BOB LUTZ TALKS ABOUT BUICK AND PONTIAC!

April 1, 2005

BY ALAN OHNSMAN and JEFF GREEN
BLOOMBERG

General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, doesn't plan to kill
any of its brands, vice chairman Robert Lutz said Thursday, retreating from
an earlier statement that the company would consider a phase-out of some
lines.

"We are not discussing the elimination of any brands," Lutz said in a
speech at the South Denver Chamber of Commerce.

"We love all of our children equally. Nobody gets pushed out of the house."

Lutz, who called the company's Pontiac and Buick brands "damaged" at an
investor conference in New York last week, said Thursday he was "giving an
honest answer to a very pointed and hypothetical question."

On Wednesday, Lutz blasted media coverage of his remarks in an entry on
Fastlane, a blog written by GM executives. "I blame myself, because I
should know better," Lutz wrote.

"It's always dangerous to field a speculative question, especially in an
environment in which we're increasingly under the media microscope."

Pontiac and Buick, he wrote, "will be around for a long time, refreshed
every year with strong new products.

"Just look at the G6, the Torrent, LaCrosse and Lucerne. Look no further
than Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet, and soon, Saturn, to see what our brand
commitment is all about.

"Remember, a lot of people said Cadillac was dead, and look at it now,"
Lutz said.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has said sales will improve as models such
as its Pontiac G6 and Buick LaCrosse sedans become more popular and its
Chevy HHR sport-utility vehicle is added to the lineup later this year.