When I was first promoted to management in Domino's Pizza, my title was "Brand Standards Manager" and the position was created specifically for me. I was really pleased with it until it was pointed out that it could be shortened to "BS Manager". All the best, Andrew.
Something new from Toyota for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show Toyota planning radical open-wheel sports car concept Image Unavailable, Please Login
Anyone interested in autos & design should consider this show on Father's Day in June. I've been a judge for the last 20 yrs and we've had some very special cars show up. The great thing about this particular show is it's all about design.....not whether or not you have the correct 'muffler bearings' etc. EyesOn Design: World-class automotive design exhibition brings historic & beautiful vehicles to Edsel & Eleanor Ford House. May 26, 2015 - Detroit, Michigan. It's the car that changed the course of a fictional English family - and later versions changed the course of auto racing in the 1960s. One of the featured cars at the 2015 EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition this Father's Day Sunday, June 21, will be the 1927 AC Six roadster. The car played a prominent part in the season three finale of "Downton Abbey," the popular PBS TV series. In the finale, the car was taken for a fateful drive by family heir Matthew Crawley just after the birth of his son. In real life, the AC Six is a rare and beloved English sports car with a bona fide racing history. Powered by an overhead-cam six-cylinder engine, the car won numerous races and set three records in 1927. In 1962, AC teamed up with Carroll Shelby, supplying bodies for the famed Ford-powered AC Cobra. The annual car show, which takes place on the grounds of the historic Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, will feature more than 250 specially-chosen vehicles. This year's theme, "House Style," will showcase selected vehicles from styling teams under legendary design chiefs at Chrysler, Ford and General Motors and at American Motors, Jaguar and Studebaker. Some of the most striking cars ever made will be shown in these categories: General Motors Design: Harley Earl era (1947 - 1958) General Motors Design: William Mitchell era (1959 - 1977) Ford Design: George Walker era (1949 - 1961) Ford Design: Gene Bordinat era (1961 - 1980) Chrysler Design: Virgil Exner era (1955 - 1962) Chrysler Design: Elwood Engel era (1963 - 1974) American Motors Design: Richard Teague era (1963 - 1983) Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg: Alan Leamy / Gordon Buehrig era (1929 - 1937) Studebaker Design: Raymond Loewy era (1947 - 1966) Jaguar Design: Sir William Lyons era (1931 - 1968) European House Style: Italian Carrozerria from Turin & Milan Golden Era Classics: Great Luxury Cars (1925 - 1948) Jazz Age Coupes Collectors' Circle: The Best from Collectors and Restorers Pure Michigan Made in Lansing: REO, Oldsmobile and others Muscle Cars: A Celebration of Horsepower Tuners: Standing Apart from the Crowd TVR Class: British-Built Sports Car Marque ASC: Celebrating 50 Years Chevy Small Block Hot Rods EyesOn Design begins with a Media Preview at the Ford House on Wednesday, June 17. On Friday, June 19, Vision Honored - a black tie gala event honoring retired head of Renault Design Patrick le Quement - and accompanying Silent Auction will take place at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. EyesOn Design culminates with the Automotive Design Exhibition and expanded Private Eyes Brunch on the beautiful lakefront grounds of the Ford House on Sunday, June 21. Click to see Honorary Chairman Ralph Gilles / EyesOn Design video Learn more at the EyesOn Design website, or contact Judi Dara at (313) 824-4710. EyesOn Design tickets may be purchased at the gate on June 21 beginning at 10 a.m.
It's just my opinion, but I really don't think much has changed at GM in decades. How many major restructures has the company made since 1980 under Roger Smith, Jack Smith, & Rick Wagoner? I've lost track of all the shifts in corporate structure. Buick, Pontiac,& Olds, then Pontiac went to GM Canada, then back to N.A. automotive. On top of that, there was Saturn as a separate entity, NUMMI, CAMI, and the infamous Fiat put... It doesn't appear that things have improved much since 2008 version-6.0; Cadillac is off to take a bite in the big apple, and it seems they are recalling more cars than they've built. I'd swear they have an entire level of management that just thinks of new restructure scenarios... Things are always promised to "get better" but they never do, and as far as I can see, it's no different this time.
I will neither defend nor be critical of the company, but here are some random thoughts. They are currently building the best cars & trucks, ever, in their entire history, and unlike all the inter web critics, I actually have driven for over 40 yrs and currently drive their products The one thing that you mention is something that affects all organizations sooner or later. Whether its a large corporation, the Federal Government, The Military, Higher Education, bureaucracies eventually succumb to rampant egos, missteps, poor planning, no planning, too much confidence, etc., etc. Believe me when I say that Ford, Toyota, VW, Mercedes, etc all at one time or another have to beat back the bureaucratic 'creep' that ultimately takes place. As much as I admire Apple, at some point they will fall into the same pattern. The Roman Empire, The British Empire........eventually it just happens At one point GM was the world's largest company, then the largest car company that helped the US win WWII with the Arsenal of Democracy. Through the last 40 yrs, it's been a downhill struggle. Now they're building world class vehicles capable of competing with the best. Having lived through the downward spiral and watching it take place up close and personal, it wasn't a pretty sight. However, like any of the entities I mentioned, bureaucracies are all made up of people. And people are the same the world over in that sense. Today's smartest company can eventually become an also ran or worse go out of business, and conversely, today's upstart can become a goliath like Apple. But in the end it's the people and leadership or lack of that determine the fate of the organization. At one time my alma mater ACCD was the undisputed leader in Automotive Design education in the whole world. Today.......not so much. Make no mistake, it's the people in the 'trenches' that make things happen day to day that deliver the results, good or bad. The responsibility of Senior Leadership determines success or failure. Hope this wasn't too long or boring, but GM is no different than any other organization. Its made up of people that day to day are working to do the right things, just like every other car company. The winners and losers, just like sports teams fates, are determined by a multitude of factors, both internal & external. So are 'they' different now? In my opinion, absolutely. Is some of the 'old baggage' still present, unfortunately probably so. That's what makes life so interesting.
That's a appropriate way of looking at it. It's pretty rewarding being one of Rob's BS managers. Although I haven't been very helpful lately as I've been having some technical problems. I'm looking into a warranty repair to my smartphone to get me going again. All the best, Andrew.
That looks interesting. I've really liked Toyota and a lot of Japanese car companies recently. That open-wheeled Toyota, the Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ, the Subaru Impreza WRX, the Honda S2000, Mazda MX5... Japan is producing some good inexpensive stuff. All the best, Andrew.
Indeed, I'm anxious to see what shows up at the Tokyo Motor Show. There's always interesting stuff at that one
Some interesting categories. Real interesting to see what cars are selected to represent the Detroit people. Will they be the most obvious choices and include the show cars or will it be the outstanding designs that are less recognized. As for some of the featured people the worthy selection list will be fairly short. Interesting, but embarrassing, would be to pair the GM design that Ford subsequently copied. What was the line about the 65/66 Ford being the box that the Pontiac came in? With Loewy they get a two fer with Exner for some of the cars at Studebaker. We want to make some of our own choices? Harley Earl first tail fin Cadillac 57 Eldo Biarritz 58 Eldo Brougham 55 Corvette 53 Buick Skylark hardtop Mitchell 68 Pontiac GTO 65 Corvair hardtop 67 Oldsmobile Toronado 65 Riviera 76 Seville 70 1/2 Camaro Z28 with RS nose 70 1/2 Pontiac Trans Am Walker 56 Continental Mark II 62 Continental 62 Thunderbird 49 Ford Bordinat 67 Cougar 69 Mustang 73 Mark III Exner 55 Chrysler C300 57 Chrysler 300C Engle 66 Dodge Charger 70 Dodge Challenger 71 Plymouth GTX Teague 70 AMC Hornet 68 AMX 74 Matador Loewy 47 Starlight Coupe 53 Commander Starlight Coupe Jeff
Interesting choices For H. Earl, no '55 Chev? For Mitchell I'd have to add the '67 Eldo and the '63 Split window Vette I haven't seen the complete list of cars yet.......I'm not on that committee Wondering which class I'll be judging.
Forgot the 55 Chevy. The Mitchell list is too long. Wanted to include some of the more off beat choices. Since my respect is low for Walker, Bordinat and Engle those were a struggle. Exner deserves more but so many are show cars. Jeff
Photos courtesy of Jack Riddell. That first two photos are reminiscent of a 928. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
was it built on an existing production chassis? would like to see a more period correct style, retro wheel design.
