From the Detroit News:

The ultimate car guy is officially back.

General Motors said Friday its former head of product development, 79-year-old Bob Lutz, is on the company roster as a part-time special adviser. He had been informally advising GM executives since his retirement in 2010.

“I’ll basically be doing formally what I did informally for the past 16 months — general observation and advice to senior management … whoever wants the view of a highly experienced outsider as an aid in arriving at what, in all cases, will be their judgment,” said Lutz, a former GM chairman and legendary figure in the industry.

His return comes at a critical time for GM as the Detroit automaker tries to sustain momentum built on vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and Buick Regal — cars developed under Lutz’s watch.

“The company is in great shape and is being extraordinarily well-led. I’ve seen the ‘post-Lutz’ products, and they’re great. But they value my opinion, and, as you know, I enjoy offering it,” Lutz said.

Analysts like Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the automotive website Edmunds.com, praised the move.

“This is a good thing for GM. Even with his depth of experience, Bob can always be counted on as a source offresh ideas,” Anwyl said.

Read the full article.

Longtime auto executive Bob Lutz is going to hang’em up on May 1st. Of course Mr. Lutz 78 had a great line to describe how he feels at this time.

There is something that gets old about getting up at 4:30 in the morning,” Lutz said today in Switzerland after the Geneva auto show. “At some point you have to do something new.”

From AutoNews.com:

DETROIT — Bob Lutz, the General Motors Co. product development leader who postponed retirement last year to help steer the automaker out of bankruptcy, plans to call it quits May 1.

Lutz, 78, has been a vice chairman and senior adviser to CEO Ed Whitacre since December, after a plan for Lutz to lead GM’s revival through marketing unraveled within six months.

“There is something that gets old about getting up at 4:30 in the morning,” Lutz said today in Switzerland after the Geneva auto show. “At some point you have to do something new.”

Read the full article here.