No! No! No! Lutz May Retire After The Volt Launches

Say it isn't so. Lutz has said he would love to see the Volt LAUNCH, and that he may retire once it does.

Who fills Maximum Bobs shoes?

Say it isn't so. Lutz has said he would love to see the Volt retire, and that he may retire once it does.

Who fills Maximum Bobs shoes?

He would love to see the volt retire or launch?

Hey man... The guy has done some really GREAT things but you know... 70+ years old... yeah... I'd want to retire too!

i wonder if he'll have to use his social sercurity??? :D LOL

He would love to see the volt retire or launch?

Launch.

Damn fingers.

Who fills Maximum Bobs shoes?

Oh, alright. If they can give me more money than Lutz makes, I'll do it. :yes:

Hopefully by then his DNA will have worked itself deep into the soul of GM.

by then every model should have gone through one Lutz cycle. I hope his influence stays at GM for a long time.

As was said, the man is 70+ years old. How much longer did you think we'd have him around, seriously?

All I know is that whoever replaces him, I hope he/she has studied long and hard under him. Or is at least a true "car guy" and not a washing machine salesman.

Say it isn't so. Lutz has said he would love to see the Volt LAUNCH, and that he may retire once it does.

Who fills Maximum Bobs shoes?

Or not....

Lutz says the jokes on you...again. After another report surfaced that suggested Maximum Bob is set to retire in 2010 Lutz fires back. He's not thinking about retirement. He's thinking about flying jet fighters, dude.

Seriously, I don't know if he's thinking about flying jet fighters (and the new Bud Light 'dude' commercial was on sorry), but it seems I sorta kinda started a trend when it comes to remarks from our man crush. I mean come on, how else can you explain the AutomotiveNews piece published today that states Lutz told them he's not thinking of retirement via e-mail? Seriously here, didn't we cover that base already (and chastised for it)? Sooo unoriginal Automotive News.

“Read my lips: I am not thinking retirement,” wrote Lutz in an e-mail to Automotive News this afternoon. “The job is better than ever, and so is GM!!!!”

Right on Bob...but we can't read your lips in an e-mail. If you're willing to invite us down though, we can read your lips in person.

But for real. Lutz isn't going anywhere...at least not until they carry him out of his office in Warren and the Ren Cen in Detroit and guess what...I'm perfectly happy with that. As long as he's not senile...and even if he becomes senile...as long as he just forgets his wifes name and not how to run GM design I'm cool with that.

Really...how important is the old ladys name when your running GM design?

Source: AutomotiveNews

by then every model should have gone through one Lutz cycle. I hope his influence stays at GM for a long time.

How long did it last at Chrysler?

Lutz said he'll stick around as long as his health holds, and I would tend to believe that. Even with his expensive hobbies, he lives and breathes the automobile business, and overall probably enjoys waking up to do his job more than anything. And since he's too old to start off at another automaker and have time to see his actions bear fruit, GM is the only place he can satisfy that desire.

I've said it before here, but I think Wolfgang Bernhard would be the most worthy successor. He's kinda busy right now, but maybe in 3-5 years' time ...

Lutz should die in his office at GM.. i hope he lives till 100+

Oh well, how bout Scott to take over?.

One side of my brain says that an organization shouldn't rely on the "magic" of one person, and that if GM is to live on, then it needs to be able to survive without a Lutz-type figure at the helm. The other side of my brain knows that leaders of Lutz's caliber are extremely rare, and that GM as an organization did not perform well without him. I hope that he's able to stick around for at least another product generation, because it will take awhile to ingrain GM with new habits.

Let's hope Mr. Lutz didn't graduate from the same school of honesty that Bobby Patrino and Nick Saban came from, maybe Les Miles too.

One side of my brain says that an organization shouldn't rely on the "magic" of one person, and that if GM is to live on, then it needs to be able to survive without a Lutz-type figure at the helm. The other side of my brain knows that leaders of Lutz's caliber are extremely rare, and that GM as an organization did not perform well without him. I hope that he's able to stick around for at least another product generation, because it will take awhile to ingrain GM with new habits.

Agreed.

One side of my brain says that an organization shouldn't rely on the "magic" of one person, and that if GM is to live on, then it needs to be able to survive without a Lutz-type figure at the helm. The other side of my brain knows that leaders of Lutz's caliber are extremely rare, and that GM as an organization did not perform well without him. I hope that he's able to stick around for at least another product generation, because it will take awhile to ingrain GM with new habits.

Yea, I'd agree that its a combination of processes and people. It seems like both were missing when Bob got there, and at least (again from an outsiders perspective) he's been able to get some good processes in place. Hopefully GM will be able to go pretty good with good processes and solid leadership, instead of needing the best possible guy out there to do everything.

Ode to Lutz.

I like to think that he got the offer from Wagoner, sat down and thought to himself,

"You know, retirement's a bit boring. I think I'll salvage the largest automobile corporation on the planet to pass the time..."

I hope they recruit his replacement from Holden. They seem to "do quite a lot" with "not very much"