Double shot espressos: 52

Dropping my laptop down the airport escalator: 1

A very handsome stranger picking up the dropped laptop: 1

Friends made here at GM: lots and lots

This is it. My last and final entry for Cruzin’ with Ann. I’ll be honest with you. I had no clue at the onset of this how much time and effort it takes to write and keep a blog up-to-date. Not to say that I haven’t enjoyed writing this series, cause I really have, but I’ll be sure to carve out more time to write should I try to do this again in the future.

As promised in my previous blog entry, I have lots and lots to tell you about Project Outreach: San Francisco Bay Area! We spent 3 days and 4 nights there and boy did they have us booked solid. The entire first day was a tour of the market. We started off in Walnut Creek (Project Outreach Central) and explored the East Bay. The East Bay is typically known as the most industrial area of the market and a little “rough and tumble”, if you catch my drift. Then we headed to Marin County in the north peninsula, just missing Napa and Sonoma (bummer). Here you’ll find some of the wealthiest towns in the country, the ridiculously picturesque Muir Woods and beautiful coastlines. Then we crossed the lovely Golden Gate Bridge and headed into San Francisco city proper for lunch.  After that we headed down south to the Silicon Valley. Geographically it’s a huge area. Throw some traffic into the mix and it makes for one long day on a tour bus.

On day two we split up into smaller groups and each group visited two dealerships. My group (Hi Karen! Hi Jeff! Hi Jon!) went to Moore Buick/GMC in Los Gatos and Putnam Chevrolet/Cadillac in Burlingame. We spent a couple hours at each dealership and boy do I have a whole new respect for the dealer side of the business. They really are in a unique position because in one respect they essentially are the GM brand in the consumer’s eyes. But in another respect they operate independently of GM but yet we rely on them to sell our products. How does one manage all that? Heck if I know, but this relationship would definitely fall under the “It’s Complicated” status on Facebook.

We spent the last day at Dublin Chevrolet/Cadillac/Buick/GMC for a big open house event. Can I just say, that is truly an amazing dealership! Size wise it’s probably equivalent to the country of Monaco. Actually, on second thought, I take that back. It’s definitely bigger than Monaco. This place is truly massive. There was a ride and drive event, face painting for the kids, BBQ lunch, prizes and gifts, etc. But the biggest draw was the Volt. People from all over the bay came to see it, touch it, poke it, prod it, peek under the hood, sit inside and take a picture (as did I, see picture above).  Right next to the Volt was of course my personal favorite new Chevrolet (no offense to the Volt folks), the Cruze. The Cruze also got lots of nice traffic and attention from guests, some of whom weren’t familiar with the car but were impressed with its styling and presence. The dealership staff said they were especially excited about the Cruze because they were confident these babies are going to fly off the lot.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

The big cheese in charge there is Inder Dosanjh and he is a wicked cool guy (and a supporter of Cal Football woohoo!).  I think what I loved the most about Dublin Chevrolet is that the folks there really represent the future and potential of GM Brands on the West Coast. They are so enthusiastic about the product and optimistic about the future that it’s almost contagious. Even though they know they have a big hill to climb, they see it is as only room to grow. They do recognize the domestic brand baggage on the west coast, but they have a good perspective on it.  One team member there put it quite nicely, “We can’t turn this into a cultural war. The younger generations just aren’t interested in that. They just care about who has the best car and who can walk the walk. Besides, good competition brings out the best in everyone.”  Touché, my friend.  Touché.

It’s quite fortuitous that I got to attend this particular Project Outreach; it just coincidentally worked out that I got to go home. But having had the chance to go back to California at the end of my internship just seems like an appropriate way to wrap things up. Everything I learned and observed this summer gave me an entirely differently perspective on a place that I thought I knew so well.  It’s not that I love home any less (it’s truly an amazing place), but it definitely opened my eyes to how everybody else sees California.

I only have a few hours left in my internship. I’m finally starting to get the hang of this automotive industry thing, of course this happens just as I’m leaving. While I’m excited about heading back to school and diving back into my books, there so many things that I am going to miss from my internship. For example:

• The hysterically witty, insanely talented and wickedly smart Chevrolet Communications Team
• Learning about new cars and breaking news before anyone else!
• Having coffee with various folks at GM and picking their brains about the auto industry
• Toffee cookies at Au Bon Pain. Seriously, they are so good.
• The River East Parking Shuttle. As a devotee to high heels, this has been my saving grace.
• Last but not least… writing about and sharing my experiences and with you

At the beginning I was really only hoping for a couple hundred readers. I never really thought it would turn into anything like this, so I want to extend a most sincere and heartfelt thank you to anyone who tagged along on this lil’ dog and pony show that has been “Cruzin’ with Ann”.  What a ride it’s been.  Usually I like to celebrate the end of something great with a cocktail and a toast, but as I’m writing this it’s not quite happy hour yet (and I’ve noticed that people to tend to frown upon drinking before noon).  So instead I’ll raise my literary glass and toast to you, good health and all the future endeavors of GM.

<3,

Ann

I’m heading home this week.  No, don’t break out the celebratory cake and champagne yet. I still have a week left in my internship. I’m heading back to California for an employee outreach event with some other GMers. We’ll be in the San Francisco Bay Area for a few days and I’m so excited! The main goal of this event is to give GM employees the opportunity to get out into the field, spend some time in the trenches and meet customers and dealership staff one-on-one. Why is this important? Because anyone who works at a desk 8 hours a day knows that office walls can be quite isolating (even if you’re lucky enough to score a cube with a window).  No matter how many debriefing meetings you attend or post-mortem reports you read, you just have be there to fully take in the all the sounds, the emotions, the true feel of the environment in which our customers live.

Beautiful Bodega Bay near San Francisco. Thanks for the photo, Dad!

We’ll also be there to explore the greater San Francisco market and learn a little bit more about the people who make up one of the most culturally vibrant and economically powerful markets in the world. Google, Yahoo, eBay, Apple, Wells Fargo, Oracle, Pixar… the list goes on and on. But let’s be honest here. Both you and I know that this area has never been a stronghold for GM cars, or any domestic cars for that matter. Being a California native, I’ve been asked why I think this has been case. To be quite frank, I couldn’t pinpoint just one reason because California is incredibly diverse and complex (there are 30 million residents after all). It might be related to Hollywood and the obsession with all things European glamour. It might be related to California being the Japanese automakers’ advertising and marketing target decade upon decade.  I can’t say for sure if any of these reasons are correct, but I think a more important question is how we can break this trend and gain more customers in the future?

Last week I wrote about branding and its ability to stake claims in a certain market. How does this happen? Well emotional attachments with brands can run deep and often times strongly embed themselves in a culture like Gray’s Papaya in New York or even General Motors in Southeast Michigan. While this may seem like a daunting obstacle to overcome if you are new and trying to penetrate a market where certain brands are historically rooted, there is a glimmer of hope for change.  That glimmer of hope is called the Millennial Generation.

The Millennial Generation aka Generation Y

Who are the millennials? Also known as Generation Y, they are the current teens and twenty-somethings of this country (roughly 18 to 29). Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers most often associate millennials with mobile devices and social media, but there are some other cool and interesting characteristics that define this generation. According to the 2010 Pew Research Center on Millennials (thanks Professor Weinberger for sharing this with me!), millennials are also much more progressive and open to change. Another market research report from Packaged Facts finds that millennials have “little brand loyalty as ever cooler or trendier products churn across the retail stratosphere.” In other words millennials are not as brand loyal as previous generations and will take new brands into consideration as long as the products prove worthy. What could all of this mean for domestic cars on the west coast? A window of opportunity to win over a new market segment! Granted there will have to be a lot of Tweeting and Facebooking to get there, but with GM producing its best and coolest products ever (Hello! Can you say Volt?!?) things are definitely on the up and up in the California market.

Having been ushered into the GM world now and developing a  new and deep appreciation for domestic cars, I hope it will give me a fresh perspective as I head back to my home state.  Next week I’ll give you a quick synopsis of the employee outreach and our adventures in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ll also reflect on my summer here at GM and wrap-up the Cruzin’ with Ann series. Stay tuned!

Education – BA from St. Mary’s College of Maryland – double major in Economics and Public Policy
Favorite TV show – World Series of Poker – has lived his dream by playing in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and made it half way through 750 participants
Obsessions – Totally obsessed with the Baltimore Ravens
Passions – “Spending time with my kids – they are all consuming”

It’s neat to be involved with new technologies like the hybrid transmission, used in the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickups, as well as the Cadillac Escalade.

I started my career with GM as a temporary hourly employee in 1993 at the Baltimore Assembly plant. I became permanent hourly in 1995 and then became a salaried employee as a supervisor in the paint shop in 1997. In 2000, I transferred to the Fairfax Assembly plant working in various areas throughout the plant. My wife missed Baltimore, so in 2004 we moved back and I started my current job at the Baltimore Transmission plant.

I’m currently a group leader in the Hybrid Transmission Assembly area. I enjoy facilitating two teams of five people each, motivating and encouraging them to come up with better ideas because we will never be done improving our products and processes. We’re always looking at ways to take our quality to the next level and eliminate any waste in the system. I enjoy what I do and it makes me happy when they succeed because then I feel like I’ve succeeded.

My most creative experience at GM was when I was at the Fairfax Assembly plant. I was part of a team that built and managed what we call a Simulated Work Environment (SWE). This is where we create an assembly line to build large wooden cars. It teaches employees part flow, how to layout a job the most efficient way, how to create job instructions, workload balance, team work, how to build a quality part and how to communicate with each other. We had employees from all over the Midwest come to the plant for this training. I loved being able to teach others how to make improvements at their plants.

I am totally obsessed with the Baltimore Ravens and have been since they came into town in 1996. I go to four or five games a year. I have a room in my basement dedicated to them – the jerseys, the Christmas tree – you name it – I have it! I took my one year old daughter to their training camp and will take her every year until she doesn’t want to go anymore.

I love kids and coached youth sports – football and lacrosse. When my kids get older I’ll pick it up again so I can coach them.

I don’t design or build the product – I’m a people person. The people at Baltimore Transmission make my job a perfect one for me.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the fifth annual BlogHer conference in New York City with a small group of GM employees. BlogHer is a conference celebrating women in the blogosphere and their ever growing influence in social media. The conference grows with each passing year and attendance at this conference was over 2,500. This may seem like a small number compared to other conferences like South By Southwest or the Consumer Electronics show, but keep in mind that these are 2,500 of the most connected and engaged people in the country. Proof in point, Twitter crashed twice on the first day due to all the tweeting at BlogHer.

Chevrolet was a proud sponsor of the conference and I was happy to help staff the Cruze product booth. Freshly coming off the National Media Drive and still running on fumes, I wasn’t sure if I would have the energy to enjoy BlogHer. But it was awesome! I met some fabulous bloggers (Hi Paul and Lee Reyes-Fournier!), got to snap pictures with pseudo-celebrities (see the picture of me and honey bear above) and gained some great insights on cars from New Yorkers. 

For three days I chatted with numerous people about cars and lifestyles. The most interesting conversations I had were with city slickers who all shared two basic sentiments with me. One, owning a car is a luxury in a big city.  Two, if you do have money, the automotive make of choice is usually European. Now it would be easy to say that big urban markets don’t fit with GM and simply turn our attention elsewhere, but the reality is that there is a global trend towards rapid urbanization.  According to a Population Reference Bureau report, 81 percent of the inhabitants of developed countries will be urban dwellers by 2030. In the U.S. more than half of all Americans live within 50 miles of the major coasts, according to the Center for Environment and Population.  So herein lies the great challenge of the future for the domestic car industry, how will we penetrate the ever fickle and style-discriminating urban markets?

I’m not claiming to know the answer to this question and no doubt this will be a very difficult issue to tackle, but my instincts are telling me that the answer perhaps lies somewhere in branding. In terms of products, GM cars are better than they have ever been. So we’ve effectively closed the gap of quality and performance. Now that GM is sitting pretty in the performance and quality category with other impressive auto makers, how do we differentiate ourselves and win over those trend-setting urbanites? 

Last year one of my awesome professors at Northwestern, Frank Mulhern, said something that really stuck with me (see dad?!? I am paying attention in class! Your money isn’t really going to waste). Professor Mulhern said that in any mature classically competitive market, each supplier essentially has equal access to the same technology and resources as his/her competitors. Thus everyone’s prices and quality ends up being about the same! (Unless you’re Wal-Mart!) With equal quality and equal prices, how does one distinguish his products from somebody else’s? The answer is (drum roll please)…..branding!

But this whole branding thing didn’t really hit me until my last day in Manhattan when I had some down time and I decided to wander around the city. After a couple hours of hoofing it from downtown to uptown, I worked up an appetite. Being a firm believer in “when in Rome do as the Romans do”, I decided it was only appropriate that I quash my hunger with the quintessential New York summertime nosh… the hot dog! But where to go? The Smoke Joint? PDT? The ubiquitous Gray’s Papaya? The equally charming Papaya King? Let’s not forget Papaya Dog. Overwhelmed with options, I called up my foodie friend for advice. He said go to Gray’s Papaya. I asked him why. He said, “What’s more New York than Gray’s Papaya?” There it was; branding at its finest.  Gray’s Papaya had somehow beaten all its equally delicious rivals and become the top New York dog. 

Now I’m not equating cars to hot dogs, but metaphorically, how can GM cars become the Gray’s Papaya of the urban city market? It’s pretty obvious that it’s going to be a challenge because there is some stiff competition out there. But GM has a pretty awesome lineup of products, so at the very least we’re comin’ out swinging in the urban branding battle.

A FamilyTradition. Taking care of the environment has always been a way of life for my family. I was the second oldest in a family of nine.  For us, tent camping in Michigan was an economical way to take a vacation.  We made the best from what we had and I believe those experiences became the foundation for the rest of my life.  I remember following my dad through the forest when I was a little boy with my BB gun.  My parents taught us a deep appreciation for the earth and the need to protect it for future generations.  My wife Sharon and I have tried to pass along that same appreciation to our three boys.

Preserving Nature. I own 24 acres in the Grand Blanc area of Michigan, that my family and I have turned into a wildlife haven.  We actively manage it to provide water, food and habitat for wildlife.  It is home to songbirds, owls, hawks, ducks, and just about any other wildlife species native to the area.

Working with My Hands. I enjoy building things.  I built my house from scratch.  When I can, I use recycled materials in my projects. In fact, I built a small cabin on my property with scrap wood and sided it with old shipping pallets, made into shingles.

I guess the ultimate recycling might be my taxidermy work.  When I was a boy, I remember feeling a need to preserve and share the beauty of wildlife.  I was in awe of pheasants, with their beautiful plumage that my dad hunted. I felt a need to do more than pluck them and throw away the feathers after the bird was prepared for our dinner. I saw an ad in my Boy Scout magazine for a taxidermy course. I sent my $10 in and that’s how I learned taxidermy. My mom was very encouraging and complimentary of my early efforts. Now, I enjoy working with birds, although I’ve done all kinds of animals. Once, in college, we brought a shark home from Florida tied to the bottom of a Trans Am so I that could mount it to preserve it for others to enjoy.

Mentoring. I was a Boy Scout then a Scoutmaster for many years. Now, I mentor the scouts with Eagle Projects.  My nephew Jacob is working on a project right now.   He built and placed Wood Duck nest boxes, made from Chevrolet Volt battery pack covers and other materials at several GM sites.  The covers were destined to be scrapped, but rather than be landfilled or sent for incineration, they were repurposed to benefit wildlife.  Wood Ducks have been challenged over the last several years, due to habitat and nest site loss.  Artificial nest boxes, when engineered correctly, serve as excellent alternative nesting cavities.

My job is finding solutions to GM’s waste issues.  I feel like I’m making the world a better place for everybody.  Today, I enjoy mentoring young engineers and students.   I try to get them to think out of the box.   For example, a project I worked on resulted in the Buick LaCrosse having a part of its headliner made out of recycled cardboard from our plants.  Another was to sell vehicle components with slight dents and scratches.  I tell them: the easy part is coming up with the idea, the hard part is implementing it.  You have to work some of these environmentally sound ideas through the system, but it is more than worth it when they are in place.

Since we’re still in the introductory “getting to know me phase”, I’d like to share a very important part of my background with you. I am second-generation Vietnamese-American. In other words, my parents immigrated to the United States and I was born and raised in America. My father was a captain in the South Vietnamese army and when Saigon fell in 1975, he was immediately forced to flee. My mom and brothers weren’t as fortunate. It would take them another 7 years, filled with failed attempts to leave and a short time in a communist prison, to finally make it out of Vietnam.

The Oldsmobile

While my mom and brothers were half a world away, my father quietly persevered on his own. He worked many meager jobs and saved every penny he could. For his first big purchase in America, he bought a beat-up, powder blue Oldsmobile. The paint was chipped, the seats were ripped and it was pretty much an eyesore. But to my father, it might as well have been the Queen’s Rolls Royce.It was his beauty on wheels, a tangible  reward for a decade of sacrifices and struggle. My father was so proud of that car. It was this car that made it possible for him to get to work, save up money and somehow find a way to bring my mom and my brothers to America. Ultimately, it was a symbol of his American dream.

After years of separation, my family was reunited once again in Texas in 1982. Unfortunately, the happiness of the reunion didn’t last too long because my father lost his job. Looking for better opportunities, my parents packed up the Oldsmobile and drove to California. In this car, they were headed towards a brighter future. In this car, they envisioned a dream home in the suburbs and sending their children to college. In this car, they imagined growing old with lots of grandkids.

My parents with my brothers (a while back)

My family wound up in Sacramento. It wasn’t the most glamorous of California cities, but my parents felt it was a nice place to raise a family. So they finally settled down and I was born not too long after that. By that time, the powder blue tank was pretty well-worn and it was time to part with it. It wasn’t even around long enough for me to remember; I only have those old photos to go by.

After my parents got rid of the Oldsmobile, my parents bought another modest used car. Not being old enough to understand, I asked my dad why we couldn’t get a brand new fancy car like everyone else. I remember my father telling me, “Mom and I can’t buy a nice car now, but someday in the future if you work hard enough, you’ll be able to buy a beautiful fancy car of your own.” Being the comedian that he is, he added, “And maybe when I’m retired and you’re really successful, you can be me one of those big Cadillacs our retired neighbors drive.”

My Brothers, nieces, and me

Twenty-five years later, almost all of my parents’ dreams have come true. My brothers and I all went off to college (I one-upped them and went to grad school). They fawn and spoil three beautiful granddaughters (of course they are constantly asking for more). Just recently retired, they both spend their days taking walks around their quiet suburban neighborhood. Now with my short stint on the Chevrolet Communications team, I feel that my parents’ story has come full circle. It started off with a beat-up, powder blue Oldsmobile and now I’m spending my summer working on the launch of a brand new GM car.

I remember reading in my introductory paperwork that GM interns are eligible for the employee discount. A few people have even suggested that I take advantage of it. I’m not personally in the market for a new car, but now that my dad is retired, maybe I should look into that Cadillac he always talked about.

I’ve always had an affinity for building things, especially cars. My father was very technical- minded and I had an older brother who was really interested in cars.  He piqued my interest and led me down the same path. It was all about creating things for me, so naturally I enjoyed manufacturing, even to the point that I eventually built my own house.

I was 12 years old when I purchased my first car, a 1934 five-window Chevy Coupe which I turned into a street rod. I worked on that car for four years and finally got it working when I got my license.  I just kept going from there.

I’ve probably restored about a dozen cars from Chevelles to GTOs to Grand Prixs, selling each car to help fund the next project. I find that it’s the challenge of restoring the cars that I enjoy, rather than keeping them.  Once I got married and started my family, the car-building projects were put aside.

A number of years later, a friend of mine called me with a deal I couldn’t turn down, the chance to restore a ’68 Oldsmobile 442 W30. The car is a limited production vehicle so it had a pedigree that made it attractive to restore to its original condition.

Having that passion for building things has really helped me at General Motors. I feel lucky to work here because I love what I do. I’ve worked my way into the engineering side of the car business as a tradesman. My background and experience as a tool and die worker really helped prepare me for my current position.

Today, I work on the C-Flex project. As a manufacturing engineer, I help validate new car builds into existing equipment and try to increase the agility and flexibility on our plant lines. I also handle virtual analysis and validate pre-production product to make sure there are no assembly issues and develop manufacturing studies to make sure new product can be produced by the tools we have at plants.

Kevin Carriere with Family

When I’m not working, I’m still building things in my tool shop at home in Hartland, MI and spending time with my wife of 30 years,  Kim and my son Matthew and daughter Megan.  Matthew, who’s about to get his engineering degree at Lawrence Tech, owns a ’96 Camaro Z28 which I’ve helped him restore. It’s great to see that building cars is still a family thing.

The Cruze National Media drive ended on July 30th. We spent six busy days in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. Friday was hands down the best day for me because I got to take the Cruze for a spin on the drive routes. I’m no media drive expert, but I thought the soft rolling hills of the greater D.C., area were simply the perfect way to show off the zippiness (that’s probably not a technical term they use over at Milford) and responsiveness of the Cruze. It seems like the automotive media guests in attendance felt the same. Not all the reviews are in, but the first reviews have been overwhelmingly positive! If you haven’t seen them, you can find links on the Chevy Cruze Facebook page.

Being part of all the festivities was a great learning experience, but it was certainly exhausting. It was possibly even more tiring than my last quarter of school when I had 4 projects and 4 finals in a span of 9 days. So this leads me to the first of my key takeaways about media drives…

Key takeaway #1: Putting on a media drive is really, really, (did I mention really?) hard work.

Can you tell I was excited?

If you’re one of those people always looking for the next great challenge, forget climbing Mt. Everest and organize an automotive media drive. Having been involved in the final month of preparation and then watching said preparation play out over 6 intense days, I can say without doubt, the amount of thought and detail involved is unfathomable to anyone outside of automotive communications. Let me paint a rough picture… thirty cars, unpredictable weather, the always reliable U.S. airline industry (sarcasm intended here) and urban traffic makes for one tricky week of events.

So major kudos and respect to Lesley Hettinger, Klaus-Peter Martin, Jan Thomas and Pete Lewis who put the whole shebang together.

I also got to spend some time with GM’s amazing engineers and designers. In the end, I was really touched by their passion and dedication. They invest years of hard work into each and every element of the car, so that when we put the keys into the ignition, all the elements magically and effortlessly come together and we can drive without worrying.  All that engineering and science that surrounds you like a cocoon basically becomes an afterthought. Their tireless attention to detail is what allows us to shift our focus to the road, the music coming from the radio, and conversations with our passengers. I suppose in a way, they allow us to live our lives. This leads me to my second key take-way….

Key takeaway #2:  It has to start with an amazing product.

Yeah, I'm...I mean the car is pretty amazing.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a marketing student so I am a firm believer in the power of branding and image. However, like anything in life, nothing can stand on its own. For branding, its foundation is a strong product. Without it, the outreach and advertising becomes a mere farce. Granted I am new here and just getting to know everybody, but I can already tell that the team behind the Cruze truly believes in this product. There’s a pride and confidence, that many readily admit, hasn’t necessarily been there in previous Chevrolet compact cars. I think the technical whizzes behind the Cruze have given marketing and communications a great start.

Amidst all the craziness, I miraculously found myself with a couple of free hours one night. I called up a friend living in the city and we went out for a late dinner. We grabbed a table on the patio overlooking Dupont Circle and about an hour and a half later, I left the restaurant with a full tummy and no less than 10 bug bites. Turns out that a few other GMers had some run-ins with bugs too, which leads me to my third and final takeaway…

Key takeaway #3: There are a lot of gross and crazy insects in the Washington D.C. area.

The coolest moment of my week was chatting with Motorweek’s John Davis.  Quick digression, my family and I used to watch Motorweek every Saturday morning on PBS. We were never a car crazy family, but for one reason or another, we watched it every week so John Davis is the epitome of an automotive journalist to me. So back to the story…. Shooting the breeze with the awesome John Davis, he told me that Washington D.C. was built on top of a swamp and because it was surrounded by hills, the city was essentially in a bowl. Utilizing my left-brain thinking skills of deduction, I have concluded:

Swamp =>  humidity + bug friendly climate

The crazy bug story doesn’t end there. Mark, one of the very talented photographers, told me about an entomological phenomenon that occurs only once every 16 years in the greater D.C. area. The phenomenon I’m referring to is the cicada. Apparently billions of cicadas come out of the ground, so many that they darken the sky, smack into windshields and then eventually all die and fall to the ground. Thankfully we missed the cicada plague; however, I did randomly find one on my way to the airport! Of course I had to take a picture of it!

The Dead Cicada

So there we have it. My first automotive media drive in less than 1000 words. I was a little nervous before it all started, but I’m really glad I got to be part of it. I got to drive an awesome car, made some new GM friends and saw my first dead cicada! Overall not too shabby of a week.

Here’s a video I found about the Cruze’s design with words from the people who helped design it.

Over the past 30 years, engineers like Frank have helped improve the fuel economy of GM vehicles by reducing their wind resistance, saving today’s drivers between $100 – $300 per year on fuel. In addition, Frank has worked on some unusual projects, improving the performance of everything from yachts to Olympic skiers.

We asked Frank to show us around the wind tunnel, and talk about his three decades of experience in aerodynamics.

Check out the tests done in the Aerodynamics Lab:

Since playing sports is my passion, I take my cue from experiences on the field or on the court. Sometimes I will spend the whole weekend coaching my two boys – John and James – in football, baseball, soccer and basketball. I was the captain of my high school football team, and the Marist college football team, and learned vital life and career skills from playing sports. I learned all about teamwork and the importance of relationships; and that is what I bring to my work every day.

I started as the OnStar territory representative and solved dealer and customer issues for six years before becoming the district sales manager for GM.

I am currently responsible for more than 17 dealerships in the northeast. I work very closely with these dealerships every day and make sure that customers understand our product offerings and get the best-in-class sales and service experience.

I’ve been on this job for seven years and the most challenging part of my role is to ensure that dealers are committed to GM the same way that I am.

I rely heavily on the skills learned on the field for this – my leadership skills, my knack for forging individual relationships and my ability to bring people together go a long way in creating a common vision for my dealers.

It’s great to see GM’s initiative to reach out through programs like Project Outreach, which bring together employees, consumers and dealers to share experiences, learn about products and receive feedback from each other.  I had the opportunity to participate in Outreach Long Island last month where I was able to bridge the gap between customers and dealers.

I am happy to see that GM is taking a page out of my personal book and building relationships across regions. I now feel an integral part of GM’s vision.