By Alan Preston, CarCareBuzz.com contributor

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, Robert C. Stempel, former CEO of General Motors, passed away in Florida.  At CarCareBuzz, we join with many in sharing our condolences to the Stempel family on his passing.

General Motors said this in their announcement on May 10, 2011:

“The General Motors family mourns the passing of Bob Stempel, who admirably led the company during very difficult times in the early 1990s. Bob was a very popular chairman with employees, and his many accomplishments as a visionary engineer included leading the development of the catalytic converter, one of the great environmental advancements in auto history.

“His knowledge of battery development led to the push for the EV1 electric car, and Bob continued to build his expertise in the electrification of the automobile after he left GM in 1992.”

In 1978, shortly after he became General Manager of Pontiac Motor Division, I had the pleasure of meeting “Mr. Stempel”.  My Dad introduced him that way.  He referred to people in that level of a position always with that level of respect.  I met him at a ‘Father and Son’ dinner at the Pontiac Traffic Club.  It was an exciting night for the Pontiac Traffic Club to have the new General Manager of Pontiac as their guest speaker.  Mr. Stempel did not disappoint.  He spoke of his excitement to be at Pontiac.  He fielded questions from those in attendance for an unlimited amount of time.  He astonished them with his level of knowledge of the transportation area of the business.  To top it off, it allowed time to greet and converse with everyone including a young man like myself.  There was a reason that “Mr. Stempel” deserved the respect that Dad gave him and that he passed on to me.  He was “A Car Guy” as Dad would say.

He was a man with a presence about him.  It was a presence that you just might expect of “A Car Guy”.  General Motors was right in describing him as a “Visionary”.  That was quite clear, that night, way back then.  The discrepancy in the General Motors statement is that ‘he left in 1992’.  That’s not quite accurate.  Mr. Stempel was pushed out in a coup in the board room led by Jack Smith in a power struggle to put himself into Mr. Stempel’s position.  In that move they lost their ‘Visionary’.  They lost a well liked and well respected leader – “A Car Guy”.  We all know the results of Mr. Smith’s reign, as well as, his hand picked successor, Rick Wagoner.

Mr. Stempel led the effort towards the EV1 car at GM and continued his work in electric power plants for cars after his time at GM.  We know today, as a result of lack of vision at GM, where they are in the rankings of being a leader in alternative power plants. Mr. Stempel went on to serve as chairman and later as CEO of ECD Ovonics, an Auburn Hills, Michigan company specializing in the battery and alternative energy.

I’ve not forgotten that evening in 1978, and why he deserved the respect of “Mr. Stempel”.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Photo: Courtesy of General Motors