DEBORAH AMOS, Host:
To find out more about one American carmaker at the show, we turn to Bob Lutz. He is vice chairman at GM, and he joins us from the auto show in Detroit. Mr. Lutz, thanks for taking time to be with us.
BOB LUTZ: Thanks for having me.
AMOS: When you first came to GM, what was the culture like, and since bankruptcy, how is it changed?
LUTZ: So a lot of good things happened. And I think what we've tried to do since Chapter 11 is redouble our focus on the product.
AMOS: I want to ask you about China. China's now the biggest auto market in the world.
LUTZ: Yeah, by quite a measure, yeah.
AMOS: So does that mean that Chinese tastes will eventually drive your designs?
LUTZ: So we all have to get used to the fact that the future of the global automobile business having the center of gravity is no longer going to be Europe or the United States; it's going to be China. And I think that to a certain extent China is helping drive our designs today in that the Buick Lacrosse, which is off to a very, very strong start both in the U.S. and in China, was kind of jointly designed to meet the needs of the consumer groups in both markets.
AMOS: I want to ask about your current CEO, Ed Whitaker. He's talked about an IPO, a public stock offering, by the end of the year. Why would an investor want to buy GM stock in nine months? The company's still struggling. Two CEOs have been fired in the last eight months. Is it time for an IPO?
AMOS: But I'll tell you, so far I think there's a great deal of investor confidence. And if and when we do the IPO, which, by the way, will not be before we have an impeccable story to tell, but when we have a great story to tell and we're ready with the IPO, I don't think there's going to be a shortage of investors.
AMOS: Thank you very much.
LUTZ: Thank you.
AMOS: Bob Lutz is vice chairman of General Motors.