GM’s vice chairman, Robert Lutz, to retire
Robert A. Lutz, an outspoken and colorful industry veteran who has worked for all of the major American car companies, said Wednesday he will retire May 1 from his post as vice chairman of General Motors Co., ending a 47-year career in the industry.
Lutz, 78, started a second stint at GM in 2001, charged with revitalizing the automaker’s vehicle lineup. He stayed with the company through its brief sojourn into bankruptcy last year and has seen a new generation of GM autos -- including the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX, GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Camaro -- start to take hold in the marketplace.
Those models helped power GM to a 32% gain in vehicle sales in February compared with a year earlier, after adjusting for the Pontiac, Hummer, Saab and Saturn brands that the automaker shed as part of its recovery plan.
“Lutz truly is the last of the original larger-than-life auto executives, and it will be sad to see him retire,” said Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight. “His influence and no-nonsense attitude is frequently quoted by internal GM engineers and designers as the main reason GM vehicles have become so much better than they ever have been.”
Despite his blunt talk and views that there is no global warming, Lutz has been a strong proponent of Chevrolet’s Volt electric vehicle, which GM will start selling later this year. He told The Times in a recent interview that he believed consumers were interested in the car, and that it would also help improve GM’s government-mandated fleet fuel efficiency standards.
“I can confidently say that the job I came here to do more than nine years ago is now complete -- the team I have been fortunate to lead has far exceeded my expectations,” Lutz said.
GM Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said the influence Lutz had on GM’s improving product lineup would last for years.
“I, along with many other men and women in GM and throughout the industry, have greatly benefited from his passion, wisdom and guidance,” he said.
Lutz is a former fighter pilot who on occasion flew a helicopter to work, landing on a nearby helipad.
His career started with GM Europe in 1963 and moved through the industry, helping to develop popular vehicles for Chrysler in the 1990s before retiring in 1998. Former GM chief Rick Wagoner coaxed him out of retirement in 2001.
Three years ago Lutz said he planned to retire again when GM brought an electric vehicle to market.
