The video above is an interview with the emanently quotable GM vice Chairman Bob Lutz on GM's move towards making greener cars and CAFE standards at the 2007 LA Auto Show. Bob says the reasoning for making more fuel efficient cars is really a global one because there are places around the world with $9-a-gallon gas. Bob continues by saying they will continue to make "both" anyways (i.e make green green cars and fuel wasting sports cars and SUVs).

In the interview, Bob was specifically asked about Hillary Clinton's CAFE standard which is the mpg plan by a presidential contender that calls for the largest increase in the shortest amount of time. Bob says the candidates are on a "mad race" to outdo each other by coming up with ever larger CAFE standards. Bob then makes an apparent direct slam at Clinton's plan to give them money to "retool" their plants and repeated his apparent new reasoning that CAFE means larger cars. Here is exactly what he said:

The politicians now seem to be in a mad race to who can come out with the larger number. Nobody seems to be concerned with technological feasibility or what it's going to take in terms of technology and cost to reach these numbers. Because anybody who thinks we can just sort of retool the factory to produce 35 MPG cars obviously does not understand the situation.

Bob could have meant another candidate reference to retooling plants but I don't recall another candidate or policy asking for retooling. Anyway, just the way says "retool" makes me think Hillary's energy plan was not read happily in GM offices. Bob Lutz wittiest quote, from the many great one in this short interview, was probably that "a lot of the CAFE discussion is well intentioned, maybe, but misguided." You, sir, are a poet.

Maybe.

[Source: Wall Street Journal video]