DebRedZR1

Hey Don (and all,) just saw the Wixom segment on MW over the weekend
Very cool looking set up! Makes me want to get over there even more
I think I read it here but who all was in that video? Tell everyone HI from the West Side

eaglei

Happy New Year Deb!

Since I haven't yet seen this MotorWeek story I can't say for absolute sure. Seems like we'd get a sneak preview but that usually isn't the case. But if my memory is correct, Rick Dadd, Bruce Blomfield and Gary Andrews were our stars. I'll let you know if I need to correct.

If anyone has a link to the video that would be great...

Deb, we're looking forward to seeing you and your group at Wixom. I'm pretty sure you will find to be time well spent. So come on over!

Joe_G

Joe_G

Well Motorweek is on Tuesday 1/4/11 at 8 and 11 pm, the Mercedes Benz R class. Channel 412 Comcast HD.

The 30th Aniversary show is on Saturday at 3:30 pm on our local PBS saation.

Deb was it the Mercedes R class show?

DebRedZR1

Hey Don,
Thanks and Happy New Year to you
I know for sure they talked to Bruce. I saw one of Mike Priest's name plates===he built mine so I was wondering if he was on there
We will for sure be there in the Spring and I will give you fair warning
I have the video on DVR but a link would be cool so I can send it to some people.
Joe, It is the one with the Cadillac CTS-V and Lincoln MKX. The Wixom segment aired in between and was not mentioned in the info. I would not have known if I was not told about it .
It was last on here Sunday morning on Comcast/PBS.

Joe_G

Perfect, thanks Deb!

That is airing in Ft. Lauderdale on Tues 1/11 8:00 pm. Dvr set to record!

jhc119

2010 zr1 motor by bruce blumfield. This is vette number 21 for me and will be with me till the end. The fastest until the zr1 was my 1966 427-425 h.p. It would not hold a candle to the zr1. My opinion: Chevrolet done good on this one!!!

Corvette_Outlaw

Here is the link to the engine build segment......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssdaaq_7E-k

Torched

Thanks for the link great stuff for the Corvette customer.

eaglei

Ditto on the thanks! Great link for us at Wixom!

First builder seen is Mike Priest, he also worked with Todd Schnitt on our first customer build your own.
Ron Hein is next (white beard), his nameplate is also shown.
JD Dickinson is the guy in the orange shirt.
Rodger Schultz is briefly seen pushing an engine into the cold test cell.
Rick Dadd is shown working with the MW journalist.
Bruce Blomfield needs no identification - he had his name on the screen.
Same for Carl Pickleman, our plant manager.
Rob Nichols, one our resident engineers is also shown at cold test.

Hmmm.... wonder where I was hiding? Pretty sure I was gone the day of the filming.

Joe_G

That's really cool.

Did you or your co-workers ever think, when you decided to take a job at GM, that you'd be like rock stars, with people wanting signed pictures of you?

You even happen to have the name for it!

DebRedZR1

Awesome show on Wixom. Thanks Don, for putting the names ( and taking time to put the details so I could easily follow along!) with the faces.
Hmmm you sound like me, always hiding from the camera

Thanks to CF we get the opportunity to know these Great Guys

DebRedZR1

Why did I know YOU would find this Thanks for telling me about the show so I could watch it That GS at the end looks familiar

Corvette_Outlaw

No stone left unturned..... No problem......it does seem like I've seen a GS like that before....

eaglei

Good morning Joe!

Ahh Florida - warm breezes, gentle waves, miles of hot sand, Corvettes rolling down A1A - sounds good from the icebox. Is Travis McGee still at Bahia Mar?

When I hired into GM I expected a life of anonymity. Never thought I would be in a place at GM where your customer knows your name. I was just worried about keeping up with the line at Oldsmobile which ran close to 100 cars per hour. Cutlasses, 88's and 98's - we couldn't build enough.

Now I'm fortunate enough to have a great job, building hot engines for customers that really care. Ain't this a great country??

Now if I just had the power to make Corvette sales ratchet up...

Joe_G

Haven't seen Travis lately, they re-did his slip, but I'm sure he's here somewhere. Why not - 69 and sunny as I type my friend....let's make a deal, you come visit me in December - April and I'll come visit you in June-August! I am dying to make the dream cruise this year by the way. Haven't been since 2000.

One thing for you and your Wixom brothers to remember - don't underestimate the effect of your presence on this board, going to SEMA, getting out in public etc. etc. Every customer you speak to, and many more who read your posts, speaks to perhaps hundreds of enthusiasts, in car shows, race tracks, other forums, etc. etc. and guess what, they have a personal connection to their car and you guys! It's fantastic PR. IMHO very smart move on GM's part to get you guys out there speaking to the enthusiasts. When I first started buying PR/advertsing, a smart guy told me, only 1/2 of your marketing spend works, you just don't know which half! I promise you guys being out there and contributing does work and is a great value.

We all need to say a prayer that the true rebound the pundits are speaking of in the WSJ is coming this year!

Oh, and Oldsmobiles are my first love, here's my stable a couple of years ago.

eaglei

Hello Joe,

I'm sure Dr. Olds would be happy to see your stable. They look fine indeed! Love that era of Cutlass....looks like you had some rare birds.

I totally agree with you about the value of grass-roots PR. You never know when a little snowball on the move can turn into a big avalanche. And I've been accused of being an incurable optimist. What can I say? Guilty as charged. We build great engines, why not promote them.

However, there are times that optimism can be tested by business realities... Let's hope people are making enough on their investments to justify a new ZR1!

Love to drop by and see you in Fla! Will let you know if a trip is in the works. Maybe Chevy marketing will let me take a new Z for promotion.

Joe, thanks for your gracious invitation! And we look forward to see you at Wixom!

therza

Making great progress in that direction!! Go bulls go!!

QUIKAG

Mike Priest built the LS9 that went into 2010 Cyber Gray #1515. I picked her up a little over a week ago and already have 700 miles on her. I got as close to 500 miles as possible before cracking the motor wide open. I've already seen 140mph on a "private track" and involuntarily burnished my brakes as I came to a screeching halt with brake pad smoke coming up from the wheel area. Suffice to say, this motor will be given a good workout. I am a car nut to the highest order and love track days and pushing cars to their (and my) limits.

So, I am very happy I got a "Priest Motor" as I know it's going to hold together for a long time. I grew up reading car magazines in the mag section of bookstores. My parents would catch me looking at the car magazines when I was 5 years old before I could really read. Fast forward through college and there was really only one choice for a car, a new '01 Corvette at graduation. Who cared if the monthly payment was a significant percentage of my take home pay, I was a car enthusiast.

So, then as I was blessed with good career progression, I got a new '08 Coupe LS3 and romped that for over 15,000 miles, but of those 15,000 miles, literally about half of them were on the track. Great car, but then the siren call was beckoning and I had no choice but to pick up a new ZR1 to take my track competiveness to the next level. I debated a Porsche GT3 or some other piece of top-flight track hardware, but I am an American and when an American car company can build an engine this outstanding and surround it with a car equally outstanding, I had no choice but to stay in the Corvette fold.

Thank you, Mike Priest, and all the other guys at PBC. Also, thanks to those of you at BG that put it all together into one solid package.

Edit: Here is a quick video clip of a 140mph pull from 2nd gear. As you can see the engine is nice, powerful, and smooth! I have several other videos as well if you search on my youtube name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAjJrX6FaHo

eaglei

Congratulations on your new Cyber ZR1!! You've earned it, glad you chose to stay with the US of A.

And very cool that you posted video to prove you're using the ample power. Must be a thrill...

Will show Mike your message when I see him next week. Guarantee you he'll be smiling! And thanks for the kudos for the gang at PBC. A very talented and dedicated group to work with.