General Motors Corp., bleeding money and the subject of bankruptcy speculation a year ago, needed a dramatic change.
So Vice Chairman Bob Lutz gathered a group of top GM executives and challenged them to create a plug-in electric vehicle -- in less than a year -- that would help catapult the venerable automaker back into a position of technological leadership.
The push to create the car exemplified the urgent, high-stakes decisions being made at GM during one of the most crucial years in the company's history. Last January, GM stock was near a 24-year low. Industry watchers said Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner's job was on the line.
"How do we get people to take us seriously again?" Lutz asked at the meeting shortly after Detroit's 2006 North American International Auto Show.
"We've got to shock people if we want to change perceptions about GM," Lutz told the group, according to people who were there.
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