1998
"CAR GUY OF THE YEAR" RECIPIENT:
Bob
Lutz
Special Digital Audio Version of The Car Guy
Show:
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW AND AWARD
ANNOUNCEMENT
REQUIRES REAL AUDIO
Real audio Player is available here
- Click on the button below:
In an industry surrounding cars, the 3rd annual "Car Guy of the
Year" award is about honoring an individual who has accomplished an outstanding
lifetime achievement or recent notable contribution to the world of wheels.
_______________________________________________________________________________
- AWARD CRITERIA AND COMMITTEE
EVALUATION POINTS FOR NAMING THE
CAR GUY OF THE YEAR
Proven knowledge of both the
auto industry AND an equal level of understanding about the technical aspects of
automobiles
Noteworthy recent or current
contribution to the automotive community
Active and visible
participation in the car enthusiast arena
Respect and admiration from
peers
A genuine passion for cars
________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA RELEASE FOLLOWS:
THIRD ANNUAL “CAR GUY OF THE YEAR” AWARD GOES TO BOB LUTZ
- Award Committee Joins Salute via
Detroit Radio Show for Announcement
-
- DETROIT,
Mich. – International automotive industry icon and celebrated veteran car enthusiast
Bob Lutz has been named The Car Guy’s “Car Guy of the Year” for 1998 by a
select group of automotive industry members and was presented with the award on the
December 23, 1998 broadcast of the Detroit radio program The Car Guy™ Show. The
live radio announcement of the honorary “Car Guy of the Year” award was
presented to Lutz on The Car Guy Show by members of the 1998 award committee who visited
Lutz as surprise guests on the program while Lutz was being interviewed about his new book
“GUTS: The Seven Laws of Business That Made Chrysler the World’s Hottest Car
Company.”
- "Car Guy of the Year"
-
In an industry that often focuses its attention on the financial and otherwise “cold-
metal” aspects of vehicles, The Car Guy’s “Car Guy of the Year” award
honors a person who has both a genuine affinity for automobiles and has accomplished a
lifetime of outstanding achievements or made significant contributions to the world of
wheels.
-
“This is the third year that I have had the privilege of working with a select group
of automotive industry representatives to spotlight an accomplished and respected member
of the automotive community,” said host Steve Ford. “The Car Guy of the Year
award is an annual salute to a legendary role model, such as Bob Lutz.
-
-
Ford noted that in addition to Lutz having attained the level of president and vice
chairman of Chrysler Corporation, he earned respect and admiration throughout the
automotive community, and easily gained the highest overall score for this year’s
award.
-
-
Previous year’s winners include Dick Guldstrand, international race car driver and
president of Guldstrand Engineering (1997), and Bob Sinclair, automotive business
consultant and former president of Saab Cars USA (1996).
- Award Committee
-
For the 1998 “Car Guy of the Year” salute, first joining Ford for the live
broadcast of The Car Guy Show to present the award to Lutz was veteran auto racing and
industry pioneer Andy Granatelli, who congratulated Lutz as Granatelli and Ford ushered
additional members of the award committee onto the program (alphabetically): Bob Bondurant
(president and founder of the Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving); Vic Edelbrock
(president of Edelbrock Corporation); Dick Guldstrand; Chuck Jordan (automotive journalist
& former vice president of design for General Motors); Roy Miller (automotive
historian/Concours d’ Elegance chief judge); and Heinz Prechter (chairman and founder
of ASC, Inc.). Award committee members who were unable to join the live broadcast were Bob
Sinclair and David Solomon (national automotive service technician trainer & editor of
Nutz & Boltz).
Bob Lutz Career Highlights
- Widely recognized as
one of the most colorful and successful business leaders of his generation, Robert A. Lutz
has held key management positions in four of the world’s top car companies. After
serving earlier career tenures with General Motors, BMW and Ford Motor Company, Lutz
recently retired as vice chairman of Chrysler Corporation, where he was the driving force
behind the company’s second renaissance.
- At Chrysler
Corporation he inspired a large family of hit products, including the immensely successful
brand-image-building Dodge Viper. He was appointed president and chief operating officer
of Chrysler in 1991, and vice chairman in 1996. Lutz shares his convention-breaking laws
for business success, and the story behind Chrysler’s impressive comeback, in his
first book, “GUTS,” is available at leading bookstores nationwide.
-
The Car Guy Show
- The Car Guy Show is a
regular weekly consumer and enthusiast talk show hosted by Steve Ford and broadcast
from the "Motor City" Detroit, Mich., and WebCast nationally and globally via
the Internet.
# #
# #
CLICK HERE TO
LEARN ABOUT THE CAR GUY OF THE YEAR FOR 1997