TriShield

"To all the doubters… [including] Glenn Beck, I say: ‘Eat your hearts out. Volt is the future.'"



Justin Hyde — In his new book, former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz calls Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and other right-wing critics of GM "reckless" for their hatred of anything linked to the Obama administration — including the Chevrolet Volt. Here's our exclusive first drive review of the soon-to-be-published book.

In his book, "Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle For The Soul Of American Business," Lutz reveals what anyone who pays even the slightest of attention to the auto industry has known for years, that far from being created by the Obama administration, the original idea of the Volt sprouted in 2005 — and it would have never survived GM's bureaucracy without a push from Elon Musk and Tesla Motors.

Lutz — a cigar-smoking, jet-flying, patriotic former Marine — has long admitted that the halo cast by the Toyota Prius unfairly sainted Toyota while casting GM vehicles as pollution-barfing tanks. Lutz's original idea was to recommit GM to a pure electric vehicle with lithium-ion batteries — a prospect that GM's engineers and executives hated due to the expensive scars left from the EV1 project of the late 90s.

When Musk unveiled the Tesla Roadster in 2005, it gave Lutz the ammo he needed to get a new electric concept approved by GM's management. But as he talked with engineer Jon Lauckner, Lauckner said he had a better idea, and sketched out an electric-powered four-seat sedan with a T-shaped battery cell charged for extended range generated by an onboard engine — the basic design of the Chevy Volt sitting on dealer lots' six years later.

The birth of the Volt would take several more years and hundreds of tougher hurdles, including GM's collapse into an Obama administration bailout. Lutz makes clear the Volt did not sprout from environmental concerns; his detailed take on global warming matches his previous comments labeling it poo-filled ceramics. But Lutz contends the Volt's transformation into a "political football," by both critics on the left and Limbaugh has robbed the credit due to GM's American engineers for its invention:

Animosity towards the Obama administration is so intense among the right-wing talk-show hosts that any vulnerability, however tenuous, must be attacked and blamed on ‘socialist influence,' with no regard to truth or to the damage these reckless claims can make…

The skeptics, the pundits, the GM haters, and those who detest lithium ion as a chemistry will all be dragged, however unwittingly, to the same conclusion: Volt paved the way, Volt was first with the extended-range EV concept, Volt demonstrated the will and technological capability of General Motors…And to all the doubters, opponents, critics and skeptics… [including] Glenn Beck, I say: ‘Eat your hearts out. Volt is the future.'

The heart of Lutz's book details the problems he faced upon being coaxed out of retirement by GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner in 2001 to remake the company's vehicle development process. Lutz had worked at GM before in the ‘60s, before stints at Ford, BMW and Chrysler, and he details the long decline of American automakers from the inside, pinging number-crunching CEOs, demurring stylists and engineers, and U.S. fuel economy standards, which he contends handed huge advantages to Japanese and European automakers.

When Lutz finally comes back to GM in September 2001, he finds a bureaucracy asphyxiating on its own hubris, convinced the terabytes of PowerPoints will lead GM to global triumph despite all common sense. GM's pre-Lutz ideas included a Buick concept that could be driven entirely by voice control, because that's what Buick's elderly owners said they wanted in focus groups. Whether it was covering the first-generation Chrysler 300 in 90-odd post-it notes showing how its popular design failed GM standards, or worrying that adding chrome trim to the Chevy Impala would kill a cost target even while making the car attractive, Lutz details just how close GM came to being irreparably broken.

Lutz was lucky to find under the bureaucracy's avalanche a hovel of talented people - from French-born designers to Harley-riding metal stampers - that knew exactly what needed changing, but had never had the chance to say so, or even been asked. He also managed to start the process of turning GM into a global automaker, rather than a cage match of regional vice presidents who fought ideas like selling the Holden Commodore SS as a Pontiac sports sedan. (Lutz's plans to turn Pontiac into an affordable American BMW offer some of the saddest what-might-have-been moments).

Lutz argues the same dynamic that pushed GM to collapse threatens the rest of American business as well. He sees in too many executives the same numbers-obsessed, MBA groupthink that turned GM from world dominator to ward of the state. And he bleakly warns that the United States may have to come close to a Chapter 11 of its own before ridding itself of the idea of "too big to fail."

To his credit, Lutz admits that even if he had been GM's CEO, he would not only have made many of the same mistakes as Wagoner, he might have added a few new ones too, like not buying Korea's Daewoo, which has become the source of GM's small car engineering worldwide. And that's the real secret: "Car Guys vs. Bean Counters" isn't a contest. It's the formula for success; when one side gets too dominant, the entire system falls apart.

GM's newest models have proven successful, profitable and able to keep pace with the world's best. When Lutz came out of retirement in 2001, one Wall Street analyst estimated that if he successfully set GM's carbuilding right, Lutz could add $1 billion to GM's roughly $10 billion market value. Without him, GM probably would have struggled through until 2008, and still been bailed out — but left bereft of knowing how to build cars that people want. The old GM might have tried to put a value on Lutz's contributions. The new GM should know numbers never tell the whole story.

ThisBlood147

I hate to burst an enthusiastic old man's parade, but the Volt will NOT become the future until it becomes more economical to the average commuter. Traditional hybrids were supposed to become "the future" back when they debuted over 10 years ago. Yet they STILL can't break into standard gas/diesel compact car sales in a mainstream manner. The Volt is a great proof of concept, but until you can deliver one to dealership lots with a 15K pricetag you can forget about changing the future. Some people vote with their principles, but the vast majority of us vote with our pocketbooks.

IMO, it has nothing to do with "hate" (some right winger's not withstanding). It's about price and materials.

Buckwheat

iTrader: (13)

If gasoline prices stabilize at $4.00+ a gallon, then the market is very likely to shift to the Volt and other ultra-efficient cars. With the way the dollar is headed and Obama's retarded foreign policies regarding the middle east, as well as the green agenda here at home I would say the Volt's future looks very secure.
Don't forget, the Volt's sticker price does not include all the Fed and state tax incentives. All totaled, about $7,500 in my state.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

The Cruze Eco and regular Cruze and Equinox i see selling huge amounts. New 'Nox gets 32mpgs highway(some at least and the cruze Eco gets 42mpg highway. Your gonna see alot of these cars on the road. The Cruze hasn't been out long and they are already everywhere around where i live. They are cheap, look great and offer decent build qaulity. The Volt is still overpriced but man i wouldn't mind only filling up once a month Even if i have to plug it in

It'llrun

Well... pretty much.

I'm amazed someone as talented and bright as Lutz just doesn't get it here. The biggest and possibly only reason the VOLT isn't selling well is simply, price. People are largely convinced it's a good car, just not for the money. If I decide to go buy a new, highly fuel efficient car tomorrow, the VOLT isn't even on my radar, let alone my actual list. Why not, some will ask... Because it's FAR too expensive and my brain outlasts my wallet! By the time I finish with the car, my total savings would likely be about negative $5,000.00 vs nearly any economical standard engine car today and that's not a small amount for a 40k car. I'm certain it will get great economy and I'm certain that by the time that 5-10yr lifespan (of my use) is over, I'd have paid several thousand dollars more just for the privilege of driving it. Gas prices would have to hit $10 per gallon to make this car viable for me. If they go that high, I'm riding my bike, even in the rain!

I'd be perfectly okay with plugging it in, but who's paying for that fuel? Well, me, of course. Were it SOLAR-recharged, I'd think it may actually be worth 35k... Alas, it isn't.

Gasoline prices may go over 4, but they won't likely stay there, even though WH officials have been quoted as saying the need to find a way to make that happen(which is utter stupidity to the common man).
The sticker doesn't include the rebates, but the ADS do and the real price is posted in fine print! The reality is, however, most people simply do not qualify for all $7,500. Further complicating matters is that people are complaining that dealers are stabbing them with a pen by asking thousands over sticker, essentially negating any presumed (tax) rebate. The full price is still being paid, by the way... just not all of it by the actual consumer. Instead, the rest of us cover most of the aforementioned rebate, a little each.

The biggest joke on this one, like LEAF (or should I call it LEAD??) is that the ads constantly tell us how 'GREEN" we'll be, if only we drive a car using battery power... Yeah, because making batteries can't hurt the atmosphere, only burning oil or nuclear power can do that...

TriShield

Color TVs were expensive when they debuted, DVD players were expensive when they debuted, 90mhz/500mb computers were expensive when they debuted, high definition/plasma/lcd televisions were expensive when they debuted... my point is that cars like the Volt are new, uncommon technology and the price reflects that. As they produce more and refine it the price will come down like everything else.

unit213

True, but in order for that to happen, people actually have to buy the product first...and they will have to buy it in mass quantities. That's not happening yet. The ROI isn't there yet so don't expect to see a significant decrease in pricing any time in the near future...unless GM finds a way to cut cost out of supplier pricing through engineering changes.

It'llrun

Hmm... what's the word I'm looking for here???



Oh yeah.. BINGO!

TriShield

It will happen eventually through successive generations of the car. When Toyota introduced the Prius over a decade ago they didn't turn a profit on it for several years. The Volt is also significant because it inspired other automakers like Audi, Ford and others to come up with their own electric cars and electric versions of cars.

It'llrun

The question is, when might this happen? Sadly, it's not "now" by any means. I think his point was a bit different than yours in that he's saying this isn't a TV or CD, it's a MASSIVE expense/investment as compared to other models of like quality at a similar to notably lower price(albeit with lower gas economy). Sure, the color tv was too, but that was a different time in America, when people saved and bought with cash when it came to wants. Besides, if this happened when the color tv or cd came out, I'm not sure as many people would think, "I want a new, much more gasoline efficient car" and then say, "How about I spend an extra $20,000 on it?" Come to think of it, even through all our changes, it appears people still aren't likely to step out to that cracked limb.

Is it yet? Hard to tell, really. Even so, the prius is a 10 spot less expensive initially and is primarily a gas burner for most, which everyone is used to(and was, even then). It's the whole "plug in and pay for two fuels instead of one" thing that I think has many scratching their head.
I think you're giving it too much credit here. There were others before VOLT and if not for our government, I'd argue they inspired it...

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

Good point.