by Bob Lutz

by BOB LUTZ

NEED HELP? HELL YEAH, YOU DO. WHY NOT ASK THE WORLD’S MOST OUTSPOKEN CAR GUY?

just about any new car these days. For 200,000 miles of trouble-free motoring, I’d put my faith in many of the high-volume brands instead of premium makes.

Dear Bob,

I can’t help noticing that most mainstream new cars come in any color you want, as long as it’s black, gray, dark red, or maybe blue. What gives? Where are the pale yellows, rich browns, and periwinkles of yesteryear? Our roads are turning into drab pigeon coops.

Edward Schiff, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

An astute observation—you’re absolutely correct. Blame depressing conformity on the public and the dealerships that place the orders. The designers at car companies always propose two or three new colors, some of which are standouts, like the gorgeous dark-gold/metallic-cognac color that I’ve seen on a current Explorer or two. But lack of demand is almost always the death of great new colors, so the designers, disappointed, have to tweak the grays, silvers, whites, and blacks again. You do find interesting colors like yellow, metallic orange (used on my personal Camaro), plum, and acid green on cars like the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, and Corvette. The rest of the market is 50 shades of gray. How do the Koreans offer those huge warranties? I’ve driven their cars. They don’t seem like they’d churn out 100,000 trouble-free miles. Am I wrong, or is there a business case for what they do?

Dana Grady, Columbus, Ohio

It was a marketing strategy to overcome what was at the time a horrible reputation for quality. It worked! And I have no doubt that the average new Hyundai or Kia will complete 100,000 miles without breaking a sweat (or a part), as will

I love my Pontiac Solstice; good job on that one. With stickier tires and some light engine work (mostly better breathing), I turned it into quite the little rocket. Why didn’t the factory go that route? Cost? Target market? Just curious, not criticizing.

Warren Bullworth, Richmond, Virginia

We didn’t because we had the 260-hp turbo engine on offer for the high-performance fan. Almost any production engine can be improved with so-called blueprinting, which includes careful matching of parts, weighing all components, removing excess material, and choice polishing and honing. But it’s not feasible when producing an engine every two seconds, as GM does. Tires: We mounted all-seasons, which satisfy most of the people most of the time. Switching to dedicated summer tires always improves handling, but don’t try winter driving with them. A racing compound takes it to the next level, but with serious trade-offs in tire life and wet grip. As a man of taste and vision, which cars currently on sale do you think will be collectible in 25 years? If you could stash, say, five 2014–2015 models in a barn for later, what would those be? Paul Guzman, Portland, Maine

That’s a tough one! My taste and vision are often not shared by others. Leaving aside the McLarens, Paganis, and Veyrons of the world, what you want to look for is unusually good design (sometimes “unusual” is enough) and a somewhatlimited production run, for whatever reason. Extreme high performance helps make a car collectible. Here’s what I’d buy and quietly let appreciate in a cool, dry place:

1. 2014 BMW i8 2. 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 3. 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 4. 2014 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon 5. 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

I realize this is a bit GM-centric, but you did ask for my list! The Wrangler is on there because it’s a guzzling icon, soon to be replaced by something likely smaller, lighter, daintier, and, of course, more efficient.

Bob Lutz has been The Man at several car companies, so your problems are cake. Bring ’em on.