He's back! Somehow we never really expected "Maximum" Bob Lutz to leave.
Well that didn’t take long.
While he said he planned to retire to write up more of his memoirs – and log some hours in his Czech-made fighter jet — Bob Lutz has has found a few moments to take on another job.
The former General Motors vice chairman has joined the board of directors of Transonic Combustion Inc., a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan start-up focusing on high-efficiency fuel injection technology.
“Bob brings to Transonic’s board of directors a lifetime of automotive experience and a passion for personal transportation,” said Brian Ahlborn, president and CEO, Transonic Combustion. “He joins our board at just the right time, as our technology development and customer traction are progressing rapidly. As our mission is to bring significantly improved efficiency to internal combustion engines, Bob will clearly insist that this is done with the same excellence that has characterized his career.”
Ahlborn pointed to Lutz’s broad experience in the auto industry, and there’s little doubt that after nearly 50 years in the business, the former Marine pilot can match his CV to almost anyone. Over the years, he has worked with a Who’s Who of major European and U.S. automakers, including General Motors – where he spent the last decade as “car czar” – Ford, Chrysler and BMW. He also served briefly as CEO of the struggling battery maker, Exide.
Explaining his decision to join Transonic, Lutz noted that, “For the foreseeable future, the internal combustion engine will remain the dominant propulsion system for automobiles, and there is still a lot of room to improve its efficiency,” which the 78-year-old executive is betting will give Transonic plenty of opportunity to markt its supercritical injector technology.
Despite his age, Lutz’s departure from GM seemed, to many observers, to come earlier than he wanted, suggesting some sort of falling out with the maker’s new CEO Ed Whitacre. Nonetheless, with product proving a key to GM’s nascent turnaround, Lutz is winning strong kudos for new models like the Chevrolet Equinox.
But in an interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, last month, he stressed that it will take some time to truly measure his impact on GM. “My real legacy,” he cautioned, will depend “on what happens after I leave.” The key, Lutz added, was whether GM maintains the strong and focused product development system he struggled to put into place.
(Click Here for more on the outgoing interview with Bob Lutz.)