With news of Bob Lutz’s planned May 1 retirement leaking to the web, the auto journalism world is falling all over itself to get his reaction. When the Chicago Tribune caught up with the man of Maximum, they asked him to describe his work at GM and compare himself to (get this) either King Midas or Jesus Christ. You know, for the purposes of journalistic inquiry. Lutz’s reply avoided the self-flattering comparisons, and revealed some of the dynamics that led him to retire:
It’s gotten a little scary. Everything has been so good since I got here [at GM] that I’ve been thinking there really is no place to go but down because not all of my ideas will succeed. No one bats 1.000. It’s been so nice that it’s been a bit disconcerting. I try to establish a climate of irreverence as well as fun. I want to talk, but I want to listen. I want people to disagree and talk me out of things, too. But I’ve gotten no resistance from anyone to anything I want to do here.
Either you get no resistance because people completely agree and think what you propose is excellent or because they fear you and are afraid to speak up. I don’t want an environment of fear. I don’t want people to put their judgment on hold and simply do what I want, which is what they did with [Lee] Iacocca [former chairman of Chrysler whom Lutz worked alongside]. To not question me is dangerous. I don’t want to see that happen. I don’t want people to be intimidated by me, and I don’t want people to simply say, `Let Lutz do it.’
My role here is to modify a system to ensure sustainable success that doesn’t depend on my presence and continues to operate after my departure,”
The idea that Lutz is leaving in part because nobody challenges his decision-making is a fascinating insight into the inner workings of GM. Especially considering that he clearly had some misgivings about killing Pontiac. When asked by Automotive News [sub] about his role in GM’s brandicide and whether he thought killing Pontiac was a mistake, he replied:
No. While I loved Pontiac, I think Pontiac was on the cusp of finding an identity, which is the identity of a moderate, priced-high performance brand focusing primarily on rear-wheel-drive vehicles. We were on the cusp of really getting that going, and a new demographic was starting to buy the G8, real performance car fans. So to me, it was genuinely unfortunate that we had to drop it.”
We knew we had to drop four brands. Two were easy: Saab and Hummer. Saturn was a little more difficult, but we were still able to do it because it really never made any money. And, Pontiac was No. 4. I think a number of us felt a deep attachment to the Pontiac brand, and I still do. I have Solstices that I intend to keep forever.
There is something that gets old about getting up at 4:30 in the morning. At some point you have to do something new.Even yesterday walking the show — and maybe it was because many of the design concepts were so depressing — that I really thought: ‘How much longer do I want to keep doing the same thing?’
Generally, smart guys do not fear the ideas of others, and want to be challenged on their ideas. Truly smart people want the best ideas regardless of their origin.
Could it be that Lutz is smarter than the credit we give him?
-ted
I think you’re right Zerofoo… this is some really insightful stuff he’s saying
You should go read J. Flint’s Lutz tribute (Wonder if he was giving him a hand job in the hot tub?)
Regarding Flint, I am reminded of (with one small deletion and add):
”
Controller #2: Are you kidding? Ever since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, he’s been completely senile!
Controller #3: Yeah, but what about XXMcCroskeyXX Flint?
Controller #2: About the same as Reagan.
“
speaking of old guys that need to retire.. Jim Mateja, please let the door hit your cranky ass on the way out.
“Even yesterday walking the show — and maybe it was because many of the design concepts were so depressing…”
It you’re depressed at the opportunity to review what automotive product developers are doing, your competition, your confirmation, your inspiration, your warning system… then you need to retire.
Not to mention, you’re a tool, Bob.
No you’re the tool, and you just proved it!
Photo Caption:
“So I says to Ed, I says “THIS is what you have to do to those idiots in Congress. Hold ’em by the short hairs and tell them to get off their butts and call for investigations on those damn Toyotas! Oh, and put more CHROME! on the Malibu!”
I would imagine GM isn’t a very happy place to work anymore. For anyone with an ego, it’s tough to walk away from the power, but why not enjoy himself while he still can? He can always consult!
He should have been fired when the C11 was filed. He might not be personally responsible, but he was on the watch when the ship ran aground. A more timely firing might have encouraged the others.
Personally, I think the man is smart enough not to talk about himself. Instead, I wonder if he’s making an indirect (but direct) comment on the current atmosphere under Whitacre…
His quotes sound very talking-point-ish to my ears, except for his retelling of his thoughts on Pontiac. That I believe!
I think Bob’s a guy who never really understood his role because it was never clearly understood or defined by anyone. Is he a design guy? The guy who pushes stuff through the corporate red tape? Is the ‘car’ guy?
One thing he’s proven completely inept at is understanding the real problem GM has and pushing for THAT type of change. As recently as a few weeks ago, he’s still blaming customers for the perception of GM.
Bob, for perhaps the last time, it’s not us. It’s you (meaning GM).
“My role here is to modify a system to ensure sustainable success that doesn’t depend on my presence and continues to operate after my departure,”
Mission completely unaccomplished.
He did such a phenomenal job GM went BK.
Good Lord, what a pile of bull.
Or to quote Maximum Bob, “A crock of $hit”
Is RL wearing one of those 27% lapel pins in that photo? (For years I had this photo in my computer, waiting to use it in some presentation or other … never did, but it was stored under my self-made title of “Lutz says ‘up yours’ to Toyota”.)
Then AN asked RL about Rick Wagoner:
AN: Do you swear on the Constitution of the United States to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Lutz: Ain’t no thing. [RL slaps AN reporter’s note book and AN reporter uses it to slap RL’s hand as if “giving fives” to each other]
AN: Will you please describe, in your own words, Wagoner’s leadership?
Lutz: Check it, bleed. Bro… was on! Didn’t trip. But the folks was freakin’, man. Hey, and the bread was laid to the bone, Home. So Blood hammered out and jammed jet ship straight to D.C. Tightened that bad sucker inside the congressional testimony like a mother. Shit. (Subtitles: Mr. Wagoner performed exceptionally. Despite this, the markets, creditors, shareholders suppliers, retirees and employees were very concerned. The economy was incapacitated. So Rick took control and after landing the corporate plane safely in D.C. was able to secure a “bridge-loan” for the entire industry. That’s leadership!) [the AN reporter wears sunglasses and sways back and forth as he types].
I wonder if he can write a tell-all “Guts II”, or if GM paid him “a hundred billion dollars (bwwaaaahhh)” to keep his trap shut and his pen off the paper.
why all the hate to Bob Lutz? GM had a long history of crappy cars and management before Bob Lutz came. according to my research he became CEO of GM in 2002. which gives him a long time to accomplish nothing. Bob Lutz was the captain of a ship headed into hazards, who did nothing/very little to avoid them. I blame GM and Bob Lutz equally.
> Everything has been so good since I got here [at GM]
Really?
To succeed Lutz needed either a lot more authority and leeway, or a lot less. As it was, stuck in the limbo of being able to make major decisions, but having those initiatives be subject to the whims of bean counters and the marketing department, he was doomed to fail.
The Solstice/Sky could have been brilliant cars, but they ended up being too compromised in order to cut costs. The G8 was a brilliant car, but it was killed off before it had the chance to really win the hearts of the nation. Pontiac should have never died, I do agree it was just starting to come into its own. If any GM brands needed to be killed off they would be Buick, GMC, and Hummer. Hummer was dead already, GMCs are just rebadged Chevys, and all Buick does is steal sales from either Chevy at the low end or Cadillac at the high end.
Also, WTF is up with this quote –
While I loved Pontiac, I think Pontiac was on the cusp of finding an identity, which is the identity of a moderate, priced-high performance brand focusing primarily on rear-wheel-drive vehicles.
Was the extremely poor formatting and punctuation from TTAC? Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but they way that is structured it really seems as if he is saying that his goal for Pontiac was that it be expensive, mediocre, RWD vehicles.
EDIT – After reading the linked Automotive news article, it apparently isn’t TTAC’s fault, Automotive News just must not be able to afford proof-readers.
I noticed this too … and attributed it to AN running low on “lys”, getting a good deal on commas, and trying to cut hyphen usage in half.
Based on the picture above, I’m grateful that Bob was a marketing maven as opposed to a proctologist… ouch!
“Pontiac was on the cusp of finding an identity” ??????????
Put down the crack pipe Bob. If that was true in any way shape or form there would have been no Torrent,Montana,G5,G3 or pimped by Pontiac Toyota Vibe.
Time will remember the G6 as a half baked entry that was allowed to rot like all of GM’s passenger cars from the period.Pontiac plowed under it’s great names and squandered it’s image over the years, Lutz finished digging the grave and dumping the body in. Bunghole.
How clueless can you be?
Uhmmm……if you are an executive and you knowingly throw a few zingers out there, to get some reaction, and nothing happens, shouldn’t that tell you something about your organization ? It would put me in an absolute Bug-Hunt to see what the heck I sign up for.