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Bob Lutz stays on at GM, switches to marketing role

 
8 1,598 views Jul 11, 2009

The first 20 years of Lutz’s career was in marketing

The first 20 years of Lutz’s career was in marketing

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Bob Lutz, the iconic and often polemic Vice Chairman of General Motors' global product development team, announced back in February that he would be retiring from the company at the end of the year. With GM emerging from bankruptcy protection earlier this week as a leaner and more focused company, 77-year old Lutz waived his plan to retire in order to return to his marketing roots.

Lutz has been at GM for almost eight years and is widely credited for bringing a new emphasis on style and quality back to the company. He is also one of the key men behind the development of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and has been vocal about sticking around to see the car finally launched, currently slated for late next year.

“Marketing is my occupational specialty, it’s what I was trained in, it’s what I did the first 20 years of my career,” Lutz, explained to Bloomberg. “I was in product development almost illegally.”

The new GM yesterday emerged from bankruptcy protection after 39 days, focusing on four brands in a bid to return to profitability after $88 billion in losses since 2004. Lutz’s responsibility will be to promote these four brands, focusing on advertising, communications and marketing – areas that were previously managed by several different executives.



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Comments (8)

  1. ma_bepsf avatar bepsf Posted: 7/9/2009 8:37pm PDT

    Could it be that Old GM is unable to pay his golden parachute - so the only way he can afford fuel for his personal fighter-jet in retirement is to stay w/ the New GM and earn another pension?
     
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  2. ma_HECTOR avatar HECTOR Posted: 7/10/2009 3:42am PDT

    The more things change the more they stay the same.

    One of the morons responsible for putting GM in the shithole it's in today, this man who OKd some of the worst cars ever build and then defended them with a straight face is staying?

    *Credited for bringing a new emphasis on style and quality back to the company*? PLease, don't make me laugh. He has done NOTHING that any auto enthusiast couldn't have done. Maximum Bob is NO Ferdinand Piech or Carlos Goshn.

    And now the govt of the USA, that knows nothing about running a car company, is bringing this guy back. Brilliant move, let's give them ever more control of our lives, shall we? Maybe they can task Dr Mengele to run health care.

    Do us all a favor Bob: retire as plan. IN fact, sooner.
     
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  3. ma_NC2010 avatar NC2010 Posted: 7/10/2009 4:20am PDT

    .....this man who OKd some of the worst cars ever build .......

    I think a simple check of the timeline would show that Bob was not yet even working at GM when they stopped making bad cars.
     
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  4. ma_uragan avatar uragan Posted: 7/10/2009 1:15pm PDT

    To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Lutz did a good job in Chrysler and then in GM. Anyway, nobody could have fixed the old GM. Too many brands, too many fronts, too many bad habits.
     
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  5. ma_Mike avatar Mike Posted: 7/10/2009 7:59pm PDT

    I'd be glad to see him stay. For his faults, he is a car guy and I'd rather see GM run by car guys than government beaurecrats who have no passion for what they are doing. Also, even though cars like the SSR weren't a success, it at least shows that Bob is willing to take risks with daring and evocative designs.
     
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  6. ma_HECTOR avatar HECTOR Posted: 7/12/2009 5:36am PDT

    @ NC - *when they stopped making bad cars?* You mean they went into bankruptcy because they were making excellent cars that everybody wanted?

    @ Uragan - *Lutz did a good job at Chrysler and then at GM*. Then why are those two companies in dire straits and both in bankruptcy?

    @ MIke - *Bob is willing to take risks with daring and evocative designs*. Maybe you can do that when you're Toyota or BMW, not when your stock is at $1.50 and you're selling most of your cars to rental fleets?

    Pretty much the best thing Lutz ever did was rebadge European and Australian cars and bring them to America. It doesn't take a genius to do that.
     
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  7. ma_Talleyrand avatar Talleyrand Posted: 7/13/2009 8:08am PDT

    Hector;I'd be interested in see your list of cars you think Lutz futzed .
     
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  8. By jturkisthemanistian Posted: 11/7/2009 9:17am PST

    Bob Lutz is an automotive icon. He takes chances and delivers. For so long, GM was too concerned with trying to try new designs, names, and features. Lutz changed that mindset in GM. Cars he's credited for: LaCrosse, Equinox, CTS and CTS-V, CTS coupe, Malibu, Sky- Lots of GM's best vehicles.
     
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