At a presentation this morning for the Motor Press Guild, Bob Lutz said that GM isn't looking to do clean diesels. "We're going to give that one a miss," he said.
Lutz also noted that the Cadillac XTS, "may or may not have been shown at a clinic in Southern California." For those of you who don't speak Lutz, that's a definite yes. He also made several references to his impending retirement, but that's not a definite yes.
Other notable quotes:
"GM's brush with bankruptcy slowed the introduction of the Chevrolet Cruze. "
"There's nothing wrong with GM that good products won't fix."
"All the Harvard Business School people are gone from GM, those that sacrificed products from profits."
stovt001 says:
10:54 AM, 02/23/10
Um, Lutz, if you guys want Cadillac to work in Europe you might want to rethink that clean diesel things. It may still be up in the air if that will catch on in the US, but it is vital across the pond.
inlinesix says:
11:04 AM, 02/23/10
If he retires, what are they going to do? It'll be a catastrophe. They just can't make it without him!
stephen987 says:
11:16 AM, 02/23/10
You want good products? Look seriously at clean diesels.
moparbad says:
11:23 AM, 02/23/10
Lutz, "Clean Diesels are not an option, they are too expensive".
Lutz, "$40,000 Volt is a bargain"
stephen987 says:
11:30 AM, 02/23/10
Translation: GM spent so much money developing the Volt that they don't have an R&D budget left for the (much simpler) diesels.
There's an IPO coming. Better shut Lutz up now.
brn says:
11:43 AM, 02/23/10
I'm fine with the clean diesel decision. They look good on the surface, but they're not the life savers that people make them out to be. If bio-diesel ever gets figured out, give me a call.
eqt2010 says:
12:20 PM, 02/23/10
Any word on CTS-V wagon?
eqt2010 says:
12:21 PM, 02/23/10
Any word on CTS-V wagon?
throwback says:
01:28 PM, 02/23/10
stovt001, exactly right. Lutz "we don't need clean diesels, caddys will sell in Europe". perhaps they should have kept some of Business school grads, and axed the 80 year old dinosaurs instead.
roadburner says:
01:46 PM, 02/23/10
"Um, Lutz, if you guys want Cadillac to work in Europe you might want to rethink that clean diesel things. It may still be up in the air if that will catch on in the US, but it is vital across the pond."
Precisely.
estreka says:
02:05 PM, 02/23/10
I'm really beginning to view Lutz as the Cheney of the auto industry.
123xlr8 says:
03:52 PM, 02/23/10
AMF.... Don't let the swinging door hitya in the boot!
notabigdeal says:
05:08 PM, 02/23/10
That is why you will experience epic failures in Europe (aka Cadillac). I don't think you understand that people there consider a v6 to be gas guzzling and many times diesel is cheaper then petrol.
blueguydotcom says:
05:09 PM, 02/23/10
Lutz finished his press conference by slaughtering a baby sea turtle and cooking its meat in its own shell. The press declined his repeated offers to, "Gorge yourselves on the nectar that feeds my dark soul."
cwc1 says:
06:48 PM, 02/23/10
I gotta say, for GM to not do diesels is just plan DUMB, especially in Europe.
firstwagon says:
03:48 PM, 02/24/10
I think he just realizes he doesn't have a competitive diesel engine to put on the market and is tired being a runner up.
That's why they are betting everything green on the Volt. They know their hybrids are no match for the Fusion or Prius so they need a product that won't be directly compared.
blueguydotcom says:
08:22 PM, 02/24/10
first, so they're essentially giving up? That's pretty sad. A 40k plug-in doesn't seem like a company Saviour. Then again, a faulty mat appears poised to block Toyota's ascension to the #1 automaker in the USA. Who would have expected Toyota would get Audi'ed?
charlesb says:
03:53 PM, 02/27/10
This guy should have hung it already. I don't think the CTS-V wagon will ever be built either.