2nd UPDATE: GM Product Chief Lutz To Retire At End Of '09
09 Febbraio 2009 - 6:49PM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Corp. (GM) said Monday that vice chairman and
product chief Bob Lutz will retire at year-end after a 46-year
career capped by efforts to overhaul GM's much-maligned vehicle
lineup.
Lutz, 76, one of the company's most visible leaders, will be
succeeded in April as head of global product development by Tom
Stephens, who now runs the Powertrain unit.
GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner hired Lutz in 2001 to improve
the look and quality of its car and light truck line-up.
But while his work won design plaudits, it failed to arrest the
sales decline that has left the company dependent on U.S. federal
aid to stave off bankruptcy.
The move by Lutz to an advisory role comes amid restructuring
that has cut off much of the funding to develop new vehicles.
The hiring of Lutz, a former Marine fighter pilot who had served
as executive vice president of Chrysler LLC, was considered an
unconventional move given Lutz's age and his colorful, high-profile
persona.
Lutz-influenced creations, from the made-over Chevrolet Malibu
sedan to an entirely new, European-inspired lineup for GM's Saturn
brand, won GM critical praise. But they failed to stem GM's
dramatic sales slide in the U.S., where sales have fallen 25% since
the start of the decade.
He is also the driving force behind the Chevrolet Volt, the auto
maker's high-profile attempt to produce a plug-in electric car for
the masses.
Lutz's blunt, forceful style has been at times both an asset and
a liability to GM. He is widely credited for forcing GM out of
entrenched patterns, from skimping on vehicle quality and design to
leaning heavily on profit-eroding incentives.
Yet he also has been a lightning rod for critics of Detroit's
auto industry, drawing fire last year for declaring global warming
a "crock of s---."
Lutz's career included leadership posts at all three Detroit
auto makers. He began his automotive career in 1963 at GM, then
spent 12 years at Chrysler and served on Ford Motor Co.'s (F) board
before returning to GM in 2001.
Many people both in and outside of GM anticipated Lutz would
leave the company years ago, as early as 2005. Asking Lutz about
his retirement plans became the perennial question for industry
insiders, yet Lutz vowed he would stay to see the Chevrolet Volt
through.
In a statement released Monday, GM's Wagoner said Lutz's
influence on GM products will be felt for years to come. "Bob Lutz
was already a legendary automotive product guy when he rejoined GM
in 2001," Wagoner said in the statement. "His 46 years of
experience in the global automotive business have been invaluable
to us."
Lutz's departure comes a week after Tony Cervone, one of GM's
top communications executives, said he is leaving to head corporate
communications at United Airlines' parent UAL Corp. (UAUA).
Stephens, currently GM's executive vice president of global
powertrain and quality, started at GM as an hourly employee in 1963
and has held a number of executive positions at the auto maker.
Shares of GM were recently up 1 cent at $2.85 but have lost 90%
of their value in the past year.
-By Sharon Terlep; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.