Feb. 25, 2008 - General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz is doing damage control - sort of - after declaring his personal opinion that "global warming is a total crock of s--t." Lutz made the statement during a closed-door meeting with journalists in January, saying that "I'm a skeptic, not a denier. Having said that, my opinion doesn’t matter. I’m motivated [to develop fuel-efficient models like the Chevy Volt] more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2.”

Word of the comments circulated, prompting Lutz to post this statement on GM's company blog late last week:

"What [people] should be doing, in earnest, is forming opinions not about me but about GM, and what this company is doing that is — and will continue to be — hugely beneficial to the very causes they so enthusiastically claim to support.

General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period....GM is working on just that – and we’re going to keep working on it — via E85, hybrids, hydrogen and fuel cells, and the electrification of the automobile."