NYT profile of 'Maximum Bob' Lutz (ex Marine)
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NYT profile of 'Maximum Bob' Lutz (ex Marine) - 5/19/2007 8:36:22 AM
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HankL
Posts: 2719
Joined: 8/20/2005
Status: offline
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{in addition to what is said below, Dodge enthusiasts should know that while Marine Corps Fighter Pilot Bob Lutz was VP at Chrysler he ok'ed the creation of the new Hemi 5.7 V8, headed the design team for the 1994-2001 Ram, and in 1992 ordered engineers to create both aluminum and iron V10 engines as a 'design practice' to test out a new computer balancing program}
May 19, 2007 G.M.’s Mr. Horsepower Has an Electric Conversion By MICHELINE MAYNARD ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 18 — Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman at General Motors, has long been considered one of Detroit’s ultimate “car guys,” for whom no vehicle could be big enough, powerful enough or fast enough. He is the father of the V-10 Dodge Viper and has championed automobiles like the 1,000-horsepower Cadillac Sixteen, a V-16 concept coupe that Mr. Lutz said would have fulfilled his longstanding goal of designing a high-powered car to match the finest European models. Now Mr. Lutz, known by his “Maximum Bob” nickname around Detroit, says he has a new dream car. Speaking at a taping of “Wait Wait ...Don’t Tell Me!” the quiz program on National Public Radio, Mr. Lutz declared Thursday night that the Chevrolet Volt, the hybrid-electric concept car that G.M. unveiled at this year’s Detroit auto show, may be among the most important vehicles that G.M. has ever developed. “This is now what I’m more excited about than I was about the Dodge Viper,” Mr. Lutz said. “I think this can bring about the revolution and really make us independent of foreign oil and solve all the other problems.” The show airs Saturday nationwide. With the same enthusiasm that he has long used to describe high torque ratings and engine displacements, Mr. Lutz touted the Volt’s mileage, which he estimated will reach 151 miles per gallon, fueled by a combination of electricity and gasoline. His comments drew a huge round of applause from the NPR audience at the Michigan Theater here. The prospect of Mr. Lutz going green represents a sharp reversal. After all, he has often mocked environmental advocates, saying that except for “a few nuts in California,” no one cared about the impact of cars on the environment. In 2003, he described Toyota’s hybrid-electric Prius as a public relations stunt — although he admitted he wished General Motors had a similar model — and declared G.M.’s most important car to be the Chevrolet Corvette. That same year, G.M. showed off the Cadillac Sixteen, a four-door concept sports car commissioned by Mr. Lutz. It sported a 32-valve, 13.6-liter V-16 engine and a steering wheel logo carved out of crystal. G.M. never put that car into production. But it is planning to build a new version of the Chevrolet Camaro, its 1960s muscle car, starting next year. And in February, Mr. Lutz showed off a big rear-wheel drive concept sedan, the Pontiac G8, at the Chicago auto show, and said that Americans still wanted powerful cars. But G.M. is also moving ahead with the Volt, even though it hasn’t yet developed the lithium-ion battery that is needed to power it. Even so, Mr. Lutz has said G.M. hopes to sell it by 2010. “We’re actually going to put it into production,” Mr. Lutz said. “I think it could be one of the most important things we’ve ever developed.” " His apparent conversion is a hit with Dan Becker, head of the global warming program at the Sierra Club. “We take all epiphanies,” Mr. Becker said. But Mr. Becker noted that Mr. Lutz has questioned the existence of global warming. And Mr. Lutz does not appear quite ready to cut back on his own carbon footprint. He still owns two fighter jets — one Czech and one German — flies a helicopter, and has a stable full of sports cars including the second Viper ever produced (the first went to Chrysler’s former chief executive, Lee A. Iacocca). Peter Sagal, host of the NPR show, teased Mr. Lutz on Thursday about his choices for transportation: “You mean what goes on in your garage stays in your garage?”
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