I'm guessing here, but I think GM Car Czar Bob Lutz was trying to impress Jerry Flint by suggesting GM needs bleeding edge car design. "We don't want people to say ‘I love this design, it's just great,' Lutz told the Forbes magazine columnist. "Because that means it is probably not going to last past when the car comes out… We want some checkmarks in the 'Too Much' column.'" While the "GM Hearts Bold Design" storyline echoes CEO Rick Wagoner's recent remarks (chronicled in our last General Motors Death Watch), it's a pretty major miscalculation for a company committed to building Camry-killers. Anyway, from whence cometh this avant garde automotive art? "A lot of these designs will be done outside the U.S.," Lutz said. "Where they never allowed themselves to slip to a lower standard, as they did here." Hang on; what's with the "they?" Doesn't Lutz mean "we?" Or maybe "I?" Anyway anyway, MB promises a new Buick LaCrosse that's going to be a real [Chinese made?] "mind-boggler." We're already there, Bob.
12 Comments on “Maximum Bob: We like designs where people are a little uncomfortable...”
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Unfreaking believeable, they are going to offshore the design work, so much for the argument about keeping the higher value jobs here in the US.
So Bob who was in charge of standards anyway? Maybe they should keep the design staff in the US and hire some Chinese or Indian design guru to simply be in charge of approving the designs.
Forbes: Key to this trend at GM is its new global strategy–one Lutz has worked hard to reinforce at the company. “A lot of these design will be done outside the U.S., where they never allowed themselves to slip to a lower standard, as they did here,” he points out.
Its bad enough that GM half asses the gifted designs of their endlessly talented ID department, now they spout off things like this and hide under the warm fuzzies of globalization.
And take no responsibility for what little they’ve accomplished in the last 7-ish years. But American design will win GM’s customers back, you can’t “out Toyota” a Camry with another faux-Camry.
Note to Bob: while you’re at it, go in your local design studios and spit on everyone’s work too.
OK- maybe it’s just Egg Nog residue clogging my cognition, but WTF? Can’t anybody shut this guy up or fire him or something? Every interview with this numbskull veers from “mind-boggling” to “makes no sense” and back.
Someone please force retirement on this guy! The closest he should be getting to the car industry is piloting one of those little go-karts in a Shriner parade.
GM is like a guy who dramatically points to the outfield fence each time he’s at bat, but only hits .125.
Name a single GM vehicle in the past 10 years that had anything that could be considered cutting edge design. Most of its product line is bland rental car fodder except for the occasional tragic mutant aberration like the Aztek. At some point GM’s got to put some reality behind the endless big talk.
I gotta believe that design talent is not what is lacking. GM would have run da Vinci off, or at best never realized his genius.
Agreed that the talent is probably right under his nose; problem is is the “design by committee” mentality — kinda like the blind men describing an elephant. The Aztec is actually loaded with lots of neat styling cues, problem is is they don’t all belong on the same vehicle!
Just hoping the next Camaro doesn’t adopt the “pagoda” roof.
Beauty is never something that changes with the times.
A Jag E-type was, and still is considered beautiful. Ditto the Stingray ‘Vette. Even the ‘90 300ZX and the old last gen Mazda MX-6 hold up very well.
As for ugly… Well that lasts forever too. The Aztek certainly hasn’t improved with age.
Whenever a car manufacturer tries to “challenge” the general market with wonky designs, tragedy insues. Just ask Chris Bangle.
OK- maybe it’s just Egg Nog residue clogging my cognition, but WTF? Can’t anybody shut this guy up or fire him or something? Every interview with this numbskull veers from “mind-boggling” to “makes no sense” and back.
Someone please force retirement on this guy! The closest he should be getting to the car industry is piloting one of those little go-karts in a Shriner parade.
I hear the writers, as in TV comedy, are on strike; so the networks must be looking for new material. Since reality shows are hot right now and are cheap to produce, how about we get this guy in a room with GM’s board of directors and just let ‘em go. Should be hilarious. Might not do a hell of a lot for GM’s stock price though.
Dude! Let’s do lunch!
It’s like Tucker meets Titanic!
Picture this: MB turns over the GM design studios to Carson Kressley and Jessica Simpson, while Donald Trump and Martha Stewart take over marketing! Meanwhile, the boys from Enron, Dennis Kozlowski and the dudes who write the Pentagon budgets are down in the basement cooking the books and handing out Golden Parachutes! I see a 50 share, baby!
Tragically, I don’t think I could gather any cast of losers who could run this ship aground any faster.
To quote Stephen Colbert: “You’re not re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, you’re re-arranging deck chairs on the Hindenburg! You’re SOARING!”
“Name a single GM vehicle in the past 10 years that had anything that could be considered cutting edge design. ”
Cadillac’s Evoq concept car ushered in a very new direction for Cadillac design which seemed very radical when it came out. Now we are used to it, but the Art & Science design theme for Cadillac was indeed cutting edge … and by all reports Lutz hated it when he first started working for GM :). Everything outside of Cadillac since then from GM has been blandtastic. The vehicles designed under Lutz’s reign have mostly been better than their predecessors, but hardly have been bleeding edge designs in any way, shape or form.
The Evoq did have some interesting styling cues, which were then ruined when applied to the CTS; slightly better in the XLR, but nobody’s going to point to that one in twenty years and say that it lead a movement… The Skystice ain’t bad, except it doesn’t actually work as a car. Even the geniuses at MG and Austin Healey managed to leave some trunk room to go with the despicable excuse for a folding top.
Now the current ‘vette is going in the right direction, but one would guess that it’s only going that direction because that division manages to stay away from MB and the rest of the morons who “manage” GM.
Hey Bob – how about we out-source YOUR job?
Larry Shinoda must be spinning in his grave.