GM FYI Blog

By Mark McNabb
GMNA Vice President, Premium Channel

Popular Mechanics’ publisher Bill Congdon; Detroit editor, Larry Webster and Rob Reynolds visited GM last week to recognize Cadillac, Chevrolet and HUMMER for their award winning performance in the magazine’s fourth annual Automotive Excellence Awards.

According to Congdon, each year Popular Mechanics’ editors drive more than 100 of the newest cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles to determine the award winners, amassing well over 100,000 miles in the process.

This year GM captured three of the competition’s 10 award categories, more than any other automaker.

The 2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum won the Technical Innovation category as the world’s first SUV to use LED headlamps – and one of the very first applications of this technology in any car or truck.

Earning top honors in the Performance category, the Popular Mechanics editors praised the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 for its combination of power and polish.

And the 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha earned the editors’ admiration for Off-Road Ability after experiencing the combination of a functional truck bed and its front and rear locking differentials on the slick rock of Moab.

These awards are a testament to GM’s continued passion for automotive innovation and excellence, and we’re honored to be recognized by the experts at Popular Mechanics.

By Nick Richards
HUMMER Communications

Team HUMMER owner Rod Hall and his sons Josh Hall and Chad Hall won big over the weekend, sweeping the production classes at the 2008 Best In the Desert Association’s TSCO Vegas to Reno. Joining the Halls and their production class H2 SUT, H3 Alpha and H3 was team driver Emily Miller, in her quest to become the first woman to drive the entire 457-mile race.

Chad Hall, driver of the H3 Alpha was the first production vehicle to finish the race, crossing the line in 11:11 hours. Chad also won the stock full-size SUV class. Chad was followed closely by his older brother, Josh Hall who finished first in the stock full-size truck class in his H2 SUT.

Rod, at age 70, continues to lead the off-road racing world in victories and logged another one at Vegas to Reno. Rod finished first in the stock mini-SUV class in his H3.

Emily entered the race behind the wheel of the Team HUMMER stock class H2 SUV. The desert was quick to test her resolve as a severe impact with a hard surface near mile 80 ripped off the passenger side front wheel. The Team HUMMER support crew and her navigator, Jake Povey were able to rebuild the front end and get Miller back on course with only eight minutes to spare before pit closing time. Miller and Povey made up time from that point on, finishing the race in 16:40:30 hours, at an average speed of 27.3 mph.

Check out Emily’s historic race and the rest of Team HUMMER.

Tonight, students from the International Academy of Design & Technology will unveil clothing they designed based on GM cars and trucks during the annual Imagine Fashion show in Chicago. The students attended the Chicago Auto Show in February and based their designs on their impressions of five vehicles – the Hummer HX Concept, the Chevrolet Malibu LTZ, the Pontiac G8 GT, the Saturn Astra 3-Door and the Saab Turbo X. Winning designs will be chosen during tonight’s show and the winners will receive $500 cash prizes from GM.

We checked in with Ana Cantillano, a 2006 winner for her jacket based on the Cadillac Escalade front grill, to see how the event shaped her own design career. – Will Stewart, blog editor

By Ana Cantillano

It seems like yesterday that I was caught in a whirlwind of media frenzy after winning the 2006 GM Student Design Competition for the Cadillac Escalade. Constructing the outfit I designed was very challenging, but nonetheless super fun. The fully lined quilted jacket was created after the car’s bold textured chrome grille, while the fitted skinny pants borrowed elements from the sleek angles of the vehicle. This ensemble had a massive amount of details even for the most talented students out there. From an over-sized notched collar and an adjustable belt to hand embroidery and matching jewelry, this was for sure an ambitious project, but in the end, I have to say, it looked absolutely perfect!

The GM Award has opened several doors for me in the fashion industry because of the press it receives, and employers are always impressed to learn that I have been the recipient of such distinctive prize.

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By Joanne Krell
Director of Communications, Cadillac/HUMMER/Saab

Cadillac has made a lot of news in recent days, with a series of world premieres of new vehicles and the ongoing strength of the new 2008 CTS. Here’s an important bit of news that you might have missed on the safety front. The CTS is a Top Safety Pick for 2008 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

This is a major achievement and comes from a trusted authority on automotive safety. The Top Safety Pick award goes only to vehicles that earn the highest rating in IIHS front, rear and side impact crash testing, and also feature electronic stability control to help drivers’ ability to avoid crashes. CTS is one of only three luxury cars so honored.

As CTS earns accolades from critics and consumers — in the fourth quarter, sales were up about 60% for the ‘08 model compared to the ’07 model — the car can add Top Safety Pick to its growing list of positive claims. This is another landmark in Cadillac’s ongoing renaissance. And as we showed with some of our recent world premieres, there’s a lot to be excited about.

By Donna McLallen
Assistant Regional Manager, Communications/Public Relations

GM wrangled top honors at the recent 2007 Texas Truck Rodeo in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.

The Texas Truck Rodeo began as an opportunity for members of the Texas Auto Writers Association to experience competing trucks and SUVs side-by-side in both on-road and off-road conditions. Over three days each October, some 50 journalists judge vehicles in various categories and vote for winners.

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By Nick Richards
HUMMER Communications

Recently, more than 40 automotive journalists from across the country have traveled to Durango, Colo., to experience the capabilities of the new 2008 HUMMER H2 and H3 Alpha. In addition to experiencing the new premium, chiseled interior of the H2 and the H3 Alpha’s V8 power through the hills of southern Colorado, the journalists had a chance to put the HUMMERs through the paces on a difficult off-road trail called Rock Garden, outside of Aztec, N.M.

Check out these two videos to see the HUMMERs in action. After that, take a look at a special photo set over on Flickr.

By Christopher Barger
Director, GM Global Communications Technology

We couldn’t help but notice a letter to the editor in yesterday’s USA Today questioning our brand strategy and suggesting that GM might be better off with fewer brands.

We respect the author’s opinion, and we certainly don’t mean to single him out… but we would like to address his concern. We’d actually argue that in today’s highly competitive, highly fragmented car market, a strong portfolio of brands is critical. A typical brand today sells only about 250,000 units a year, and some of the hottest new brands like Mini, HUMMER and Scion sell way less than that. A fast-changing brandscape like this offers lots of challenges — and opportunities.

We think that as GM continues to improve its products and sharpen its brands, our portfolio of eight brands can be a competitive advantage — if we can keep each brand sharply focused and stocked with strong products. GM’s global operations help here. For example, sharing products with Opel will give Saturn new vehicles perfectly suited for import fans, while our new global rear drive program, headquartered in Australia, will soon provide Chevy and Pontiac with exciting new performance cars.

It’s also important that we work with our dealers to build strong retail channels. As Buick, Pontiac and GMC come together in the same showroom, we are eliminating overlapping products and sharpening all three brands. The customer gets a showroom full of great products, and the dealer gets enough traffic to maintain a successful, profitable business. This also allows both GM and its dealers to streamline areas like the service department that the customer doesn’t see.

There are lots of signs that improved products and stronger brands are paying off for GM. Our retail sales are up, and new vehicles like the Chevy Silverado, GMC Acadia and Saturn Aura and Outlook are racking up sales and accolades. Yes, GM still faces many challenges here in North America. But we are confident that we are moving in the right direction. And we’d humbly suggest that if the author were to give one of our new Buick, Pontiac or Saturn vehicles a test drive, he might well share some of our confidence.

Michael C. Hamlett, Area Sales Manager, HUMMER; Walt Fricke, CEO, Veterans Airlift Command and Paula McFarland, Zone Manager, GM.

By Walt Fricke
CEO/Founder, Veterans Airlift Command

The Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) provides air transportation for medical and other compassionate purposes to wounded warriors, veterans, and their families through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots.

One of the “holes” in the seamless “get ‘em home” mission of the VAC has been ground transportation from the Walter Reed Medical Center or other military hospitals to the nearest general aviation airport.

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Kelly Ripa meets with Kelly and her fellow student journalists

By Kelly C.
Guest Blogger

Editor’s note: Kelly C., a sixth-grader from George J. Ryan Middle School in Flushing, N.Y., had the chance to serve as a student journalist during the New York Auto Show. Kelly was selected by HUMMER and the After-School All-Stars to spend the day at the show and report back as an “automotive journalist.” The students met with Alan Taylor, of “Car and Driver,” took a tour of the “Regis and Kelly” set, and visited publisher Hachette Filipacchi USA. Take a look at what Kelly had to say about her experience.

On April 11, 2007, The New York International Auto show was taking place. I had the chance to go visit it at the Javits Center.

First we went to the ABC (Channel 7) building. There we took a tour of the newsroom. We saw news live. Then we went outside to see “Regis and Kelly.” Instead of Regis, there was Pat Sajak. We had gotten their autographs and pictures.

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By Christopher Barger
GM Director of Global Communications Technology

Hi. I’m Christopher Barger, GM’s new Director of Global Communications Technology. My team is responsible for GM’s online communication and social media efforts, including maintaining the FYI and FastLane blogs. I’ve just joined GM on March 1 after spending my career in a couple of other industries; and since I’m new not just to GM but to the industry, I’m experiencing a lot of things for the first time — like auto shows, for instance. And since not many people get to be both “newbie” and “insider” at the same time, I thought I’d share a little bit of the experience of the New York Auto Show from the point of view of a newbie behind the scenes.

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