prejudgments re the Campaign and the GM execs involved with it in this Blog. You may click here to read. BUT I dont want to stop there. I certainly feel the urge to bring forward more about Lutz and his drive to accomplish even further at the age of 77 where he could relax and chase the golf ball at an exclusive club; nothing would stop him. Lets go thru what's here from the web/media, carefully leaving out what Robert Farago of The Truth About Cars kept saying, and help you judge for yorselves...
Tackling:
Huffingtonpost / Steve Parker Journalist/Broadcaster covering the auto industry and auto racing for 35 years. Posted: July 11, 2009
What!?! Bob Lutz back at GM!
General Motors has come out of bankruptcy after a somewhat-biblical 40 days and nights of massive reorganization, as a new, smaller company more than 60% owned by the US government (that's US, as in "us"). Yet GM is stubbornly holding onto Buick and GMC, when the other two of the General's remaining "Core Four," Chevrolet and Cadillac, are all they really need and all that make sense. It appears, though, that the vestiges of cars and trucks past aren't the only things GM is clinging to: Bob Lutz, 77, has "unretired" and will continue as GM's vice-chairman. He will head the company's marketing, advertising and communications and have significant input on product design.
He may be possibly the last remaining still-active genetic throwback to the revered and storied "GM General Manager," the men who ran the separate GM divisions as their own private car companies, battling the company's board of directors for every last penny for their pet projects --
and constantly fighting each other to be first with the best and the most. The top general manager usually became president of the company (except Chevrolet General Manager John Z. DeLorean, but that's another story).
Is it possible for a 77-year old gentleman to essentially do a complete 180-degree turn from his life experience and philosophy? After all, among Lutz's major claims to fame are green-lighting the Dodge Viper and the Plymouth Prowler faux hot rod.
Can Bob Lutz get the religion necessary for the 21st century automotive world?
Maybe GM's new owners should step in at this point for some major and meaningful executive changes.
Welcoming:
USA TODAY- By Sharon Silke Carty- Updated 7/15/2009
Bob Lutz, GM's new image chief, says he'll 'tell it like it is'
DETROIT — General Motors is trying to change its image, fast. So it chose the only person on hand that made sense as its image czar: an old car guy with some new ideas.
"(GM's) image is in tatters, and they need a real jump-start," says Peter DeLorenzo, editor of AutoExtremist.com. "I think Bob will bring it." Bob Lutz, 77, was going to retire at the end of 2009, but decided to stick around and help GM revamp its advertising, internal communications and public relations. Lutz is the same guy who propelled GM's product design into the 21st century, and most critics say his tenure has helped the company turn out some pretty good vehicles.
"When I made the decision to retire, I thought we'd be in bankruptcy for a long time. I thought we'd lose our freedom to design and build the products the public wants as opposed to the products the government wants to see on the road," Lutz says. "I thought all of the fun is gone from the business.
... But lo, and behold, the government task force were not a bunch of ogres. They were extremely helpful, and their only agenda was to make GM the best company it could be."
Now, Lutz says, GM has to move fast to convince consumers it's changed. While the product design changes he made are taking hold over years, the ad changes could take hold in a month or so.And it's among Lutz's top priorities.
"There's a lot of stuff that irks me" with GM's current advertising, Lutz says.
"We must do a far more effective job communicating what we are and who were are," he says. "We have to reconnect with this depressingly large part of the American public who won't give us consideration." Lutz expects to have impact within a month or so. His first meeting to go over
future advertising was Tuesday, and before going into the meeting, he said he didn't expect to approve much of it.
And although he'll be overseeing communications, Lutz says he expects the public relations department also still will need to keep tabs on him and what he says publicly. "I expect people to step in," he says. "But having said that, I do believe we have to be much bolder and much more
self-aware, and in some cases, more controversial or willing to tell it like it is rather than putting out a more sanitized version."
Right To The Point:
AutoObserver- Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst and Editor at Large October 15, 2009
"New" GM Goes on the Offense with Quarterback Lutz
Expect the "new" General Motors to play offense when it comes to marketing and communications, Bob Lutz, GM's chief marketing quarterback, told the media Tuesday. "We have to shock Americans into a new awareness about the competitiveness of GM products," Lutz said. "We can't do it the way we used to do it by gently showing our products. We've got to take it on boldly and head-on. We can stand the comparison with just about anybody."
The recently launched May the Best Car Win, starring GM's government-appointed chairman Ed Whitacre was just the beginning.
Upcoming advertising will focus on GM's four remaining brands and not the corporate parent. Ads will compare GM's vehicles and their attributes to the competition, like Chevrolet ads that challenge the notion that Toyotas achieve better fuel economy and GMC Terrain ads that position it against BMW X3. And every GM ad will highlight the automaker's warranty, which Lutz boasts is better than Hyundai's but consumer don't know it since it isn't advertised.
GM will be "more aggressive" and spend big on advertising, Lutz said. "We got to close the perception gap...we want consumers to see the ads and say 'what!?" throwing caution to the wind at the risk of offending some, admits the often-bombastic Lutz. The risk is consumers will see the ads as not confidence but arrogance, a hallmark of the old GM.
Lutz, 77, who had months ago announced his retirement, opted to stay on with the new GM in a new post. He oversees a seemingly unrelated areas - from public relations, marketing and advertising to vehicle design. But Lutz says they indeed are related as all are consumer touch points the consumer experiences.
Bob Lutz now heads all things creative for GM.
Mtuzmen: Certainly believe that Lutz's got a whole big lot to contribute to a restructuring GM. Most of what he has done in the design area was the best the pre-bankrupt GM could do IMO. The world knows and agrees that this 'guy' is CREATIVE..! Who else would be a better choice to watch perform in the Marketing & PR for a reborn giant?!. He is comin from the "GM kitchen" . With his approach, holding a baseball bat, Lutz is chasing GM in to the battlefield of agressive advertising.
60-day Money-Back Guarantee? Worked; even Edmunds.com agreed..."May The Best Car Win" is and will work too as it displays great confidence towards the competition and the consumer; isnt all this what we would like to see GM doing for the last three decades.
Will appreciate any comments to this.
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