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RIFFS FROM BECK AND LUTZ
JEFF BECK, rock guitarist of Yardbirds fame, and Bob Lutz, auto executive extraordinaire, have more in common than I might have thought. Both are elder statesmen: Beck, 72; Lutz, 84. And both are life-long car nuts, Jeff maintaining his collection of American-style hotrods, Bob with an automotive executive career that included BMW, Ford, Chrysler and GM.
And both made wonderfully provocative comments in Automotive News, August 29, 2016. Here are my favorite tidbits from each.
Bob Lutz. This and the following image from Automotive News, August 29, 2016.
Automotive News cited Bob Lutz’s comments from an interview with Car and Driver.
On the auto industry’s future.: “With autonomous cars, you’re gonna see more consolidation. Once we have transport modules, you order off the phone, and brands won’t matter anymore. When brands don’t matter, the auto industry ends. It’s got another 20 years.”
On Lincoln’s prospects. Lutz says, “In the time left for the automobile as we know it, it won’t be possible to make Lincoln a truly aspirational brand. The new Continental, while not as good as the concept, is a design language cribbed from Bentley. Which is fine, because if you’re gonna steal, rob from a bank and not a grocery store.”
Tesla viability? Bob observes, “As it is presently, no. As they say, ‘Socialism is great until they run out of other people’s money.’ Tesla burns cash. It’s not a car company, it’s a cult of fanatics who think Elon Musk can do no wrong.”
Don’t you wish Bob would just let us know how he really feels?
Jeff Beck.
Beck chatted with a USA Today reporter aboard his tour bus when the topic of cars came up.
On driverless cars. Jeff observes, “There’s driverless cars all over the place right now, with drivers in them. Really [autonomous cars are] the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
On driving. Jeff says, “I don’t understand taking away the general satisfaction of being in control, where the joy of driving is removed for some crikey circuitry…. Cruise control is bad enough. If you can’t pay attention for long, you should not be driving.”
Right on, Jeff! ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2016
Simanaitis Says 
Not sure about how you control the frequency, since I can’t even figure out how I subscribed. I get one almost daily, this is todays. >
Hello, Jim,
Actually I do one up when the spirit moves me to research a topic. This is often daily, but I make no guarantees.