As it happens, Lutz doesn't have to have a slight case of techno-aversion disorder to leave stuff out of cars present and future. One of his prime directives was to take cost out of GM's vehicles, and he's been described by a GM insider as ''a vacuum cleaner going around sucking up nickels, dimes and quarters wherever he can ''
With GM's volumes, that loose change can quickly add up, and every bit helps the world's biggest car company get to the profitability and share price levels CEO Rick Wagoner has been aiming for.
The problem of cutting costs is particularly acute for GM, Ford and the North American arm of Germany's DaimlerChrysler, since the Japanese, European and Korean firms they compete against are currently enjoying some of the most favorable currency exchange rates in recent history.
This allows the foreign companies to include features as standard equipment that the US firms have to offer as options, while the foreign firms make much greater profits than before.
What all of this means is that cars from Chrysler, Ford and GM are likely to come with fewer built-in features and new technology than vehicles from European and Asian companies.