Bob Lutz always has something to say, and quite frankly, he’s earned it. The 85-year-old has seen the insides of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Lutz recently discussed the ousting of former Ford CEO Mark Fields, and as always, Lutz served up his opinion.
“We’re in a period of very rapid change,” the 85-year-old businessman said, according to Ford Authority. “Like it or not, the public and Wall Street have decided the days of the conventional auto industry are about over. If the CEO isn’t out there convincing the world they’re about to revolutionize transportation, the stock is going to stay where it is.”
Fields’ approach and ways of working would have made him an excellent choice two decades ago, Lutz added.
“Mark Fields would have been an ideal CEO 15 or 20 years ago,” he said. “Lots of company experience, knows how to work the system, has a proven track record of getting things done, looks good, sounds good, etc. The trouble is, that won’t do it anymore.”
Of course, Lutz is likely referring to Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Musk has done a tremendous job of drumming up support for his vision. Tesla’s market capitalization surpassed both Ford and General Motors this year.
GM has had its own stock troubles, too. Share prices have stayed relatively stagnant since the automaker’s IPO, though shareholders did reject a proposal to split GM stock into two tiers recently. GM CEO Mary Barra is adamant the automaker’s current strategy will unlock its potential on Wall Street eventually.
Comments
Musk is great at getting people excited so that they will buy overpriced stock. (AOL was equally good at convincing Time Warner of its industrial disruptive potential–we knew how that worked out.)
Every major automaker will make the transition to automous whether such technology is developed in house or purchased.
The idea that every CEO must be a cheerleader is disappointing. Fields was a good match for Ford. FCA should grab him!
Agreed, PT Barnum was good at stuff like that too!
Musk and Tesla only survive because of 100’s of millions in government handouts, a.k.a. our tax money. They are up to their eyeballs in debt, sales targets are missed every time, stock so overpriced even Musk admits it is, and their ridiculously hyped Model 3 is years behind schedule, and nowhere to be seen…
All hype, no facts or reality…sounds like most of the “green energy” ponzi scheme.
Let me help clarify your statement, DumbDs. BARRA and GM only survive because of BILLIONS in government handouts, a.k.a. our tax money.
Solar power alone has grown by more than 50% worldwide since 2010, and in 2016 it grew 95% in the US. It’s not a ponzi scheme, it’s the future.
The key to the future in the auto industry is to make them as efficient as possible is the first step. The second is to develop advanced technology that not only saves money but advanced the brand and excites investor like a tech company.
Tech stocks and bio tech stock are the areas in the market were companies are getting high stock prices but often never make a profit or in some cases even a product. Everyone is looking for the next Apple.
The truth is Bob is not a big fan of Elon and has been critical of him often so I think it is a fantasy to think he was praising Elon.
Based on Bobs books he appreaciated a leader of good balance. He likes to see one with passion for the product. He also like one that can be fiscally itelligent to spend money not only smart but responsibly. The kind that will spend more when product will benefit by it but not waste it in in efficient ventures.
Finally he likes forward looking leaders that set real goals that can lead the industry and be profitable.
I would recommend any of Bobs books to really understand how he thinks. They are good reads and there is much to learn in each.
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General Motors has the pieces to compete from the Chevrolet Bolt and should use the battery to build an all-electric version of Cadillac’s CT6 and XT5 which could compete with the Tesla sedan and CUV.
I think one of the big things is people want to see Musk succeed so badly they’re willing to overlook Tesla’s financials, GM not so much. If GM’s ever going to be half the “darling” Tesla is they’re going to have to find a CEO and board with vision. Barra was a good choice for GM at the time, but she’ll never lead GM to greatness. It takes more than a friendly face to do that.
GM needs to be a privately owned company again so they don’t have to justify every choice to the bean counters.
GM was a privately held company for about 5 minutes! William Durant took them public as quickly as he could to raise capital.
Well the majority of Ford is owned by the Ford family. They focused only on product and not on lowering cost. Their stock is only one third of of the value of GM.
So many complain about GM stock but they are far from the worst and most are just as stagnate.