Lutz to retire 1 may

[GoCougs]

Hardly anyone agrees with the typical auto and airline union (those two groups seem to make up the bulk of the problems on both sides of the Atlantic),  but most unions are not that troublesome, in many cases it can make human resources more efficient because you have a common address for a large group of people.

Also unions can prevent governments from stepping into the process. Germany has no minimum wage. Well, the Bundestag passed one but the German Constitutional Court bagged it since it violated the wage autonomy. It is the unions, not the governments role to fight for better pay. Of course the government can empower the unions to a certain degree, but otherwise they have to step back and watch the process.

In this I would agree; the only thing worse than unions is government; even if it's government trying to buck down unions.

[NomisR]

Hardly anyone agrees with the typical auto and airline union (those two groups seem to make up the bulk of the problems on both sides of the Atlantic),  but most unions are not that troublesome, in many cases it can make human resources more efficient because you have a common address for a large group of people.

Also unions can prevent governments from stepping into the process. Germany has no minimum wage. Well, the Bundestag passed one but the German Constitutional Court bagged it since it violated the wage autonomy. It is the unions, not the governments role to fight for better pay. Of course the government can empower the unions to a certain degree, but otherwise they have to step back and watch the process.

Having dealt with Union reps.. I can say..   I wouldn't want them to represent me...

[Byteme]

Found this on Lutz' retirement.  What a sales slut.       

So what job did he come to GM to do nine years ago?  Drive the company in and out of bankruptcy?

And a product line as strong as any in GM's history?  How about 1965 when GM controlled 60% of themarket and one model alone, the Impala, sold over 1,000,000 copies.


GM's Lutz to retire on May 1
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Bob Lutz, General Motors Co.'s storied design chief-turned-marketer, will call it quits on May 1 after initially pushing back his retirement date to help the automaker overhaul its business.

"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. "Our product lineup is as strong as it has been in GM's history.
Lutz, whose near half-century career has included stints at Ford Motor Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!f/quotes/nls/f (F 12.98, +0.19, +1.49%) , Chrysler and BMW, will follow his old boss, former CEO Fritz Henderson, out the door now that Ed Whitacre has taken the reigns.

"The influence Bob Lutz has had on GM's commitment to design, build and sell the world's best vehicles will last for years to come," Whitacre said.

Henderson last year convinced Lutz to stay on to help revive GM after its stint in bankruptcy. Lutz initially planned to retire by the end of 2009.

Both men served under former Chief Rick Wagoner, another member of the old guard who was pushed out courtesy of the U.S. government a year ago.

Lutz is credited with breathing life into a stale GM lineup thanks to cars like the Chevy Malibu and Cadillac CTS. But he's also known for not having much of a filter, whether it be throwing a barb at a competitor or denying climate change. Still, Lutz has been a driving force behind the much-anticipated Chevy Volt electric car.

Most recently, Lutz has been serving in an advisory role after Whitacre removed him from his position as head of marketing back in December.

The announcement comes one day after GM said it was shaking up its North American unit to help speed the company's restructuring.

[SVT666]

Recent - wat? I completed undergrad in '96 and an MBA in '04...

You've created this mythical, revisionist history of labor unions, and I dare say it ain't doing you any favors.

First, who only works 40 hour work weeks? Not I, and virtually no one I know of.

Second, work place conditions are safer because competition amongst the labor pool pushed it that way.

Third, health benefits for non-union employees are provided at 100% the pleasure of the employer.

I think you need to do a little more reading.  I would also think about going back to school if I were you, because I have no idea how you graduated with your views on the world. 

Your ideal world could never exist because in your world man has no faults.  Man will always be corrupt, greedy, power hungry, etc.  Therefore, your perfect society that you keep talking about cannot possibly exist...and it has nothing at all to do with government.  It has to do with man and the fact that man is not perfect.

[GoCougs]

Found this on Lutz' retirement.  What a sales slut.      

So what job did he come to GM to do nine years ago?  Drive the company in and out of bankruptcy?

And a product line as strong as any in GM's history?  

Prior to his arrival much of GM's stuff was sub par to just plain awful, but now a lot if it is average, some if it class leading, and even some of it world class; Tahoe/Suburban, Silverado, Corvette, Camaro, Malibu, Equinox, Lambda trio, CTS, being that which comes to mind.

Sure there are still some stinkers/below average efforts; Hummer, Cobalt, SSR, XLR, STS, Colorado/Canyon, and maybe some others, but in that universe he is more or less correct - GM is building its best product ever, and it happened on his watch. Mr. Lutz was not responsible for the business side of the business.

[ChrisV]

Prior to his arrival much of GM's stuff was sub par to just plain awful, but now a lot if it is average, some if it class leading, and even some of it world class; Tahoe/Suburban, Silverado, Corvette, Camaro, Malibu, Equinox, Lambda trio, CTS, being that which comes to mind.

Sure there are still some stinkers/below average efforts; Hummer, Cobalt, SSR, XLR, STS, Colorado/Canyon, and maybe some others, but in that universe he is more or less correct - GM is building its best product ever, and it happened on his watch. Mr. Lutz was not responsible for the business side of the business.

Wow. I'm agreeing with Cougs. It is too bad that Bob Lutz's product push at GM often gets confused with the management that decades before his arrival laid the path to the company's eventual bankruptcy. Products are leading GM's revival, and it is safe to say that Bob Lutz had a very large roll to play in the development of these successful new models. Lutz was hired to recharge the product side of the house, and in that, he succeeded quite well, even in the management climate that GM had/has. The product got a lot better, and while much of the bankruptcy was failure on the management side to run the business of business properly, much blame has to be laid on the fact that a LOT of companies that made good product were hit by the financial meltdown, as well, PLUS the simple fact that right now, no matter how good the product was at GM, it was going to take the general public a while to find out about it and start buying it (and as we noted in the other thread, a lot of people don't do research and just go by word of mouth and prior bias). GM was in trouble before Lutz got there, was turning product around, but didn't have enough time to get the buyers necessary to weather the storm.

But product was not the problem, and Lutz's work was actually important and successful inasmuch as he did turn the product around.

As for the OP, Lutz was decrying the fact that they had to go to the government to get money and have the government RUN the company, thus be possibly forced to not build product people would want but product the government thought buyers were supposed to buy instead. Not a good idea. And he was also complaining not about the fact that people would be paid to little, but that if good talent was available, they wouldn't be allowed to pay them the going rate.

While too many executives aren't worth the money they are being paid, a requirement that you CAN"T pay a good executive the going rate when that person might be necessary for the turnaround is foolish. Just like on a, say sports team. You want to win a pennant? You need a good pitcher, and a winning pitcher ain't gonna come cheap.

Lastly he made those statements a year ago and they have NOTHING to do with his retirement NOW. In fact none of the things in thet detnews article are mentioned in any other news report of his retirement (unless they are reprints of the detnews one).

The retirement announcement, as reported everywhere else other than Detnews.com, has nothing about leaving because he or anyone else is not getting paid enough:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03....html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201..._lutz

http://www.reuters.com/article...00303

Read any of them and point out where he's leaving because he's not getting paid enough..

From a guy who is on teh mfg side in GM:

>The principle fix Lutz did for GM was not hand drawing or conceiving great products. I know people and the media love to inflate egos in this industry, but it takes literally an army of people across the globe to develop products. The principle achievement of Bob Lutz was to break thru the innane GM system from hell and get focus on the common goal of each product - to be attractive in all senses of the word such that profits result. Such that potentially good concepts do not get mired in the dross... not watered down in the insane levels of penny pinching. His role was one of development guru... that carried a big stick (his ego)... and he used it.

>There is no need to worship the guy... only need is to be vigilant of falling back into the hell that were the days before him. GM doesn't need to fret about keeping him at the Warren Tech Center forever... or even find a replacement for him. GM needs to codify what he did (i.e. Put focus on getting the various disciplines to focus on the final goal vs before which was focusing on themselves individually with no regard to the final product.).

If Lutz, himself, were truly wise... his legacy will not be a CTS or Solstice or Camaro or Volt. His legacy will be instituting the culture of CAR in GM such that mediocrity will never return.

[GoCougs]

The coming shame is that with de facto nationalization and all that comes with it (i.e., below market executive compensation), GM is destined to slide back into the malaise of crappy products. Cars of the caliber of the current Corvette, Camaro, CTS, Malibu, et al., will NOT happen on the government's watch.