General Motors salutes Bob Lutz

General Motors gave a fitting send-off to now-retired vice chairman Bob Lutz on Tuesday in Detroit.

Lutz officially hung it up on April 30 after more than five decades in the auto business. He was most recently an adviser and served an extended stint as GM's product boss. He also was briefly in charge of marketing last year after coming back from retirement following the company's successful emergence from bankruptcy.

GM saluted the 78-year-old legend with tributes at its headquarters in the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit and at the Warren Tech Center, the heart of its global product operation.

Lutz, wearing a suit and a yellow tie--and his GM identification badge--shared some remarks with the crowd. North American president Mark Reuss also was in attendance.

Lutz was vice chairman and president of Chrysler Corp., leaving after being passed over for the top job there, and was a ranking executive at Ford and at BMW.

During the summers, the retired Marine Corp. fighter pilot could been seen at shows judging classic cars as he chomped on a cigar.

By Greg Migliore