After brief introductions of the drivers and a few bites of Mahi Mahi, Bob Lutz took the mike to, well, to be Bob Lutz.
Here are some of his choicest quotes (the first of which is clearly a lie in every way):
"The lap times are almost irrelevant. This event is all about fun."
"If my lap times prove to be inadequate which they likely will be given my practice laps, we have a number of development engineers here to insure that we have the fastest lap at the end of the day."
"This whole idea started because I was very frustrated with our CTS-V advertising. I told the agency, 'Why don't we just say we're the fastest four-door sedan in the world?' So they came up with an idea to do an event at the Bonneville Salt Flats and do a sort-of drag race. I said, 'No, American cars have always been able to go fast in a straight line. What they haven't always been able to do is turn.' So that's how we ended up here."
"I think I should get an age-based handicap of one second per lap for every year of age over 70."
"I've seen the comments on the Internet saying, "I can't wait to see Lutz get his comeuppance.' And I probably will today."
hondacura4 says:
09:58 AM, 10/29/09
Good thing Cadillac didn't us the Salt Flats as BMW already used that idea years ago with the E39 BMW M5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro99rwh78P0
redliner says:
10:00 AM, 10/29/09
This is so pathetic. One day Lutz is screaming, 'I will wast you all!' ...and the next he is saying 'go easy on me because I'm an old dude.'
It doesn't matter, because GM will be there to be sure that the CTS-V gets the best numbers.
yellowmiata says:
10:09 AM, 10/29/09
This is a very cool test regardless of who wins. I'd not be surprised if the CTS-V lost the challenge, but I'm glad someone pulled their balls out of their purse and brought the challenge to their competitors. That and I think the CTS-V looks great (for a sedan).
2002blksle says:
10:24 AM, 10/29/09
good to see they didn't cut back on their bottled water budget.
jederino says:
12:17 PM, 10/29/09
I agree with YellowMiata: it's a fun event, and the outcome was real. Racing is about putting it out on the line, and you don't always win, and drivers make a big difference with varying qualifications. So what - it's the attitude and the direction that matters for automakers that race, and the bottom line is that the CTS-V is now in the same discussion as the vaunted M3.
bimmerjay says:
03:01 PM, 10/29/09
That's a snazzy V-Series jacket that Lutz is wearing.
cr_driver says:
04:57 PM, 10/29/09
Same old bob.....cool