http://www.aaca.org/autohistory/21.htmlRobert Stemple, a real car guy paid the price for the mess he inherited as CEO, I remember those dark days very well. There was talk of GM closing up shop, dropping the Corvette, etc.
Whether you like H. Ross Perot or not he knew GM was going in the wrong direction and in big trouble at the time, the ignorant GM brass paid a fortune to buy him out and silence him.
Those Lincoln commercials were a real killer for a GM guy like me, all my GM buddies hated Roger B.
Bruce Reynolds, here is some Roger B. Smith history for you, I assume you have heard of Michael Moore by now, LOL.
Porter
Thanks for that Porter.
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
Porter, I remember that commercial very well. In fact, I bought a 1984 Lincoln Town Car because of that point of view. OK, so it was an electrical nightmare (just check out Consumer Reports....one of the few cars of that year with half or all whole black dots). But it was a good looking and nice riding car. Not top of the line but a nice roomy car, silver with red leather interior.
But after replacing way too many electrical sensors and components, I traded it in on a new 1990 Maxima GXE ; one of the best cars I have ever owned. Sigh.
For some reason I websearched: Bob Stemple/GM, etc.
Check out the home page for some fascinating reading.
http://www.aaca.org/autohistory/Good old Roger B. is enjoying his golden parachute and alive and well as far as I know, he laughed all the way to the bank.
There is much more discussion to be had on this topic, specifically letting non car guys run the show, maybe Bob Lutz can "right the ship" if it is not too late, time will tell.
Enjoy,
Porter
A Detroit News article about two weeks ago indicated that Roger lives in the West Palm Beach area of Florida. Years ago I recall reading in the Detroit News that his pension was doubled about the time he retired or shortly thereafter. There was such an uproar that he gave some of it back (reportedly $200, 000 a year out of his $2,000,000 annual pension). I cant verify the accuracy of the information. Ross Perot was correct. Its too bad GM management was so shortsighted that they bought him out to shut him up.