Associated Press
DETROIT —"Turmoil is afoot" in General Motors Corp.’s product development process, Robert Lutz, chairman of GM North America, said Wednesday.
"There are some products we have deferred, one or two we canceled, some have been pulled ahead and some have been added," Lutz told reporters during a round-table discussion at company headquarters.
He would not specify which products were affected because of competitive concerns.
Lutz, 69, joined GM in September to reinvigorate the company’s product design and development system. On the job barely two months, on Oct. 13, Lutz was promoted to chairman, GM North America, and manufacturing chief Gary Cowger was appointed president, GM North America.
The former Chrysler vice chairman who was known as the driving force behind some of Chrysler’s more distinctive products such as the Dodge Viper and Prowler, wants to bring some of that creative magic to GM.
Lutz said the focus would be on making certain a product is a winner before giving it the green light for production. Cowger echoed that thought, saying the goal will be to come up with "got-to-have products."
Lutz’s product development shakeup moves are exactly the right inoculation against inappropriate complacency, according to one analyst.
"The truck area is coming under a significant attack by the Japanese manufacturers," said Dennis Virag, president of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Automotive Consulting Group.
"To try and defend the light truck market with the status quo would result in a significant volume and market share erosion, just as it did on the car side," Virag said.
"We’ll continue to focus on net income and cash flow," Cowger said. "Bob and I have a renewed sense of urgency. It’s a tough market out there."
Both Cowger and Lutz said a major effort is under way to find ways to cut costs and waste within the company.
"It’s in overtime, it’s in warranty, it’s in repair, it’s in campaigns, it’s in engineering," Cowger said.
In order to boost sales, GM, along with Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG, have been offering zero-interest financing for some cars.
Lutz said such offers are costly to the company but "the cost was comparable to heavy incentives in normal times."
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