Bob Lutz says Chevy Volt should’ve been a truck

Bob Lutz knows a thing or two about the Chevy Volt. He was, after all, GM’s vice chairman in charge of product development during the Volt’s gestation process, widely credited with ushering it into production. But now he says it should have been a truck, not a sedan.

Speaking with The Seattle Times, Lutz said General Motors was playing catch-up with the Toyota Prius, suggesting that it may have followed the formula too closely with the Volt. Since small sedans already get some of the best fuel economy in the business, the benefits of developing one as a hybrid – even as a PHEV – were minimal. Trucks, on the other hand, get dismal fuel economy and have a comparatively large carbon footprint. So developing a truck with electric propulsion would have made a greater difference.

Lutz may have a point, but take a look at what he’s been up to since leaving GM and you’ll likely ask yourself if his opinions follow his activity (read: employment) or vice versa. These days Lutz sits on the board of VIA Motors, which makes – you guessed it – hybrid electric trucks. The rest of his time he spends converting Fisker Karma hybrid sedans to V8-powered sports cars, go figure.