The Auto Writer

Well, it looks like Robert (Bob) Lutz will end his career on the same continent where he was born. That’s right, the Swiss-born Lutz will be overseeing Opel’s operations, as the interim chairman of the supervisory board. This decision comes just days after GM did an about face and decided to keep Opel (and Vauxhall) after nearly selling the automaker to Magna International and Sberbank.

Maddened Germans

German unions as well as politicians were angered by the GM reversal, believing that Opel’s best chance of survival could be found elsewhere. Though the proposed new owners were still planing to shut several factories and eliminate thousands of jobs, most had felt that their positions would stand a better chance of being preserved had GM been out of the picture.

Nick Reilly, who is GM’s international operations chief, will lead Opel/Vauxhall on a temporary basis until a new leader has been found. Reilly will be replacing Carl-Peter Foster who heads up GM’s European operation and begin the transition to find his replacement.

German Boss?

According to Bloomberg News, “There is a view in Germany that the problem with Opel is incompetent American management,” said Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario. “To dispel that, GM had better put a German in charge who has the confidence of the German government and the people.” The Germans have discovered what Americans have long known – GM is an administrative disaster.

Just hours before GM announced its reversal, Foster endorsed the sale of Opel to Magna and Sberbank, the latter Russia’s largest bank, holding more than 25% of that country’s banking assets. Foster believed that the Magna-Sberbank tie up would make it easier for Opel to gain access to the Russian market, a statement that likely cost him his job – talk about bad timing!

Fritz Speaks

So why the reversal on GM’s part? According to CEO Fritz Henderson a few things — “While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved. At the same time, GM’s overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured.”

We’ll see about that. Perhaps GM has come to the conclusion that without a strong European base, they won’t be much of a factor beyond China and North America. Yet, by flip-flopping with Opel, they’ve angered those who can provide the needed support to save the brand, people whose very livelihood is tied up in making Opel and Vauxhall work.

As for Lutz, it sounds like he’ll be the right buzz for the German hornet’s nest!