[77 Monaco Brougham]

While surfing around YouTube last night, I bumped into a couple of interviews given by Robert Lutz back in 2020.
I found it quite interesting to take a look back just to see how accurate (OR NOT) Mr. Lutz was about the direction the global automotive industry would take going forward.

With the exception of his glaring blind spot regarding Elon Inc. and EV's in general, I think overall he had a pretty good grasp on things.

Enjoy!

 

[ImperialCrown]

He was a car-guy through and through. I often wonder what more Chrysler could have done if he had stayed.
He saw the writing on the wall and left.

 

[valiant67]

Iacocca treated Lutz the way the Ford family treated Iacocca.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

He was a car-guy through and through. I often wonder what more Chrysler could have done if he had stayed.
He saw the writing on the wall and left.

I thought it was that Lutz was supposed to be Iaccoca's successor but instead they went with Eaton so Lutz left for GM after getting snubbed. Of course Eaton led to the "merger of equals" and the end of Chrysler.

 

[Adventurer55]

I thought it was that Lutz was supposed to be Iaccoca's successor but instead they went with Eaton so Lutz left for GM after getting snubbed. Of course Eaton led to the "merger of equals" and the end of Chrysler.

And that wasn't the first time the right guy was passed over for a dud of a CEO in Chryslers history.

 

[77 Monaco Brougham]

Iacocca treated Lutz the way the Ford family treated Iacocca.

It was an act of Karma in its worst possible form.

What a crying shame when people don't learn from the times when negative Karma is visited on them!

 

[ehaase]

There are very recent interviews with Lutz at this You Tube channel.
Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History - YouTube

This channel is worth subscribing for lovers of big 70's cars.

 

[78newyorkersalon]

It was Iacocca's ego that got in the way. He didn't want to be outshone by Lutz, so he brought in that wimp Eaton, who destroyed the company by selling to Daimler-Benz and cashing out his stock options. There was no reason for Lutz to stay after that, and Chrysler went down the tubes. Now it's owned by Europeans and the engineering that made Chrysler is gone. Actually, it was killed when Iacocca installed Francois Castaing from AMC as Chief Engineer. Has anyone tried to change spark plugs on a Grand Cherokee Pentastar Six lately? Remove the intake manifold to get at one bank? Give me a break!

 

[Adventurer55]

It was Iacocca's ego that got in the way. He didn't want to be outshone by Lutz, so he brought in that wimp Eaton, who destroyed the company by selling to Daimler-Benz and cashing out his stock options. There was no reason for Lutz to stay after that, and Chrysler went down the tubes. Now it's owned by Europeans and the engineering that made Chrysler is gone. Actually, it was killed when Iacocca installed Francois Castaing from AMC as Chief Engineer. Has anyone tried to change spark plugs on a Grand Cherokee Pentastar Six lately? Remove the intake manifold to get at one bank? Give me a break!

I think it's a bit of a stretch to blame Castaing for the plugs on a Pentastar. He may have been the chief engineer, but most of their successful things in the 90s came from his team. Many were Chrysler lifers, one of whom I know personally. Had Lutz been promoted, they may have merged with BMW as he worked for them at one time. We will never know

 

[serpens]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to blame Castaing for the plugs on a Pentastar. He may have been the chief engineer, but most of their successful things in the 90s came from his team. Many were Chrysler lifers, one of whom I know personally. Had Lutz been promoted, they may have merged with BMW as he worked for them at one time. We will never know

Ha BMW had its hands full at the time with the Rover, Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce acquisitions.

 

[Adventurer55]

Ha BMW had its hands full at the time with the Rover, Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce acquisitions.

The two were collaborating on things at the time, so it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch.

 

[XRT2SRT]

Interesting...

 

[Dodgeguy1961]

I was disappointed that Iacocca chose Eaton as his replacement but I think that was the plan all along. But even Iacocca eventually regretted making that decision. Although an engineer, Eaton managed as if he were a bean counter, which is not how you survive in the auto business. We'll never know how Chrysler would have fared under Lutz but I bet things would have turned out much better. He was bold and the cars that he brought to market are still cars that are talked about and valued today by collectors. He did some good work at GM during his years there too.
And its fun seeing Iacocca portrayed in the Ford vs Ferrari movie. I don't know how accurate of a portrayal that movie was, but it was fun to watch. I certainly wish Chrysler could have built a car that could have taken more advantage of the Shelby performance connection back then. But I think they were just trying to survive.

 

[Donte Lindsey]

I was just arguing with someone on Facebook about this subject. They blame Chrysler for the crappy quality of the Diamler era and how Chrysler sucked them dry. I ended up in Facebook jail for my comments. I say we find Eaton and 👊 💪.

 

[77 Monaco Brougham]

I was just arguing with someone on Facebook about this subject. They blame Chrysler for the crappy quality of the Diamler era and how Chrysler sucked them dry. I ended up in Facebook jail for my comments. I say we find Eaton and 👊 💪.

? Isn't that what God created tar and feathers for ?

 

[1s1k]

He’s always been pretty spot on. No shame in being wrong about Musk because at that time there was no way to imagine how many billions the government was going to pour into the EV industry as a whole.

 

[hmk123]

He’s always been pretty spot on. No shame in being wrong about Musk because at that time there was no way to imagine how many billions the government was going to pour into the EV industry as a whole.

Traditional car companies could have gotten more of that money, too, though (IMHO). What I think did help them a lot is how Wall Street over valued them for a long time (in my opinion) in recent years which I assume made access to capital a lot easier for them.

 

[Donte Lindsey]

? Isn't that what God created tar and feathers for ?

If you can find him Ill provide the tar and feathers 😆

 

[Zagnut27]

I was just arguing with someone on Facebook about this subject. They blame Chrysler for the crappy quality of the Diamler era and how Chrysler sucked them dry. I ended up in Facebook jail for my comments. I say we find Eaton and 👊 💪.

Social media arguments are like Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru test…a no-win scenario.

 

[Donte Lindsey]

Social media arguments are like Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru test…a no-win scenario.

Very true but now I can take a much needed break from that place 🙂