AutoX event to be held at GM's Powertrain Plant in St. Catherines.

[Red Kelly]

Just received this e-mail from our Competitor Corvette Club President.


I have recently been conversing by email with Tom Laing, a representative of the GM Powertrain Plant in St. Catharines. This plant will be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year. Tom is planning to have an open house as well as a Show & Shine. The show & shine portion is very informal; no entry fee and only a people’s choice award. At the last open house they had when they were starting up production on the Gen III motors (LS1 & LS6) they had 10,000 people go through the plant. As an aside, the new Gen IV (LS2) motor will be manufactured at this plant. Anyway, in conjunction with this celebration he also wants to put on an autoslalom for some added excitement. This is where we come in. He wants our club to put on the autoslalom.

He got our contact information from a friend of his Elie Garfinkel, who is one of the F-Body guys from TFBM. In fact Tom has been out to one of the TFBM autoslalom events in the padock of Mosport-DDT. I suspect this Celebration autoslalom will be primarily for the Corvette and the F-Body guys. The location is the GM engine plant in St. Catharines. I remember running there about 14 years ago and it was a fairly decent lot. I do remember it being somewhat gritty, but perhaps they’ve repaved it since then. It is no Bronte GO Station lot … but then what is, at least in this area! The date he has told me is Aug 4th, 2004, but this happens to be a Wednesday, so I have asked him for confirmation on that.

At last year’s Show & Shine they had people such as Ron Fellows show up, so it is the type of event where you get to smooze with the GM brass. I thought it would be an interesting idea for us to be involved with this. It may be a great opportunity to open some doors for our club. In fact I have already suggested that maybe a sponsorship deal could be struck between GM and our club.

[PowerPro01]

Red:
Send me a PM with details. Our car owner raced with Fellows in the Player's Challenge days, and our current project car with ACP carbon widebody and CCW 19's would make an interesting addition...

[Zippy]

Great news, Red!

As you know, at last year's engine plant tour, the power went out while our group observed the piston/rod assemblies being loaded into the cylinders!

I'm definitely in for this year....and I'll bring a flashlight, just in case!

Zippy

[PowerPro01]

Hey Zippy:
We were in Auburn Hills for Woodward when the lites went out. I'd MUCH rather be in St. Kitts, in the dark, than RR#1 Detroit, thankyou very much! "Urban Renewal" and I don't get along!!
Actually, the place was very peaceful, and we all DID get along.