Lutz to Tangle on TV With Letterman and Colbert

DETROIT — General Motors confirmed that its outspoken former vice chairman Bob Lutz, on Wednesday will bring the Chevrolet Volt to CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. Also joining the debate over the Volt will be talk-show host and comedian Stephen Colbert.

In a May 1 column on the GM FastLane blog headed "Stupid Human Trick," Lutz lashed out at Letterman after the late-night TV host bashed the Volt during an earlier show with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, describing the still-gestating GM hybrid as "crap." Lutz referred to Letterman's Volt comments as "gratuitously derogatory" and "woefully uninformed" and offered to appear on the show himself to "set the record straight."

Apparently, Letterman not only has taken up Lutz on his offer, but just to sweeten the pot has also invited Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert to join the fray.

You may recall that Lutz also appeared last September on The Colbert Report, where he responded to such inane Volt-related questions from the host as "Will it get me laid?" (Lutz's response: "You're going to get a lot of nice, no-makeup environmentalist [women].")

In the meantime, Lutz hosted a small group of journalists on Monday for a brief test-drive of a Volt "mule," with the hybrid gas-electric drivetrain housed in the body of a Chevrolet Cruze. Lutz confirmed that the production version of the Volt remains on track for a November 2010 launch.

Inside Line says: Could this be the same Bob Lutz who maintains that global warming is a "crock of shit"? — Paul Lienert, Correspondent