I've commented on Bob Lutz's blog in the past, occassionally taking the site to task for violating some basic blogging principles.
But today, Lutz hits just the right note. In a previous post, Bob spoke of a new Cadillac model as being engineered, "specifically for European roads and drivers, and, as such...not intended for American needs or tastes."
He then goes on to retract some of that by saying,
What I should have said is that BLS is the first of a generation of slightly smaller Cadillacs, built on the same architecture as the Saab 9-3, that, for exchange rate reasons, we can’t profitably bring to the United States. So this generation is going to be Europe-only. Our current thinking is that the next generation will be available around the world.
Let me tell you, yes, I think this car would work in the United States, all things being equal, and it would be a great car, much like an Audi or a BMW or a Saab 9-3, but we can’t profitably do it this time around. Current thinking, as we all know, is always subject to change, but we’d love to see a vehicle like this in U.S. Cadillac dealerships in the future. [emphasis added]
Now, that's real. "Yup, this is the kind of car many of you love," (including your humble TrueTalk Blogger, a committed five time Audi A-6 owner). "Yup, we'd love to be able build one like this for the US market. But, we just can't make the numbers work because of exchange reasons."
Now, I don't know the economics of GM's business, but if Bob's telling the truth about exchange rates being the root cause of their problem, then this is the kind of candor we look for from a corporate blogger. Scoble's taught us that it can be done by someone pretty deep in the organization. Now, Lutz is teaching his colleagues that it can be done by someone up top as well.
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