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Lutz: Cheap gas would be bad

Remember all the bravado that Bob Lutz unleashed when we got our first glimpse of the Volt back in early 2007? Lutz has been the car's biggest champion since then, but he's thinking that there could be some tough news coming soon for this kind of technology. While the Volt is not named in an interview with Lutz by the LA Times that was published last week (so don't go starting any rumors), Lutz was pretty clear-eyed about what the recent dip in gas prices could mean: "We may hate high fuel prices, but they've been driving us in the right ... Read more →

60 Minutes on "The Race For The Electric Car" Sebastian Blanco

Want to watch Lesley Stahl and Elon Musk tool around in a Tesla Roadster? If you missed the duo on 60 Minutes last night, you can still catch it online. The stalwart CBS reporter takes a 12-minute ...

AltCar 2008: LA Times panel hates/loves GM, and more Sebastian Blanco

For me, the highlight of the weekend's panel discussions at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo was two guys just sitting around and chatting. The reason the hour-long freeflowing discussion between the ...

Lutz gives Colbert a Volt in return for a jolt Sebastian Blanco

Bob Lutz is a smooth talker. Trust us, we've seen it time and time again as he's been working on making the Chevy Volt a reality. Still, Stephen Colbert can fluster pretty much anyone, including GM's ...

GM Centennial: Bob Lutz talks about the Volt's future, $7,500 tax incentives Sebastian Blanco

Ahh, the blogger round table. At GM's Centennial celebration yesterday, GM chairman sat down with a group of bloggers to talk about - what else? - the Volt. Lutz took questions about the car and gave ...

Lutz says Volt's batteries are "flawless" 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Now that we've seen at least a blurry vision of the Chevy Volt's exterior and a Photoshopped front end (above), how about hearing a bit more about the inside, specifically the batteries? According to GM's master of ceremonies vice chairman, Bob Lutz, the lithium ion battery packs that are powering ...

Lutz reaffirms Volt mules are doing well in testing 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Man, it's been almost five minutes without GM's vice chairman Bob Lutz has given a positive Chevy Volt update. We just heard from him over the weekend about the possibility of a 20-mile-EV-range version someday, for example. Today, speaking in Dearborn, Lutz said that "there's almost no reasonable ...

VIDEO: Lutz going electric, can't wait for a Volt, picks up a Vectrix 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Click for a high-res gallery GM product development guru Bob Lutz has become particularly enamored of electric drive vehicles recently. As one of the major internal corporate sponsors of the Chevy Volt within GM, Lutz has been even more vocal than usual for the past year about the E-Flex program. ...

Volt mules are meeting EV-only target range 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chairman and Volt booster, told Edmunds AutoObserver today that the Volt is achieving its 40 mile all-electric target in initial on-road testing. "It is reliably meeting its objectives," Lutz confirmed. "Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, ...

Lutz talks EV1 and Volt with the Detroit News; first lithium Volt now running! 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

When GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz speaks, controversy usually follows closely behind. Unlike many high ranking executives Lutz often wanders off the defined script such as when he recently commented on global warming being a crock of .... I sure wouldn't want to be one of the PR handlers having to spin ...

Reversing the flow to Australia, Volts headed down under 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The Lutz has spoken yet again (imagine that!) and the subject once more is the Volt. This time it involves reversing some of the recent flow of machinery between Australia and U.S. GM's Holden division down under was tasked with developing a global rear wheel drive architecture for the company ...

Lutz confirms Chevy Volt media rides in July, GM won't name battery supplier until late 2008 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

A little over ten days ago, GM's Bob Lutz told us that the Chevy Volt would not be ready for media drives until July. While that announcement was slightly newsworthy because it signaled a small delay/shifting of the timeline. Whatever. The news that the lithium-ion-powered mules would still be on ...

Was Maximum Bob right? Is global warming a crock? Sure looks like it around here! 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

So, was Bob Lutz right, or was it just bad luck? Just as I picked up a new Mazda MX-5 to drive for a few days following the Vernal Equinox, it has started to snow (and snow, and snow). We've actually had more snow this winter than I can recall in quite a few years. Getting 4-5 more inches of the ...

Lutz: GM is OK with losing money on the Volt for a while 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

According to Bob Lutz, General Motors has known how to make a hybrid for years, but held off of building one because they projected that they would lose as much as $250 million per year building them. What they hadn't counted on, though, was that a huge perception gap would grow in the public eye ...

Lutz: Volt Battery supply deal a "horse race," finish line moved. 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

In commenting on the battle royal taking place on the testing benches at GM between two contending battery suppliers, "Maximum" Bob Lutz said Tuesday it was a "horse race. An apt analogy in a sense because the two teams, Continental Automotive Systems, using cells from A123 Systems Inc., and ...

VIDEO: Bob Lutz asked about his "crock of shi*t" comment 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

At the ECO:nomics conference (March 12-14), GM chairman Bob Lutz was asked about his global warming is a "crock of sh*t" statement. In the video (which you can watch below the fold), Lutz was asked why he said it and if GM investors and customers should care that he said it. Lutz did not answer the ...

Lutz says Chevy Volt mules won't be ready for media rides until July 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

It seems every time GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz opens his mouth to speak, a news story is spawned. Sometimes however, there is less to the story than there appears to be. Case in point is the latest update on the Chevy Volt. Speaking in California, Lutz indicated that Volt mules (very early ...

GM CEO responds to Lutz's global warming's a "total crock of sh*t" comment 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Wall Street Journal blogs about GM CEO Rick Wagoner recent talk to reporters in Washington about GM chairman Bob Lutz's recent comment that global warming is "a total crock of sh*t." Wagoner backed away from the comment, saying that "the comments weren't coming out of the company" and "I would have ...

GM and Toyota: Don't expect fuel cells any time soon 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The great hydrogen debate of '08 continues to heat up, with Bob Lutz from GM and Katsuaki Watanabe from Toyota echoing each other's statements regarding fuel cell vehicles for the mainstream market. The general consensus seems to be that fuel cells are still way too expensive for use in automobiles ...

Geneva 2008: GM's Bob Lutz and Mark Adams on biofuels and Saab 9-x (video) 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

GM's biofuel parade in Geneva marches on with GM vice chairman Bob Lutz and Mark Adams, vp of design of GM Europe, talk to the Newspress cameras about bioethanol and the new Saab 9-X BioHybrid. Lutz talks mostly about how ethanol is the best short-term way to use less gasoline. For those of you ...

Chevy Volt volumes will ramp up, probably starting at about 10,000 units 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

While we all wait with baited breath to find out if the reality of the Chevy Volt meets up with the promise, many other non-performance related questions remain as well. Cost is obviously a big one. The goal is for the Volt to be a high-volume mainstream car and for that to happen it has to be ...

Bob Lutz not backing down on the whole global warming is a "total crock of sh*t" thing 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

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 ...

GM's Bob Lutz: Global warming is a "total crock of sh*t" 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/environment/GM_says_global_warming_is_steaming_pile_of_poo'; According to D Magazine, at a private lunch, GM chairman Maximum Bob Lutz said global warming is a "total crock of shit." Bob adds "I'm a skeptic, not a denier. Having said that, my opinion doesn't matter." ...

Bob Lutz explains exactly why Volt delayed: batteries late, engineers want perfect software 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

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Bob Lutz video: it's "immaterial" who's first on EVs, guarantees "internal" release date for Volt 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The video above is GM chairman Bob Lutz eating a little crow on Bloomberg Television. In the past, Bob has said GM would beat Toyota by "a year" in the lithium-ion battery race. Now, that Toyota has said they will release lithium-ion plug-in hybrids ahead of GM's new EVs, Bob does not want to play ...

Bob Lutz has egg on his face: drivable Volt in June 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

GM-Volt.com is at the Detroit Auto Show and they write that Bob Lutz says a drivable Chevy Volt "looks more like June" and not Easter as had Bob promised. You might recall the post where Bob was quoted saying this: By the time the Easter Bunny delivers his or her first egg shipments we hope to have ...

Bob Lutz Video: Volt, the most fuel-efficient car in the world? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

In the video above, GM's Bob Lutz says "we made a mistake" on hybrids because GM did not think it would be "important." Well, not exactly a mistake the way Bob puts it because there were "legitimate reasons." Bob says U.S. corporate structure with their "fiduciary duty" would mean going to the ...

Wired Magazine January 2008 cover: the race to make 100 MPG car 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The cover story of the January 2008 issue of Wired Magazine is "100 MPG! The Race To Build The Ultimate Fuel Efficient Car." The article is all about the X-Prize, which will award $10 Million to the maker of the most fuel efficient car. A short video with a test drive of the Aptera, one car in the ...

Newsweek hails Maximum Bob as the savior of the electric car! 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

When General Motors rolled out the Chevrolet Volt concept last January at the Detroit Auto Show, Bob Lutz played his usual role as the master of ceremonies. Within minutes after our story went live here on ABG many of you were hailing the Volt as nothing more than smoke and mirrors. As we've seen ...

Videos: Bob Lutz says Toyota will have egg on its face come Easter 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The videos above and below the fold are parts 1 and 2 of a 50-minute speech by GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz after receiving an award at the Western Automotive Journalists' meeting. Even with no voice, jet lagged and after a drink at dinner, Bob had lots of interesting things to say. Is anyone ...

GM (and everyone else) may have to revamp product plans to hit 35 mpg 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

If the energy bill that's currently stalled in the US Senate does ultimately get passed, every car-maker in the US market will have to thoroughly revamp their product lines. This is particularly true for trucks where most companies struggle to achieve mileage even in the low twenties. At a Saturn ...

Bob Lutz on winning the Car of the Year 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

At the L.A. Auto Show earlier this month, the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid won the Green Car of the Year award. Carlist's Lou Ann Hammond got a chance to ask Bob Lutz what he thinks about being nominated (and then winning) this award. She's posted a video of that conversation over on the ...

LA Auto Show video: Bob Lutz makes apparent slam at Hillary Clinton's energy plan 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

The video above is an interview with the emanently quotable GM vice Chairman Bob Lutz on GM's move towards making greener cars and CAFE standards at the 2007 LA Auto Show. Bob says the reasoning for making more fuel efficient cars is really a global one because there are places around the world ...

Lutz: Chevy Volt will be road-tested in early 2008 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

After his dismissive comments about the Chevy Volt's styling at a dinner with bloggers the night before the LA Auto Show got started, Bob Lutz saddled up to reporters from larger news organizations and talked up the Volt by mentioning that the concept vehicle will be road-tested early next year, ...

Chevrolet Beat to go into production for global markets, but not US yet! 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

At the New York Auto Show last April GM unveiled a trio of Chevrolet badged mini-cars dubbed the Beat, the Trax and the Groove. All three were designed by stylists from GM Korean studios on the companies new global mini-car platform. At the time the company launched a web-site were visitors could ...

LA 2007: Chevrolet to take the lead on fuel solutions 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz may speak frequently about hard it will be for car-makers to meet proposed new 35 mpg fuel economy standards but that doesn't mean his employer is sitting on its collective hands. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, the company announced that its Chevrolet brand would take the ...

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