VIDEO: Letterman gives ground on Volt, asks Lutz for first production model
Click above and scroll down to watch video after the jump
Last night, General Motors' outgoing car czar, Bob Lutz, went to New York City to rebut the thrashing that David Letterman gave the Chevy Volt a few weeks ago during an interview. That comedian's criticism came during the an "interview" with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk (details here). The more forceful Lutz certainly didn't allow Letterman to control the discussion the way he did when dominating Musk. Lutz actually expressed himself well, even praising Tesla's accomplishments along the way. In the process of doing that, however, he explained that a big reason the Tesla Roadster costs over $100,000 its battery pack with 6,831 laptop cells.
Observers were probably far less satisfied with Lutz's defense of the end of the EV1 program and his argument that the "batteries were not ready" and the company "couldn't sell" the EV1. He should have just said that the batteries were not ready for a mainstream vehicle and the car couldn't be sold profitably at a price people would actually pay.
When it came to the Volt, Lutz did a much better job of explaining the differences in the way it works compared to current parallel hybrid vehicles that drivers are used to. Ultimately, Letterman asked if he could get the first production Volt before reprising his electrocution schtick from the Musk episode. Follow the jump to watch the interview for yourself.
[Source: Youtube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mapoftazifosho 9:31AM (5/21/2009)
Patiently waiting for GM hate...
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required 12:32PM (5/21/2009)
I've got some. The EV1 was not any of the things he said it was. The guy is a deceitful ass hat that has been clearly sucking at his beloved fossil fuel teat for so long that it might take a razor spatula to unstick him.
Tohe 3:38PM (5/21/2009)
To say Lutz is deceitful is an understatement. Fortunately his involvement with GM will only degrade from this point onwards. Unfortunately we can't expect GM to lead in EV innovation, it missed its chance with the EV1(even Rick Wagoner admits to this), but GM will follow the likes of Tesla, and be somewhat competitive. The Volt or whatever car becomes GM's EV flagship, will eventually ditch the ICE, it is only a mater of time.
Snoopy 12:21AM (5/22/2009)
No GM hate here, but extreme disapproval of Lutz EV1 talk.
Why is it so hard for him to admit they trashed the EV1 because their business model was gas guzzler based, instead of saying that that nobody wanted to buy them? I'd say it would be more "noble" to say "We made a mistake" than lie outright. I know the majority of people don't know the truth about what happened with the electric vehicles from those years, but that doesn't mean he has to lie about it, or even talk about it.
All he had to say was "It wasn't part of our plan" and that's it. No need to mention them disallowing people from buying the cars. No need to mention the crushings or scrapping of the plans. Just "it wasn't part of our plan".
Mike 9:35AM (5/21/2009)
So that's the actual production model? It will come with the ginormous wheels? Those things look like at least 18"!
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Ignatius 9:38AM (5/21/2009)
You obviously never saw the concept.
Mike 9:40AM (5/21/2009)
Actually I did. I wasn't hating. I love the wheels, I just don't expect the production model to have them
Matt 10:00AM (5/21/2009)
might be an option package (I hope)
Yanquetino 9:46AM (5/21/2009)
Huh. News to me about the EV1:
"Batteries weren't ready at the time"...?
Lutz might want to chat with some RAV4-EV owners. I have the impression that those NiMH batteries are MORE than adequate.
"We were absolutely unable to sell them, so finally we leased them for $300 a month"...?
Wha...? They TRIED to sell them, but there were no takers? I wonder if Chelsea Sexton would like to comment on that claim. Can anybody recall having the opportunity to buy an EV1 outright, but decided to turn it down? If so, please speak up! If GM was so desperate to sell them, makes me wonder why they passed up the $2 million check and instead preferred to crush the last remaining 70 EV1s.
"The maintenance of this fleet was so onerous, that after a billion dollars the finance guy said: 'That's enough.'"...?
Wow. And here I thought that maintaining an EV was much simpler --and cheaper-- than an ICE. I guess that the utilities and owners of RAV4-EVs must have collectively spent WELL over a billion dollars after all these years to keep them running, then.
I opine that Letterman didn't do his homework, and Lutz got off easy --again. Ah, well... this is a comedy, not investigative reporting, right?
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JT 10:10AM (5/21/2009)
have you ever tried to build a mass market EV and sell it at a profit?
Matt 10:03AM (5/21/2009)
Oh, come on. They weren't able to sell them because nobody would pay the $100,000 it cost to make them. These were clearly intended to study the viability of the electric car, and they couldn't make it profitable at the time. Let it go.
mapoftazifosho 10:38AM (5/21/2009)
They could not sell them because then they would have to provide customer support and service for 15 years...this is a fact and a law.
I wanted to hate GM, Ford, Honda, and Toyota for not selling the people these electric cars, but at the end of the day...the gubment is really to blame...
Jason 12:33PM (5/21/2009)
The problem with the EV1 isn't the drivetrain, it's the rest of the vehicle. The batteries were lead acid, not NiCd or NimH, and the frame was extremely thin aluminum. this resulted in a LOT of fatigue wear that wasn't acceptable. GM crushed them because it would've had to help people maintain them if they sold it, and the costs of doing so would've required a sale price of the vehicles in excess of $100k.
Jason 12:37PM (5/21/2009)
The problem with the EV1 isn't the drivetrain, it's the rest of the vehicle. The batteries were lead acid, not NiCd or NimH, and the frame was extremely thin aluminum. this resulted in a LOT of fatigue wear that wasn't acceptable. GM crushed them because it would've had to help people maintain them if they sold it, and the costs of doing so would've required a sale price of the vehicles in excess of $100k.
required 12:42PM (5/21/2009)
The only thing that made them cease and desist the EV1 was that their fossil fuel doppelgangers/bedmates didn't approve of it.
GM has been in the business of selling fossil fuel via consumption tools, tools that do not consume enough do not get the blessings.
Disagree? That is okay but you might want to look into comparable industries and what they do, a good stepping stone is tobacco.
Nicholas 4:29PM (5/21/2009)
Look there was an easy decent way to kill the EV1:
1- Sale the EV1 for its cost! if it cost 100K to make, offer it for 100K.
2- Redact a sales contract to free GM of all legal bindings and pass the burden onto customers.
The way GM went about killing the EV1 was never articulated to customers in a clear way. The fact that GM crashed its cars without giving customers an option speakes for itself. To me, the only reasonable argument for killing the EV1 was to silence and stall the evolution of the electric car, it doesn't take a genius to realize that demand for an electric car would kill the business of the internal combustion engine and all of its replacable parts. In the end it was all about survival and economical feasibility.
Nick P. 9:51AM (5/21/2009)
Both Bob and Elon did a great job pushing their cars. This will result in better understanding of their mutual approach to the public. Go E.Vs!
I don't agree with Bob's explanation of the EV-1 cancellation, but that's in the past now. The Volt will be his main legacy once he retire, so he wants this to be a success.
Great work.
- Nick -
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Tim 9:52AM (5/21/2009)
GREAT JOB MAXIM BOB!
It's tough to sell a new paradym in under 7 minutes while competing with a comedian's schtick.
GM (if they survive Gov't-union ownership) will sell millions of Voltec vehicles.
Only time will tell...
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jharlan 9:57AM (5/21/2009)
When? When is this concept car going to hit the market? It's timing, GM, the market is soft right now because everyone is bragging about these concept cars that don't exist, and no one has a red one and a blue for you to drive and haggle over. I suspect by the time GM actually has a product, everyone will have a product on the market. A day late and a dollar short again. Excruciating!
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LiqwidZero 11:01AM (5/22/2009)
I wish they'd tell us what happened to the GM Hy-Wire.
That hydrogen car alone would've turned their fortunes around!