<VV> #6000?

airvair airvair@richnet.net
Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:41:14 -0400


You mean these articles?

-Mark

June 3, 2004 
New Heritage Center To Showcase GM's History For Employees And
Researchers
Sterling Heights, Mich. - When the GM Heritage Center officially opens
it doors this June, it will bring together for the first time, almost a
century of GM vehicles, historical information and memorabilia. The
Center will help GM employees, scholars, analysts and the media research
the company's past and learn from its rich history as GM moves toward a
second century of operation. 
Located in Sterling Heights, Michigan, just north of the GM Technical
Center, the GM Heritage Center is not just a museum, but rather a cross
between the ultimate automotive enthusiast's garage and a living
repository of automotive history. 
"The GM Heritage Center is as much about the future as about the past,"
said Thomas Kowaleski, GM vice president of communications. "As GM
prepares to celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2008, the GM Heritage
Center will play a key role in showcasing the company's rich history of
success and linking it our future aspirations and accomplishments." 
The GM Heritage Center has 81,000 square feet of flexible space, housing
more than 180 vehicles spanning 10 decades. The vehicle collection
showcases a wide range of GM design, technology and innovation. Among
the vehicles are past and current concept vehicles, as well as
historically significant vehicles from various eras, including the 1931
V-16 Cadillac, 1949 Buick Roadmaster, and 1953 Chevrolet Corvette. In
addition to vehicles, the Heritage Center will be the custodian of
important historical automotive records and items from throughout GM. 
"For nearly a century, the legendary brands of General Motors have been
creating cars and trucks that were equal parts 'dreams come true' and
engines of economic growth for countries throughout the world," said
John Smith, group vice president, GM North America vehicle sales,
service and marketing. "The Heritage Center will permanently showcase
the passion and creativity of GM's men and women in their worthy
pursuits." 
The GM Heritage Center was conceived as a dynamic space that can meet a
broad range of needs. Members of the GM community will be able to visit
the facility to learn and research, and will use the facility for
meetings and events. Researchers will sit in the original '50s furniture
from the former Oldsmobile headquarters. Meetings can be held around the
boardroom table from GM's first Research & Development Center where
inventions like the catalytic converter were discussed. For special
events, lighting may be provided from the oldest known backlit Chevrolet
dealership sign, which was produced in 1927. 
"Rediscovering treasures of the past" 
The GM Heritage Center staff has worked with the many divisions and
organizations within GM to identify and assemble assets that help tell
the company's vast history and breadth. 
"Every time a truckload comes in, our adrenalin level rises. It's
comparable to opening a treasure chest every day," said Greg Wallace,
manager of the GM Heritage Center. "But most importantly, every artifact
inspires curiosity and respect for the people who built this company
before us," said Wallace. 
Among the interesting items catalogued to date are:
* Early financial records, including Cadillac's first stock certificate.
* A 1907 fleet sales contract, signaling a mule transportation company's
shift from pack animals to automobiles.
* The Pinky Randall collection of Chevrolet memorabilia - an expression
of Americana that captures sixty years of automotive culture.
* Vehicle sketches and personal items from past GM designers and
engineers, including Harley Earl and Zora Arkus-Duntov.
* A variety of early GM powertrains, including one of the few remaining
copper cooled motors in the world, introduced by Chevrolet in 1923. 
By highlighting the exciting designs, groundbreaking technology and
powerful brands that have comprised GM's first century, the GM Heritage
Center will help inspire new generations of enthusiasts and make the
company even stronger in years to come. 
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest vehicle
manufacturer, employs about 325,000 people globally. Founded in 1908, GM
has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has
manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in
192 countries. In 2003, GM sold nearly 8.6 million cars and trucks,
about 15 percent of the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters
are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. GM's automotive brands are
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, HUMMER, Oldsmobile, Opel,
Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. More information on GM and its
products can be found on the company's corporate website at www.gm.com. 
Contact:
Michael Gardner
telephone: 313-665-0842
e-mail: michael.gardner@gm.com
The GM Heritage Center can accommodate groups up to 500 people and will
be available for employee tours following the July shutdown. For details
on tours contact Holly Kraft at hkraft@g-1communications.com. 

GM Assembles 96 Years Of History Under One Roof
Heritage Center opens in Sterling Heights
The Detroit News
By Ed Garsten 
June 11, 2004
 
STERLING HEIGHTS - Like an inveterate pack rat, General Motors Corp. has
accumulated a lot of "stuff" over 96 years, including hundreds of
classic, concept and just plain strange vehicles, memorabilia and
millions of pages of engineering specs, operating manuals and other
documents.
 
For years, it was scattered in different locations, making it hard to
take advantage of the treasure trove of automotive history in GM's many
attics and garages - until now.
 
Tonight, the automaker opens the GM Heritage Center, an
81,000-square-foot facility north of the Tech Center that is equal parts
archive, museum, meeting center and catering hall.
 
The GM Heritage Center will be open to GM employees, researchers,
students, analysts, reporters and automotive enthusiasts by appointment
and for a fee.
 
"All the time we've been in business the archives have been scattered,"
said Greg Wallace, the center's manager. "What we've done is gotten hold
of everything we could get our hands on into this facility and for the
first time, will be very accessible through our database."
 
The massive vehicle display area is a movable feast of historic GM
four-wheelers from the famous to the infamous to the experimental.
 
About 180 vehicles can be displayed at one time and will be rotated
periodically.
 
The collection now on display includes the first Cadillac Coupe de Ville
and Eldorado, the last Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Corvair, the first
Chevrolet Vega, a 1931 V-16 Cadillac and a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Each
car has a story.
 
A 1903 Oldsmobile Pirate, for example, set the land-speed record for
cars in its class that year at a whopping 54.38 miles an hour.
 
The 1905 Osceola concept car was the first closed-cab passenger car and
had the first tilt steering wheel.
 
Along with the cars on display is a collection of kitschy reminders of
past promotional excess, including a giant neon-lit Oldsmobile sign in
the shape of a rocket found at a Kentucky dealership.
 
"These collections are important because people can better understand
where we're going when they've seen where we've been," said Leslie
Kendall, curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
 
With the auto industry now more than a century old, there is added
interest in its history "because now there are three or four generations
who can say they worked in the auto industry," said Barry Dressel,
manager of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills.
 
Those who are granted permission to conduct research might end up
sitting at 1950s-era furniture from the former Oldsmobile headquarters
or around the boardroom table from GM's first research and development
center.
 
"We're trying to celebrate the past," Wallace said, "but we're trying to
keep our eye on the future. GM will be 100 in 2008, so we're looking to
use this as a focal point around that celebration."
 


strunkhill1@comcast.net wrote:
> 
> Probably an error but this article says that GM has on display the last Corvair. Maybe they meant to say that last model year.
> 
> The collection now on display includes the first Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Eldorado, the last Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Corvair, the first Chevrolet Vega, a 1931 V-16 Cadillac and a 1949 Buick Roadmaster.
> 
> http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/business/8894763.htm
> 
> --
> Scott Trunkhill