Bob Lutz: Auto exec, fighter pilot, Marine... master thespian?!
Admittedly, we've always known that Bob Lutz has a flair for the dramatic. The from-the-gut talkin', hard-drivin', fast-flyin,' General Motors vice chairman has always been good for a juicy quote, and although he is retiring soon, that doesn't mean Lutz is stepping out of the limelight completely. As the story goes, the whiskey-tinged vocals of Lutz will soon grace the stage of Detroit's Jazz Café at Music Hall for a star turn in A.R. Gurney's family comedy "Ancestral Voices." The play is centered around a three-generation Buffalo family, and is set between 1935 and 1942. Lutz is reportedly taking the stage for the first time since high school, and he'll be a full-fledged member of the cast, right alongside Tony and Emmy award winners Edward Hermann and Elaine Stritch.
While it doesn't look like The Golden Gut is pursuing a new career, who knows, if things go well with his charity performance (he's donating his time to the production), perhaps the ex-Marine will find himself with a new hobby.
If you're interested in seeing Lutz's off-off-off Broadway premiere, check out JazzCafeDetroit.com for tickets to the April 17 and 18 performances, but be prepared to shell out $175 per person. For that sum, you'll not only see the show, you'll also be fed at a strolling play-themed dinner, and you'll get the chance to chat up Lutz & Co. at the cast question-and-answer session.
[Sources: TheGMSource; Chicago Tribune]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ConceptVBS 5:43PM (3/27/2009)
There is no "ex-Marine". It's "former Marine". Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine. Oorah!
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superman211 7:30PM (3/27/2009)
That's right!
dukeisduke 6:00PM (3/27/2009)
Break a leg!
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superman211 7:30PM (3/27/2009)
Break wind
laser 6:47PM (3/27/2009)
Unfortunately Bobby Putz is an overrated "playa" in the automotive industry. His resume is padded with other people's efforts which he takes credit for with glee. He doesn't like to mention he is the Pappa of the Merkur series from Ford in the 1980's which bombed because it was poorly executed; he takes credit for cab-forward when it was a design philosophy of someone else and was well on its way when he got at Chrysler. At GM his credits include the Buick LaCrosse and Buick Lucerne, both mediocre vehicles from day one; Putz managed to remove the plastic body cladding off Pontiacs which is likely his singular and top moment at GM. Over his six plus years tenure at GM he's overseen the near destruction of design at GM with mediocrity at almost all levels. Yes, GM interior design has improved, but is that a real compliment? Assembly quality is still indifferent and manifold design issues still remain: driver's knee is intruded upon by GM dashboards almost across the spectrum; rear seat room on GM products is worst in the industry - the new Malibu has no knee room for adults when over 6 foot is in driver seat and six foot or taller in backseat - issue crosses almost all GM products (interestingly the Aveo has more usable knee room than the Malibu).
Putz's contributions to the industry are highly overrated. He is a blogger who insults the media and a credit stealer and a responsibility shifter. It is a shame he is a marine because those aren't virtues of a real marine.
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jgp 8:46PM (3/27/2009)
Sounds like somebody's jealous.
eb110americana 1:00AM (3/28/2009)
While Bob is not a designer, he has never claimed to be. No one can really say how instrumental he's been in allowing certain designs and vehicles to get through the excessive bureaucracy of any given company. Not without having seen it for ourselves. His personality and subsequent notoriety may be disproportionate to his importance, but he makes for a strong figurehead.
As for the Malibu and it's accommodations, you are off your rocker. Due to the long wheelbase, the Malibu's back seat has HUGE amounts of legroom that are obvious when sitting back there. (Legroom = knee room, as "Rear leg room is the horizontal distance between the rear and front seatback.") I've sat in all of it's competitor's back seats and, well, the numbers don't lie:
REAR SEAT LEGROOM:
-----------------------------------
Malibu: 37.6"
Accord: 37.2"
Camry: 38.3"
Altima: 35.8"
Fusion: 37.1"
The Malibu's rear seat has more legroom than even the larger Accord. The only car to offer more is the Camry, but on closer inspection of the numbers, we see that this extra space comes out of the Toyota's 0.5"+ tighter front legroom versus its competitors (Camry is the only one with less than 42" front legroom). And speaking of front knee room, I don't agree with you there either. There are several Fords and Honda products which offer much worse intrusion, while there is still plenty of room for improvement, GM is at least on par with most other automakers if not better here too.
PJ 1:28AM (3/28/2009)
The problem with the Malibu's rear seating is that a) it's unusually narrow, and b) despite what the tape-measure says, space feels tighter than competitors' because the front seatbacks are made of plastic, and you don't want to bang your knees against hard plastic.
tankd0g 4:28AM (3/28/2009)
I don't trust any story this ridiculous so close to April first....
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kaleu 5:50AM (3/28/2009)
More power to you, laser!
'Maximum Bob' is always lauded by the media as some kind of ultimate car guy. That doesn't explain why GM is in such a mess. Over the past ten years, how many decent cars have actually come out of GM? Why were there always such fundamental mistakes in design and marketing? Why do we keep wondering - has anyone at Chevrolet, Holden or Pontiac actually seen the interior of a VW or Audi? And what's the attraction of pushrods, anyway?? The designs are ordinary. The technology is ordinary. The service, pricing, quality - ordinary. The pain that GM is going through now is the result of uninspiring product more than any other factor. It's about the cars, 'Ordinary Bob'!!
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