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Automotive executives from the past…
Wouldn’t want to discuss the managerial prowess here - something that’s mostly exceedingly difficult to do from the outside (for ages Jack Welch was considered a prodigy) - but in terms of coolness the old days definitely had something to offer.
Picture from: The Truth About Cars
Pictured here is Bob Lutz, after crashing an Opel he test drove and waiting for the rescue effort to arrive. From a certain seniority level onwards a sense of unflappability becomes standard 😉
Any other specimen you can think of?
Picture from: The Truth About Cars
Bernd Pischetsrieder…
He managed to crash a rare McLaren F1 on a country road nr Munich. The accident, which involved the chairman, his wife, and a friend, caused slight injuries but resulted in a significant amount of damage to the car 😱
That looks like a tad more damage than the Opel suffered 😁
Cool picture and thanks for digging it up 👍🏻
The episode jogs the memory vaguely - didn’t seem to damage his career, though (these things never do). Even after in hindsight questionable Rover acquisition he went on to a career at VW. Not sure if there are pictures from there, too 😉🤷🏻♂️
The episode jogs the memory vaguely - didn’t seem to damage his career, though (these things never do). Even after in hindsight questionable Rover acquisition he went on to a career at VW. Not sure if there are pictures from there, too 😉🤷🏻♂️
Indeed 😊👍🏻
Classic Murray, driver in the central position and a passenger on each side, set back a bit 👍🏻
Indeed, here I am alone but you can see the seats
“My elbow would be in her lap” unless both my hands were on the wheel
I Admire Greatly the L'Avvocato
His Life is a Cautionary Tale for Me.
An Automotive Executive I also admire is Luca di Montezemolo
Source: www.thegentlemansjournal.com
Source: www.thegentlemansjournal.com
I beg to slightly differ on the latter…
Having had a handful of first hand experiences, he was anything but a gentleman 🤷🏻♂️
I know him as far as his public persona is concerned, we'll have a private chat when we meet
'Maximum Bob'....
is easily in my top 3 automotive executives of all time, his book Car Guys vs Bean Counters is likewise a favorite 🤘😃
Lloyd Reuss & his son Mark
True car-loving execs within General Motors.
“June 3, 2018, Reuss crashed the Corvette ZR1 pace car that he was driving in the first corner of the first pace lap at the 2018 Detroit Grand Prix, leading to a lengthy delay, and unwanted publicity … Reuss and passenger Mark Sandy were uninjured.
One year later, he got back in the Pace car for the 2019 Race 1 of the Grand Prix in hard rain & led the field without incident. He also debuted the new Cadillac V-series at the race in full camo. In 2020, he was the honorary pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500.
October 2024, Mark drove the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 to 233 mph, breaking the world record for the fastest production car under $1 million.
His dad Lloyd gave us the Buick T-Type Turbo in 1986-87 at that time fastest accelerating production car in the world.
“June 3, 2018, Reuss crashed the Corvette ZR1 pace car that he was driving in the first corner of the first pace lap at the 2018 Detroit Grand Prix, leading to a lengthy delay, and unwanted publicity … Reuss and passenger Mark Sandy were uninjured.
One year later, he got back in the Pace car for the 2019 Race 1 of the Grand Prix in hard rain & led the field without incident. He also debuted the new Cadillac V-series at the race in full camo. In 2020, he was the honorary pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500.
October 2024, Mark drove the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 to 233 mph, breaking the world record for the fastest production car under $1 million.
His dad Lloyd gave us the Buick T-Type Turbo in 1986-87 at that time fastest accelerating production car in the world.
I was hoping you would chime in 🤞🏻👍🏻
Thanks a lot for this - definitely deserving members that you added. The Buick alone was a great piece and doing the records oneself is of course cool 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Any others from your vast experience?
Any others from your vast experience?
My favorite is Bob Lutz who was already mentioned
I’ve seen him at many events; always with something interesting to say.
Next to him would be Carlos Ghosn
Formerly the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nissan, and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors.
Whatever the situation, he found a way to make things change and usually for the better.
Most notably escaping from house arrest in Japan by hiding inside a “box of stereo equipment”.
Some would say he’s a world-class financial wheeler-dealer, others say he’s a crook. Depends on your point of view, I guess. The stories are still unfolding.
Whatever the situation, he found a way to make things change and usually for the better.
Most notably escaping from house arrest in Japan by hiding inside a “box of stereo equipment”.
Some would say he’s a world-class financial wheeler-dealer, others say he’s a crook. Depends on your point of view, I guess. The stories are still unfolding.
Most certainly a complex character…
And as you say, the stories are still unfolding 😁
Remember the story from his early Nissan days. He had a translator who was parallel translating for him whenever he went. She seemed to take to the role with enthusiasm, to the point, where the story went that when you got screamed at by Ghosn, you got screamed at twice (by him and the translator) 🤣
Remember the story from his early Nissan days. He had a translator who was parallel translating for him whenever he went. She seemed to take to the role with enthusiasm, to the point, where the story went that when you got screamed at by Ghosn, you got screamed at twice (by him and the translator) 🤣
The Wikipedia article says he spoke 4 languages well and a smattering of others (but a translator is a useful ally at all times)
When I was doing business in China (Nineties) I would tell a joke to the translator in English, and if my contact laughed before the joke was translated I knew he’d have enough English that I had to be careful what I said...
Dealership service department
Kentucky Fried Chicken to go
Dealership service department
Kentucky Fried Chicken to go
Not many private cars back then. We had to hire cars with drivers as there were no car rental firms, road maps, insurance. How things have changed in 30 years!
How very cool 👌🏻🙌🏻
Things have changed dramatically indeed. As for the joke - I know well what you mean 😉