Quote:
Originally Posted by Realist
Personally I never understood why Lutz was/is hailed in the AutoWorld. To me just another fatcat that became wealthy all the while the USA auto industry started tanking and continued, just my opinion of course. Executive roles many others could have filled with similar outcomes.
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Bob Lutz was responsible for a number of iconic vehicles. While working for GM in Europe he revived the Opel brand. While at BMW he was responsible for bringing to market some of the more iconic early performance models, like the 2002 Turbo and for the establishment of the 3 / 5 / 7 Series sizing and naming.
At Ford he was the force behind the original Explorer (thumbs up) and bringing the Merkur XR4Ti to the US (not exactly a thumbs up).
At Chrysler he was almost single-handedly responsible for the Viper (yay), Prowler (booo), the big rig look on Ram pickups, introduction of LH sedans, and Grand Cherokee.
Back at GM, this time in North America, he was responsible for bringing forth Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Skyy (one of the first things he did when he got there), bringing back Pontiac GTO / G8 / Chevy SS and Camaro. Without Lutz there would
NOT have been a 5th or 6th gen Camaro. Period. He also loosened the reins on the Corvette team and let them free-wheel more than any other product team except maybe Full Size Truck (aka cash register), and brought back V-Series for Cadillac. Probably most importantly, he was responsible for changing the quality culture of the company. I saw firsthand several times where he would stop a program dead in its tracks to fix perceptual quality issues. Interiors got redesigned. Material choices were changed. Suppliers were changed. Even if it delayed a product launch by a model year. That was
NEVER done before in the midst of product execution. Once the ball was rolling you got what you got <cough> Aztek<cough>.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Realist
Performance of the Air is impressive but the front and rear appearance fall short in my eyes. I would also worry about issues after warranty expires which fatcats don’t have to be concerned with.
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Can't really argue with you there. It has had to grow on me. Maybe working in the same building with their Michigan office and seeing a dozen or so of them everyday in the parking deck has allowed it to grow on me. Even if it hadn't grown on me, the car does so many things right (super comfortable ride, ridiculously fast, longest range available, most efficient EV available, best aero, one of the fastest charging EVs available, more roomy than an S-Class) that I can forgive it for not being drop dead gorgeous.