Breakfast stop south of Jellico,...
Breakfast stop south of Jellico, Tennessee, on February 27, 1976, while headed south on I-75 on a Florida-bound test trip. Tom Davis (on the right)-my counterpart for the 301-locked himself out of his car twice that morning. Fortunately, I had spare keys for his cars as well as mine. (Know your buddies and plan ahead!)
In 1982 or '83, to some controversy, we resisted using the front-wheel drive (FWD) four-speed automatic transmission until we were convinced it was ready. We also highly stressed, beyond recommendations, the '83 STE and '84 Sunbird Turbo THM-125 three-speed automatics. In the case of the STE, it was supposedly specified beyond the torque limit. For the Sunbird Turbo, the shift points and the resultant energy were supposedly too high.
We instituted special manufacturing programs at Hydra-Matic for both these transmissions. This included a flow test on a bench. Both transmissions were specified with firm shifts and actually had lower warranty claims than the regular versions! This assignment involved some international travel to Australia, Germany, and Japan to fortify business relationships with suppliers.
During this time, starting with the four-cylinder project manager assignment, I went on press trips as well as our normal engineering test trips. These were all over the country and, once again, gave me exposure to different people.
One of my next assignments was to run Pontiac Motorsports and Specialty Vehicles in 1986. I suspect my communication, organizational, and technical skills led to this opportunity. Part of the Sales Department Motorsports operation was put under Engineering at this time. Public speaking skills were necessary in this assignment, and I worked primarily with NASCAR, NHRA, and IMSA. I also had the Specialty Vehicle Group reporting to me at this time, which included concept vehicles and production specialty vehicles, like convertibles.
Around 1983, I assumed the role of the official GM Historian for the Pontiac Division, which has continued to this day. My interest in Pontiac since my youngest days and my early collecting of Pontiac materials helped prepare me for this.
In 1987, I realized that my position in the Motorsports and Specialty Vehicle areas was no longer needed. I suggested my groups report directly to the Chief Engineer (then Byron Warner). Some people thought I was nuts for coming up with this, but it allowed me to be reassigned to Advanced Vehicle Engineering. My responsibilities were expanded to work on other vehicle brands beyond Pontiac. This expansion continued as my career advanced.
By the time I retired in 2002, I was a GM Engineering Director. I hope this has given you some insight into the business practices and my career path at Pontiac.
PMD Road Trips
All the photos I supplied for this article are amateur photography (most from my camera, although I wasn't always the photographer). Most of our test trips involved then-secret vehicles. So, generally, there are no professional photos of these events or, in some cases, any other photos period. Some have faded over time.
 Here we are north-bound on...  Here we are north-bound on the original Overseas Highway, Seven Mile Bridge, returning from Key West, Florida. The drawbridge was open. Note the Ventura Sprint test car, which was a 2.5L Pontiac four-cylinder with a five-speed manual trans. |  During Pontiac Pace Car prep...  During Pontiac Pace Car prep for the '79 Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida, I was the "Eighth Level" Manager of Service Engineering in the Sales Department. |  This is during the 2004 GTO...  This is during the 2004 GTO SAE presentation with Pontiac's '64 GTO, for which I directed the initial restoration. The photo was taken after my "retirement" as an executive. |