<VV> #6000?

[airvair]

Just got a note from Dave Newell. His connections tell him that it's
really Pinky Randall's Fathom Green convert #3353.

-Mark

airvair wrote:
> 
> 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