GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz should take over as General Motors CEO if Rick Wagoner steps down, says Forbes columnist Jerry Flint. “Will GM replace Wagoner with a leader of the Carlos Ghosn type, someone who understands the auto business and can lead effectively?” asks Flint. “Or will it be another business-school M.B.A. from the financial side of the company, the type that has led GM so ineffectively for decades?” Flint says that if there is no turnaround at GM soon, something will have to change. “If it were up to me, Bob would be the new GM boss,” writes Flint. “Lutz knows the car business as no other American [...] He isn’t a college-trained engineer–for which some snub him–but a self-taught car guy.” However, one should not expect Lutz to push for his own promotion to CEO. “Lutz is not a backstabber, and this is a business in which backstabbing is fine art,” writes Flint. “He’s loyal to the core, and he won’t push Wagoner down the stairs.”
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04/07, 5:44 PM
posted by:
Phil
Bob Lutz epitomizes the arrogance of GM that we have all come to characterize with the company.
04/07, 5:48 PM
posted by:
Phil
We don’t need another stodgy old war veteran like Lutz running a company that is in bad need of connecting with younger, hipper buyers.
04/07, 5:53 PM
posted by:
ned
lutz doesn’t have a clue what consumers want
04/07, 6:03 PM
posted by:
JW
Whoever came up with the Solstice/Sky should run GM.
04/07, 6:35 PM
posted by:
west
Lutz would make a great CEO for GM. It has been largely his efforts to promote brand identity, develope new and innovative prducts, and appeal to the buyer that are slowly turning GM around. That being said they still have a long way to go but bringing in “new, young blood” as CEO would be a very risky move for lack of experience on the CEO’s part.
04/07, 6:52 PM
posted by:
pd
Bob Lutz should run GM,is the car guy responsible for the Cadillac resurgence. also the camaro and upcoming new saturns. ” THE RICK” however is nothing but a accountant and doesnt have a clue when comes to cars. Peter Delorenzo(THE AUTOEXTREMIST) discusses this in detail in this weeks issue.and yes jw,Lutz was also responsible for the sky/solstice.
04/07, 7:25 PM
posted by:
junkie
“Whoever came up with the Solstice/Sky should run GM.”
That would be Lutz, he wanted the car and he dictated the price point.
He is not cut from the cloth of “the arrogance of GM that we have all come to characterize with the company.”
He was brought in several years ago to turn their product around. He is not part of the “old guard” that got them into this mess.
Whether or not you like the new vehicles (I do), the new crop of cars & trucks are worlds better than their older products.
04/07, 7:47 PM
posted by:
James
GM should hire Bill Ford as the next CEO. Ford’s new Lincoln Navigator is very inspiring.
04/07, 7:51 PM
posted by:
nick
Bob Lutz is the man. Wait until you see what cars GM has in the pipeline thanks to Bob Lutz, they will blow you away. Trust me on this.
04/07, 8:23 PM
posted by:
tim-bit
Lutz said gm would be idiots not to build the Camaro. (not his direct wording… but…)
‘Nuff said.
04/07, 10:19 PM
posted by:
manny
more power to mr. lutz!
04/07, 11:22 PM
posted by:
Pete
Lutz is the man behind the Viper (while at Chrysler), Solstice/Sky, the resurgence at Cadillac, and the focus on car interiors and product quality; he’s the man for the job. Beancounters like Wagoner would be better suited crunching numbers at GMAC or doing someone’s taxes, not making decisions regarding products, branding, marketing, and styling.
If Lutz is steering the boat, he can turn this old struggling battleship around.
04/08, 10:46 AM
posted by:
Anonymous
It may be too late for a Song & Dance man. Their invisible expenses are choking them. Dana Corp went Chap.11 last month to join Delphi … when your foundation is crumbling you’d need something more than a few flowers in front of it.
It simply may be time to close the door and re-open as a smaller, tighter company. GM is the Eastern Airlines of the auto business.
jim
04/09, 3:08 AM
posted by:
ali sabbidine
i think bob lutz should keep up the good work.
GM cars have improved a lot.specialy pontiac (solistice,g6,torrent,gxp),cadillac v-series..
But considering bob’s age ,he needs to find an apprentice to take after him,not just any guy with a business degree. GM needs a car enthusiast ,a designer in heart.also GM needs to bring back franz von holzhausen.he’s the guy behind the solistice and the sky.you don’t let go of a designer like him.Also GM may want to consider carlos ghosn .he’s worth the big bucks.i’m a GM guy .i will continue to buy GM cars
i hate to see the company losing to stupid toyota or stupid honda.
04/10, 10:22 AM
posted by:
Downshift
Lutz has been a fan-boy/media-darling but hasn’t done anything substantial to move GM forward.
Lutz has been around long enough that he ought to be at able to point to at least one mainstream winner in the car line. The Sky/Solstice are nifty, but they probably won’t dominate the microscopic segment. And, I’ll guarantee that second- and third-year sales drop. Probably precipitously. Lutz is happy to make the world’s largest automaker into a niche player.
What GM needs is somebody who can build the Cutlass Ciera of the new century.
And, anybody who thinks the Camaro’s going to make money for GM is smoking dope. Woohoo, the enthusiast press loves the Camaro. It’ll be coming to market well after the retro craze is over. Nobody’s going to buy the entry-level version because it’s going to be too fat and impractical. Ford, if they’re smart, will have redone the Mustang to take care of what will, by then be, sagging sales. And Chevy will be left behind again. Whoohoo.