[Law]

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According to Road & Track, which ultimately sourced Automotive News, BMW almost did away with the signature kidney grilles on the E21 3 Series.

In a special interview with Automotive News for BMW's Centenary, a BMW spokesperson revealed the story of how Bob Lutz, a BMW board member in the '70s, not only prevented the omission of the kidney grille on the first-generation 3 Series, but also helped coin "the Ultimate Driving Machine" tag line.

BMW Almost Killed the Kidney Grille With the First 3 Series
Thankfully, Bob Lutz was around to save the day.
By Chris Perkins
Source: Road & Track

Besides its blue and white roundel, the twin kidney grilles are the most iconic element of a BMW. With very few exceptions, every BMW has worn the kidney grille, but apparently, that almost wasn't the case in the 1970s. Automotive industry veteran Bob Lutz said that BMW almost did away with the kidney grille for the E21 3 Series, in a revealing interview with Automotive News.

According to Lutz, BMW wanted to replace the kidneys "with an open grille like any American car with horizontal bars." Lutz, who served as an executive vice president of sales at BMW from 1971-1974, said that the 3 Series was such a design disaster, he convinced the company to start from square one again.

"When I got there, my guy said, 'We hope you get to styling and see the model for the replacement of the 2002. It is so bad that we would rather keep the current one,'" Lutz told Automotive News. "I looked, and it was awful. I got the company to cancel it and to start over. It was the first 3 series."

Lutz tells a tale of incompetence at BMW during his tenure. The company apparently wanted "The Joy of Driving" to be its U.S. slogan, but Lutz claims to have pushed it to adopt "The Ultimate Driving Machine," a slogan that stands to this day.

"[The Joy of Driving] does not do for us what we want to convey about a technologically superior car, " Lutz said. "'Machine' rather than 'car' conveys a sense of substance under style and solid engineering."

Lutz–a Road & Track contributor himself–is one of the most interesting personalities in the automotive industry, so the whole Automotive News interview is a must read.

Lutz helped create 'Driving Machine' tag line
By Diana T. Kurylko
Source: Automotive News
Editor’s note: This story is part of a special section in the March 7 edition of Automotive News marking the 100th anniversary of BMW AG.

When automotive legend Bob Lutz joined BMW in 1971, the company built 200,000 cars and 20,000 motorcycles annually.

"By world standards, we were tiny," Lutz recalled.

But Lutz, a board member in the early '70s, played a significant role in raising BMW's profile. In particular, he is credited with helping create company-owned sales arms in Europe. As head of global sales and marketing, Lutz was also instrumental in BMW taking over distribution in the United States.

Lutz says setting up the sales companies wasn't easy. In fact, he sites his biggest achievement as: "Ridding BMW of the parasitic European national importers."

"It took enormous energy and battling against opponents both inside and outside the company," he said.

A BMW spokesman credited Lutz with many achievements, including modernizing BMW's design practices. And legendary CEO Eberhard von Kuenheim noted that in the critical fight to gain control of foreign sales from distributors, "I had very good help from a man named Bob Lutz. That was one of the secrets."

In the United States, Lutz had to deal with Max Hoffman, an Austrian immigrant who began importing BMWs and many other major European brands in the 1950s.

"Heaven forbid'
Lutz describes some eyebrow-raising tactics Maxie -- as he calls him -- Hoffman used when approached about giving up the BMW contract: "He wanted to point out that some of BMW's best customers were important Italian families who favored big sedans, and if something happened to me -- heaven forbid."

It didn't faze Lutz, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot who moved on to executive positions in the United States at Ford Motor Co., the former Chrysler Corp. and General Motors, where he was vice chairman before retiring in 2010.

In the end, Hoffman relinquished the import business after a court fight with BMW. "It took a lot of money, but we finally got rid of him," said Lutz.

While dealing with Hoffman, BMW also was setting up a U.S. headquarters in Montvale, N.J. Lutz also had a hand in tailoring a new advertising tag line for BMW in the United States, which the brand still uses: "The Ultimate Driving Machine."

Germany was using the tag line "Aus Freude Am Fahren" and wanted the literal translation of "The Joy of Driving."

Lutz said he nixed the idea, arguing "it does not do for us what we want to convey about a technologically superior car. "Machine' rather than "car' conveys a sense of substance under style and solid engineering."

When BMW, on the advice of U.S. consultants, wanted to remove the black ring around its now iconic logo, Lutz said he again argued against it.

The early BMWs in the '60s and '70s were designed by Bertone, the Italian automotive design house. "Then BMW and Bertone would do the body engineering together, but the basic design was Italian," Lutz said.

BMW decided to design the successor to the 2002 -- the first 3 series -- in-house. "They had one designer, and he reported to body engineering, and they adopted solutions that were easiest to engineer," Lutz said.

"When I got there, my guy said, "We hope you get to styling and see the model for the replacement of the 2002. It is so bad that we would rather keep the current one,'" Lutz said.

"I looked, and it was awful. I got the company to cancel it and to start over. It was the first 3 series."

The first 3 series copied elements from GM. "The protruding nostrils were a GM design theme at the time, with the center of the grille standing forward from the rest of the grille," Lutz said.

And BMW wanted to remove the kidneys -- a now iconic part of its face -- and replace them "with an open grille like any American car with horizontal bars," Lutz said.

"The fact that a person like me had to prevent them from doing things like that tells you about the competence of senior management."


In search of clay
The company was using wood and plaster to develop future vehicles, which took months, while GM and Ford were using clay, which is easier and faster, Lutz said. But there was only one supplier of the needed clay in Europe, and GM and Ford had bought up the entire supply, he said.

Lutz said he turned to his former colleagues at Opel in Germany, who said they had "a ton of it," and they sent not only the clay but some of their employees who knew how to trowel it.

"The first phase of BMW design -- they learned how to make clay models courtesy of GM."

Lutz said he also revamped the motorcycle strategy, which resulted in "the creation of the famed R 90 S, a hugely successful and profitable bike that got the finance people to believe in bikes again."

Under Lutz's guidance, BMW also canned its "crazy, illogical naming mishmash" and created its 3-5-7 naming strategy, he said.

Lutz, who moved on to Ford when it became clear he would not be promoted to chairman, noted, "That's about as much as I could get done in not quite three years."


"A driver's car'
As BMW moves into its second century of building cars, Lutz praises the brand for staying true: "They do build excellent cars -- no question about it. They have very carefully nurtured their brand. They never strayed off the course of being a driver's car.

"They have up to now been very true to their ethic and never tried to please everyone."

But Lutz worries that BMW is "now a big corporation making millions of cars, and they ... have a whole bunch of product planners and product segment analysts and product specialists and so forth."

"In the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, it was product-driven building of an impenetrable image of excellence. They have managed the acquired reputation."

Lutz said he fears BMW is "not building on it."

"But," he added, "they are doing a good job managing it, because I have not heard anyone say they are displeased with their BMW."

[Jcbama85]

Didn't know that about Bob Lutz. Very cool!

[Three Pedal Steve]

In this month's R & T magazine, Bob Lutz devotes his column to the coming age of autonomous cars. Visionary reading.

In 1995 under Lutz's leadership the Chrysler Corporation was a growing power to be reckoned with. Ford and GM had ivory towers and armies of engineers. The Chrysler guys were working in temporary rented building. They were writing the book on rapid product development- very streamlined. I was impressed as a supplier who sold to all the big three. Two years later, Daimler came along and bought the company and then threw Lutz out. That brilliant decision cost Daimler about 25 billion dollars.

[E92 M Sport]

Never knew that Lutz worked for BMW. Another cool story about him. Legendary for sure.

[X3paul]

Impressive. There should be some guys like him the board these days instead of all the $$$ driven there today

[IS3andME]

Originally Posted by Jcbama85

Didn't know that about Bob Lutz. Very cool!

He's also resposible for the e24 6 series, IIRC. And he was responsible for the RWD resurgence at GM and Cadillac. He was especially proud of the 2nd gen CTS-V, which beat the 'Ring time of the e60 M5.

[Bols]

Never heard about this before. Cool! Thanks for sharing! Amazing what one man can mean to the long term direction of a company and in effect a small part in the lives of millions of customers and employees!

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by X3paul

Impressive. There should be some guys like him the board these days instead of all the $$$ driven there today

This.
I had maintenance performed on my i8 yesterday and was given a 535i as a loaner. The car is well appointed but is only drivable, to me, in Sport or Sport+. In any other mode it heaves and lurches down the road like a 90's Town Car. I actually thought that the suspension was broken until I put it in Sport mode. In Sport and Sport+ modes it came alive and was a different vehicle.

I fully understand the necessity of bringing more buyers into the fold but I can't help but think that Bob Lutz would have kept the entire line-up more pure.

Just my .02.

[bailyhill]

Hello
I owned one as my second BMW, following my 1974 2002. It was a great car. I had no issues. I think the only thing that broke was the AC at about 90,000 miles. Drove it daily. It was that Yellow color. Traded it for an '85 535i at 94,000 miles and got $10K as a trade in. I paid about $7800.

My only wish, is that they would have offered the 6 cylinder engine sooner in the US. I don't think it was available until the next generation?

Sorry, the e## designations were not used in those days.

Sin_Gas

[JasonCSU]

I read about this over on R&T yesterday. The more I read and learn about what Bob Lutz has done over the years for various manufacturers the more impressed I am with his career. Hopefully there are guys like him still working behind the scenes in the industry. I also love reading his monthly Q&A in R&T; it is always entertaining.

[ciressiws]

Anyone mentioning he is Swiss?

[Three Pedal Steve]

It was a great time when a "car guy" could run a car company.

Many years ago I was attending a Chrysler 300 Meet in Ann Arbor. Club member Bob Lutz told everyone he would be there. Well- he buzzed our field in his Chinese MIG jet fighter. We never saw him again at that meet.

[Jcbama85]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

It was a great time when a "car guy" could run a car company.

Many years ago I was attending a Chrysler 300 Meet in Ann Arbor. Club member Bob Lutz told everyone he would be there. Well- he buzzed our field in his Chinese MIG jet fighter. We never saw him again at that meet.

I used to work for a company in Ann Arbor and we often saw him flying it at Willow Run. Always thought he was the ultimate car guy.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by bailyhill

Hello
I owned one as my second BMW, following my 1974 2002. It was a great car. I had no issues. I think the only thing that broke was the AC at about 90,000 miles. Drove it daily. It was that Yellow color. Traded it for an '85 535i at 94,000 miles and got $10K as a trade in. I paid about $7800.

My only wish, is that they would have offered the 6 cylinder engine sooner in the US. I don't think it was available until the next generation?

Sorry, the e## designations were not used in those days.

Sin_Gas

What? Yes they were. The car you had was the E21. After that came the E30. The E designation began in the 60's. The E9 anyone? E is for entwicklung, or evolution. Who knows what F means, but they've lost the plot..

[raysspl]

Never much of a Bob Lutz fan but this is good to see

[RingMeister01]

Bob Lutz is a legend

[bailyhill]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

What? Yes they were. The car you had was the E21. After that came the E30. The E designation began in the 60's. The E9 anyone? E is for entwicklung, or evolution. Who knows what F means, but they've lost the plot..

Hello
You are correct, the e designations were around and I have edited my signature to include the e21. What I should have said is that I never heard them used until the mid 80's. Most folks used the model designation. Did the 2002 have an e designation? When did the e start?

Sin_Gas

[hassmaschine]

I believe it did but I don't remember the name. it was definitely around in the 1960s.

[Law]

Originally Posted by bailyhill

Hello
You are correct, the e designations were around and I have edited my signature to include the e21. What I should have said is that I never heard them used until the mid 80's. Most folks used the model designation. Did the 2002 have an e designation? When did the e start?

Sin_Gas

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I believe it did but I don't remember the name. it was definitely around in the 1960s.

The 2002 was grouped together with the rest of the BMW Neue Klasse ("BMW New Class"), none of which carried "E" chassis codes. The models were distinguished by their suffixes:
a) The entry-level 2-door sedans/saloons bore the suffix '02
b) The mid-range 4-door sedans/saloons bore the suffix '00,
c) and coupés were branded as 2000C/CS, BMW's the flagship at the time.


The first BMWs to have the "E" designation were the larger six-cylinder 4-door and 2-door models known collectively as the BMW New Six
BMW E3 2500/2800 sedans/saloons, 1968-1977
BMW E9 2500-2800/3.0 CS/i/L coupés, 1968-1974

The E9 (and New Six) platform essentially spun off the platform of the 2000C/CS from the New Class, which continued to sit at the top of BMW's range.

From this, came the 3/5/6/7 series we are now familiar with:
BMW E12 1st-gen 5-series, 1975-1981 (evolved from the New Class '00 series)
BMW E21 1st-gen 3-series, 1976-1983 (evolved from the New Class '02 series)
BMW E23 1st-gen 7-series, 1978-1987 (evolved from the E3)
BMW E24 1st-gen 6-series, 1977-1989 (evolved from the E9)

"E" stands for Entwicklung, German for 'development' or 'evolution'.
BMW eventually ran out of two-digit numbers after E9X.
"F", being the next letter of the alphabet, was selected to succeed "E" as the internal development code for BMWs.

[EYC.M3]

Wow, just learned something new! Thank you!

[Flying Ace]

Bob Lutz has a monthly column on Road and Track Magazine. A fun read!

[bimmertones]

Thank God for Bob Lutz!