In a closed-door meeting with journalists in January, the Vice Chairman of General Motors, Bob Lutz, made some comments that would turn Al Gore from green to red. As cited in FrontBurner, he claimed:
“Global warming is a “total crock of sh*t.” “I’m a skeptic, not a denier. Having said that, my opinion doesn’t matter.” “[With the battery-driven Volt], I’m motivated more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2 (argument).”
Lutz, a powerful figure in the auto industry, naturally suffered some serious backlash. In an attempt at damage control, he posted a statement on GM’s blog last week:
“What [people] should be doing, in earnest, is forming opinions not about me but about GM, and what this company is doing that is — and will continue to be — hugely beneficial to the very causes they so enthusiastically claim to support.
General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period….GM is working on just that – and we’re going to keep working on it — via E85, hybrids, hydrogen and fuel cells, and the electrification of the automobile.”
Too bad companies are just big groups of people, run by smaller groups of people, one of which is Lutz. If he expresses this opinion–one apparently so antithetical to his company’s–what message does that send? What good is a brand with a conscience if it’s employees lack one? However, if GM is truly forging ahead with hybrids (which Lutz says “make no economical sense”) it seems to be listening more to the public than its vice chairmen. Thank goodness for crowdsourcing.
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There is a growing demand for environmentally friendly cars, He sees this and wants to meet that demand. This is driven by money, welcome to America, that’s the way it works, capitalism at its best!
Holy crap the man has his own opinion, how dare he! Democrats unite to strike down this individulistic thinking! We must all think and act alike without questioning, long live communism!
Please companies stand to make more from this global warming scam, than they do if they say that it is in fact a scam. The funny thing is that you prove my theory every day with all the blogs about the best companies to buy from that have gone “green”!
NBC and their “green” week, the unveiling of the Rockafeller Tree with the news anchor saying “I wonder who makes these fantastic LED enviro safe lights!?” Well he damn well knew it was GE that makes them, the parent company of none other than NBC, whoa no kidding.
It’s no wonder that Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” has to be shown with a disclaimer in Europe stating that not all facts are true…
By the way, I may not believe in global warming, but I do believe in protecting the environment (I’m all for cleaner technology as long as it is not madatorally shoved down my throat!) as most of us skeptics are….don’t sit on a high throne and preach to me unless you are somehow not effecting the environment at all.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
“General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period”
Well then maybe GM can go back in time and not buy (with the intention of shutting down) the last company to make trolley cars so Milwaukee Wisconsin, St Paul and Minneapolis Minnesota, upstate New York and Connecticut (and many others) could still have any semblance of a decent public transportation system.
The ought to be forced to provide interest free loans in every city that they robbed of light rail so that the citizens might once again get around with efficiency and ease.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
dear chris,
You dont believe in global warming? dont preach to you?
… read a different blog. also we do not effect the environment, the environment getting warmer effects us. we affect the environment by morons that don’t believe in global warming buying hummers.
What are you doing surfing the ‘net on GM’s time anyways, get back to work, dont you have baby seals to club?
February 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
the statement “global warming is a crock of shit” is a reflection of someone whos misinformed. its been good to see people in the last few years start to analyze the way their daily activities and consumption choices affect their environment. we dont need to celebrate backwards thinking perpetrated by figures like Bob Lutz. It’s completely counterproductive. So, Chris, I dont think this type of sentiment deserves to be celebrated for its so called individualism.
I respect someone who says “I need more evidence” in regards to the global warming debate (if the findings of the Intercontinental Panel on Climate Change consisting of 1200 scientists in all 7 continents doesnt convince you). However, saying “global warming is a crock of shit” is disturbingly ignorant.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:06 am
baby-son, I completely agree that thinking global warming is not happening at all is “backwards thinking” but to be a skeptic of the causes is not something that I should be getting bashed for like Mr. Sanger has done. As I stated, I do believe in protecting the environment and not allowing it to get deforrested or trashed to all hell, but the causes of the “warming” are up for debate.
Sanger, no offense but your arguments are typical of most, and I would underline most if I could on here, liberals who fight people who oppose the “general debate on global warming”, if all else fails, attack a person’s character. That was real mature of you.
When I said “don’t preach to me” it was a general statement not aimed at the writer but for all people who attack those personally who are not convinced of global warming. As for being on GM’s time, I had to read that statement a few times to make sure that your conclusion was in fact that I work for GM, well actually I work in marketing. Marketing for programs that help children learn financial literacy, holy crap I actually do something good in the world, go figure! That is why I visit marketing websites like this (I like this site a lot for other marketing blogs that they write, sue me if I don’t agree with a few) Once again this leads to your undeserving attack on my personal character without even knowing who I am, that says more about you than my statement on global warming says about me.
My main doubts come from the fact that within the last 100 years we have had two global warming scares and two global cooling scares, varying back and forth. The last global cooling scare was back in the 70s’ followed by this global warming. If the argument is that we did not have the technology back then that we do today, couldn’t that excuse be used the next time when we have a global cooling, or the global warming after that!?
The fact alone that the CO2 level has been rising for the last 18,000 years steadily with the industrial revolution happening only 228 years ago also has me a little confused. AND I would really like to know how we have been in ice ages a couple times and have come out of those, how did the Earth warm up back then?
So yes, I think we are going through a global warming, which I believe, which I am entitled to my beliefs, that we will hit a point at which time we will head toward another ice age and then come out of that in a global warming again and so on and so on. I think it is basically a cycle that the Earth goes through based on the position of the Earth in the solar system and it’s position to the Sun during those times leading to a cycle of gas (including CO2) increases and decreases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Then again I probably don’t know anything because I am sure that you are a scientist Sanger with irrefutable evidence that I cannot counter.
By the way, I don’t “celebrate” backwards thinking, but I do celebrate an individuals effort to research as much as possible both sides of arguments and come to rational conclusions instead of blindly following the most popular opinion. Hell, either I am right or wrong, I have my own opinion, I won’t say that you are DEF wrong though because not one person knows enough to say. So keep your personal attacks to yourself and instead take the time to look into those little things that supposid “skeptics” say and ask yourself “why?” and see if Al Gore or his scientist can answer those questions yet.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am
An impressively long winded response for a little jab.
Wait and see what happens when the oceans cant hold any more c02, ’till then, keep driving!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
The facts are boring sometimes, but you should take a look at them…..
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
aEIQVv U cool ))
March 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
A fundamental change in our driving habits is now required.
The Automobile Industry is going to be in the same position as the Airline Industry in the next few months. Unless we get away from gas combustion vehicles, including Hybrids, the automobile industry (as we know it) will die.We need to make drastic moves. America needs to move to ELECTRIC. The vehicles are not as fast, not always as fun to drive, but the move will save Americans money (Billions) and help bring change to our automotive companies. Let’s “Be Green”!!!!!!!!!!!! BG Automotive Group Ltd. has a car that will travel 80-100 miles per charge for $15,995. Finally a car that most Americans can afford. Did you know that 80% of all drivers, drive less than 50 miles per day? This new car will cost an equivalent of $0.20-0.25 cents/gallon (depending on electricity rates in your area). Why send $700 Billion per year to OPEC (now buying up U.S. companies) when we can use this money for our schools, health care, social security for all Americans, etc, etc, etc. We can make the difference if WE change.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
GOAL: No CO2 emmissions.
A fundamental change in our driving habits is now required.
The Automobile Industry is going to be in the same position as the Airline Industry in the next few months. Unless we get away from gas combustion vehicles, including Hybrids, the automobile industry (as we know it) will die.We need to make drastic moves. America needs to move to ELECTRIC. The vehicles are not as fast, not always as fun to drive, but the move will save Americans money (Billions) and help bring change to our automotive companies. Let’s “Be Green”!!!!!!!!!!!! BG Automotive Group Ltd. has a car that will travel 80-100 miles per charge for $15,995. Finally a car that most Americans can afford. Did you know that 80% of all drivers, drive less than 50 miles per day? This new car will cost an equivalent of $0.20-0.25 cents/gallon (depending on electricity rates in your area). Why send $700 Billion per year to OPEC (now buying up U.S. companies) when we can use this money for our schools, health care, social security for all Americans, etc, etc, etc. We can make the difference if WE change.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I think peoplelike that are just hypocrites,if global warming doesn’t exist, then how come people everywhere are passing new laws stating that we need new restrictions against Co2 levels and etc. That and he needs to abide by these laws, but then he says he doesn’t believe in the reasons he’s doing it? That’s hypocrytical for one, and for two, I think he’s full of it. All he has to do is look past how much money he’s losing to actually care about the others on this earth, and their children, or their generations,what about the “cute little animals” too? Polar bears, starving to death, plants with possible cures for diseases slumbering inside of them, dying with drought. I think that that’s more important then buying a new airplane, or a personal jet, or something stupid like that. I need a car that’s good for the enviroment and with our economy, I’d rather buy in this nation to help stabalize our economy, but with statments as blantant as that, he should be worried about losing customers, and less about his ego or money.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
It is nice global warming blog that explains true facts.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:25 am