• Gilmore Car Museum Group Tour – June 5,2019
• Annual GMPG Classic Car Show on Aug. 23rd from 11 AM to 1 PM- GMPG Bldg105 Cafe.  
• Annual Members Meeting follows immediately Aug. 23rd at 1 PM- GMPG Bldg105 Cafe
• Pete’s Garage is a private collection of classic cars & trucks, hot rods and automotive memorabilia. The site also contains replicas of a 50’s diner, 30’s Texaco gas station and the ultimate man cave (actually a loft)!  This was a rare chance to see this collection and membership had its perks (priority as we had a waitlist) – Oct 24th from 11 AM-1 PM.
• Brooke & Jay’s Train Model Tour at their home- showing tracks and towns from Saginaw to Detroit representing the 1950’s.  Nov 10th from 2 PM – 5 PM.

• Gilmore Car Museum Group Tour – June 9th at 10:30 AM.
  • Location: 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, MI 49060.
• Local Car Shows – (May – August)
• GM Plant Tour – Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant; June 27th @ 9:00 AM.
• PG Sponsored Activities – Campus Classic Car & Motorcycle Show; Aug.
• Membership Annual Meeting – Sept 7th GMPG Bldg. 104 Cafeteria – Subject TBD.

• Monthly breakfast at @ Americus Coney & Grill  – 9:30 AM 4th Thursday of each month – on going:
  • Location: 167 S. Milford Rd Milford, MI
• Gilmore Car Museum Group Tour – June 9th at 10:30 AM.
  • Location: 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, MI 49060.
• Local Car Shows – (May – August); Date TBD.
• GM Plant Tour – Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant; June 27th @ 9:00 AM.
• PG Sponsored Activities – Campus Classic Car & Motorcycle Show; Aug  Date TBD.
• Membership Annual Meeting – Sept 7th GMPG Bldg. 104 Cafeteria – Subject TBD.

Financial Seminar A financial seminar held at Bakers on May 20, 2015 was open to the general public which included GMPG Employees and Retirees. Registration notice was sent out to membership and posted on GMPC_Retiree Club website. 4 Sessions were held through out the day.

Delta Assembly Plant Tour 20 members and guest signed up. Two-hour walking tour including a 20-minute safety video and Assembly Plant overview.5 attended lunch at the Cracker Barrel located in Okemos.

Lansing RE Olds Transportation Museum 12 members and guest signed up. 10 attended. Guided tour took ~ 2 Hrs. All ten attended lunch at the HopCat restaurant in East Lansing

Annual Membership Meeting 32 Members attended. 7th annual membership meeting held on Sept 15, 2015 in Bldg. 104 Cafeteria. One hour of socializing by members. Box Lunches were provided followed by three presentations. MPG Update – Traverna PG History Update – Kreueger GM Vehicle Recall Process – Sonye Tour of GMPG Data Processing Center – Traverna.

Ed Repik

View of some displays: 

                                                                                                                      Civil War Cannon                   Sloan Buick Gallery Sloan Museum has 80 vehicles that are routinely rotated on a regular basis through the Buick Gallery. These vehicles, except for the Tank,  represent those that were built in Flint.                               1954 Buick Wildcat II                                                                                                             1977 Buick Phantom                       M 18 “Hellcat” Tank Destroyer                                                                                                         1953 Special  Members gathered for lunch at Table & Tap Barbecue Restaurant located on Saginaw Street after the tour. DETROIT-HAMTRAMCK PLANT TOUR A guided tour on people movers, similar to those one would see at Disney World, was held on July 18, 2014 at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. Sixteen Club Members and guest attended. “The first vehicle produced at DHAM for sale – a Cadillac Eldorado – came off the end of the line at 12:05 p.m. on February 4^th, 1985. Since then, more than 3 million vehicles have been built.” Currently, the plant is operating on a one shift 5 day schedule. Total employment is 1,619 (1,436 Hourly and 183 Salary). Total wages are $117 million. Total payroll taxes are $19 million. The following products are built simultaneously on a single line: Chevrolet Volt Opel Ampera Vauxhall Ampera Chevrolet Malibu Holden Volt Chevrolet Impala Cadillac ELR GMPG Retirees Club Annual Meeting The annual meeting was held at the Proving Ground in Building #104 – Vehicle Performance Integration Center – Cafeteria on September 9, 2014. Forty four members were in attendance. The meeting agenda was as follows:

• Social Hour
• Presentations
  • GMPG Update
  • GMPG History Project Update
• Tour of Building #94 Noise and Vibration Center
• Adjourn

Presentation Highlighs: Frank Taverna, Engineering Group Manager, Vehicle Development and Traffic Safety gave an update on GMPG activity. Four new facilities have been added to the Milford Proving ground over the past few years. Also, the main entrance has been updated and the circular track will undergo major reconstruction in 2016. Safety Test Area

• 52 acre site at West end of Military Straight-away.Project completion fall 2014.
• Contains:
  • Highway simulation section.
  • Simulated on/off ramps.
  • Pedestrian crossing rig.
  • Simulated tunnel with variable openings.

GMIT Data Center

• MPG Data Center redundant to data center in Warren.
• Located on a 16 acre site between Bldgs 100 and 78.
• 129,000 square feet with “Scalable” design.
• Supports GM engineering and IT Innovation Center in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix.
• Phase 1 completed in July 2014, Phase 2 in progress.

Brake Noise / Roughness Development Dyno

• Addition to Bldg. 94
• Completed in Dec. 2013.
• Hemi-anechoic, environmentally controlled test chamber.
  • -20C to +40C temperature and 15% to 95% relative humidity.
• Replaces track and public road validation with lab based testing for brake noise and thermal roughness.

Milford Road Course

• Opened 2004.
• 3 miles long with 17 turns.
• Simulates sections of several NA race tracks and portions of Nurburgring in Germany.
• Required rigorous driver training and test protocol.

Circular Test Track Reconstruction

• 4.8 mile five lane track – opened Nov. 1963
• Annual maintenance cost – 500K annually.
• Consultant engineering firm hired to perform value engineering analysis.
• Reconstruction planned for 2016.

GMPG Main Entrance Enhancements

• First renovation since early 1970’s
• New signage – Corporate Standard; Kept historic signs.
• New landscaping and decorative plants.
• Oak trees lining both sides of GM Boulevard.
• Evergreens to shield Bldg 12 and Lundstrom House parking area.

                                                                                          Main Entrance   GMPG HISTORY PROJECT Dick Krueger, GMPG Retiree Club Board of Director member and Treasurer, gave an update of the GMPG History Project. Dick also chairs the History Project. Proving Ground Role “The fundamental concept of the GMPG was, still is and always will be, I believe, a determination of facts.” – Alfred P. Sloan – June 2, 1944 History Project Status

• Located in the basement of Bldg. 23
  • 180 items in two rooms
• Physical Property
  • Instruments, Fixtures, Decorations
• Photographic Material
  • Pictures, Slides, Film, Discs
• Documents
  • Papers, Reports, Books
  • 350 files cataloged
    • Grindings/News Briefs
    • PG Anniversary Books
    • WWII Military Vehicle Testing
    • Land acquisitions
• Photographic Material
  • Slides scanned, photos cataloged
• PG Main Gate ~ 1928

Main Gate 1928                                                                                                         Main Gate 1950 If you have any old Proving information and would like to contribute it to the History Project, contact Dick Krueger or Mike McDermit at the GMPG Retiree Club Web Site. Also, if you are interested in working on the History Project contact Dick or Mike. Check our Web Site for upcoming activity information. Respectfully Submitted, Ed Repik

• Protecting and growing your retirement assets.
  • The “Barbell Strategy” for safety and growth.
  • Preparing for healthcare costs after age 65.
  • 401(k) and IRA required distributions.
  • Dow near all-time high – What’s next?
  • Key challenges facing retirees today.
  • Five costly investment mistakes.
  • The best investments for 2013.
  • The Annuity Trap.
  • Where to invest now!

The second seminar was also held at Bakers and was hosted by Society for Lifetime Planning. 15 retirees, including guests, attended the session. Topics covered where:

• Why do I need a financial planner? Maybe you don’t!
• Objective evaluation of your goals.
• Does looking in the rearview mirror help us move forward?
• When should I start withdrawing from Retirement assets?
• What are RMDs and MRDs?
• Q&A –No holds barred Q&A session on YOUR questions.GM Plant Tour

GM Plant Tour A plant tour was held at the Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant on June 19^th. This is GM’s newest U.S. plant encompassing 3.4 million square feet under roof and employs over 3,800 workers. It consists of a body stamping plant adjacent to a separate general assembly plant. Bodies travel to the general assembly via an enclosed line connecting the two plants. 16 retirees, including guests, attended the tour which was guided by two communications staff members. Attendees witnessed the new GMS assembly process during their walking tour of the General Assembly facility.  The Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, and the GMC Acadia are simultaneously assembled on the same line. Drive train assembly is on a separate line. Once the drive train is fully assembled, it is then delivered to the scheduled vehicle body, which is moving on a suspended line, by an automated guided vehicle (AGV). The AGV aligns itself underneath the body, raises the driveline assembly into position for line workers to bolt it to the body attachment points. The afternoon concluded with a relaxing lunch at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. GMPG Retiree Club Annual Meeting Summary The Retiree Club annual meeting was held on September 11, 2013 at Bakers in Milford MI.; guest speakers were Mark Reuss, President of General Motors North America, and Stephen Jenkins, Director for Global Proving Ground Operations, Test Labs, and Vehicle Material Engineering. There was socializing before lunch and after the presentations. Some members brought their classic vehicles for display. Jay Chevrolet and Lafontaine brought a few new vehicles for display too. Two vehicles that gathered a lot of attention were the new 2014 Corvette C7s that Mark and his Business Manager brought with them. A total of 64 including members, guest and speakers attended the meeting. The following are high lights from the guest speakers: Steve reviewed projects that are currently in progress at the Proving Ground:

• New information and Technology (IT) Data Center is under construction which will be located on the West end of the Milford Road Course. This facility will be a duplicate of the IT Data Center that is at the Technical Center in Warren. These two data centers support GM’s global business. Previously, there were 24 centers at various locations that were on a much smaller scale. These two centers will provide backup for each other.
• A new Driverless Vehicle Development Facility is being constructed on the West half of the Military Straight Away. This facility will encompass 52 acres, and will consist of city traffic and expressway interchanges.
• A new 4-wheel Semi-Anechoic dynamometer chamber is being added onto the Noise and Vibration Center, Building 94. It will be used for brake noise analysis, development and validation – located at the NW corner of the building.
• Re-paving of the Circular Track is planned for 2014. This facility represented the largest single construction project ever undertaken at the Proving Ground prior to 1964. It was dedicated in May 1964 at the 40^th GM Milford Proving Ground Anniversary program.
• Re-work of the main entrance to the Proving Ground is under way. It will provide a more focused view as you enter the Proving Ground.

Mark gave an update on GM’s performance and new products. His comments were very upbeat on sales performance and customer acceptance of GM’s new products.

• Car business is doing very well with 28 new products scheduled for introduction. North America is now generating more than half of GM’s profitability. Buick and GMC generate a big portion of North American profits. Sales for Buick and GMC continue to increase. Year to year sales were up 24% for Buick and 16% for GMC. Buick’s future product line will get larger.
• Chevrolet’s new Impala was rated the best sedan by Consumers Report. New products now being introduced are the new (C7) Corvette Stingray, Z28 Camaro, new Impala SS rear-wheel drive sedan and new pickups. The Volt Hybrid is being well received in California where GM, over the years, has lost significant market penetration. The fully electric vehicle, the Spark, is also doing well. Chevrolet’s year-to-year sales (Aug 2012 – Aug 2013) had very strong performance. Total sales were up 21% – 2.5 million vehicles sold.
• Cadillac’s product line-up is attracting young buyers. Its new design appeal and vehicle performance is doing very well in the market. Year-to-year sales were up 38.3%. Cadillac will be introducing a new twin-turbo V6 in 2014.

Mark also talked about GM’s involvement in Community Service – giving back to the Community. A program that is currently underway in the Detroit uses volunteers (retirees) to work with the kids to help improve graduation rates. Currently 8 schools in Detroit have been selected and are participants in this program. Teams consisting of students and GM Retirees work on a variety of projects to improve their schools. The Retirees are the project leaders who help the students learn how to plan and execute projects, select materials, buy materials, etc. The program has been a great success.  Retirees are compensated for their work and the students get paid a minimum wage. Student attendance has risen from 45% to 82% since the program started – great accomplishment. The following are a few excerpts from the Q & A session:

• Can GM meet the new fuel economy goals? GM will meet fuel economy goals. GM worked with the Government to develop new fuel economy standards. Although they are a challenge they can be met.
• Why the use of Dexos synthetic engine oil? Dexos engine oil specifications were developed because some of the oils on the market do not meet reduced friction and life goals. A new policy of free maintenance has been implemented to help ensure the use of Dexos oil.
• What is the future of Holden? Holden will continue; however, they are currently operating in a mature vehicle market.

Mark’s presentation was extremely well received, and many compliments were acknowledged by the membership to the session planners. It was informative, invigorating and reuniting to the members to hear about GM’s current and future direction.   Respectfully Submitted, Ed Repik