Car Guys vs. Bean Counters by Bob Lutz

I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about Bob Lutz, who was part of GM’s senior leadership team for the past decade. I wanted to know more, which led me to purchasing his book. I have to say after struggling to finish the book, Bob Lutz is not an author. The grammar and flow is off. There are tangents thrown in and his stories tend to lose focus. On top of that, there are a few typos and many more grammatically incorrect sentences. Frankly, he should not write books.

I don’t mean to bash Bob Lutz as a leader. In fact, some of the changes he implemented drastically changed GM, possibly even saving them for good. He shares his daily battles with changing the mindset of GM. The company had become full of people who only care about the bottom line and statistical ratings, known as “bean counters”. Bob Lutz is the hero of the story who comes in to save GM from these “bean counters” and return GM to the glory days when the “car guys” ran things, the people who simply wanted to make great cars.

I must say I find it discrediting for a person to write a book where they themselves are the hero and they can do nothing wrong. There is much more credibility when someone else writes about some magnificent achievement. I also think much of the story is biased. He constantly rags on the media, competitors, and the government. He hardly admits any mistakes of his own. When something's bad, it's "they" or "those people". When something's good, it's "me" or "my" or "I". 

 

My final opinion is that speaking from a book critique perspective, this is a bad book. The last few chapters do provide some solid insight into why U.S. companies are struggling and what their focus needs to be going forward. And some of the stories and lessons are great to read. I feel a book is not the most effective way to convey the message. I'd prefer more articles like the one in the Wall Street Journal. 

My rating for Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: 1 star out of 5. Get it here!