About Us

MikeNoun · 02-13-2016, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Yes - it's a "vehicle teardown" display. You can see the car bodies in the far background.

We do both competitive vehicle displays (to see what everybody else is doing) and we also tear down our own vehicles. Competitive teardowns usually occur when the vehicles are new; When we tear down our own it's usually after a full durability schedule (accelerated wear to approximate 10 years). The engineer can review his parts to see how they held up, even requesting bodies to be cut apart so you can see inside and such. Most of the parts are scrapped at the end but if there is something particular of interest the engineer can request to have it saved.

They used to be significant special events but now are ongoing all the time. They are housed in the GM "Knowledge Center", which is behind the preproduction build shops south of the Tech Center. This most recent incarnation was referred to initially as the "Mona Lisa" project, for whatever reason.

K

Thanks Keith!

I was just reading about the "Mona Lisa" project. They said that GM would bring in two examples of a vehicle from a competitor, and park them in the GM Knowledge Center. They would tear one completely down to its nuts and bolts (like in the photo), and leave the other car intact for evaluation. The engineers would pour over everything, from parts to connecting rod bolts, trunk lids to dashboard assemblies, to see how they were built.

I wonder if that's what's going on in this photo. Maybe they disassembled cars from every U.S. manufacturer on occasion for evaluation.

Mike

Keith Seymore · 02-15-2016, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Thanks Keith!

I was just reading about the "Mona Lisa" project. They said that GM would bring in two examples of a vehicle from a competitor, and park them in the GM Knowledge Center. They would tear one completely down to its nuts and bolts (like in the photo), and leave the other car intact for evaluation. The engineers would pour over everything, from parts to connecting rod bolts, trunk lids to dashboard assemblies, to see how they were built.

I wonder if that's what's going on in this photo. Maybe they disassembled cars from every U.S. manufacturer on occasion for evaluation.

Mike

Mike - I'd be interested to know where you found that; it seems "too new" to already be documented in a historical text.

Also - I'd like to hear more about the photo of the first '63 Corvette - where you found it and such.

K

MikeNoun · 02-15-2016, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Mike - I'd be interested to know where you found that; it seems "too new" to already be documented in a historical text.

Also - I'd like to hear more about the photo of the first '63 Corvette - where you found it and such.

K

Keith, the reference I made to the Mona Lisa was not in regard to the photo I posted earlier (which I believe was from 1964). The Mona Lisa reference was in regard to the development of the Impact electric vehicle. The engineers said they would frequently raid the area where GM had torn down a competitors vehicle, and they would look for parts. They stated (by the late 1980's) it was two cars at a time that GM would bring in. One would be totally disassembled, the other stayed intact.

Looking at the b&w photo I posted, there appears to be at least 15 other cars torn down. I wondered if back in the 60's, perhaps GM did a sort of "Mona Lisa" thing with more than 2 cars.

The first 1963 Corvette photos were obtained off a Corvette site. I can post them here if you like.

Mike