Employees Personalize GM Powered Legacy Through Woodward Dream Cruise Contest
FOR RELEASE: August 16, 2001Employees Personalize GM Powered Legacy Through Woodward Dream Cruise Contest
DETROIT - Sixteen General Motors employees will carry the banner of GM Powered to the frontlines of the Woodward Dream Cruise as winners of an employee contest to feature their personal heritage cars at a GM hosted location.
The winners each submitted a photo of their vehicle and a short essay describing what their vehicle means to them. Entries were received from across the United States and Canada having been promoted through several GM web sites, newsletters and plant promotions. The winners of the essay contest have received a premium parking spot in GM's Memorial Park heritage display granting easy access to and from Woodward Avenue and a frontline spot to display their vehicle to fellow cruisers.
The employee parking lot display also will feature the personal cars of a half dozen GM executives.
"Some people attend a car show to win a trophy. I drive one," wrote contest winner and 1970 Pontiac Trans Am owner Steve Niemeyer of Rockton, Ill. "(After) seven years in storage, two (more) years of restoration, was it worth it? Absolutely! While cruising people smile and give a thumbs up while others do a double-take and point enviously."
GM, the world's largest automotive manufacturer, enjoys a rich history that is intertwined into the fabric of Detroit and the car culture of America. This legacy of excellence in design and performance is embodied in a theme the company calls GM Powered. GM Powered refers to both the powertrains uniting GM vehicles as well as to the company's rich heritage and depth and breadth of it knowledge, resources and experience.
Several employees wrote of their lifelong relationship with various GM products with a passion that is the cornerstone of the Woodward Dream Cruise. Dennis Hecht of Swartz Creek, Mich., is another winner who will be bringing his 1968 Chevy II Nova SS 396. "I bought my Chevy II 28 years ago," Hecht explained. "I raced the car for the first five years leaving memories of both winning and losing. I decided to put the car back to 100 percent original (condition) since it was one of only 911 built making it the rarest of Chevy II's. My car and I are growing old together."
The passion of GM Powered comes through loud and clear in the Mike Turley's entry. The Dexter, Mich., owner of a 1966 Olds 442 detailed how he first bought the car as an 18-year-old in 1982 and then had to sell it in 1988. Turley, however, wasn't going to lose this prized possession.
"Sitting in my living room in the summer of 1996, talking to my young sons about Dad's old muscle car, revived my passion for the 442," Turley wrote. "I decided to track it down. The trail led to Flat Rock, Dearborn, and finally to Livonia where I found my old 442. (So) I still own my very first car, and as for passion - well, I bought it twice!"
All of the winners of the contest will have their car photos along with an excerpt from their winning essay posted on the GM website http://www.gm.com. General Motors will continue its series of "GM Experience Live" Internet events on Aug. 18 when it webcasts the Woodward Dream Cruise. Other elements of the website will include a large gallery of digital photos of the classic cars, video clips of key events and comments from GM vehicle designers on what tomorrow's classics might look like and links to GM's many websites.
# # #