GM Ready To Run Full Throttle At Woodward Dream Cruise
FOR RELEASE: August 16, 2001GM Ready To Run Full Throttle At Woodward Dream CruisePontiac's 75th Anniversary Provides GM Backdrop to Annual Celebration of Classic Cars
DETROIT -General Motors is powering up for the 7th annual Woodward Dream Cruise with a number of activities including two special drivers, a stunning concept car, one never-before-seen production vehicle and more than 150 vintage vehicles at four locations.
On Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., Rick Wagoner, GM president and CEO, will enter Woodward at the Birmingham Triangle to give the world its first view of the production Chevrolet SSR - a 2000 concept car that has rocketed from concept to production and will be available for sale next year. Ron Zarrella, president of GM North America, will kick things off at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday evening by driving the noted auto show favorite Buick Bengal concept car down Woodward Avenue.
GM will be in full swing on Saturday for the Cruise with vehicles from across its family of brands and spanning the timeline of the company located at venues beginning in Pontiac and running through Birmingham and Royal Oak. These vehicles showcase a profound and proud design culture - and GM is famous for its heritage of design. GM also will recognize the outstanding vehicles of fellow GM cruisers by awarding GM Powered spirit awards (special guests will do the awarding at Athens Coney Island.) And for those who have the cruising spirit but could not attend, GM will continue its series of "GM Experience Live" Internet events by providing images and video footage of the Woodward Dream Cruise on the World Wide Web at http://www.gm.com.
"We are very excited and proud to be part of the Woodward Dream Cruise and its love of cars," said Scot Keller, staff director, GM corporate brand communications. "The cruise is all about fun, spirit and heritage, and it's a perfect opportunity for us under the banner of GM Powered to share that pride and passion for performance that has defined the decades of GM products in the driveways and garages of so many car enthusiasts."
Photos of select heritage vehicles available at http://media.gm.com
GM Powered refers to both the excellent powertrains that unite GM vehicles as well as to the company's rich heritage, depth and breadth of knowledge, resources and experience.
Classic cars from GM's stable will be showcased at Memorial Park, located at Woodward and Thirteen Mile Road in Royal Oak. Included in the displays will be a heritage circle with significant vehicles from Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, and Saturn. The north end of the park will showcase select vehicles chosen from an internal GM employee contest. And there also will be a corral for GM executives who want to bring their much-loved classic GM vehicles.
Live music will be presented by the Exhaust Tones, a group of local automotive journalists; food stands presented by the restaurants of Royal Oak; and souvenir stands offering authentic Dream Cruise merchandise and benefiting the Vietnam Veterans and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Royal Oak.
Further north, Athens Coney Island will host the GM concept car display. These unique vehicles date back as many as 50 years and many have never been on public display before. It promises spectators a rare opportunity to see the ingenuity and beauty that continues to influence today's products. Among the classic concepts is the 1951 LeSabre - one of the first post World War II vehicles produced by the GM Styling Section. It was created to reflect a new American fascination with fighter planes with external styling cues like matched tailfins and a front end shaped like a nose cone. Athens also will serve as the base for presenting the GM Powered spirit awards to those in the cruise throughout Saturday.
Continuing north on Woodward into Birmingham, Chevrolet will once again be at the triangle where Old meets New Woodward. The bowtie division will feature more than 30 historical, concept and production models including the Chevrolet Camaro 510. This street machine was designed to provide uncompromising performance with 600 horsepower and 556 ft.-lbs. of torque. Chevy also will have one of the most prized collector cars ever, a 1957 Chevrolet. The '57 Chevy was a flagship for styling complete with tail fins, a low stance and fuel injection.
Pontiac is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a collection of 35 rare and unique concept and production vehicles at the Phoenix Center in Pontiac. One of the very first Pontiac vehicles, a 1926 Pontiac Landau Coupe, will be on display. There will also be a unique steam powered 1969 Grand Prix concept car and modern vehicles that celebrate Pontiac's heritage like the 2002 40th Anniversary Grand Prix and the 2002 Firebird Collector Edition. Adding flavor to the style of cars will be a production of classic Pontiac commercials featuring cultural icons like Frank Sinatra in ad campaigns from Pontiac's storied past to the present day.
GM is proud to be a part of the Woodward Dream Cruise and shares the passion that led to the localized creation of the cruise and which has driven its growth into a premiere global heritage event.
GM will enable "surfers" to become "cruisers" on Saturday at http://www.gm.com by providing a virtual cruise down Woodward Avenue.
"The Woodward Dream Cruise has become a Detroit tradition. Through the website we're able to share the event with an audience around the world that has a passion for classic automobiles and the cruising era," said Mark Hogan, president of e-GM. "GM's internet events bring interesting activities to people who might not get a chance to experience them otherwise." GM offers virtual
Elements of the website will include a large gallery of digital photos of the classic cars, video clips of Wagoner and Zarrella's driving the Chevy SSR and Buick Bengal, the essays and photos of GM employee vehicles that were chosen for the cruise. In addition a "Designer Insights" section of videotaped comments from GM vehicle designers on what tomorrow's classics might look like will be added as well as links to GM's many divisional websites.