Bob Lutz on "Why GM was so Stupid"

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Wow, I didn't expect to hear this from the grand Lutzmaster himself:

Leftlanenews.com
General Motors's outspoken VP for product development Bob Lutz shared his thoughts on GM's recent failings with the Washington Post. "I can't believe that we were so stupid," Lutz said of GM. "People talk about Toyota overtaking General Motors (in global sales), as if GM were one company. But the truth is that we had not been one company for decades. We were different companies, each doing its own thing with little regard for the other. How can you run a global company like that? You can't. It was stupid. No wonder Toyota was cleaning our clock." He also said that a single global design and engineering budget would "put an end to badge engineering."
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Its about time someone from GM admitted how stupid their business practices were. And it doesn't surprise me at all that it's Lutz who can finally admit that, seeing how he knows how to turn GM around.
 
Well, if anyone at GM is going to change the company's direction, its going to be Lutz... Combine that with the possibility of Rick Wagoner stepping down in the next month or so, and GM could really be set for a 180 degree turn in where they are headed.

I think GM has figured out what they need to do, the only problem is that they have to do it.
 
He was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and went back and forth from Europe to the US a few times. He got his degree from Berkeley in 61, and also served as an aviator for the Marines.

link
 
I never knew he was born in Switzerland. Thanks for pointing me to the wikipedia article (something I should have done in the first place).
 
Sing it Lutz!

Chrysler had the same sort of problem in the early '80s. Lee Iacocca Saved 'em. now, G.M. needs to take a page from Mopar's book and get themselves on track.

or perhaps hire Lee, and let him run the company His way.
 
Well, thats the problem with GM; They are governed by people who arent car fans or have little passion for great automotive driving. They need someone like Lutz who is expirienced with cars and trucks, and loves driving to run the company. If not, they need some younger people with fresh ideas and ways to run the company to make things right.

DeLorean was put in a similar position back in the 1960's when he took over Pontiac and Chevrolet. He turned otherwise boring car companies into the icons of the era by making cars like the '64 Tempest GTO, Pontiac Firebird, and Pontiac Grand Prix, while also pushing Chevrolet through some of the toughest times in the American Automobile industry.
 

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