Bob Lutz to Silicon Valley: 'You're Not That Smart'

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

In wonderful Bob Lutz fashion, the former General Motors head told entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that making cars is hard.

“I think, like so many Silicon Valley techies, that they believe they are smarter than the world’s automobile business, and that they will do it better,” Lutz told The Associated Press. “No way.”

His argument, in a Readers Digest version: Cars are more dangerous than Walkmen and when you make things that can explode it costs money so beat it, nerds.

Tech giant Apple and Google have already waded into the automaking waters (although we’re not entirely sure how much Apple has yet) within the last five years.

Google’s approach will be to sell its technology to automakers, and probably not build the cars themselves, according to the report.

“We have enormous respect for the expertise of the automotive industry and how big and complex a job it is to manufacture a vehicle,” spokeswoman Courtney Hohne told the AP. “We’ll partner with many different companies to bring this technology into the world safely.”

Lutz told Fox Business last month that margins in the automaking business are much lower:

When it comes to actually making cars there is no reason to assume that Apple, with no experience, will suddenly do a better job than General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, or Hyundai. So I think this is going to be a gigantic money pit …

By the way the electric car market is still miniscule. That just doesn’t make sense.

According to the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at an event organized by the Wall Street Journal that the computer giant’s near-term plan for cars were infotainment devices meant to mimic its iPhones.

“What we really want, hopefully in the short term, is we’d like people as they enter their car to be able to have an iPhone experience in their car,” Cook said, according to the AP.


Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • JD321 JD321 on Oct 28, 2015

    They're smart enough...they just aren't "adult" enough. Musk is a tax-taker parasite and not a competent businessman.

  • Mcs Mcs on Oct 28, 2015

    Bob Lutz, the auto industry version of Rex Ryan.

  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
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