The Journal says:

"Mr. Whitacre drew up the new management blueprint in a matter of four hours, this person said. The plan, under which there are expected to be no major firings immediately, is a reflection of Mr. Whitacre's desire that younger and stronger leaders take on more prominent roles at the 101-year-old auto maker."

So what happens to Lutz? The WSJ continues:

"Mr. Lutz, currently running the company's marketing efforts, will return to a role more closely involved with designing and dreaming up new products, this person said. "Bob is still very much on the team, and still plays a very important role…but not doing the marketing stuff," this person said."

Hmm, don't get us wrong, as we happen to think that's a good place for him. But it means that if Whitacre actually wants to keep the maximum car man he'll need to make sure this was something Lutz actually wants. Also, younger and stronger? Who does he have in mind to replace him? Susan Docherty? Brian Nesbitt? Someone from outside the company?

Lastly, while Whitacre's moves are definitely faster moving than GM's ever been — we still stick by our believe the position that really needs someone younger and stronger is the position of CEO.

UPDATE: Mark Reuss, son of former GM President Lloyd Reuss to take over at President of GM North America. GM Board member Stephen J. Girsky will become a special advisor to Ed Whitacre. Communications VP Chris Preuss will see him and his team pulled out from marketing and moved up to report directly to Whitacre. Susan Docherty gets marketing added to her portfolio. Finally, Lutz goes back to product planning and becomes a special advisor to the CEO.

UPDATE 2: Full press release:

GM Announces Leadership Changes

DETROIT – To improve accountability and responsibility for market performance in North America and around the world, several key leadership changes were announced today by GM Chairman and CEO, Ed Whitacre.

"I want to give people more responsibility and authority deeper in the organization and then hold them accountable," Whitacre said. "We've realigned our leadership duties and responsibilities to help us meet our mission to design, build and sell the world's best vehicles."

Mark Reuss is named president of GM North America. Reuss was briefly vice president of Engineering after leading GM's Holden operations in Australia in 2008. Reporting to Reuss will be Susan E. Docherty, who is appointed vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing operations. Also aligned under the new North American group will be Diana D. Tremblay, who is named vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations. Tremblay was most recently vice president of Labor Relations. Denise C. Johnson is named vice president, Labor Relations. Johnson was most recently vehicle line director and chief engineer for Global Small Cars.

Nick Reilly is named president, GM Europe. Reilly has been leading the restructuring efforts in Europe with the Opel/Vauxhall operations and will leave his role leading GM International Operations.

Tim Lee is named president of GM International Operations, overseeing GM's Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East operations. Lee was most recently group vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations.

Bob Lutz remains vice chairman and will act as advisor on design and global product development.

Thomas G. Stephens remains vice chairman of Global Product Operations, and will now take on global purchasing in his organization, which will continue to be lead by Robert E. Socia, vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. Karl-Friedrich Stracke is appointed vice president, Engineering, reporting to Stephens. Stracke was most recently executive director of Engineering.

J. Christopher Preuss, vice president, Communications, will now report to Whitacre; he previously reported to Lutz.

The balance of the direct report staff remains unchanged and includes CFO Ray G. Young; John F. Smith, vice president Corporate Planning and Alliances; Terry Kline, vice president IS&S; Mary T. Barra, vice president Human Resources; Mike Millikin, vice president of Legal; and Ken C. Cole, vice president Government Relations and Public Policy.

Biographical information on all GM's corporate officers can be found at www.gm.com/corporate/about/officers.jsp?evar10=gm_investor_corporategov_officers#.

###

[via WSJ]

Photo Credit: David McNew / Getty Images News

After sarcastically apologizing for GM not providing any news lately he stated "I know you'd like the true, inside story of what really happened at General motors. I'm not giving it to you." At least not until he writes his next book.

But then, because he's Lutz, he did go on to say: "I think all of us were surprised. The whole General Motors team is genuinely saddened over what transpired. Fritz is without question a great executive."

After that it was mostly a discussion of the Volt, why the Asian automakers hated on Li-Ion tech, and talking about how California was getting 100 of the Volts first for a test, which makes sense given the existing electric car charging infrastructure and warmer climate.

The money quote: The transition to electric vehicles is as important as "moving from horses to horsepower." He's now "Maximum Charge" Bob Lutz.

As you can see, the LA Auto show folks just barely had time to replace Fritz's name with Bob's. We'll be there live this morning to see what, if anything, Bob has to say about yesterday's GM leadership musical chairs. Our bet is, however, that he'll be hustled in and out and not allowed to take any comments — but — we'll see if the "Maximum" man near the top of GM lets anything slip. (Hat tip to Rabbi Dave!)

556 supercharged horsepower, five doors, and rear-wheel drive. And it's actually going to happen. Proof, if you needed it, that someone out there loves us.

Bob, we forgive you for everything you did to Wes.

[Car and Driver]

This isn't a huge surprise as they already make a wagon version of the Insignia in Europe, though it continues GM's interest in creating wagons. An interest we share. Can we please get a version based on the Vauxhall Insignia Sport Tourer VXR, please?

Rendering Credit: Tagline @ deviantART

[Car & Driver]

It's not what you'd really call a shocker. We kind of expected it given the vehicle situation (thanks Jag!) — but sad nonetheless.

A spectator — who may or may not have been Phil Floraday from Automobile Magazine — questioned whether his overly-tight pants may have contributed to the epic failure. We'll never know because clearly Wes will never wear loose pants.

Our guess is that Lutz is a pretty damn spry 77-year-old silver fox and the CTS-V is a damn capable car.

Still, there is the issue of that BMW M3 to deal with...

Wes ended up winning group 2, but his time wasn't what you'd call maximally fast. Speaking of that — "Maximum" Bob Lutz is up next — and we're bettin' he's gonna wax us — but Michael C. driving the BMW M3 looked damn good in group 1. Those were some seriously impressive numbers.

Secondly, there's standing water on the track. Advantage: Jalopnik.

Hmm, maybe the Evo — the people's car — was the better choice after all. We'll see. Siler's out practicing as we speak.

Despite being more similar in weight and size than you'd expect, the Evo is still significantly lighter and smaller than the CTS-V, but the Cadillac obviously has a huge power and torque advantage. Perhaps more tellingly, the Evo can lap the 12.93 miles of fast corners on the Nurburgring within 12 seconds of the CTS-V. Tomorrow, we'll see what that gap looks like after 4.1 miles of tight turns and one long straight.

The full 4.1-mile course at Monticello is a monster, with 20 corners and three straights. The Cadillac CTS-V isn't just muscle and no cornering, but with torque vectoring differentials and weighing 600 Lbs less, the Evo is still going to give it a run for its money. At the very least, this should be a close race.

Here's my own turn-by-turn analysis of what challenges Lutz and I are going to face tomorrow, who's going to have the advantage in which sections and where it's most likely we'll see the 77-year-old crash his 556 HP Cadillac.

Photo Credit: jdoggny @ Flickr
Section: Turn 1
Description: The map does neither the tightness of this corner nor the lack of runoff justice. A near 90-degree left hander taken at the bottom of 2nd gear, the downhill braking zone for which comes at the end of the second longest straight on the track.
Analysis: The more powerful CTS-V will reach a higher speed on the straight, meaning it'll need to brake earlier. The Caddy has a huge understeer issue in this corner if you try to push it, meaning Lutz will basically have to park the car, throwing away the corner and therefore the setup for 2.
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: High

Section: Turn 2
Description: You take a late apex through this 2nd gear right hander in order to get your power down early so you can accelerate through turn 3.
Analysis: The Evo will be better setup going into this corner and, thanks to AWD, will be able to get its power down much earlier.
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 3
Description: Sweeping right hander flat out in third gear. Don't track out all the way on the exit so you can brake in a straight line for turn 4.
Analysis: The Cadillac's power advantage will help here, but the Evo will benefit from a cleaner exit from turn 2.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 4
Description: A deceptively tight right hander with plenty of grip thanks to slightly Itpositive camber.
Analysis: It's easy to get a lot of oversteer here, either through lifting to make it through the corner after failing to brake hard enough or getting on the power too hard on the exit. In fast, heavy cars like the CTS-V, you want to late apex and get on the power in a straight line to turn 5, without spinning it all away showing off. The Evo will be able to apex earlier and get its power down easier
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turns 5 & 6
Description: The reverse esses, you can straighten this out pretty effectively so just power through and end up on driver's right for the entry to turn 6.
Analysis: Not much to say, just don't overcook it into 6.
Advantage: CTS-V
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 7
Description: The Carrousel. Very wide, very long, 180-degree, uphill corner.
Analysis: A difficult turn to hit the right line in, you're supposed to stay out to the right till 2/3 of the way through, then tuck into the apex. You want to use as much power as possible from the apex out without straightening your wheel as it continues to curve to the left all the way up to turn 8.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turns 8 & 9
Description: The Double Apex. It's actually more of a single late apex as you brake and turn late into 8 to hit a late apex on 9. Third gear.
Analysis: It's all about getting 9 right so you get a good exit onto the short straight leading up to 10. Not terribly challenging once you figure it out.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 10
Description: The 90. A 90-degree right hander that leads on the very, very fast back straight, so exit speed is everything.
Analysis: Deceptively slow, it's easy to wait too late to brake then run wide, screwing up your exit. You don't want to do that. Slow in fast out. Slow in fast out. Sacrifice the entry speed for exit speed.
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turn 11 and the Long Straight
Description: An incredibly fast straight with a light sweep to the right. Turn that corner into a much of a straight as possible. Most cars, including the V end up needing a shift right in that corner, which is a little risky at such high speeds, so make sure you're in a straight line when you do that.
Analysis: This is my biggest concern. The V is well north of 170 MPH back here and the Evo can't manage much more than 150. Taking the sweeper flat out with an upshift is a pucker moment and the opportunity does exist to get it very wrong if you aren't careful with your weight transfer while shifting the Cadillac.
Advantage: CTS-V
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turns 12, 13 &14
Description: The End Of Straight Esses. The map doesn't do this corner justice as there's a fair bit of elevation change. Uphill braking area for 12 helps late braking and turn-in, but there's a peak on the apex of 13 and it's a very tight, 3rd gear corner. Lots of weight transfer across the vehicle's front-to-rear and side-to-side axis.
Analysis: This is where I have to make up the time I'll lose on the straight. Lutz is going to be travelling considerably faster so will have to brake earlier and harder. If he doesn't, he'll lose it in 13 or at least screw up there, which'll mean he ruins 14 and the exit into the short straight that follows.
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: High

Section: Turn 15
Description: A right hand kink with a standard line, you can carry a lot of speed and then get on the power hard and early.
Analysis: You think it's faster than it is, but still, this is a power corner.
Advantage: CTS-V
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turn 16
Description: The Left Kink. A left sweeper over a blind crest. This is the corner that will catch you out if you're going too fast.
Analysis: The blind crest fools people into treating this like a straight and carrying too much speed through. You need to lift slightly just before you crest the hill, but of course if you lift too late you spin. You need to be very smooth on the downhill then turn the entry into 17 into a straight, you'll need to brake a lot for the next corner.
Advantage: Evo X
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Very High

Section: Turn 17
Description: A very tight hairpin. Another slow in, fast out corner where you want to sacrifice entry speed to get the power down as early as possible. Use the full width of the track on the exit.
Analysis: The back straight isn't that long, but it's still a straight coming off a very slow corner, so you're basically setting yourself up for a drag race and there's just no getting around the CTS-V's power advantage.
Advantage: CTS-V
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 18
Description: A weird corner that I've never gotten 100% perfect. It's another apparent double apex that works better as a late single.
Analysis: There's a bump on the second apex and you don't straighten out completely on the exit while still needing to be on the power hard. I'm hoping that bump and the general trickiness weigh things in my favor here.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Moderate

Section: Turn 19
Description: The Backwards S. A fairly standard right hander with an entry that curves to the left. You need to compromise this corner so you can be all the way to driver's right for the entry to 20.
Analysis: Banking makes this corner a breeze, but it's all about setting yourself up for 20, not carrying speed here.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

Section: Turn 20 and the pitt straight.
Description: A tight left hander that sets you up for the back straight. Stay out late, hit the apex and nail the throttle.
Analysis: The Evo will be able to get on the power earlier, the CTS-V has more power. It's advantage in speed on the straight will be less than you might think, especially since it'll have to brake so hard for turn 1.
Advantage: Equal
Risk of Lutz Crashing: Low

As always, it's filled with maximum hyperbole. What more should we expect — his product's making the rest of the luxury sedan landscape look like a bunch of also-rans. The breathless Josh Oliver from The GM Source asked him what his reaction was to Jaguar's early pull-out. Here's the response from Bob:

I think it means that the European high-performance sedans are excellent, even superb cars, but quite possibly not ready for racing laps right out of the show-room. The CTS-V is not only quicker, but will, in totally untweaked, stock form, run hot laps at any race track until it runs out of fuel. Transmission oil and diff oil temps are stable, engine oil temp doesn't go up, brakes get a bit more pedal travel, but don't fade. The street tires get a tad greasy, but handling and control remain excellent. "May the best car win"! (It wins automatically if the competitors won't show up!)

He's right. He's already gotten the best of Mercedes, Jaguar and Audi. We've yet to hear from BMW or Porsche — so please, feel free to e-mail me below if you're interested in, you know, standing up for your honor.

Held at Connecticut's Lime Rock Park, I drove the Mazda MX-5 Cup Racecar over the Formula 2000 car in the hope that it'd be more relevant to the Jaguar XFR sedan I'll be driving in the race — both were sorta owned by Ford, so I figured it couldn't hurt. As an added bonus, completing the course qualifies me to race MX-5s in the Skip Barber Mazdaspeed challenge.

The advanced two day program is designed for students who've already completed the three-day fundamentals of racing course and is much more lap-intensive than that initial program. I've completed a few other racing and advanced driving courses at other schools, but going into this, hadn't had any experience with Skip Barber.

The largest racing school in the world, Skip Barber visits 22 tracks in this country and is widely reputed to be the last word in driver training. The school's namesake and founder is one of only a handful of Americans to drive in Formula One and essentially invented the idea that driving could be coached, just like more traditional sports. The school was founded in 1975.

I was largely skeptical of the Skip Barber hype going into this-after all, how different could driving schools be?-but quickly found myself in a little over my head with classmates who were already up to a pretty good speed; two straight from the three-day course and one who'd already done this advanced course seven times this year.

One big advantage the other students had over me was confidence in braking while turning, something that none of the other schools I've attended have taught. Traveling flat out in fifth down the main straight, you turn into Lime Rock's turn 1 very, very late while braking and downshifting into 4th gear, then turning harder and shifting down to 3rd. The theory behind this makes total sense-just like accelerating, you can brake while turning in an inverse relationship to how far the wheel is turned-but after having "brake in a straight line" drilled into me over and over elsewhere it took a certain leap of faith to trust the car wouldn't spin, even if the classroom sessions explained clearly why it wouldn't.

Luckily, there were only three other students driving MX-5s and more instructors than students, so they had ample time to browbeat encourage me to pick up my pace. My lead instructor was Bruce MacInnes, widely considered the leading driving instructor in the country, his former students include Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. Positioned around the track during lapping sessions, they provide instantaneous feedback via radio and detailed analysis immediately following each session. Other instructors take to the track with the students, demonstrating how to apply the improvements that are being suggested. It's a system of continuous, individual feedback that's broken down corner by corner and delivered in a few different ways. I'm typically a slow learner (in addition to just being slow), but I found myself able to implement their lessons on the next lap, probably because their analysis was so clear and immediate. As a result, I felt myself improving lap after lap, throughout both days.

The cars we were driving weren't just plain Mazda MX-5s, but Cup Racecars. Over the standard vehicle, they add a $5500 Mazda racing package that includes a new intake and exhaust, boosting power from 167 to 200 HP. There's also remote reservoir Eibach dampers, considerably stiffer Eibach springs, solid antiroll bars, racing brake pads and 225/45WR-17 tires. The cars are also stripped of their interiors and soft tops, have a full cage welded in and you sit in racing buckets with five-point harnesses facing a removable wheel. The whole thing weighs just 2,600 Lbs. In short, it's a real race car with much improved throttle response, steering and outright grip. It's an extremely neutral car that'll understeer if you push it too fast into corners and let you tighten your line if you lift the throttle, making it near perfect to learn on. I just wish the Jaguar was going to half as adjustable on the limit.

In addition to the high instructor-to-student ratio, large amounts of lapping and the excellent instruction, the other thing that makes Skip Barber unique is that they treat their students like responsible adults rather than reckless children. Where most schools ban passing or even close driving, these guys encourage it and teach you how to drive competitively, safely. As long as you demonstrate responsibility, you're free to overtake other students or even instructors. The method they teach you for overtaking is also novel in its safety and efficacy, involving intercepting the racing line from the inside, then holding it against your opponent. No need to out brake anyone. The first time you try it you'll be amazed at how well it works; I can't wait to try it on an unsuspecting victim, it's just a shame that the CTS-V Challenge is time trial format or that victim would be Bob Lutz.

Like other Skip Barber courses, the two day advanced is anything but cheap at $3,500, but unlike purchasing a faster car or tuning your engine, that's an investment that's virtually guaranteed to make you a much better, much faster driver. Now that I've completed it, I am too and I'm going to kick Bob Lutz's ass.