Fireball Tim with one of his designs

As a long time admirer of Fireball Tim’s car designs, we recently asked the movie car designer and TV host to share with us his thoughts on the new GM, Green Machines and famous cars. Read on but word of warning: from designing banana cars to jet fighter Corvettes, this post can leave you supremely jealous of his cool job.

Ok, so I’m a car designer… but for Hollywood. And that means that basically I have no rules. I don’t have to have cup holders… or I can have 36. I don’t have to be aerodynamic… or I can create a car that looks like a banana. And believe me, when you throw a banana, you can wing that puppy far… proving it’s aero shape for sure.

Designing cars for Hollywood and hosting TV shows is a neat gig. And I love it. But taking what the manufacturers build and making them ridiculous is a challenge. Especially when a new car looks so cool. Like, turning a Corvette into a Jet Fighter or a Holden into a Cartoon. But, that’s my job… and I dig it.

The Stealth Vette

Now, ever since the beginning of cool rides, there’s been sub-cultures. Muscle Cars, Classics, Tuners, Rat Rods, etc. But now it’s Green Machines, although you probably wouldn’t go to a Eco Car Show and say, “Wow!”…At least not yet. But that may change with cars like the VOLT. And having one for a week made me realize that “Concious-Cool” is a very real thing. And leading the pack now are the boys and girls of GM.

I’ve designed vehicles for over 360 projects, but I’ve always driven GM Cars. Even when times were tough. Why? Because I live in America, and the designs here are cool. Not that other car companies are doing bad stuff, they aren’t. They are awesome… but what’s good about that is it makes GM better. And cars like the Caddy CIEL make me want to cruise PCH with nowhere to go. Just crooooze…

Cadillac Ciel

What does this mean? It means that GM Cars make you “feel” something. And Movies make you feel something. And that’s one helluva combination. GM is now hip, edgy and …the future. Makes me want to do a new show… Just imagine.

GM’s 2012 GOLDEN AERO AWARDS. Celebrating cars in film as the stars. Like the Academy Awards, only way cooler. And I could host because… well, I dig cars and we do what we love. If anything, it would allow us to celebrate the love of cars… and the future.

The Fireball Camaro

The Future IS Electric. But it’s more than that. The future is what we decide we want it to be. To choose. To choose a better life for our kids, family, friends and the world. And I’m choosing to be a part of it. Join me.

Love what you do…like GM.  Do it the best you can. And find a way to give it back. Then watch the world become a better place thanks to cool cars.

Now, back to the Wacktacular…

The idea is to share information and engage in dialogue around good public policies that:

• Celebrate hard-working innovators, manufacturers and dealers.
• Drive American innovation and industry for the next generation.
• Are important to the future of GM, our customers and the auto industry.

This site will be a great place for interested parties to not only learn about important topics, but it also offers the opportunity to voice opinions. Whatever aspect of GM and the auto industry you find interesting; whether it be environmental, policy, quality and safety, design and technology, or economic growth, you’ll find it on CAR.

I wanted to share a snapshot of my two favorite sections. More information on all the topics can be found on the official CAR website.

Environmental

GM is keeping the nation, our customers and the environment top of mind. Many people don’t realize that GM has a strong commitment to environmental protection and sustainability that doesn’t begin and end with the Chevy Volt, but applies to every aspect of our business—from supply chain, to product manufacturing, to the cars we put on the road. And get this, more than six million of the nine million flex-fuel cars on the road in North America are GM cars and trucks. GM sees great promise in legislation that promotes renewable energy sources and continually asks policymakers and the public to consider the broad benefits of:

• Battery Research and Manufacturing
• Plug-in Vehicles and Infrastructure
• Flexible Fuel Vehicles and Alternative Fuels
• Fuel Cell Technology and Hydrogen Infrastructure
• Manufacturing Plant Efficiency and Retooling

Can’t get enough? Check out CAR to read more about GM’s role in sustaining our environment.

Design & Technology:

GM prides itself on being at the forefront of technology and innovation, and along with that comes some pretty good looking fuel-efficient cars. The Volt, an electric vehicle with extended-range capability, is just one example of GM’s longstanding commitment to developing new technologies that are fun to drive and cool to look at. Keep an eye out for that same Voltec technology to debut in the Cadillac ELR. From Buick’s e-Assist to our line-up of flex-fuel vehicles, GM is committed to designing world-class vehicles with cutting edge technology.

Can’t get enough? Learn more policies that support research and development as well advanced technology incentives on CAR.

So, what do you think? Interested in signing up and supporting this movement to strengthen the U.S. economy and American auto manufacturing? If so, I welcome you to sign the pledge and join the GM CAR community.

I was listening to President Obama’s State of the Union last month feeling proud of the auto industry and the way GM has turned itself around. When Obama proclaimed, “The American auto industry is back,” I couldn’t help but think about the last several years.

I have been with GM for two decades, give or take. To put that in perspective, when I started gas was hovering at $1.13, Roseanne was the number one comedy on television, and ─ appropriately ─ Life is a Highway was a top 20 song. The changes I have seen are profound: the market, what people buy, how we listen to our customers, GM’s culture, technology and innovation, and even the fundamental organization and operations of our company.

To understand these shifts in America’s West, we have put an enormous amount of effort in spending time with our customers. On a monthly basis we share our cars with hundreds ─ even thousands ─ of people so that they can see, touch, and drive them; and in turn, tell us what they think.

For example, through partnerships with universities throughout the West we bring cars to students in a program called, “Drive through Finals.” We speak to community groups, Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs… listening to feedback, answering questions, and letting people test drive. We attend alternative fuel discussions to educate and address issues. And we are personally engaged and hands-on with new launches, such as the industry changing extended-range electric Chevy Volt.

Image below: Shad at the San Diego Chevy Volt meet-up.

Like a good candidate, we are on the road constantly talking to the people who matter most, our customers. We will continue these programs, and many more just like them in 2012.

Spending so much time with our customers in the West has taught us that fuel economy is critical, alternative fuel vehicles are a life style, and cars that are cool, fast, and fun to drive never go out of style.

So, as President Obama is celebrating the return of our great American industry, and the resurgence of GM, I can’t help but look toward how we keep that spirit alive in 2012.

• Critical to our West Coast drivers is GM’s line of fuel-efficient and hybrid cars, which will continue to grow this year. Chevy alone offers a dozen fuel-efficient, hybrid or electric cars.
• In 2012, the electric car technology we use to power the Volt will be found in the Cadillac ELR extended-range hybrid as well as the Chevy Spark.
• In the category of cool, fast and fun, the Camaro LS1 is as hot as it gets while the Camaro ZL1, our highest performing production Camaro of all time, was named by Popular Mechanics as one of the “New Cars that are Worth Waiting For” in 2012.
• I am also looking forward to introducing the West to the Cadillac ATS and the beautiful 2013 Buick Encore luxury crossover SUV.
• And we are working to improve the customer buying experience by upgrading more than 3400 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealerships in the United States.

Having recently regained our position as the number one automaker in the world, we know we need to keep working hard listening to our customers, staying focused and driving innovation. This is especially true in California and the West, where we have a ways to go to reach our goals.  That said, the auto industry, and GM specifically, is thriving and I am truly proud to be a part of such an American comeback story.

Unfounded Attacks on Electric Cars Endanger American Jobs

Congressman Issa recently called a hearing to accuse the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) of a cover up related to its now closed investigation into the post-crash fire risk posed by the Chevy Volt’s lithium-ion batteries.  Issa’s theatrics only revealed that such batteries have caused zeroreal world vehicle fires (a regrettably common occurrence for gasoline vehicles), and that both NHTSA and the independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safetyintend to retain their highest possible safety ratings for the Volt.  Nonetheless, various talking heads continue to perpetuate the myth that electric cars are bursting into flames on our nation’s streets.  This deceit hurts American workers and consumers, and only helps Big Oil.

Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, a conservative Republican himself, has dismissed attacks on the Volt by Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and Lou Dobbs as “totally irresponsible journalism.”  Even though NRDC and Bob Lutz have very different opinions regarding climate change, we agree that the “deliberate misstatement of facts” intended to undermine electric cars hurts the workers who build the Volt in Hamtramck, Michigan, and the workers across America who supply more efficient vehicle technology.

In addition to misleading the public into believing electric vehicles are unsafe, talking heads appearingon Fox News, The Drudge Report, Lou Dobbs, and others, are touting a report claiming every Volt sold is the benefit of $250,000 in government subsidies.[1] This figure even made its way into the opening remarks of Mr. Issa’s Congressional hearing.  But financial analyst, Anton Wahlman, writes in The Street, “There is a fundamental flaw behind the math in this ‘report’ that discredits the entire report straight down to zero, in my view.”  The report argues that the Volt benefits from $1.5 billion in public support, which when divided by the 6,000 Volts sold at the time the article was written, equates to $250,000 per vehicle.

This simplistic arithmetic is meaningless.  Investments in manufacturing capacity are not recovered in the first few months of sales of a single model.  Over 40 differentplug-in models will be introduced over the next several years, and while forecasts vary, even conservative estimates project over half a million plug-ins to be sold within a few years.  If a multinational oil company were to receive $10 billion in tax breaks to drill in the Gulf’s deep waters, would you argue that the first barrel produced cost the national treasury $10 billion?

Ironically, the same talking heads who are attacking the Volt are staunch advocates for tax loopholes and subsidies for oil companies enjoying record profits.[2] In March, House Republicans voted unanimously to maintain tax loopholes for Big Oil.  In May, Senate Republicans defeated another measure to end subsidies for Big Oil, which dwarf the alleged subsidies to produce the Volt.

I apologize if you’re reading this on a small screen device, as it’s likely impossible for you to make out the little red dot, the area of which accurately represents the relative size of the alleged government support for the Volt.  I trust you’ll have no difficulty seeing the large black spot.

Given the very real deficits facing this country, it is worth asking where limited public resources should be invested.  Between Big Oil and vehicle electrification, the choice is stark.  One became dominant in the late 1800s, the otheris key to the future of American competitiveness in a global economy.  One maintains our vulnerability to a volatile world oil market, the other uses cleaner, domestic energy.  Private industry has already made the choice. Virtually every major automaker, and several new market entrants, will introduce plug-in electric vehicle models over the next several years.  The real question is whether America will be at the forefront of this evolution in automotive technology.  The last time we faced a similar decision was between the gasoline engine and coal-fired steam power.  We chose correctly then.

Last week, we spent a Friday afternoon at LinkedIn’s Mountain View campus, exchanging test drives for career tips and resolutions. (Morgan, these tips will come in handy sooner than you know!)  We brought a fleet of brand new 2012 cars, and LinkedIn brought the energy and sage online networking advice the Silicon Valley is known for. Spending a lunch hour with the team behind the world’s largest professional networking website turned out be a darn good Friday afternoon at the office. LinkedIn employees were entered in a raffle to win the coveted prize of a week-long excursion in a GM car of their choice and participated in test drives of the Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and GMC Acadia Denali. We had such a good time visiting, who knows…we might just stop back again sometime.

Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s Connection Director, has these tips to share for kick-starting your career in 2012. Can’t get enough? Check out my profile and the LinkedIn site for even more great advice:

1. Love the one you’re with. If your resolution is sticking with the job you have, don’t be lulled into thinking this is the year to sit back and phone it in. In fact, the best strategy for keeping your job is to build your skills and put them out there for all to see, just as if you were tackling the greatest job search of your life.

Not sure what new skills are going to make a difference? Go to LinkedIn Skills and type in a talent you have or check out a listing of related skills and new talents you need to stay competitive in your position. You never know – you just may end up with the raise you didn’t dare to put on your resolution list.

2. Birds of a Feather. If your goal is to get promoted this year, don’t do it alone. Success breeds success. Not only do you want to share your relationships and expertise with others, you want others to share their contacts and knowledge with you. One of the most powerful things you can do to build your reputation is to leverage the influence of others. You do this by seeking connections and asking for recommendations.

If this sounds daunting, there are two things to consider that will make it easier. First, it’s a two-way street. You need to demonstrate you have something to offer by having a thorough profile and your own Rolodex to share. Next, even though it’s for a professional purpose, this is a personal ask. Personalize your connection requests and specify what the recommendation you’re seeking should entail so it’s effective for you and not too time consuming for them.

3. Be Discovered.  If your resolution is the more passive goal of being tapped on the shoulder and courted into a new career opportunity, then you may be in luck. With 75 of the Fortune 100 companies using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool, it’s never been easier to be discovered. But here’s the thing: Even the best hiring managers are not mind readers.

Fill out your profile completely (include your volunteer experience and avoid over-used buzzwords that count as filler) and finally add a photo that looks like you at your professional best. Now reach out to at least 50 connections so those second and third tier prospective employers can track you down.

4. The Early Bird. One of the most exciting things that happens in a burgeoning economy is a renewed sense of optimism and with it, the creation of new jobs. But here’s the trick: it happens quickly and usually long before a job posting is ever created.

If you’re strategically tracking industry trends and following companies via LinkedIn, you have the potential to be on top of the job long before the masses start competing for it. Initiative and innovation are two things that hiring managers are looking for; so, writing to the CEO of the company you’re following after reading the article on LinkedIn Today that he tweeted and suggesting a new marketing strategy may very well be the key to a job that you didn’t know existed.

5. Extend Yourself. If there’s any single thing you can do in this New Year to make a difference in your career, it is to put yourself out there and network. Opportunities are found through relationships, and I can guarantee that if you’re stuck in your career (and frankly, even if you’re not), you don’t have enough of them.

The whole concept of networking can conjure up images of awkward asks like, “Can you help me find a job?” over a highly-orchestrated networking lunch or event after work. The truth is that networking should be happening anywhere and everywhere and is simply the building of authentic relationships. That means a little get-to-know you long before you need anything is the difference between getting the job, promotion, recommendation, introduction, raise… and not.

Coming off the release of our first sustainability report as the “new GM” we’ve got more news to share about how we’re greening the automobile. Today, Chevy is launching the EcoLogic sticker. It’s an industry-first that will highlight the environmental features of vehicles relating to manufacturing, driving and recycling.  In other words, you’ll now know the green stats about how the vehicle was built, how it drives and how it will be used after its life on the road. This is just another step in the right direction towards proving our commitment to building better cars more efficiently. We get the fact that environmental stewardship goes way beyond the tailpipe and as the world’s largest automaker, we’re more than happy to lead the charge towards sustainability.

Check out the sticker that will make its debut on the new 2012 Chevy Sonic and will appear on other 2013 Chevrolet vehicles later this year. And for the record, all of the EcoLogic labels are audited by Two Tomorrows, an independent third-party sustainability agency, so rest assured – what you see is what you get.

You may be aware the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closed its safety investigation of the Volt this past Friday.  Their perspective of the investigation parallels that of ours: the Volt and electric vehicles are safe, the enhancements are appropriate and the testing/investigation was procedurally extraordinary given that it is a new technology.  Today our CEO, Dan Akerson, testified in front of a Congressional hearing titled, “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?”

The Volt and electric vehicle technology were under heavy scrutiny during this highly political hearing.  The support of our owners, dealers and other partners in electrification to engage in online discussions in the days following the testimony will be key in helping customers, stakeholders and others in your communities – virtual or real – discern between fact and fiction.  Below are key facts about the Volt that may be helpful clarifying fact from fiction:

CHEVROLET VOLT FACTS

The Chevrolet Volt was first shown as a General Motors concept electric vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in January 2007 – more than two years before the swearing-in of President Obama and the company’s filing for bankruptcy reorganization that resulted in partial government ownership.

The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability, designed to drive 35 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a gas-powered engine-generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 375 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery.

Following the Volt’s debut in 2007, six plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles were announced by others later that year, followed by 19 introductions in 2008 and five more in 2009. There are now 26 brands planning to have 44 electric vehicles on the road within the next three years.

Volt production began at  the Detroit-Hamtramck plant in August 2009. Since then, GM has invested $700 million in eight Michigan facilities, creating hundreds of jobs for Volt-related production, including $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which will benefit from battery research conducted at the battery lab in Warren; receive batteries from Brownstown; use tooling from Grand Blanc; take delivery of camshafts and connecting rods from Bay City; and dies, stampings and the Volt’s 1.4L engine-generator from three plants in Flint.

Volt subsidies have been wildly overstated.  In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy selected 45 companies, universities and organizations, including GM, in 28 states for more than $2 billion in awards for electric drive and battery manufacturing and transportation electrification. Nearly half of that total is to jumpstart U.S. battery research and production and is designated for cell, battery and materials manufacturing facilities in Michigan to benefit overall U.S. auto production.

The Volt has received many awards including  2011 North American Car of the Year (voted by 50 automotive journalists in the United States and Canada); 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year and Automobile Magazine’s 2011 Automobile of the Year.

GM announced Jan. 5 enhancements to the vehicle structure and battery coolant system in the Volt that would further protect the battery from the possibility of an electrical fire occurring days or weeks after a severe crash. The enhancements were a response to a NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation to examine post-severe crash battery performance.

December 2011 was the Volt’s best sales month since it went on sale in late 2010.  Approximately 8,000 Volts have been sold to date in the United States, nearly half of which were sold in the final three months of the year. As Fox News itself reported earlier this month, Volt sales are comparable to another first-generation technology – the Toyota Prius – which  sold 5,000 units in its first partial year of production and 15,000 in its full second year.

Designed right here at GM’s North Hollywood Design Studio in Los Angeles, the Code 130R and Tru 140S embody the style, personalization and affordability young buyers say they value – wrapped up in two sleek and exotic-looking sports cars. The Code 130R is a four-seat coupe with an aggressive front fascia – a direct call back to the Chevrolet performance heritage. The Tru 140S looks like an expensive and fast sports car yet is practical and affordable.

Chevy’s latest concepts are far from complete; the cars will hit the road and travel to major auto shows, college campuses and more so designers can continue the conversation with potential young buyers. If you’d like to share your feedback on the Chevys of tomorrow, tweet us @GMNewsWest or leave a comment below!

For more info on the cars and to see them up close, check out the video!

Yesterday we released our first sustainability report as the “new” GM. The report shares a number of highlights including our four sections of progress and our major achievements on sustainability from the past few years.  Sometimes it’s hard to visualize what these reports really mean when they list out how far we’ve come, so try to think about it this way: when you take one bag of trash out to the curb, you’re producing more waste than any of our 81 landfill-free facilities. I never thought I’d be learning household recycling tips from GM, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been surprised by the new GM.

It’s important to remember that in order to grow our business, our environmental goals need to be aligned with the communities we live in. This report shows our commitment to making better business choices in the years to come that benefit society as a whole; from continuing to design groundbreaking vehicles like the Volt to reducing energy and carbon consumption in our facilities. We want to continue to be bold in our choices so that we’re always on the cutting edge of sustainable innovation and technology. What’s good for our customers is good for us.

Click here to take a look at the sustainability report for yourself and see what we’ve been up to.

We just wrapped up the latest installment of West Coast Chevy Volt meet-ups last weekend. This time we were in sunny San Diego at the Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. We had a strong showing of Volt owners, including Bart Basile who recently relocated and drove his Volt all the way from Texas!

On my days off I’m usually doing something with somebody’s car, so for me there’s no better way to spend a Saturday morning than swapping street stories over coffee and bagels. We even had a cameo appearance by pal and KUSI resident gear head Dave Stall who, not surprisingly, shared a few personal thoughts about those catchy headlines we’ve all seen lately about our car. Click here to check out his morning broadcast on the topic!

Overall it was a great day. Big huge thanks to Kelly Hendricks (#1450) who put this event together with us and to all the Chevy customers who brought out their Volt.

Take a look at the video we cut together from the meet-up.