Program Manager - GM Ultralite
I was the GM Program Manager for the Ultralite Concept Vehicle program. I reported to Bob DeKruyff and Don Runkle of GM Advanced Engineering Staff. As Program Manager I led a great project team of participants from GM Advanced Engineering Staff, GM Design and GM Research Labs and key partner suppliers, like Scaled Composites. The mission was chartered by Don Runkle, Gary Dickinson and Chuck Jordon. I give special thanks to Burt Rutan's creativity and Scaled Composites crew, Jim Biek's Design staff team, vehicle engineers and world class technicians at GM Advanced Engineering staff and inspiration - motivation from 3 GM Vice Presidents! This was a fantastic experience for all of those involved! In about 100 days, the team delivered its mission: that of a running functional vehicle that showcased about 100 technologies that together delivered a four passenger sedan that achieved over a 100 miles per gallon fuel economy at highway speeds. It was featured as the centerpiece of the GM exhibit at the Detroit Auto Show and many magazine feature articles.
I and several other project team members showcased this GM vehicle and it's technologies at auto shows around the world, including Geneva and special displays in Tokyo.
I was also the technical liaison from GM to Warner Brothers and Silver Pictures in the movie Demolition Man and personally drove the actual Ultalite Concept vehicle during its use in the film.
The project team intended to continue actual Ultralite vehicle development work and move from concept vehicle to engineering development mule using the second roller chassis - body concurrently built with the show car. Unfortunately GM top management did a wholesale house cleaning of the original chain of command and departments and capabilities. What was left was disbanded. The Ultralite Concept Car was then given a bum rap as a "stunt" by the new management. I left GM in 1994, at which time I was in committees turning over state of the art machining and advanced fab shops to the UAW and having top notch salaried fabricators and technicians forced out or join the UAW and be transferred to distant sites. World class "skunk works" capability vanished.
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