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posts about #robertlutz more →
Bob Lutz To Retire At End Of 2009!
Lutz Calls For Three-Year NHTSA Crash Testing Moratorium


02/09/09
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GTO: EPIC FAIL.
Solstice/Sky: Money loser = FAIL
G6: Sells less than Grand Am and Grand Prix = FAIL
LaCrosse: Makes the Regal look hip = FAIL
G8: GTO II = FAIL
Astra: 2009 Model year cancelled = EPIC FAIL
CTS: Great, too bad it took Caddy 3 tries at this
Malibu: Good, ditto
Enclave: Good, but why do we need 3 other versions?
Camaro: NOT FUCKING HERE YET
Two good cars, one great car, all with caveats. Big freaking deal. Sure there's more new stuff coming, but the Equinox/SRX are going to be meh and I can't see the new Buick Masturbation gaining much market traction.
There's no reason to miss this guy.
02/09/09
You missed one on the tally:
You = Epic Fail.
The GTO never failed for its own sake, it failed for a lack of advertising, which is the exact same reason that the G8 is having a rough time. There is simply no advertising for them, and that is why more people simply don't know about them.
The Astra was cancelled not for lack of sales, but because it is reaching the end of the effective platform life, and has not been renewed as of yet likely due to the fact that former Satrun projects are being moved to Buick in preparations to kill off Saturn.
The G6, while not the best car in the world, is also not the worst, and has in fact outsold the Grand Am and Grand Prix, as neither of those models are in production.
The LaCrosse? Now you, sir, as speaking out of your ass. Not only has it not come out yet, making actual judgments difficult at this point, it's platformmates have all done well and are all great cars.
Additionally, if you can tell me why BMW needs three versions of the same car, I will happily tell you why GM does.
Camaro? They're doing the best they can to develop the car and get it to the market. That doesn't happen overnight either.
If you want to put out negative comments, then by all means., please do so, but please try not to make yourself look like a total fool in the process.
02/09/09
While I agree with your sentiment... the scorecard may be a little harsh.
At any rate... I'm sure GM can find someone, even another "car guy" who can do the same or a better job for less salary.
Bob was more of a PR guy then a design guy anyhow.
Look at the cars you mentioned above, and then wonder how people are still in love with him? That's why he's a PR guy.
Bob's overall evaluation.... "MEH"
02/09/09
It's always seemed to me that there's a belief in GM circles that they're going to build world beaters overnight. Just because the cars look better and the headliners haven't fallen down yet doesn't mean they're the best.
If it wasn't the carpocalypse and Bob hadn't been billed as GM's savior from day one, I'd be more kind.
02/09/09
The GTO was advertised plenty. But it had boring styling, was too expensive and had two few doors. No advertising will fix that.
This certainly sounds like a lack of sales to me:
[wot.motortrend.com]
The G6 sells at a lower volume than the Grand Am or Grand Prix did when they were in production. A lot of that is probably fleet, but Pontiac was still selling far fewer sedans even before the Carpocalypse (That's a really lame hair for you to be splitting, too)
I was bashing the current, W-body, geezer LaCrosse. Don't even try to defend that thing.
BMW doesn't sell 3 badge-engineered variants of anything.
As for the Camaro, that's fine if they're doing their best, but just stop with the teasing already. Besides, they said they were "doing their best" with the Solstice, too. And it still turned out to be pretty underwhelming.
So, yeah, I stand by all of my negative, foolish comments.
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Has he really been responsible for GM making more and better cars that enthusiasts and the public really want? Has he changed GM's culture, or helped to promote more car guys up through the ranks and into positions where they can really make some changes? I hope so, but I haven't seen too much evidence.
Plus, going out of his way to slam hybrids, electrics, fuel efficient, and lower polluting vehicles hasn't been tremendously helpful. Maybe it's be nice if it could still be 1968, but the world has changed and we need folks who are looking forward.
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Hats off to Lutz. He did a great job with GM despite their current problems.
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In an industry filled with mediocrity, Bob did stand out. Unfortunately, he wasn't the right guy for the times. (They changed.)
02/09/09
You clearly don't know much about the auto industry to think those things happen overnight.
Before innacurately calling things a failure, you might want to look around a bit. Read a review on a G8, check out the Enclave, new LaCrosse (with more coming), etc.
02/09/09
Review, shmeview... Talk to me about sales numbers.
I'll argue that while Bob did good work on enthusiast cars, he did very little to pump up GM's volume players.
Secondarily, he was the man beating the anti-hybrid drum in the media, which did more to cement GM's current public persona as an out-of-touch, old-school behmoth than a container-ship full of H2's.
And, I know it's before your time, but he was the product man at the wheel when money was pulled from small cars and crossovers to speed up the GMT-900 FS trucks and SUVs.
02/09/09
You just countered your own arguemt: check GMT900's sales numbers over the years!
Also, he's the main force behind Volt and the Caddy version as well. So again, you are mistating things for your agenda, which appears to be nut-swinging imports?
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According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to "complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012."
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