GM Exec: “Global Warming is a Crock of S—”

General Motors’ Vice Chairman and Product Development Chief Bob Lutz recently let loose and said that he believes global warming is a “crock of s—.” That’s right, the person who is in charge of product development at GM - a company who is struggling to compete with Toyota for cleaner cars - essentially said that he does not believe that burning fossil fuels affects global warming.

Upon recognizing the fall-out of such a statement, you would expect Mr. Lutz to retract his statement, much like politicians do when they’ve made a mistake. Instead, Mr. Lutz came out and said:

“My thoughts on what has or hasn’t been the cause of climate change have nothing to do with the decisions I make to advance the cause of General Motors.”

That’s an interesting way to apologize, but I’m guessing that doesn’t make the shareholders any happier. Not only has Mr. Lutz completely disregarded the importance of moving to greener technologies, he has also shown that he doesn’t understand the market for which he designs products. I’m sure he’s telling the truth when he says that what he does is not affected by his personal beliefs, but I believe there are things he’s not doing because of them.

To further prove he was paving the way for greener automobiles, Mr. Lutz brings up the Chevy Volt, which is an all electric car still in development. The problem is that this design is not only several years away from going mainstream, its also that the design is simply not good. It takes 6-8 hours to charge and can only drive 40ish miles per charge. That’s the best you can do? Really? Maybe you should try designing a Toyota Prius-like hybrid, which are selling like hot-cakes, in the interim.

If I were a shareholder, I would be demanding that someone who has a vision for green technologies lead the product development. Mr. Lutz seems to be apathetic, and even bitter, towards the whole “green revolution.” I want to see General Motors do well. I want it to regain market share and, once again, flourish both in North America and around the globe. I do not see this happening until a visionary - one who actually believes in the fundamental reasons behind the market shift - is installed at GM, or until Mr. Lutz learns that in order to innovate, you must think outside the box and embrace change. At Freund Investing, one of the most important aspects we look for in a company is quality and integrity of management. GM, at this moment, is not doing so well.

If Mr. Lutz doesn’t change, which is more than likely, I’m sure he could find a new job at ExxonMobil. Maybe they’ll hire him for PR and lobbying against climate change policies.

Freund Investing Managing Member Ryan Freund holds no position in any of the companies mentioned in this article. Freund Investing has a solid Disclosure Policy.