Putting design in the driver's seat

General Motors has dramatically shifted its product development focus from one led by engineering and manufacturing to one led by design and styling.

Since rejoining General Motors as Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, Bob Lutz has been a disruptive force in his company's vehicle development process.

And the disruption is widely considered positive, according to GM engineers who recognize how critical fresh, competitive products are to the automaker's future. Before Lutz was recruited in 2001, GM was using what he described as an “overly analytical, risk-averse, engineering- centric” product development process that had been around in various forms since the late 1970s.