Dealers use GM Racing and GM Performance parts to expand their business.
I'm old enough to recall those politically incorrect days of companies attracting attention to their products by using pictures of scantily clad young ladies or featuring blondes with big ... ideas. Those days have gone the way of "the cigarette more doctors recommend." Now grabbing attention are motorized vehicles; some with thousands of horsepower and no muffler and bodies covered in decals instead of bikinis. I'm of course referring to auto racing, a spectator-rich sport that attracts more live attendance than almost any other activity in the world. There are dozens of sanctioning bodies—many of them universally familiar, like NASCAR, NHRA, and SCCA—and local ones that are unheard of by folks who live just three counties over.Early on, automobile manufacturers became involved in auto racing as a venue to showcase their vehicles by winning road, track, hill-climbing, and endurance races. Even those who could barely afford 40 acres and a mule were thrilled at the sight of a motorcar screaming along at more than 40 mph and race distances that would take the poor mule three days to cover. In the early days, cheering fans lived vicariously through daredevils who would risk their lives to go fast and finish first.
THE ORIGINS OF GM RACING
One company with a long history of auto racing is General Motors. Founder William Durant became aware of a 27-year-old Frenchman named Louis Chevrolet after he (Chevrolet) defeated Barney Oldfield and Walter Christie—two outstanding racers—in 1905. Chevrolet drove a 90-horsepower Fiat to a record-setting 68 mph and barely slowed down around curves to achieve his victory. That same year, Chevrolet beat Henry Ford in a one-mile race at Cape May, New Jersey.Durant invited Chevrolet and his younger brother, Arthur, to Flint, Michigan, in 1907, where he staged a race behind the Buick plant in Flint. Though Louis easily won the race, Durant hired Arthur to be his chauffeur because he was the more careful driver. However, he hired Chevrolet to join the Buick racing team. For the next three years, Chevrolet won a multitude of victories for Buick. (Sounds awkward, doesn't it?)
In 1909, Chevrolet opened a garage in Detroit and began to design, build, and test four-and six-cylinder automobile engines. When Durant was forced out of General Motors in 1910 as a result of a stockholder's dispute, Chevrolet followed him and designed a six-cylinder automobile named—oddly enough—Chevrolet. Four years later, Chevrolet, who was anxious to return to racing, sold his stock in the Chevrolet automobile to Durant. Eventually, the Chevrolet brand was integrated into General Motors, but the racing and performance seed had already been sewn.Through the years, auto racing's stature grew from what was once a purview of "moonshiners" and "toothless farm boys" to one of the largest spectator sports in the world. Concurrently, every General Motors division has been involved in racing. Mark Kent, GM's director of racing since 2005, says each division has a "swim lane."
"Chevy is our halo division and is very active in NASCAR, SCCA, and ALMS Corvette. Pontiac has drag racing, Hummer is heavy (pardon the pun) into off-roading, Cadillac has the V-Series, and Chevy and GMC trucks are very involved in various truck-racing series," Kent says.
In addition to racing, the sight of General Motors trucks as support vehicles at races is not lost on spectators. It sends the message that racing teams, who depend upon tough, reliable trucks, have put their trust in GM vehicles, so "maybe I should check them out for myself."The various GM divisions bring mobile displays to their participatory events. For instance, at NASCAR tracks, Chevrolet's simulator display allows race fans to get a hands-on feel for what drivers encounter when driving the real thing. There also are parts displays that show how GM customers can purchase the performance and specialty parts at GM dealerships and other retailers throughout the country.
As Kent describes it, "There are no parts that are used on the vehicles that can't be purchased over the counter. Race cars are our real-time laboratory and test bed for everything that will be sold to the public."
The cost to each GM division depends upon its degree of participation. Obviously, Buick is not going to budget the same amount of money as Chevy. Each division treats its expenditure like an investment in research and development. In essence, GM Racing perfects the hardware's technical development so GM Performance—another arm of the company—can sell it to their dealers and jobbers.ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY
With today's runaway fuel prices, some may consider auto racing a fool's errand. For instance, some carburetors have jets so large you could seemingly put your fist inside them, so imagine how much gas can run through them during the course of a race. However, technology has not neglected this segment. There is an increased awareness for using renewable fuels in auto racing. As an example, Chevrolet races a 1,400-horsepower Cobalt that can run on E-85 ethanol. It's a given that the object of car racing is to finish ahead of everybody else in the shortest amount of time and at the fastest speed, but practical safety and technology applications are beneficial to the mass public and undoubtedly save countless lives.A desirable aspect of a racing venue is the idea of having a captive audience. For instance, although GM's market share is about 20 percent, its share among NASCAR enthusiasts is 40 percent—virtually double.
As mentioned, Chevrolet has always been the diversified, halo brand for GM racing, building everything from grandpa's church car to "Young Bud's" drag racer. Pontiac's long-time advertising theme was "We build excitement." Although Pontiac was somewhat of a solid seller, it was a languishing brand that GM once considered merging into Oldsmobile. However, under the tutelage of Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen and his flamboyantly brilliant chief engineer, John Z. De Lorean, Pontiac unleashed a performance program that's still legendary to this day. Starting in 1957 and continuing well into the late '60s, such terms as "tri-power," "wide track," "GTO," "389," and "421" became part of the auto-enthusiast vocabulary. Chevy-speak consisted of words like "Corvette," "Super Sport," and "409."
Until the last decade or so, Cadillac was too associated with luxury to be thought of in the same sentence as auto racing. Oldsmobile had some success with its "Rocket V-8s," "Starfires," and high-performance "442s." Even Buick had a few high-performance V-8s with four-speed transmissions.Buick is an excellent example of how a car long-considered the "last vehicle you'll ever own" can pick itself up by its horsepower and take on an entirely new persona. In 1978, Buick offered a Regal with a turbocharged engine. It had a unique hood bulge that easily identified it as a Turbo Regal and was produced through the 1981 model year. In 1982, Buick introduced its Regal Grand National. Only 215 units were built that year, but it brought Buick the prestigious Manufacturer's Trophy in the 1981-82 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It also marked the only year the Buick Grand National was not painted all black.
By 1986, modifications and power boosts made the Grand National a 0-60-in-five-seconds vehicle. The quintessential Grand National model was the limited-production 1987 GNX. It could slice through the quarter-mile drags at 103 mph in 13.43 seconds. Keep in mind, this was a V-6, not a big-block V-8. A poster used to display the distinctive GNX Turbo logo with the motto, "We brake for Corvettes."
Since its heady performance days of the '80s, the Buick division was perceived to have returned to the days of "You buy a Buick on the final installment plan." A new plate of vehicles, particularly its all-new Enclave luxury crossover sport-utility vehicle, has created some positive stir among critics. When Kent was asked if there were plans afoot to ever let Buick develop another set of performance vehicles like the Grand Nationals, he firmly, emphatically, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, replied, "Maybe."BREAKING THROUGH...TO THE OTHER SIDE
The point of this journey through tire-burning history is to illustrate GM's multitude of breakthroughs in almost every aspect of vehicle racing that it's boxed up and sold to the public. These breakthroughs have given GM the convenience and comfort of buying track-proven parts to use in its own vehicles and to customize a race car of its own. This is the "partnership" between GM Racing and GM Performance. Or put in different context, "Mr. Kent...meet Mr. Goodwrench."
The most obvious reason GM's vehicle lines all have different degrees of participation is to avoid beating each other up and duplicating, triplicating, or even quadruplicating efforts. GM's brands are a family—but not a dysfunctional one. Funding and human resources are commodities too precious to waste.
Another example of how important GM Racing is to the corporation displayed itself during GM's recent dark days of financial plight. There were some pundits who predicted GM would fold, resulting in the company's possible liquidation and parceling out its brands to other entities. During that time, no thoughts were ever given to shutting down or even severely curtailing funding for the racing program. Racing's worth is as vital an element to General Motors as are environmental, safety, technology, and research.With so many new-car and new-truck buyers interested in personalizing and customizing their vehicles, dealers who offer aftermarket parts and installation services to their customers will continue to grow their business.
In an upcoming issue, we'll take a look at how Chrysler offers high-performance aftermarket parts to its dealers and retail customers.
