Iconoclastic German engineer may be GM’s best hope for a turnaround

By Katie Merx

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — The future of General Motors Corp. — the most electrifying part of it, at least — rests squarely on the slim shoulders of Frank Weber.

He is responsible for the day-to-day tasks of bringing the Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car to market by 2010.

Developing the Volt and its E-Flex powertrain entails technical challenges on a tight time frame in hopes of recasting GM as the world’s most advanced and environmental automaker — one that can do what even Toyota can’t. Shepherding the effort to develop what GM calls a “range-extended electric vehicle’’ is Weber, an independent thinker and tinkerer who seeks to live in harmony with nature.

If the Volt were its own start-up, Weber would be the CEO — and the chief technical officer.

“The work he and his team are doing is vital for the future. This is the tip of the spear heralding the paradigm shift away from ‘Let’s spend billions to use a bit less oil’ to ‘Let’s spend hundreds of millions to use no oil at all,’ “ GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said of Weber by e-mail.

It’s uncharted territory for his team of more than 200 engineers and 45 designers, demanding breakthroughs in battery technology as well as important advances in dozens of other areas and high expectations for style and value.

“I like to create things,’’ Weber said. “I don’t like too much that somebody comes and gives the answer.’’

The Wiesbaden, Germany, native is so independent-minded that as a child, after three years of classical piano lessons, he stopped traditional study and taught himself jazz piano. He composed his first piece around the age of 10.

His do-it-yourself mindset continued after he enrolled in the mechanical engineering program at the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany. After choosing his field of study — a more “rational choice’’ than music — Weber bought his first car. It was just a couple years old and never had a problem. Weber hated it.

He started replacing parts that still worked, just to tinker. So he traded it for a 1966 Beetle convertible that required constant work and attention — and he still owns it. It’s from “my birth year,’’ he said, “in the original turquoise color.’’

But Weber was chosen for more than his inner grease monkey and creative sides.

He is credited with skillful leadership as director of advanced concept engineering in GM’s European Technical Centers. Before that he worked on the team that planned the global midsize vehicle line that will begin to reach customers later this year, starting with the Opel Insignia, which replaces the Vectra.

His holistic approach to life and work is a good fit with the Volt project, said his wife, Heidi.

“This project is not about maintaining the way things are,’’ she said in an e-mail, “but about perhaps making the world a little better.’’

GM has set a November 2010 deadline for delivering the Volt. The hope is to steal away the mantle of green leader from Toyota Motor Corp., which is revered by many consumers for its Prius hybrid.

Two months after unveiling the Volt at the 2007 Detroit auto show, GM handed that charge to Weber.

GM says, with the right batteries, the Volt could travel 40 miles — the average American’s daily commute — without a drop of gas.

For those who drive farther, the Volt concept uses a three-cylinder gasoline engine to recharge the battery, so the vehicle could drive 640 miles on a 12-gallon tank without having to stop to refuel or recharge, generating more than 50 miles per gallon.

The key question mark in the program is whether suppliers can provide a lithium-ion battery that is durable and safe enough for automotive use in the prescribed time — which several automakers have publicly questioned.

But it is not the only challenge before Weber’s team.

For example, Lutz has said the car needs a decent stereo system and air conditioner that won’t drain too much energy.

Those are developments that typically take far more time than GM and its suppliers have this time around. They are also developments that require Weber to establish a new supply base for many components.

“It’s a program where the key technology is beyond GM’s control and the deadline they’re talking about is really tough to make,’’ said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics, a forecasting and consulting firm based in Birmingham, Mich.

But the payoff could be huge, he added: “E-Flex could be a powertrain breakthrough that’s as significant as the hybrid.’’