Ive been asking my self this question for some time now. Bob Lutz is one great car guys. But is he good for Chevy. What do I mean buy this? It seems that he has a great eye for cars that are aimed at 40s and up men and women. It seems he is really looking to go after BMW and Mercedes and the rest of the field with 35000 and up cars. Good cars buy all means. But is that Chevy? Buick yes Cadillac yes Pontiac maybe. Chevy could always use a good eye and leader but not with high priced vehicles. Maybe I am just from the old school, start with a Chevy and make my way up the chain to Cadillac. I guess the question is what does Chevy mean these days? Is it power? Is it style? Is it affordability? Where is Chevy trying to go and is Lutz the guy to take them there? I must admit that I dont think this great car guy is right for Chevy or am I just out dated my self. What does Chevy mean to most? What does Chevy stand for to Bob Lutz?

 

Though it's a little early to measure Bob Lutz's impact on Chevrolet (his cars start appearing in 2004) I think he has a good grip on what Chevy represents.

Chevrolet has traditionally been what Toyota is today, a maker of good low priced basic transportation. Sure there has been a performance car thrown in here & there, but outside of Corvette, Pontiac and Buick have had heavier artillery than Chevrolet (ie: GTOs, Trans Ams, Grand Nationals, and those GNXs of 1970 or so that had 500 lbs/ft of torque).

As far as where to spend limited resources, you 1st want to spend where your money will do the most good. High margin Trucks, SUVs, and luxury cars are exactly where GM's money should be spent 1st. That's what's going to finance reengineering those low margin "economy" & "high value" volume cars. Of course it's not what we enthusiasts & budget buyers would like, but looking at it from a strictly business perspective, it's completely logical.

The one exception is Saturn. Saturn ended up with the 1st use of GM's new small FWD chassis (Chevy is next), and the Vue which will soon become the Chevy Equinox. But of all GM's divisions, Saturn needed the most help (almost zero investment since it was created).

Just the same, it's Chevrolet's General Manager who is the point man in the direction of Chevy. Since it takes years for anyone's influence to be seen in a car design or a division's direction, former Chevy General Manager Kurt Ritter's influence will be seen over the next 2-3 years at Chevrolet.

Over that period every single car at Chevrolet (starting with the new Malibu) will be replaced with a new car, and temporary fixes (such as next year's supercharged Monte Carlo & Impala) are also his handywork.

 

Who really cares...if they dont come out w/ anything we like then they loose are business...i know next time i buy more then likely it'll be ford

 

I agree with Guion M but I still feel that Lutz may not fit in with what Chevy has represented over the years. Chevy is not a Buick or a Cadillac therefore is a more budget minded company. After watching interviews and reading articles on Lutz I am led to believe he may not have the right eye for Chevy, as in a money sense. Do we need high priced cars, suvs and trucks in the Chevy line up? Isn't that what Buick, Cadillac, and Pontiac are for?

 

Didn't Lutz play a big part in the introduction of the PT Cruiser? Now aside from the production shortages that led to extreme markups, the car itself was a budget minded model along the lines of what Chevy would offer.

 

BL has certainly shaken up GM.

He ramrodded a worthy GTO through in literally no time. He pulled a Solstice out of thin air. He reportedly halted the Grand Prix's intro until it could be cleaned up. He has heavily influenced Cadillac in many ways. And even ordered styling revisions on upcoming Buicks.

He has done alot at GM. But I can't think of one thing he has done for Chevy...other than de-cladding the Avalanche and dropping the Tazmanian Devil from Monte Carlo ads.

When it comes to Chevy....I'm still waiting to be impressed.

 

The 04 GP has me scatching my head sometimes... I mean, I liek it.... but... it didn't knock my socks off like the 97 originally did.

It'd be VERY VERY VERY interesting to get a look at that car before the changes made to it...

It'd be a great basis to see what Mr. Lutz's infulence did to the car.

This would be very cool for our resident industry insiders to try to dig up!!

 

From what I understand, it wasn't a major re-do. Some side trim was removed or repositioned and the grill was slightly altered.

Looks-wise, the '04 GP doesn't do much for me either.

 

For those keeping history facts, the big boss Buick was called the GSX, not GNX as previously mentioned. The package was a sporty package to add to the already monsterous Stage 1 GS at the time. Big time torque from those 455's. To bad Buick isn't in the position to bring back a real legend like that to the market.
Buick torque

 

I think Mr. BL needs to step back and take a look at Chevy and its' history and realize that most performace people actually spell performance C-h-e-v-r-o-l-e-t. We deserve alot better cars than the SSR. Chevy has made some of the best performance cars of all time and always seems to be at the center of attention over any other division or company, after all it was named after a racecar driver. IMO, it's always been the "I'll make it better, faster, meaner, nicer looking, AND (sometimes) cheaper" division of GM. They need to go back to that and performance standards should be set by the red bowtie. (not just the Corvette) They need that image again.

 

Correct! Darn keyboard slipped.

 

I know the grill was redone. Lutz joked with some mag about how he called the old design "bucky" because the grill looked like a beavers teeth before he changed it.. I still think the gill is teh most akward part of the whol car...looks like an afterthought. It needs to be less tall and wider.

 

S is a long way from N on the keyboard

 

4 over and 1 down. It could happen to anybody.