GM Turns Lutz Loose, Hopes "Straight Talk" Will Help

On Monday, the 76-year-old Mr. Lutz gave his first interviews since the Big Three's campaign for a bailout began, and he dispensed with the polite, analytical approach that his boss, Rick Wagoner, the chief executive, used during four rocky hearings before Congress.

In making Mr. Lutz available to the press, G.M. is clearly hoping that his straight talk will help convince lawmakers to approve a bridge loan to stave off bankruptcy, and help fend off mounting criticism of Mr. Wagoner.

Mr. Lutz objected to recent suggestions by Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the chairman of the banking committee, and others that Mr. Wagoner should be replaced, saying that firing him would be a "serious step in the wrong direction."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[ferby]

LUTZ ruined crysler,,,then through good ol boy network came to GM and did the same thing.
Same bad car designers that took crysler down follow Lutz to GM. LUTZ should be FIRED.
Then all his friends and the GM board for being STUPID.

[ErnestineBass]

Ah, yes, Bob Lutz, Macho-Man-Of-Motor-City, who brought us the V-10 Dodge Viper.

http://jalopnik.com/354292/the-dodge-viper-is-dead-in-lieu-of-flowers-please-send-rd-funds

The photo at the bottom of the article is absolutely priceless. ~snicker~

[The Patriot]

All will soon bow down before their new Chinese overlords...

[ekrub]

Okay. Wagoner AND Lutz should be shown the door.

[HeevenSteven]

Lutz's straight talk: "Anthropogenic climate change is a farce"

[KillTheMessenger]

It's kind of weird coming from a Swiss guy whose country is suffering severe economic losses due to shorter winter sports seasons...

:-)

[ErnestineBass]

How DID they find a helmet large enough to accomodate Lutz's head?

[KillTheMessenger]

http://www.secsportsfan.com/images/huge-redskins-helmet.jpg

Would that work?

[Listusc18sec2391]

yup

[ErnestineBass]

LOL!!!

When that photo of Lutz popped up, I immediately thought of the (ill-fated) shot of Dukakis in a tank wearing a ridiculously over-sided helmet. Conspiracy! heh heh

[Tom95134]

Here is what is wrong with Lutz...

Lutz received his bachelor"s degree in production management from the University of California-Berkeley in 1961. He received a master"s degree in business administration from the University of California-Berkeley in 1962.

And then there is Rick Wagoner...

Rick Wagoner received a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977.

After Harvard, he joined GM as an analyst in the treasurer's office. In 1981, he became treasurer of GM's Brazil subsidiary and later served as managing director.

What qualifies these two guys to fill an executive level seat in a company that is engineering based and market driven. Both of these clowns are BEAN COUNTERS.

[HeevenSteven]

Same story with so many American companies. The top execs see themselves as portfolio managers; focusing on what the core of the biz should be seems lost on them. For them engineering is just something you hire other people to do, not something you build your coporate philosophy around.

[MilwaukeeDan]

HS, well said, they are all short timers, looking for a quick buck. I believe for a while back in the 1980s, GM was run by a bunch of ex Proctor and Gamble executives. As you say , they don't understand the core of the business.

[Egalitare]

Word.

It doesn't matter that Lutz and Wagoner have an aptitude for understanding the business. They have intellectual contempt for the core of the business.

[StellaDuBois]

Both have extensive time in the industry and have technical aptitude. Lutz owns and flies a MIG for fun.

Even Iacocca said Wagoner should stay.

[KillTheMessenger]

D'oh!