Imaj
26-01-2005, 10:29 PM
Lutz sees GM revolution coming soon
Gotta-have vehicles on the horizon, says criticized vice chair
By Barbara Wieland
Lansing State Journal
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Take 5 with Bob Lutz
• Title: Vice chairman of product development, General Motors Corp.
• Previous titles: Vice chairman, chief operating officer and president of Chrysler; chief executive officer of Excide Technologies; executive vice president of truck operations at Ford Motor Co.; executive vice president of sales at BMW
• And before that: Served as a jet-attack aviator for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954 to 1965
The Oldsmobile brand was discontinued last year. What went wrong?
• We became ashamed of the Oldsmobile name. We stopped putting it on the cars. We replaced the logo with a new emblem. ... When times get tough, you don't abandon your heritage. You should go back to your heritage.
Any chance of bringing back the Oldsmobile name as a special edition?
• No. There's no chance of bringing it back. We've still got a lot of mouths to feed at GM.
Given its slow sales, is the Lansing-made Chevrolet SSR a disappointment?
• The SSR was never designed to make money for Chevrolet. And guess what? It hasn't disappointed.
Do the new Saturn models represent a new start for the brand?
• There is never a clean start nor should there be. Saturn has a very loyal following. ... They continued to buy them even if they were less than the world's best cars.
Some people think the reinvigoration at Saturn marks a departure from the customer-centered shopping experience Saturn is known for. What do you say?
• I call that the tyranny of "or" - great cars or great dealers. Why do we have to pick between exciting cars and great dealers?
The revolution may be delayed, but Bob Lutz promises it is still on the way.
Vice Chairman of Product Development Lutz, who had been president, chief operating officer and vice chairman at Chrysler, joined General Motors Corp. in September 2001. When he arrived at the world's largest automaker, many industry watchers thought he heralded a revolution that would bring gotta-have vehicles - and customers - back to GM.
Now, more than three years later, some of those people are wondering what happened.
"I think we had some great expectations of him. But so far ... those gotta-have cars just aren't evident," said Leo Jerome, chairman of the Story Automotive Group, which owns three dealerships in the Lansing area.
Jerome, who sells GM brands as well as Chrysler, said he's thrilled with the Chrysler 300. But he sees little that can compare with it at GM.
GM still struggles to hold on to its slipping market share. Meanwhile, Lutz's alma mater has hit a home run with the Chrysler 300.
"Chrysler has had one hit, one car that is extraordinarily interestingly styled," Lutz said at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. "To my critics, I'd say that I've only been at GM for three, three-and-a-half years. That's the gestation period for new products."
His first year at GM, quintessential car guy Lutz spent most of his time "fixing what was broken in product development. We were introducing a host of vehicles that failed in market research, but we brought it to market anyway."
As an example, Lutz pointed to the panned Pontiac Aztek, which he called a "disaster."
He also turned his attention to vehicles that were good, but not good enough.
The Lansing-made Cadillac STS, introduced last summer, was one of them.
"We delayed the STS 12 months to redesign it," he said.
"The vehicles launched in the last six months or so were only partly done under the new process."
Only now, he said, would the Lutz revolution begin.
Starting with the Hummer H3, slated to go on sale this spring, GM's new vehicles will bear Lutz's thumbprint.
Among his projects: Renovate Saturn.
The Saturn Sky, scheduled to go on sale early next year, and the Saturn Aura concept unveiled Saturday are intended to shake up the sleepy brand.
Lutz "is bringing a lot of great products. For a long time, all we had was a little car," said Sherrill Freeborough, Saturn of Okemos and Saturn of Grand Ledge owner.
She eagerly anticipates the arrival of the sporty two-seater Saturn Sky, a product that Lutz touted at the auto show.
"I saw him speak a while back, and he told me I'm going to do very well," Freeborough said. "I really like his confidence."
Gotta-have vehicles on the horizon, says criticized vice chair
By Barbara Wieland
Lansing State Journal
Advertisement
Take 5 with Bob Lutz
• Title: Vice chairman of product development, General Motors Corp.
• Previous titles: Vice chairman, chief operating officer and president of Chrysler; chief executive officer of Excide Technologies; executive vice president of truck operations at Ford Motor Co.; executive vice president of sales at BMW
• And before that: Served as a jet-attack aviator for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954 to 1965
The Oldsmobile brand was discontinued last year. What went wrong?
• We became ashamed of the Oldsmobile name. We stopped putting it on the cars. We replaced the logo with a new emblem. ... When times get tough, you don't abandon your heritage. You should go back to your heritage.
Any chance of bringing back the Oldsmobile name as a special edition?
• No. There's no chance of bringing it back. We've still got a lot of mouths to feed at GM.
Given its slow sales, is the Lansing-made Chevrolet SSR a disappointment?
• The SSR was never designed to make money for Chevrolet. And guess what? It hasn't disappointed.
Do the new Saturn models represent a new start for the brand?
• There is never a clean start nor should there be. Saturn has a very loyal following. ... They continued to buy them even if they were less than the world's best cars.
Some people think the reinvigoration at Saturn marks a departure from the customer-centered shopping experience Saturn is known for. What do you say?
• I call that the tyranny of "or" - great cars or great dealers. Why do we have to pick between exciting cars and great dealers?
The revolution may be delayed, but Bob Lutz promises it is still on the way.
Vice Chairman of Product Development Lutz, who had been president, chief operating officer and vice chairman at Chrysler, joined General Motors Corp. in September 2001. When he arrived at the world's largest automaker, many industry watchers thought he heralded a revolution that would bring gotta-have vehicles - and customers - back to GM.
Now, more than three years later, some of those people are wondering what happened.
"I think we had some great expectations of him. But so far ... those gotta-have cars just aren't evident," said Leo Jerome, chairman of the Story Automotive Group, which owns three dealerships in the Lansing area.
Jerome, who sells GM brands as well as Chrysler, said he's thrilled with the Chrysler 300. But he sees little that can compare with it at GM.
GM still struggles to hold on to its slipping market share. Meanwhile, Lutz's alma mater has hit a home run with the Chrysler 300.
"Chrysler has had one hit, one car that is extraordinarily interestingly styled," Lutz said at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. "To my critics, I'd say that I've only been at GM for three, three-and-a-half years. That's the gestation period for new products."
His first year at GM, quintessential car guy Lutz spent most of his time "fixing what was broken in product development. We were introducing a host of vehicles that failed in market research, but we brought it to market anyway."
As an example, Lutz pointed to the panned Pontiac Aztek, which he called a "disaster."
He also turned his attention to vehicles that were good, but not good enough.
The Lansing-made Cadillac STS, introduced last summer, was one of them.
"We delayed the STS 12 months to redesign it," he said.
"The vehicles launched in the last six months or so were only partly done under the new process."
Only now, he said, would the Lutz revolution begin.
Starting with the Hummer H3, slated to go on sale this spring, GM's new vehicles will bear Lutz's thumbprint.
Among his projects: Renovate Saturn.
The Saturn Sky, scheduled to go on sale early next year, and the Saturn Aura concept unveiled Saturday are intended to shake up the sleepy brand.
Lutz "is bringing a lot of great products. For a long time, all we had was a little car," said Sherrill Freeborough, Saturn of Okemos and Saturn of Grand Ledge owner.
She eagerly anticipates the arrival of the sporty two-seater Saturn Sky, a product that Lutz touted at the auto show.
"I saw him speak a while back, and he told me I'm going to do very well," Freeborough said. "I really like his confidence."