Bob Lutz Receives WAPA Golden Gear Award

FOR RELEASE: February 6, 2002

Bob Lutz Receives WAPA Golden Gear Award

Washington, D.C. - The Washington Automotive Press Association has presented its prestigious Golden Gear award to Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman, GM Product Development, and chairman, GM North America for "outstanding contributions to the auto industry."

The press association's 15th Golden Gear award was presented to Lutz for a lifetime of contributions to the auto industry that included his work for the Chrysler Corporation and for helping to turn General Motors around over the past few months.

"Just since August, Bob Lutz has torn down barriers, cut red tape, and brought excitement to GM," said WAPA president Mitch McCullough. "But perhaps the greatest contribution Lutz has already made at GM is energizing the people there. Bob Lutz has helped give the people at GM a clear path. He's helped rally them toward more exciting goals. In short, he has given these people hope. We can think of no one more deserving of our highest award than Bob Lutz."

Lutz said he owes his success to a willingness to take risks.

"Achievement is largely a result of taking risk, of not compromising your beliefs," Lutz said. "In this business, taking no risk is to accept the certainty of long-term failure. My mandate from Rick Wagoner (president and chief executive officer of General Motors) is to challenge the company to be more creative, to take more risks, and to question the status quo."

Lutz said GM was already a changed company by the time he arrived in August.

"The bureaucratic GM is dead," Lutz said. "Thanks to the work of Rick Wagoner and Jack Smith (chairman of the Board of Directors of General Motors Corporation), the change in GM was underway before I showed up. It really is a faster, more nimble GM. The culture has truly changed."

Lutz indicated a lot of brilliant people are working at GM and that he is focusing on fixing the system to enable the company's best employees to present their best ideas.

Based at the National Press Building in Washington, the Washington Automotive Press Association was formed in 1985 to encourage professionalism among journalists and is composed of 300 members.