Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, Maximum Bob, will retire from General Motors by the end of 2009. This will occur following a demotion to an advisory position on April Fool’s Day. Seriously. I’ve got mixed feelings about this because Bob brought some great products to the GM stable but he was (is) also a clueless twit. Follow the jump to see some of the cars that Bob was responsible for.
1. Pontiac GTO
2. Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice
3. Chevy Malibu
4. Cadillac CTS
5. Chevy Volt
6. Chevy Camaro
7. Buick Enclave (and relatives)
8. Pontiac G8
Pretty respectable list, if you ask me. Unfortunately, Maximum Bob failed to differentiate any of the brands or even make any of them profitable. He was an indecisive product developer and he was always more interested in his own pet projects than building cars with a wide enough demographics to make them profitable. Despite these short-comings, the cars he did develop were right up our alley. The Pontiac G8 GXP, Chevy Camaro, and Cadillac CTS are all fantastic cars that we can’t wait to pick up on the used car market in a couple years for pennies on the dollar.
Seeing Mr. Lutz go is a sign that GM doesn’t have room for such an narrow-minded ego-maniac anymore. That, or he’s getting out while he still has a severance package to take with him. I’m hoping that it’s the former because GM could really use someone with an understanding of global economies, global companies, and profitability right about now. Here’s hoping that Rick Wagoner is next out the door.