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Lutz: "You're Not Rid of Me Yet"

As we reported yesterday, GM's Vice Chairman-Global Products Development will step down in April and take a more passive role in the company until his retirement at the end of 2009. Bob Lutz detailed today in an interview with Autonews both the reasons behind his departure and his hopes for GM's future.

The future former Vice Chairman says he told Rick Wagoner about his intentions since last fall. the decision was made due to both his age and the ongoing economic situation. “You work harder and harder, and it's tougher and tougher to achieve results. If I were 10 years younger, I'd tell myself: This is a three- or four-year rough patch. We'll come through it and at the other end there'd be pleasure and satisfaction, and it'd be enjoyable again. But I won't be here three or four more years now.”

Bob Lutz held his current position with GM for eight years. During that time, he helped globalize product development and emphasized the need for recognizing design as the most important factor that influences consumer choice. Lutz is convinced that if things go from bad to worse from the economical standpoint, everyone will suffer, not only GM. He maintains hope that GM has enough resources to come out of this crisis unscaved. “When we come out the other end, we'll be a leaner and faster company, and we will have gotten rid of the legacy costs.”

Bob Lutz wrote in his fastlane blog “So I’ll be around the rest of the year, helping with the transition and acting as senior advisor to Rick Wagoner. Most importantly, I remain as confident as ever in the future of General Motors and the continued excellence of its products. And you’ll see even more evidence of that as the next few years unfold.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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