GM vice chairman in Flint Tuesday

MUNDY TOWNSHIP (WJRT) -- (01/29/08)--General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is taking on the government over its continued push to set fuel economy standards, saying it will hurt the economy rather than help it.

Lutz made that prediction during an appearance in the Flint area Tuesday night.

The 75-year-old GM vice president -- known to many as the auto product guru -- actually was in town as the keynote speaker of the Hundred Club of Flint.

It's a group that raises money for the sole purpose of helping police and firefighters and their widows and children in need.

As GM's No. 2 man made his way through the Genesee County crowd, there were hopes he would have news of auto projects on the horizon for local plants.

"Let's put it this way: I don't know, and if I did, I couldn't tell you," he said.

What he was ready to tell the audience was word of his prediction of a boomerang effect if the government continues to push for CAFE standards of 35 miles a gallon on all vehicles by 2020.

"Unfortunately, with this 35-mile-per-gallon legislation, a lot of the big cars and trucks that Americans know and love are going to go to that big car lot in the sky, which of course many people want to see happen," Lutz said.

"We have no way of reaching the mandated fuel economy on full-size pickup trucks and sport utilities."

According to Lutz's scenario, as we get closer to 2020, people will opt to keep their old larger vehicles instead of buying new, smaller ones.

"And they'll hang around forever, which is exactly contrary to the desired effect," Lutz said. "And this is why we said CAFE legislation has never worked and it won't work this time in terms of reducing fuel usage."

While continuing to fight enforced fuel economy standards, Lutz says GM is moving ahead with what it claims are industry leaders in cutting foreign oil production, including their partnering with a non-food-producing ethanol plant.

In addition, the company says it's moving forward with the 100-mile-per-gallon electric Volt, which Lutz says will be out in late 2010.

It will be perhaps a little costlier than first anticipated, but will be out, Lutz says, despite the naysayers.

"We're going to prove the skeptics wrong," he said. "I hope to drive the 40 miles electrically by March or April and by June we'll have running prototypes for the press."

By the way, anyone interested in more information about the Hundred Club of Flint , you can find details by sending an e-mail to lpeterman@centurytel.net.

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local, cathy shafran

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