"An iconic vehicle shocks people into a new awareness of a brand. The problem with Oldsmobile is that we never had the shock iconic vehicle. We just started doing better and better Oldsmobiles and that really didn't work."

Before Lutz, GM executives had worked to make GM a leaner company--one that could respond faster to the marketplace. The frozen middle-obstructionist managers who resisted new processes--were cut or eliminated. Global architectures-formerly called platforms--like Epsilon and Kappa were created to streamline engineering and production and make the same underpinnings that could work for different global markets. Since then, GM has been churning with one goal in mind-win back customers. Cadillac is turning out first-rate vehicles like the SRX sport utility, the XLR roadster and the CTS-V. The STS, the new rear-drive sedan coming this fall is a serious test to see if Cadillac is ready to take on the mainstream Mercedes and BMW vehicles. "If the STS doesn't make it, says Lutz, "that would be a serious setback. But the car is already getting terrific reception from the dealers and the press."