GM Heritage Enthusiast News & Events

Hagerty Insurance, the classic car insurance firm, placed the Regal GS on its "2012 Hot List" for mass-market vehicles with a suggested retail price below $100,000. The company thinks the Regal GS will be a future collectible. This is fair warning: don't sell your 2012 Regal in a few years - hold on to it!

It was recently photographed at the General Motors Heritage Center, in front of current collectible Buicks including (l to r) a 1963 Riviera, a 1970 GSX, and a 1987 GNX. Each of the vehicles are part of the GM's fleet of 450 of the most significantly designed, engineered, and manufactured vehicles from the company's history.

"The Regal GS is a unique and thrilling vehicle for the Buick brand," said General Motors North America President Mark Reuss. "As someone who drove a classic Skylark to prom and owned other incredible Buicks like an '87 GNX, I can say it deserves to be viewed among the best Buick has built."

Starting the New Year with an off-site gathering is just the way Don Wright likes to do things. For several years running, he has brought his typically mundane staff meeting to the GM Heritage Center to kick off the New Year with some excitement and enthusiasm.

Wright is the validation engineering group manager for Vehicle Thermal Systems, HVAC and Powertrain Cooling. He said the GM Heritage Center is a great place for employees to see and get to know GM's history of excellence. Dale Larson, plant launch operation manager for the Flint Assembly launches, had the same thought for his staff. Throughout the year, the GM Heritage Center serves as a meeting, conferencing and touring venue for GM internal groups, in addition to a myriad of external organizations. In 2011, the center hosted nearly 17,000 visitors.

More than 700 guests attended the Detroit Institute of Arts Nov. 3 for the premiere of  "100: An American Story," a Roger Sherman film chronicling Chevrolet's past, present and future. The premiere was held on the actual anniversary of Chevrolet's founding. A portion of the film was shot at the GM Heritage Center. The film can be seen on Velocity Channel (Discovery network) on Nov. 21, 2011 at 8 PM.

Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design, shared future product plans, including an exclusive look at design animations of the next generation Corvette, at a luncheon recently held at the Heritage Center. Boxing team members and coaches from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Air Force Academy from Colorado Springs in town for the Detroit Athletic Club's 2011 Chuck Davey Boxing Classic attended. In addition, winners of the joint GM-United Way "Adventures in Excellence" contest from three Detroit-area schools were on hand to receive recognition of their winning essays from GM and the United Way. Tour time of the Heritage Center provided ample time for the students to find their favorite classic car!

The celebration of the Chevrolet Centennial went global in October, when Chevrolet hosted media from all over the world. The media was treated to ride and drives of current production models as well as a few Heritage vehicles at the Milford Proving Grounds. They also came to the Heritage Center and met with Jim Campbell, vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. Campbell provided a history of Chevrolet racing, and an insight into future program plans. WTCC driver Alain Menu, Corvette Racing champion Ron Fellows, and Corvette team drivers Olivier Beretta, Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner answered questions about the Chevrolet racing program.

For the second time in barely a year, the Heritage Center showroom served as a scene in a major motion picture. Look for us in a scene of "I, Alex Cross" a James Patterson novel, turned movie! Featured properties you will see in the movie include our 1938 Buick Y Job and 1933 Cadillac. Even the staff of the Heritage Center was part of the action, working behind the scenes! Tyler Perry, Edward Burns, Cicely Tyson and director Rob Cohen were the headliners on the Heritage showroom!

Members of several enthusiast groups filled the Heritage showroom throughout the week of the Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise! More than one guest said with enthusiasm "This is a dream come true!" as they entered the Heritage Center. Corvette owners joining Corvettes on Woodward, the SSR Fanatics Club, the Looking Glass Corvette Club, a contingent of Volt owners and many journalists and bloggers from the US, Russia and China all converged on the Heritage Center that week to celebrate one of the largest automobile cruises in the world!

SSR fanatics had a real treat when Bill Davis, former executive director of midsize trucks/SSR at GM joined the group and shared his personal insight and knowledge about the SSR program. Retired in 2004, Davis was responsible for the transition of the SSR concept to production. His remarks were appreciated by all!

Chevrolet hosted a 100-vehicle parade to mark its Centennial celebration on the Thursday before the annual Woodward Dream Cruise.

It was one of the rare occasions when Heritage Center vehicles were driven on public roads. In addition to the Heritage classics, winning vehicles selected from the GM Tech Center employee car show, a contingent of Volts, Sonics and new Camaro convertibles made the escorted trip down Woodward Avenue. They were flagged off by Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson and up front was a 1960 Corvette driven by Dan Akerson, chairman and chief executive officer of GM, and co-piloted by Steven Girsky, vice chairman. The crowds along the route loved seeing the old and new cars representing 100 years of Chevrolet and waves were enthusiastically exchanged.

On Saturday, the Dream Cruise was celebrated at the Birmingham "Triangle" with those same employee winners and Heritage Center cars helping Chevrolet celebrate its 100^th anniversary.

What are some of the most significant Chevrolets of all time? That's a question that could spur a lot of discussion. However, when GM's Fastlane Blog asked Greg Wallace, the manager of the GM Heritage Center, about the cars that shaped the future of Chevrolet and the industry, he didn't hesitate. Watch Greg Wallace describe some of the landmark Chevrolets:

Read the full article on GM's Fastlane Blog.

The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America hosted its 50th annual meeting in Flint, MI this summer, and a tour of the Heritage Center was on its agenda. Over the course of three days, nearly 1200 visitors bused or drove to the center, many in their vintage Chevrolets! Don Williams, president of VCCA and David Miner, meet chairperson, made a special donation on behalf of the VCCA to Greg Wallace, manager of the GM Heritage Center: a set of original spark plugs for the 1923 copper-cooled engine. Thanks to all the club members for their continued enthusiasm and appreciation for Chevrolet and its products and history!

The annual GM Employee Car Show held on the grounds of the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI once again featured beautiful vehicles and a day of fun for enthusiasts. Some employees and their vehicles were selected to represent Chevrolet in the Chevrolet Centennial 100-vehicle parade during the Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise week in August.

Most of the time, the crowd's favorite vehicles at the GM Heritage Center feature bright, shiny paint and chrome. But for at least one recent event, that was not the case. In early May, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) brought in to the Heritage Center twelve variants of the Stryker military vehicles. The huge armored combat vehicles, each weighing nearly 18 tons, joined the Heritage Center lineup, and clearly, stole the show, even though they weren't so bright and shiny. The army-green, flat- paint variants included a commander's vehicle, fire support, mobile gun system, NVC reconnaissance, mortar carrier, anti tank guided missile, engineering, medical evacuation, reconnaissance and infantry carrier vehicles.

Guests and dignitaries of the Stryker event included a retired four star general, several three star generals, as well as staff from GDLS and the US Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). The opening ceremony featured the playing the national anthem, and continued with an inspirational description of the vehicles, their development and success, and included recognition of the troops who use them.

Ad agency representatives were immersed in all things Corvette at a recent meeting held at the GM Heritage Center. The participants not only learned of the technical innovation and engineering that goes in to Chevy's high performance line, but they got to see them too. It was a pretty hot lineup in the parking lot of the Heritage Center! The Grand Sport, ZR1, Z06 and racing models nearly stopped traffic!

The GM Heritage Center hosted the 29th annual Karmanos Cancer Institute dinner gala, in which Dan Akerson, GM Chairman and CEO, along with his wife, Karin, chaired the event. Nearly $1 million was raised at the event, which included a $50,000 grant from GM Foundation. The funds will be used to benefit the Joseph Dresner Family Bone Marrow Transplant and Hematologic Malignancies Center. In his remarks, Akerson noted the important work accomplished by the institute. Entertainment for the evening included stilt-walking models, high energy music, and a silent and live auction.

It's not every day that visitors arrive by helicopter, but it happened recently at the GM Heritage Center! When a dealer from mid-Michigan wanted to attend a zone sales and service meeting, he took the shortest route, as the crow flies! He landed his helicopter with ease, and spent the day with other Michigan dealers in an informative training program!

“Demand Performance” may be the motto for MTU Detroit Diesel, but it was a command performance at the GM Heritage Center at the company's recent sales and after sales recognition event. Aerial acrobats and illusionists from the Detroit Fly House, music and dancers by Simone Vitale Entertainment and Productions, and a pair of dueling pianos were highlights of the evening of high energy entertainment. The GM Heritage Center frequently hosts recognition events, sales and marketing meetings and annual dinners.

The GM Heritage Center was the site for the memorial service on Jan. 28 for Chuck Jordan, former GM vice president of Design, who died at the age of 83 on Dec. 9, 2010. Tributes were offered from John McElroy, broadcast journalist; Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design ; Ron Van Gelderen, administrator of League of Retired Automotive Designers; Keith Crain, long-time friend and chairman of Crain Communications; Phil Hessburg, MD, president of Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology-Eyes on Design; Jerry Palmer, retired executive director of GM Design; students Michael Saggese and Carter Rogers, and members of the Jordan family: son Mark, daughter Debra, and his grandsons. Closing remarks came from family friend Paul Lomas.

Jordan's career at GM spanned 43 years. He won the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild model car competition in 1948, and earned a degree from MIT in mechanical engineering before joining GM. Vehicles that highlight his career include the 1955 Cameo Carrier, 1955 Buick Centurion, 1956 Aerotrain, 1967 Eldorado, the 1988 Cadillac Voyage, 1991 Sting Ray III, 1992 GM Ultralite and the 1992 Cadillac STS. In 1962, Life Magazine named Jordan one of the nation's 100 most important young men. He served a stint in Russelsheim, Germany from 1967 to 1970 as GM's Design Director. He succeeded Irv Rybicki in October 1986 as Vice President of Design and retired in 1992. In his retirement, he taught vehicle design to high school art students in Southern California.

Feb. 2 was marked a “snow day” with the Detroit area receiving up to 12 inches of snow fall. Since then, the snow hasn't stopped coming! We've still hosted tours, media shoots and business meetings—we're warm and cozy inside! Good thing we don't have to clear snow off the nearly 200 historic vehicles on the showroom floor!

Speed Channel came to the Heritage Center to meet with Justin Bell and Johnny O'Connell, former Corvette Racing team drivers and asked them about their favorite Corvettes for an episode of Barrett-Jackson Special Edition.

O'Connell joined the factory Corvette team in 2001, scoring an overall victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona in his first race behind the wheel of the Corvette C5-R, followed by Corvette Racing's first class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He had ten successful seasons as a Corvette driver.

Bell currently is on-air talent for the racing network Speed Channel for the American Le Mans Series. He won the 1998 Lemans GT2 and 1997 FIA G2 World Championship as a Corvette driver.

A creative depiction of a typical consumer kitchen was part of a display at a recent marketing and communications vehicle review for GM leaders. The display transformed a corner of the GM Heritage Center stage to a realistic 3-D scene, and was just part of a comprehensive presentation to GM leaders regarding the new vehicle's features, competitors and target audience.

The 1955 Chevrolet, the 1957 Chevrolet, and several other Heritage Collection vehicles were the stars during a recent photo shoot for a documentary on the 100-year history of Chevrolet. Also appearing on camera was Pinky Randall, a Chevrolet enthusiast and life-long collector of vehicles and memorabilia, and Jerry Palmer, a retired GM designer.

Just days later, a crew from Motor Trend shot footage of selected vehicles as well.

Representatives from the media, ad agencies and auto dealers from the United Kingdom, Argentina, Ecuador, Japan, Korea, China, Columbia, Russia and the US were among the many visitors of the GM Heritage Center during Media Week of the North American International Auto Show.

Several guests said they enjoyed seeing cars that they had only previously seen in pictures and read about in magazines! More than one commented that their GM Heritage Center tour was as exciting as the auto show.

It's no secret that there are some beautiful vehicles in the Heritage Center. Recently, one of our guests, David Finegold, a salesman for Gordon Chevrolet, captured incredible photography of many of our vehicles. He used a Canon 5-D Mark 2 camera, then Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom to add "a wet candy look" to the images. The results are shown here.

David visited the Heritage Center twice in 2010 for training meetings, and remembered his camera both visits. His favorite image is of the Suburbans displayed under the Neon lights!

"I don't consider myself a car nut," David said, "but whenever I see a beautiful car, I want to photograph it." David is a self-taught photographer, and has been in GM car sales for 16 years. He lives in Novi with his wife and newly adopted son.

The GM Heritage Center recently hosted the Leader Dogs for the Blind, a non-profit organization that trains dogs to assist blind or sight-impaired people. Nearly 500 attended the Leader Dogs' annual major fundraising event. Many participated in a Leader Dog simulation, in which guests were blindfolded for a first-hand experience. Several dogs were on site, including a few adorable puppies!

The General Motors Heritage Center hosted four new vehicle training programs for sales and service professional throughout 2010. More than 2,500 dealers, wholesalers and other clients came to the Heritage Center for their training and the opportunity to tour the collection. "It was an ideal venue for our programs," said Kevin Lane, manager of GM Product Training.

Michigan and Detroit have become popular locations for movie shoots. The trailers, sets, lights, grips, gaffers, cameramen, directors and actors create a lot of action and excitement for everyone.

The GM Heritage Center and our collection of vehicles became part of the Hollywood scene a few weeks ago. Our 1931 Cadillac V-16 was prominent in one of the scenes along with supporting roles from many of the Heritage Collection vehicles.

While we don't want to reveal the details, the "Bumble Bee" Camaro was parked in front of the Heritage Center on the day of the filming.

Nineteen GM vehicles were selected at the GM Tech Center employee car show to participate in the 2010 Woodward Dream Cruise as GM's guests at the Woodward Triangle. The group and their guests were also invited to a special GM Heritage Center event on August 19. Along with a display of the employee vehicles, everyone enjoyed checking out the Heritage Collection and a picnic meal.

The Corvair Club of America/Detroit Chapter visited the GM Heritage Center on August 27 and viewed the vehicles and artifacts on display. The 67 club members especially enjoyed the Corvairs in the Heritage Collection. In addition to the Electrovair, the Bill Mitchell Corvair-based concepts, the Greenbrier van, Rampside pickup and production Corvairs were all on display. Special thanks to some members who shared their expertise that will help us improve our display.

Corvettes on Woodward came to the GM Heritage Center on August 18 to enjoy vehicles on display. The 2010 Corvette ZR1 attracted a lot of attention along with the recently refurbished 1969 Manta Ray and the always popular 1961Mako Shark and 1959 Stingray Racer concept cars. The 138 members who participated provided a show of their own as they arrived in Corvettes of every generation. Along with cruising Woodward Avenue, the group was actively involved in charitable community activities.