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bob lutz
"Maximum" Bob Lutz Speaks Out On Colbert Report Interview
After GM product czar and vice-chairman, Bob Lutz, appeared on the Colbert Report the other night, he's decided to give his own take on his "non-outrageous" responses to Stephen Colbert's "outrageous" questions on topics like...global warming (or global toasting). He believes he and Colbert "connected." We don't know if that's the type of rapport we saw the other night on the Report, but whatever helps "Maximum" Bob sleep at night, ya know? We're just disappointed he didn't send us any pictures from his Treo. If you missed the show the first time, we've got the full clip below the jump — and no — it's not from "Hulu."
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2011 chevrolet volt
GM's Lutz: Chevy Volt Will Use GPS To Determine Distance From Home, Adjust Engine Accordingly
At GM's "blogger town hall" at the end of yesterday's Chevy Volt unveil, the General's Vice Chairman and product czar, "Maximum" Bob Lutz, made mention to a Volt feature we hadn't yet heard about, and is even more techie-cool than the iPod-like interface on the center stack. Apparently, the Volt will "know how far you are from home" using what we're assuming is an on-board GPS system. The plug-in electric extended range hybrid's computer will then use that distance, along with route information, to determine how long the car needs to run the gas engine to charge the on-board battery pack, allowing the vehicle to truly maximize fuel economy. Even if you're not drinking the GM Kool-Aid, you've got to be wow'ed by a system like that — as long as it actually works. Read the full quote from "The" Bob after the galleries and the jump below.
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crash testing
Lutz Calls For Three-Year NHTSA Crash Testing Moratorium
In a conversation with WardsAuto.com, GM vice-chairman and product czar Bob Lutz stated his desire for at least a three-year suspension of US frontal and side-impact crash testing standards. Said Lutz, “In Europe, the crash-test procedures are different than in the U.S., so the tests are different. If our government says cars that meet crash tests in other countries are good enough to be sold here, we would have more high-mileage, small-car flexibility.” In other words, Lutz isn't calling for the sale of vehicles that haven't been crash tested, just the ability to legally sell vehicles that have passed Euro NCAP — and possibly other — safety standards, but not US NHTSA standards. More » -
saving general motors
CNBC's "Saving General Motors" Is... Actually Quite Good
CNBC's gone inside GM for a one-hour documentary called "Saving General Motors," airing next Wednesday, August 6th at 9 PM and defying expectations, put together a rather compelling hour of television for the auto-obsessed. The documentary of course spends time on the bad, but also on success stories for the big 'merican automaker — the new Chevy Malibu, the new Chevy Silverado, the new Cadillac CTS and Buick in China as well as potential success stories like the new Chevy Camaro (and of course, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. taking the Camaro around the track — as well as some great behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Chevy's new hotness) and the Chevy Volt.
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question of the day
What Car Would You Drive Round The Lutz Ring?
Today's video of journalists being driven around the road course at GM's Milford Proving Grounds ( a.k.a. the "Lutz Ring") in the 2009 Corvette ZR1 got us thinking about all those cars we'd like to hoon around the not-really-very-famous track. This leads to the obvious question: what vehicle would you like to take round the Lutz Ring for ultimate proving? More » -
industry news
Bob Lutz Talks Future GM Vehicles, Powertrains
Following GM's morning expectations-management conference, product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz answered questions about how the future of GM vehicles would be impacted by the announcements. In particular, we were wondering how the General planned to respond to Ford's Eco-Boost turbo four (and in what form that response might arrive), and when we would see the return of a GM diesel sedan. Lutz's responses — and non-responses — after the jump. More » -
transformers revenge of the fallen
Chevy Volt To Become Transformer
Following word this morning the production version of the Chevy Volt will be shown in September, we hear the rocking-down-electric-avenue Lutz-mobile will also be featured in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. More » -
2011 chevy volt
Volt To Get Twice The Batteries, GM Wants Twice The Tax Credit
General Motors is lobbying for a $7,000 tax credit for buyers of the$30,000$40,000 2011 Chevy Volt — more than double that originally offered for Prius buyers. The automaker's arguing the credit should be based on battery capacity. "What we favor is actually a sliding scale depending on how much battery you have on board," said Jon Lauckner, GM VP for global program management. "When I talk about $6,000 to $7,000, we're talking about a battery that's at least two times the size of a typical conversion plug-in or even a plug-in hybrid that we would offer." Of course, since new Chevy products apparently now command 4 times their MSRP, we predict the Volt will cost $153,000 after the tax credit. More » -
blogging the auto bloggers
GM's "Maximum" Bob Lutz Using Twitter, Giving Random Shout-Outs to Auto Journalists?
GM's product czar Bob Lutz is now not only "Twittering", he's giving shout-outs to minor automotive journalists. Seriously. What do we think — inappropriate attempt at currying favor with low-hanging fruit or just something silly that shouldn't be happening? Either way, we're not sure someone like "Maximum" Bob should be doing anything called a "tweet." Ever. But hey, feel free to check out the Jalopnik Twitter account where we'll randomly give shout-outs to automotive executives. Also, we'll never call anything a "tweet." [GMBlogs on Twitter]
