Nobody asked me but . . .

Bob Lutz showed up in LA recently for an impromptu breakfast with the Motor Press Guild, aka MPG.  Bob is always good for a few juicy quotes so I hustled up the 405 in typical OC-LA rush day traffic to grab an earful.

Bob didn’t disappoint.  He started with a comment about GM needing to make headway in the Smile States and then proceeded to elaborate on some recent successes in California:

• GM’s retail share of market in California for Q4 2009 was 9.3%, up 0.8 percentage points (PP) from Q4 ’08.
• Compact Crossover and large car sales were up 4.7 PP and 2.8 PP, respectively for the same period.
• In a recent design clinic of an upcoming new Cadillac versus its European and Asian competition, the clinic attendees liked the Cadillac more after they found out it was a Cadillac than when they didn’t know it was a Cadillac.  Lutz says this is the first time this has happened. (more…)