Bob Lutz not backing down on the whole global warming is a "total crock of sh*t" thing
Remember when GM's Bob Lutz called global warming a "total crock of sh*t"? Well, that comment wasn't a slip and the blowback sure didn't cause Lutz to apologize or somehow say, "see, what I meant was..." It's awful difficult to equivocate after a remark that direct, anyway. Lutz wrote on his blog Thursday that his personal opinions on global warming don't mean that GM isn't totally serious about building cars so they don't play any role in the environmental debate.
You can read the whole thing over at Fastlane, but I wanted to highlight his opening line, which says, "It amazes me sometimes what kinds of things seem to 'catch on' out there." If Lutz was in any way surprised that calling global warming a bunch of sh*t will get people mad at you, maybe he shouldn't be in charge of trying to educate people about GM's green message. By saying he was surprised to find out that global warming is a topic people care about, Lutz proved - and now continues to prove - he's the wrong man for the job.
[Source: Reuters, Fastlane]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mike Z 1:03PM (2/23/2008)
Lutz clearly has put his GM efforts behind the electrification of the car. Lutz also cites growing concerns around supply disruptions, costs, and supporting nasty countries as reasons to do it.
If Lutz supports the electrification for reasons other than just global warming (as I do too), who cares if he does not believe in global warming---the outcome is the same.
"he's the wrong man for the job"
I think you need to remove that statement, unless you can prove that his sentiments on global warming somehow impact the decisions that GM makes. After all if gas is $10/gal in the future who gives a rat's ass about global warming and cars--people will care about efficiency for far more pragmatic reasons.
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psece 1:04PM (2/23/2008)
He is the perfect man for the job of design. He is not the head of drivetrain and he is not the head of GM. And by looking at the new CTS, Malibu, Aura, etc, I would say he is doing his job very well.
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Gordio 1:13PM (2/23/2008)
Global warming should not be the only reason we drive electric. That's almost like saying people should do good things because they're afraid of going to hell.
Being a moderate believer of GW, I know ther eare advantages of downplaying GW. There are lots of better more agreeable reasons to use electric vehicles. If you keep using GW as a reason to switch, people will less likely switch since not everyone believes in GW. What people do agree in is money saved at the pump (or charger), less fuel dependence, and juicy delicious torque. Marketing these reasons will make electric cars more accepting.
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mike 1:12PM (2/23/2008)
Sticking the Corvette V8 in other cars, justifies criticism.
Sure, it gets good mileage on the highway, in the EPA test cycle, but, in the "Real World" it gets Bad fuel economy numbers.
GM is playing games. The green crowd gets vapor-cars and the guzzler crowd gets real guzzlers that don't help the nation become energy independent.
GM acts as if it is a subsidiary of ExxonMobile. It builds cars that meet the needs of ExxonMobile and NOT the needs of the Nation.
Let's bump up AutoBlogGreen's click numbers:
Then you've got King of the Dumb Asses: Rush Limbaugh Fooling the Gullible that Catastrophic Global Environmental Damage is not occurring. As the Arctic melts...
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AC 2:30AM (2/04/2009)
I admire him for having the guts to be honest instead of bowing to the PC police.
After months of research of claims from both sides, I am convinced that the faith that global warming is real is being perpetuated by college professors that don't want to see the government research grants dry up. And by the UN's desire to have a new cause for their existence. And of course by the interests of industries that can benefit from investment in alternative energy. Just like the railroad is the biggest supporter of highway safety to slow down the truckers, likewise the green industry tends to support anything that hurts the oil industry.
With revised temp data from NASA due to previous errors in weather data processing, the 90's are now second to the 30's as the hottest decade on record. And the current decade has been flat to cooling even though carbon emissions have increased.
Actual sea level rise has not been able to be recorded except at Hong Kong, an area known to be sinking.
The IPCC has all sorts of computer model projections, but the actual data is not following the models.
Bottom line. A majority of people believing in something does not make it true.
Golden Boy 1:23PM (2/23/2008)
Who cares what Lutz personally believes. If GM builds the Volt, it will do more for that crock of shit known as global warming(and our oil predicament) than Al Gore and his merry band of carbon credit swindlers X 1000.
Or is lip service a la Gore all that really matters?
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Prinn 1:35PM (2/23/2008)
Think about Co2 like credit card debt. Using the credit card adds to debt, and it makes life convenient. Make the minimum payments and there's no need to worry about it until the next month; but next month it becomes a bigger problem. And so on until one day you look at it, even the minimum payments become impossible to pay.
Now, hand that credit card to the world so that everyone shares one account.
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Der_Alte 1:45PM (2/23/2008)
If GM wants to cultivate a green image, somebody needs to tap Lutz on the shoulder and tell him to shut up for the good of that image that they are trying to create. You don't see other high ranking officials from other auto makers saying publicly that global warming is a crock. Whether or not they believe that is another thing, but there is no sense in angering potential customers needlessly. Sure, you could call in pandering to the "cashed up greenie" crowd....but the cashed up greenies have one thing that GM doesn't....cash!
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Dave 1:46PM (2/23/2008)
My Starbucks coffee cup agrees with Lutz:
The Way I See It #289
So-called “global warming” is just
a secret ploy by wacko tree-
huggers to make America energy
independent, clean our air and
water, improve the fuel efficiency
of our vehicles, kick-start
21st-century industries, and make
our cities safer and more livable.
Don’t let them get away with it!
– Chip Giller
Founder of Grist.org, where
environmentally-minded people
gather online.
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Wise Golden 1:48PM (2/23/2008)
Sebastian -- get off the guys case. Let it rest. He made it clear that GM as a corporation is commited to removing automobiles from the discussion. What more do you want from the guy?
At this point, your cheesy follow up just makes you look like you're trying to pick a fight with a man who said he doesn't want to fight.
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armmat 1:53PM (2/23/2008)
Given the posts I see here regarding being pro-Lutz, it's no wonder we are so fked.
After all is said and done, how some of you come here and either NOT believe global warming OR not think Lutz is a gigantic douchebag?
So you all would rather believe a freakin head of an automotive firm who has only one interest in mind versus a slew of scientists who have put their reputations and careers on the line to save your stupid sorry asses?
You know, sometimes I wish global climate would happen really really quickly and idiots like yourselves really get the brunt of the changes...but then I realize alot of understanding, caring, and innocent people would have to suffer to. Lucky for you.
I don't know of any more important reason to change our ways other than for saving the only source of air and water we have. I don't know what to say in the face of such utter ignorance, arrogance, and stupidity.
I also don't understand the philosophy of "it doesn't matter what he thinks..." Actually...yeah IT DOES. If you are a CEO of company and your workers don't believe in you and your ideas, but they are there working for you, you think that's a positive thing? You think you'll get the most of out of them?
WTF is wrong with you people? One thing I can say about "democracy" (if you can call it that these days) is you get what you deserve.
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Wise Golden 2:05PM (2/23/2008)
Armmat -- that's funny. You're talking about Democracy while you call people profane names for having an opinion that differs with yours.
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Mik_Cal 2:43PM (2/23/2008)
I think this whole "global warming is crock of shit" thing is about trying to prove one's masculinity. Lutz has made it his business to be Top Gun guy and is just continuing on form. There are commenters here who feel like it will be like being castrated to say they "care" about something like global warming....that isn't masculine to them....
It's too bad.
The Euros are far less poisoned by this definition of being a man. So they are going to remain far ahead of the US in implementing (not necessarily inventing) more efficient and greener cars.
I still think it's incredibly stupid that people come to Autoblog GREEN and at least don't listen to climate scientists. Same goes for CEOs of car companies who market their cars as environmentally friendly.(either by implication or explicitly)
Stupid should go out of style on these boards...Looking at some of the comments above, it looks like it still is considered "cool" some places.
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Tony Belding 3:00PM (2/23/2008)
Bob Lutz is a man who thinks for himself and speaks his mind. He approached electric vehicles with an open mind and became a foremost advocate of them, and he's pushing the Chevy Volt through to completion. So, I think he's earned the right to say what he thinks.
As for myself, I've reached similar conclusions about global warming: it might possibly become something of a problem in a few decades (depending on which scientists you believe, and noting that Al Gore is no scientist), but it's nowhere near as urgent as global peak oil and US dependence on foreign oil right now.
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Tony Belding 3:14PM (2/23/2008)
Mik_Cal, I want to single you out in particular for your uninformed arrogance.
The people on here who've actually done their homework, who've looked at the science, weighed the evidence, and reached their own conclusions are all rubber-stamped with the word STUPID in your book. We're all stupid because we don't follow Al Gore like sheep and repeat whatever lines he's fed us?
And since you mentioned it, I think it's quite "manly" to form my own opinions. I'd rather be a man than a sheep.
"I still think it's incredibly stupid that people come to Autoblog GREEN and at least don't listen to climate scientists." That is you! You are calling yourself incredibly stupid! The scientists who wrote the IPCC report portrayed global warming as a manageable problem in coming decades, not as a global catastrophe in the making. Al Gore spun their report into something very different and created a sci-fi disaster movie. And you, apparently, are blindly following his lead.
Meanwhile we have global oil depletion staring us in the face, representing a huge, immediate challenge to our industrialized society. Bob Lutz is focused on that aspect of things because he's an adult in a position of real responsibility, and therefore he has to deal with real problems, not speculation or hysteria.
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PJD 4:37PM (2/23/2008)
If I were a GM shareholder or employee I might be a bit worried. That statement raises the question of whether the chief of design has much of grasp on science. Also, the fact that in the same speech as saying global warming was a "total crock of shit" he also said that he was merely a skeptic, not a denier. If he doesn't realize that calling scientific conclusions a crock of shit is rejecting them about as strongly as possible, then he's also got some serious problems with communication ability... also not a great trait in an executive.
Not being an employee or shareholder in GM... I really don't care what he says. If they produce good cars, I'd buy them just the same.
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mike 5:19PM (2/23/2008)
Tony, I don't believe you've studied anything except oil industry propaganda. The IPCC was watered down by U.S. representatives. The global climate catastrophe is happening today, not in the next 100 years. The effects are going to accumulate and cascade into an ECONOMIC catastrophe. I guess Rush hasn't told you about the Global Water Shortages yet. When we destroy half the species in the world do you still think everything's going to run just fine?
The bible says "subdue" not "Destroy".
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mike 5:26PM (2/23/2008)
Global Warming BEYOND the Worst Case Scenario:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7642
The Arctic Melt:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102100761.html
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mike 5:31PM (2/23/2008)
Global warming is already causing damage in many parts of the United States. In 2002, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon endured their worst wildfire seasons ever. The same year, drought created severe dust storms in Montana, Colorado and Kansas, and floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas, Montana and North Dakota. Since the early 1950s, snow accumulation has declined 60 percent and winter seasons have shortened in some areas of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington.
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp
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s10 6:03PM (2/23/2008)
For all those that agree with Bob Lutz.... here an example:
Italy (especially the north), from Turin to Venice.. where many millions of people live and work, has a big problem with pollution.
Over 10 years ago they started with the program "Targhe Alterne", meaning that on days that air pollution is over the maximum level cars with even number-plates can drive on even days, and cars with uneven plates on uneven days. In case the air pollution is dangerously high, they block all traffic for the day. Cars that are older (for example without a cat. conv. are not allowed at all on those days)
The amount of days they need to impose this program has been growing since it was introduced. Although inconvenient, people are used to it; it happens more or less every Friday and Saturday in Fall and Winter.
The enormous increase % of people with respiratory problems and cancer were the reasons for this rather strict program.
Of course cars are only a part of the problem; factories and household heating systems are another.
That's why they have imposed also more stringent rules for factories and give out special bonus to people if they exchange their old heater for a clean one.
The Italian government also gives a tax cut if you exchange your car for a new one that pollutes less.
Italy is not the only country where they have problems like this, basically every big city suffers from it.
Just like 40 years ago, when London got rid of heating and factories that ran on coal and immediately were freed from the fog, then so typical for London (never happened since)
We all should have the guts and the social responsibility to do the same.
And if this air pollution will have more severe consequences in the future, which is highly likely according to basically every scientist not paid by an oil dependant company, isn't just that "possibility" enough to do something about it?
Do you really think we should wait and see if it happens or not?
Don't you think we have the responsibility towards our children or/and grandchildren and everybody else to do everything we can to prevent a possible Climatic Armageddon?
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