Bob Lutz : General Motors, Volkswagen and Hyundai are the World's New Big Three

It's fall again, time for Bob Lutz to make headlines. Less than a month after "Maximum Bob" made his official comeback to General Motors as a consultant, the semi-retired car executive and onetime Marine pilot gave an in-depth interview to German monthly Manager Magazin.

Lutz was questioned about a variety of subjects that mainly concentrated on Opel and its relationship with General Motors, but he was also asked about the future of the industry in general, and whom he sees as being the major players.

According to Captain Lutz, the new big three in the automotive industry are General Motors, the Volkswagen Group and –wait for it- the Hyundai Group. And what about Toyota and the rest of the Japanese carmakers like Honda? According to the GM exec, Japanese automakers have lost it… Follow the jump for his (translated) response as well as the original Q&A.

Bob Lutz: “A while ago, many experts thought, the race for the top position in the auto business would be a dead heat between GM, Toyota, and Honda. This has changed. The Big Three are now GM, Volkswagen, and Hyundai. Toyota is in decline. The Japanese lost their bullet-proof quality image. Their cars aren’t especially pretty. Their driving dynamics is below the level of the best European and American cars.

GM on the other hand has improved its engineering, payroll and healthcare are way down after the bankruptcy. When it comes to platform sharing amongst brands, GM always has been absolutely competitive. Trust me: GM will give Volkswagen and Hyundai a tough fight.”

Original Q&A from Manager Magazin in German:
Manager Magazin: "Sie haben gesagt, Chevrolet sei die neben Hyundai Chart zeigen am schnellsten wachsende Marke der Welt. Wie wird General Motors Chart zeigen angesichts des gewaltigen Wachstums der wichtigsten Konzernmarke 2015 und 2020 dastehen?"
Bob Lutz:"Hervorragend. Früher glaubten viele Branchenexperten, GM, Toyota Chart zeigen und Honda Chart zeigen würden die Position der automobilen Nummer Eins unter sich ausmachen. Das hat sich geändert. GM, Volkswagen Chart zeigen und Hyundai sind jetzt die großen Drei. Toyota fällt dagegen ab. Die Japaner haben ihr kugelsicheres Qualitätsimage verloren, ihre Autos sind nicht besonders schön, nicht besonders reizvoll, und ihre Fahrdynamik reicht nicht an das Niveau der besten europäischen und amerikanischen Modelle heran.
GM dagegen hat sich technisch verbessert und die Ausgaben für Gehälter und Gesundheitskosten nach der Insolvenz deutlich gesenkt. Was den Einsatz gleicher Architekturen für mehrere Marken angeht, war GM schon immer absolut wettbewerbsfähig. Verlassen Sie sich auf eins: GM wird Volkswagen und Hyundai einen sehr harten Wettbewerb liefern."

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Bugatti Boss: Galibier Hyper-Saloon on Track but Design has Changed "Significantly"

It's been a long time since we last heard about the upcoming Bugatti Galibier – in April 2011, to be precise when it was reported that the luxurious sports saloon received the green light for production from the VW Group's management.
But while the project seems to be on course, the new head of Bugatti Automobiles, Wolfgang Duerheimer, told Autocar Magazine that the Galibier's design has been "significantly altered".
“I will suggest we continue development, but there will be some remarkable changes from the original concept,” Durheimer told the British publication.
“The design will be different, especially from the B-pillar back, the ingress and regress to the rear seats will be improved, as will the legroom and ergonomics, the car will be a little longer, and the power of the engine will be at least four figures.”
Duerheimer pointed out that the company made the changes after receiving input from Bugatti's customers.
“Half of Veyron owners have been in the car already,” he said. “You will still recognize the design from the concept, but now this is a design I can be 100% behind.”
The Galibier, which made its first public outing as a concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, makes use of a 16-cylinder engine that can run on biofuel as well as gasoline producing around 1,000 horsepower.
The luxurious sports saloon is estimated to cost around €1 million (US$1.34 million at the current exchange rates) when it arrives in the market in 2013 or 2014.

PHOTO GALLERY

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