Automotive News - March 3, 2008 - (Page 14)

14 • MARCH 3, 2008 When Lutz dumps on global warming Peter Brown The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason. — T.S. Eliot Murder in the Cathedral Bob Lutz’s team is turning out one terrific vehicle after another, and General Motors is also earning some credibility in fuel economy. Lutz’s team is developing a plug-in hybrid that will play a central role in GM’s brand values. GM wants to be known as part of the solution, not the problem. And then Bob Lutz tells a bunch of reporters, supposedly off the record, that human-caused global warming is “a total crock of shit.” Imagine the cringing over in Steve Harris’ public relations department. Lutz’s defense? Hey, I’m allowed to have my own well-researched views. And the fact that global warming is a hoax doesn’t change GM’s commitment to being a leader on fuel economy. No, but it does change consumers’ attitudes toward GM. And those attitudes are as important as the hardware GM turns out. Even while Toyota cranks out big, V-8-powered trucks, it relentlessly positions itself as the fuel economy company, on the side of the angels. But if GM is investing in fuel-saving technology only because the darned government, snookered by that damned Al Gore, is raising standards and the darned marketplace wants fuel economy, that’s just business. Well, all other things being equal, consumers prefer the side of the angels. Let’s explore two issues here: Lutz’s stunning leadership of GM’s product development organization — along with the related issue of what happens after Lutz — and his attitude toward environmental challenges. EDITORIAL STAFF 313-446-0361 E-mail autonews@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com Keith E. Crain Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Peter Brown Associate Publisher and Editorial Director DETROIT 313-446-0361 Fax: 313-446-0383 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 David Sedgwick Editor dsedgwick@crain.com Edward Lapham Executive Editor elapham@crain.com Richard Johnson Managing Editor rjohnson@crain.com John K. Teahen Jr. Senior Editor Mary Beth Vander Schaaf Deputy Managing Editor Charles Child International Editor Bob Lutz’s team is developing the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, as well as great conventional cars. But if global warming is a “crock,” will people who want fuel-saving technology want to buy a GM vehicle? David Kushma Retail Editor Dave Guilford News Editor Philip Nussel Special Projects Editor James B. Treece Industry Editor Karen Faust O’Rourke Insight Editor COPY EDITORS: Bob Allen, Tom Fetters, Patricia C. Foley, Kenn Jones, Gregory Skwira Susan Zavela Bamford/Graphics Editor Rick Kranz/Product Editor REPORTERS: Leslie J. Allen, David Barkholz, Mary Connelly, Ralph Kisiel, Jamie LaReau, Arlena Sawyers, Robert Sherefkin, Richard Truett, Bradford Wernle, Amy Wilson Mary Raetz Director, Automotive News Data Center Debi Domby, Camille Pippen Research Assistants Dan Jones Office Manager Robertta Savage Editorial Assistant Corinne M. Price, Michael Garrison Information Center LOS ANGELES Mark Rechtin/Bureau Chief 310-739-8009 Fax: 310-832-6362 Kathy Jackson/Reporter 323-370-2481 Fax: 323-655-8157 6500 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 NEW YORK Diana T. 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I hereby amend that to say “lots of billions” in revenue. GM’s crossovers, trucks and cars are coming out of the product development factory just the way consumers want them: refined, quiet, elegant and offering an assured feeling of control. Recently a car rental company assigned me a Pontiac G6, a model that is about three years old. Compare it with its newer platform mates, the Saturn Aura and the new Chevrolet Malibu. Where the G6 is noisy, underpowered and indifferent to drive, the Malibu is quiet, refined and a pleasure. That’s Lutz. His team of acolytes took the same platform and improved everything that a customer notices. The interior makes you feel successful. The quiet makes you feel elegant and prosperous. GM spent some extra money on the Malibu but will earn it back in both higher prices and volume. That’s Lutz. I’ve been asking around GM: Will Lutzism outlive Lutz? GM still needs Lutz himself to ensure that those last few dollars will be invested in beautiful interiors and assured performance. His team can develop a great car, but his oversized persona is still needed to keep the finance guys’ hands off the final product. And there is no obvious heir. So the future is not assured although, at 76, Lutz still charges harder than people half his age. an icon and the czar of vehicle development, calls the scientists’ consensus on global warming a bunch of doo-doo, he’s unavoidably speaking for the company. Does the consumer want to buy a car from a company that professes to want to save the world (think Toyota and Honda) or from a company that begrudgingly plans to meet misguided federal standards? Mum’s the word Yes, the vehicles matter. But so do ideas and brands. Witness the excellent Saturn Aura, which sells poorly. People who want that car don’t want a Saturn, and people who want a Saturn don’t want that car. Brand matters. Which leads to this question: Will people who want fuel-saving technology want to buy a GM vehicle? Lutz has led an astonishing transformation of GM’s product development. If GM is going to lead in plugin hybrids and the electrification of the car, Lutz is the best field general to lead the troops. And if GM is going to succeed in the marketplace, sometimes the field general needs to keep quiet on the wisdom of the war. You may e-mail Peter Brown at pbrown@crain.com Doo-doo boo-boo Now for global warming. For more than a decade, I’ve heard Lutz wittily belittle people who share the scientific consensus that humanemitted greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide from the burning of petroleum in Lutz’s beloved cars and aircraft — are a cause of global warming. His basic position is this: There’s lots of natural greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (he regularly cites cow farts), and whatever extra gas we people spew is not even a rounding error. As he says, he’s entitled to his own opinion. But when the vice chairman of GM, The Lutz effect When Rick Wagoner hired Lutz in 2001 to turbocharge GM’s plodding product development organization, I wrote this: “Bob Lutz will make some mistakes. He will make Rick Wagoner roll his eyes a few times. But he’ll be worth billions to General Motors.” continued from Page 12 Cutting weight doesn’t cut safety To the Editor: I would like to clarify a common misconception about the link between CAFE-driven weight reductions and vehicle safety. You got it right in “New CAFE law opens the door to industry surprises” (Feb. 11). But I think one aspect of the weight debate deserves more attention. Cutting a vehicle’s weight does not by itself impair safety performance. Cutting a vehicle’s size is the real issue. A recent study by Dynamic Research Inc., of Torrance, Calif., separated the effects of size and weight on a vehicle’s safety performance. The study found that maintaining a vehicle’s size while reducing weight actually created a 15 percent improvement in safety performance. An aluminum body could make a typical mid-sized vehicle 300 to 350 pounds lighter, more fuel efficient and also safer without making it smaller. One of the safest vehicles on the road today, the Audi A8, makes extensive use of lightweight materials. Corporate average fuel economy changes certainly mean cars will be lighter and more efficient but not that they will be less safe. RANDALL SCHEPS Marketing Director Alcoa Cleveland Blame the dealer, not the brand To the Editor: After reading the Feb. 11 article on the Bill Heard dealerships, I am shocked at how customers always say “I will never buy X brand again” when they have a bad dealer experience (“Heard is Chevy’s sales king — but many customers aren’t cheering”). It has nothing to do with the brand but, rather, the dealership, which may handle multiple brands from multiple manufacturers. So before swearing off a brand for bad dealership service, maybe people should swear off the dealer. After all, why punish the manufacturer, which really didn’t do anything wrong? JUSTIN WOJAS Rochester Hills, Mich. The writer works for a Tier 1 auto supplier. We invite letters from our readers. Please limit your letter to 250 words and tell us whether we may print it. We reserve the right to edit it. Include your name and title, your company’s name, your city and state. Tell us what your connection to the auto industry is. Also include your telephone number or your e-mail address. E-mail letters to: autonews@crain.com Or send them to: Letters Automotive News 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 http://www.autonews.com http://www.autonews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 3, 2008

Bob Nardeli's new big-idea guy New Kia boss reaches out to restless dealers Scion hits a wall Lithia losses raise caution flag Detroit 3 shun talk of NAFTA do-over Lincoln names new marketing manager Mercedes to launch hybrid sedan in '09 Mazda has new top marketing exec M-B will hit the road with 50-state diesels Pontiac puts big ad bucks into traditional media for G8 Reynolds, ADP diverge on growth strategies Ford plans to cut fleet sales 10% in 2008 Mazda: New models, styling will boost its loyalty rate Run-up to axle strike adds to supplier woes Webasto's fast heater will debut by 2010 Russian plant wants to be world's biggest A Lancer is hatched Chrysler throws out purchasing rulebook Honda sets lofty hybrid goal, with Civic's help Honda: Use of ethanol limited, must be biomass Honda CEO Fukui: No recession in U.S., despite soft sales in spots 550 hp? 620 hp? Is GM crazy? Doug Fraser was a great leader How ironic: Lyons learns caution Well done, Doug Don't let Calif. impose fuel rules on the nation Blame the dealer, not the brand Cutting weight doesn't cut safety When Lutz dumps on global warming ... JM exec Czubay: A taste for hogs, pierogi Doug Fraser: A good man to have known Fraser led UAW with 'combination of substance, politics and charm' Autonet finds success at NADA with wi-fi for cars GM to sell medium-truck business, keep dealer network Web classified ad firms renew marketing to dealers, buyers Chery designs venture's vehicles China venture eyes 20,000 Fiesta hatchback sales Toyota plans crossovers in China Dongfeng, YuAn plan minicars BMW shakes up global marketing, sales ranks Delphi divestiture boosts forging supplier Is Blackhawk purchase bucking a trend? Repair company grows as Detroit 3 struggle BorgWarner unit expands German automakers seek more parts sourced in North America Hyundai picks ArvinMeritor Japan parts firm to build Miss. plant Nissan to increase spending on IT Purchase keeps Tenn. plant open Automakers hit with apartheid claims Mexico sales flat in January Ford prices '09 Flex atop crossover line Hamp rejoins Visteon board RV deliveries decline 3.4% in December Subaru lowers Forester price Personnel Bright future for LED headlight suppliers? Valeo's Morin to Pardus: Learn before you leap German automakers aren't worried about U.S. recession Porsche's Wiedeking: We must retool VW Europe's loud debate over quieter tires Noise level depends on the tires, the road Auto industry robotics spending jumps 43% in 2007 Electronic brakes struggle to get traction Big Texas dealer returns to some domestic brands AutoNation chief sees tough '08, better '09 In downturn, Sonic looks beyond new cars GM promotes service, parts leads for dealerships 10 cool dealership technologies found at NADA Dealers Kia will build transmissions at Georgia plant Gibson leaves DealerTrack board Akebono closing Kentucky plant Feds issue Ford fire warning Magna net income drops VW to use Siemens' software A tale of 2 exhaust systems EU wants CO2 in ads; battle looms Maize malaise stalls ethanol Tata to siesta during Ford's Fiesta Honda moves its American bike offshore Honda will recycle cycle plant Tom LaSorda's multimillion-dollar smile

Automotive News - March 3, 2008

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