I came across his name in this ad. Sounding familiar to the Fiero I looked him up.

The ad seems to involve him with Ford.

Then I read this Haggerty article.

quote Lutz zeroed in on the inexpensive two-seater that he had long wanted to create—first at GM Europe, then at BMW, Ford, and finally Chrysler. He strongly believed that an inexpensive Mazda Miata-fighter, done right, would bolster GM’s product image and could turn a profit.

He is my kind of guy in that he works where he wants to, when he wants to.

I also found this old PFF archived thread about him.

Yeah, the Solstice and Sky, and both brands no longer. A real shame.

Here is the truth on sports cars. They are not profit centers. The cheaper they are the less money they make.

They are cool and Halo cars but most live 5-10 years at best.

The Corvette, Miata and 911 are rarities in the market.

Look at all the cars that came and went RX7, RX8, 240,280,300Z models, MR2 came and went twice. 944, 924, X1/9 and many other all lived short lives.

The Fiero would not have made a second Gen. The Corvette was canceled in 1992 and only survived due to managers hiding the C5. Sound familiar.

The Miata lived due to large global sales but limited sales in America. They sell about 5k to 18 k per year here. But time is catching up as they had to share with Fiat. It could be tough for another Gen.

Corvette has gone to levels of models the base Stingray that carries volume but the Z cars that bring great profits. Few sports cars sell in corvette numbers.

The Fiero was over sold. Then when volumes went to where it was going to be and the killing if the GM 80 killed it. The Corvette guys were sweating the new car even then.

I would recommend all of Lutz books they are great. He is brutally honest. Also I would recommend All Corvettes are Red. It tells the development of the C5 and the story sounds much like the Fiero. Also many Fiero people were involved with the Corvette by then.

Ah yes, old Nuts Lutz. There was just an interview with him on Autoline Detroit:

quote Originally posted by MarkS: Yeah, the Solstice and Sky, and both brands no longer. A real shame.

A 2007 Sky Redline still lives at my house. I find myself driving my Fiero more often, but have no plans on selling either of them.

With all due respect for the Corvette owners, my license plates are Z 03 and XSML C8, just for fun.