cars like that were/would be in demand.
More laughs:
“But there have been no bad new GM products this decade, and most are world-class competitive, or better.”
Has he driven an Aveo…lately? I’d hardly call the TrailBlazer, G6, Cobalt, and Aztek “world-class competitive” either, and those are just 4 off the top of my head.
I just finished reading as well, made my day complete, well at least made me laugh out loud enough.
Was that the same speech as the checkers speeech?
Nixon’s “checkers” speech was a brilliant masterpiece. Although manipulative it probably also came from the heart which is why it worked so well
Nixon’s “checkers” speech was a brilliant masterpiece
Was that the one where he picked the dog up by it’s ears? I’m far too young to say, but I saw pictures of that and winced.
Nixon said “My mother was a saint” during his resignation speech in August 1974, if I recall correctly. This was when he resigned the presidency to avoid impeachment for the Watergate scandal.
Was that the one where he picked the dog up by it’s ears? I’m far too young to say, but I saw pictures of that and winced.
That was Lyndon Johnson. Not Nixon.
Re: “Was that the one where he picked the dog up by it’s ears? I’m far too young to say, but I saw pictures of that and winced.”
That was Lyndon Johnson abusing his beagle.
“Checkers” as I recall dealt with Nixon being accused of taking money from special interests. I believe someone accused the dog of being such a bribe. Nixon said he ain’t givin’ up Checkers because the whole family loves him. It was a brilliant speech in that the public sided with him even though he never really denied the charges.
Gary, a fellow Cleveland native, sold me my first Nomex racing suit back in the 70s. We’ve crossed paths a few times since.
A very passionate engineer and excellent writer.
But I can understand why he’d be persona non grata where “no flaming” is the rule.
Autoblog green is no surprise. As the green there is mainly Astroturf. They host Gary as featured contributor. Often post e85 supporting info and even posted the GM video “answer” nonsense as straight news.