Lutz out, new Prius-fighting hybrids in?

Time to take on the Prius

I’ve met GM’s Bob Lutz a number of times, and I’ve largely been in awe of the guy every time, even though I’ve never really agreed with him on hardly any issue. Consequently, I’m glad that Mr. Lutz is retiring.

It’s not that Lutz didn’t do a lot of great things for GM, he did. Still, is hatred of the Toyota Prius – envy deep down inside I bet – was a constant topic around Lutz for many years, and Lutz’s views cast a huge shadow upon GM.

Some time back, before Michael Jordan retired the second time, but before the third retirement, Coach Pat Riley stated that no one would dethrone the Chicago Bulls until Jordan left the game.

In my over-exagerated opinion, Lutz was GM’s Michael Jordan, and he would have never allowed GM to produce a hybrid to directly take on the Prius. Such a vehicle, unfortunately, would confirm that GM was wrong regarding the Prius and hybrid cars oh so many years ago.

Instead, Lutz was always focused on beating the Prius, proving the whole “science experiment”, as Lutz often called the Prius, wrong. That Lutzian desire led to the ‘cheaper’ BAS hybrid, the ‘more technologically advanced’ dual mode hybrid, and finally to the Chevy Volt.

Yet, as GM has sold thousands of hybrids over that time, Toyota has sold millions.

Just as disappointing, the truth is, the Volt is not going to challenge the Prius either. OK. Maybe the Volt will challenge the plug-in Prius version of the Prius, but that’s it, as both plug-in hybrids are destined to remain low volume vehicles for years, maybe even a decade. Ironically, however, according to the experts, GM might have again missed the mark by putting too big of a battery pack in the Volt to ever be cost-effective without a major breakthrough in lithium battery technologies.

By no means does that mean the Volt was a mistake. It simply means it’s not enough, especially in the short term. For the next 10 – 20 years, conventional hybrid vehicles like Prius are going to far outsell plug-ins like the Chevy Volt, and GM needs a more well-rounded hybrid portfolio until the Volt achieves its potential.

Of course, in no way does Lutz’s retirement mean new Prius-fighting hybrids are coming from GM, but at least it seems like a legitimate chance now, especially considering the never-ending shakeup taking place at GM.