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Friday, June 10, 2005

Lutz Throws Gauntlet

In today's blog post, Bob Lutz dares us to compare:

Today, we'’re operating on a much more emotional, creative level and our designers have been empowered to express themselves. Our winning products will not be determined by careful analysis; they will captivate and enthrall through imaginative design and flawless execution.

We'’ll be introducing a lot of new products that reflect another new philosophy of General Motors, which is not to introduce vehicles that are merely competitive, but to really target being the best. This has, frankly, also required some recalibration of the internal culture, especially in the United States. And it'’s taken some time to lift ourselves to the best international standard in sheet metal fits. Take a look at the upcoming Chevrolet HHR. I ask you to compare that $15,995 Chevy HHR-—- in terms of sheet metal fits, hem flanges, the way all of the panels fit to each other -—- to a Lexus GS 400, and tell me if there is any significant difference.

I am sure that the comparisons will be brutally honest. I hope GM can stack up.

The most important point in the post, to me, is that GM has (apparently) decided to abandon the "design by committee" and "brand management" philosophy of product development, and will now pursue exciting stuff built well. Funny, that's what Ford and DCX are trying to do...

Camaro?

1 comment:

The Angry Engineer said...

Is this a new and novel idea, something that wouldn't have been obvious three or four years ago? Or does Lutz see things happening elsewhere in the industry that he was supposed to make happen upon coming to GM 4 years ago? Heck, when the Toyota Avalon is considered exciting compared to many GM products, you know something is wrong.

I sincerely hope that GM can bring a respectable Camaro to the market ASAP, but it would have been much more impressive had they beat the '05 Mustang to the punch. And Lutz has been known to show nothing resembling fondness for the Camaro nameplate.