Autoblog

Bob Lutz pokes fun at Ed Whitacre's GM memoir

Seyth Miersma — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:43:00 EST

Any time Bob Lutz gets hired on for a gig putting pen to paper, we're for it. Case in hilarious point is this book review Lutz has penned for the readers of Forbes, wherein Maximum Bob gives good quote after good quote about Ed Whitacre's American Turnaround. Whitacre's book, you'll remember, focuses on the former General Motors CEO's time dealing with the aftermath of the automaker's bankruptcy.

Lutz doesn't take long to call out as fallacy the notion that Whitacre had a lot to do with the turnaround. From the title of his editorial (How Ed Whitacre Saved GM In Just 10 Months, And Other Fables) onward, Lutz jabs at the notion of Whitacre' effectiveness. In one passage he characterizes the CEO's tenure as being filled with, "... wandering around uncovering employees who were insufficiently entrepreneurial, cautious or didn't have enough 'can-do' spirit."

But, if there's a paragraph that succinctly summarizes Lutz's 'respect' for Whitacre and his time as CEO, it's got to be this gem:

Ed's most notable contribution to design was a comment I recall at a Cadillac styling session. Professing to know nothing about cars (true), he nevertheless opined that Cadillacs had the look of "old-fashioned Choo-choo trains".

We digested that opaque bit of input and elected to stay with what we had.

Good stuff, Bob, we miss you man. Click through here to read the rest of Lutz's short, funny summary.

Bob Lutz pokes fun at Ed Whitacre's GM memoir originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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American Turnaround

Dan Roth — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, GM

Ed Whitacre's Postcard From The Auto Bailout

Ed Whitacre freely admits "I knew nothing about cars. Zero." Which made the out-of-the-blue phonecall from Steven Rattner all the more strange. But he does know management, and that's why Team Auto reached out, because General Motors management was all kinds of bad, and that needed to change now that taxpayer money was at stake.

In his memoir American Turnaround, Ed Whitacre gives his side of the reinvigoration of General Motors. It's another slice in the ongoing dissection of What Just Happened in the American auto business, and Whitacre sets up the story by asking, "How could I even consider taking the reins of a company whose business I knew nothing about?"

The book is written like a chat with Ed Whitacre himself; the words on the page almost twanging. The plain, direct language make the 271 pages of American Turnaround go quickly. The book was released February 12th, and as with any memoir, be sure to pick up a few grains of salt or look into some other perspectives so you can form your own opinions about the history that's now being written down.

There will be critics who write off American Turnaround as a vanity piece written by a typical big-business type adept at tooting his own horn. A memoir by its very nature is going to be filled with a lot of I, Me, Mine, and the inherent inertia in the car business will see Whitacre accused of trying to take credit for things set in motion by the leadership he kicked out. The criticisms might be missing the point, or worse, misinterpreting. Whitacre didn't swashbuckle in like, say, Bob Lutz, brimming with ideas about product development. Instead, he came in and looked at the way the business of GM was run, and according to his account, it wasn't firing on all cylinders. That seems to square with other reports, regardless of what you believe caused it.

Continue reading American Turnaround

American Turnaround originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read an excerpt from Whitacre's book about how he fired Henderson and why Akerson got the job

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., GM

It is probably best just to play this down the middle and let you read the excerpt from American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA by Ed Whitacre. The author, you'll remember, was the former AT&T CEO who came out of retirement to take the position of chairman at General Motors in June of 2009. Six months later, he took the role of CEO, and on September 1, 2010 he was replaced by current CEO Dan Akerson and gave up the chairmanship at the end of that year.

To read the excerpt, you're going to have to get past the Fortune headline "How Ed Whitacre brought GM back from the brink." Now, Whitacre didn't choose that headline, and since we're playing this down the middle, we can't say that the headline isn't the only eyebrow-raising line in the piece - but we won't charge it to Whitacre's account. However, when it takes five years to develop a single car, and redesigning a taillight for a midcycle refresh might take a year, we're not sure how anyone can reinvent a global automaker in just nine-months as CEO. Perhaps we should ask Ford boss Alan Mullaly about that timeframe.

To the point, the book will be out on February 12 - you can pre-order it on Amazon now - and Whitacre's explanation of how Fritz Henderson was let go, how he got the CEO position and how Akerson came to follow will be sure to get enthusiasts intrigued in what else the complete tome might say. All you've got to do is follow the link to read it.

Read an excerpt from Whitacre's book about how he fired Henderson and why Akerson got the job originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former CEO Whitacre says he blocked GM move out of Detroit

Zach Bowman — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., GM

Former General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre has served up a few revelations about his time at the automaker in his new memoir, American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA. Among the choice tidbits is word that in August of 2009, Whitacre says he blocked a plan that would have seen GM workers abandon their downtown Detroit Renaissance Center global headquarters just one week before the move was to be set in action. The whole operation was to be relocated to Warren, which would have allowed GM to either lease or sell the Ren Cen outright. Oddly enough, GM apparently planned to keep the company's CEO and a few others on the premises, which would have put management some 30 minutes away from the rest of the company.

Whitacre says the move would have cost around $100 million to implement. The city of Detroit eventually offered GM substantial tax incentives to stay put, and the automaker announced its plans to stay in the Ren Cen in August of 2010.

The memoir also touches on Whitacre's successor, Dan Akerson. Whitacre says Akerson called GM "one of the worst companies he'd come across in his entire life" and notes that he admitted he didn't like GM vehicles.

Former CEO Whitacre says he blocked GM move out of Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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