General Motors Pursues An Elusive Goal: Profitable Small Cars

According to Alison Fitzgerald and Jeff Green / Bloomberg News, Bob Lutz, General Motors Corp.'s vice chairman for product development, says that a small car can make money and points to one he helped create at an earlier job: DaimlerChrysler AG's PT Cruiser. "The PT Cruiser proves that if you do a small car right you can produce an American car that people will want all over the world," said Lutz, who was among the car's biggest supporters while vice chairman at the former Chrysler Corp. The Pontiac Vibe, which went on sale last month, is the second of at least seven new models starting at less than $20,000 that General Motors is counting on to lure first-time buyers, regain market share, and stem losses on small cars and trucks. The largest automaker's share of small-vehicle sales fell to 21 percent last year from 30 percent in 1995.