GM brands are as widely known as their automobiles, and their brand equity has generated a highly lucrative sideline business through the licensing of GM trademarks. The trademark team looked for existing technologies producing highly accurate full-body vehicle scans-interior and exterior-to create usable models that could be supplied to trademark licensees.
A world-class garage of automotive dreams is tucked away in an unassuming brick building in a Michigan industrial park. Inside lies the legacy of General Motors in all its shining chrome glory. More than 100 years of automotive history and one of the most influential collections of automotive design is housed in the GM Heritage Center, an 81,000-square-foot facility located in Sterling Heights, MI. The center is not open to the public and mainly used for internal GM functions, although it is available for rental for special events.
Inside the showroom, you will see aisle after aisle of rare vintage vehicles from first-off-the line production models to one-of-kind concepts. This is no dusty archive! Virtually every one of the more than 200 vehicles is fully operational, and travel constantly to auto shows and other special events. Cars are driven through wide showroom aisles to several transport semis on standby for the next event.
Even those with a mild interest in automobiles will marvel at the wealth of instantly recognizable vehicles-the ’57 Chevy Bel Air, the Pontiac GTO, a family of Corvettes of every vintage and some designs never intended to be made but hold their place in automotive history. A good example is the late 1950s series of Firebird jet-turbine powered concept cars for GM’s “Motorama” exhibit. We’re still not driving cars guided by wires embedded in the highway, but GM envisioned and prototyped the idea by way of the 1956 Firebird II.