Collection of Vintage Vehicles Celebrates 100th Anniversaries of Both the Syracuse Auto Expo and General Motors

Show visitors get a rare look at Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles from GM's Heritage Center

2008-01-30, SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Visitors to the 100th Syracuse Auto Expo, which opens to the public Feb. 6, will get a special treat: a rare glimpse of five vintage General Motors vehicles - the earliest a 1908 Buick - in a display that celebrates the 100th anniversary of GM as well as the Expo.

The vehicle display comes to Syracuse's OnCenter and War Memorial from GM's Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Mich., and was organized by Syracuse-area GM dealers. In addition to Buick, vintage vehicles representing GMC, Pontiac, Chevrolet and Cadillac will be together in the facility's ballroom, and each have a unique story behind them. GM officially turns 100 on Sept. 16, but began its celebration earlier this month with the launch of GMnext, a mostly Internet-based, interactive campaign focusing on GM's next 100 years.

"GM's new launch vehicles are winning over customers and media alike with their focus on style, quality, functionality and fuel efficiency," said Scott Mackie, GM Northeast general manager. "As the Syracuse Auto Expo turns 100 this year, it provides us with an exciting opportunity to showcase not only where GM is going as a company, but our heritage of great cars and trucks as well. Not every automaker has roots in America as deep and as wide as General Motors."

Here's a look at the vintage GM vehicles that will be on display in Syracuse:

1908 Buick Model 10 Runabout Touring Car: Historians say the booming sales of this Flint, Mich.-made touring car gave entrepreneur William C. (Billy) Durant the financial clout he needed to create General Motors. At a list price of $900, it featured a T-head inline four-cylinder engine that produced 40 horsepower, as well as a two-speed planetary transmission.

1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado: This powerful, five-passenger luxury coupe, which produced 340 horsepower and a whopping 480 lb.-ft. of torque, included creature comforts such as concealed headlamps, front-wheel drive, variable ratio power steering and automatic ride level control. Its hood, long even by 1960s Cadillac standards, was designed to accommodate a V-12 engine that was later canceled.

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Convertible: A smashing success for Chevrolet and the first year of the Impala model, it's hard to believe this very rare, fully restored two-door beauty originally retailed for under $3,000. It's finished in Turquoise with an interior of Turquoise vinyl with Silver/Black/Turquoise seat inserts. Under the hood, the 280-horsepower 348 "W" engine was all-new, too: Named "W" for the shape of its valve covers, this engine's combustion chamber was in the block instead of the customary cylinder head.

1938 GMC Truck with Cab and Stake Bed: General Motors borrowed this 1½ -ton commercial truck from a dealer in Montana for use in a never-released movie starring actor James Garner. However, the truck was shot full of holes during filming, so rather than return a bullet-riddled truck to the dealer, GM purchased it outright and restored it to its original condition.

1926 Pontiac Landau Coupe: The Pontiac automobile debuted in early 1926 as a companion to the more expensive Oakland, and an attempt by then-GM President Alfred P. Sloan to bring more showroom traffic to struggling Oakland dealers. It was introduced at the 1926 New York Auto Show and labeled the "Chief of the Sixes," because of its six-cylinder engine, relatively large given the car's $825 price tag. While the Pontiac was a runaway success, Oakland produced its last car in 1932, and the division was renamed Pontiac.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 274,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Source: GM

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