SAE MidMichigan Section

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 4:00PM
Durant-Dort Factory One, 303 W Water St, Flint, MI 48503

ROLLING CRUISE begins with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4pm at Factory One located at 303 W. Water Street in Flint. We will have our Grand Marshal Victor George and family,  Mayor of Flint Sheldon Neeley,  Local Police officers from surrounding precincts,  our Chairman of the Board Al Jones, Vice Chairman of the Board Ralph Messer and other Board of Directors, Executive Director Amber Taylor and many, many others.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, MMSAE will award the H.H. Curtice award. Following the award the parade route will stretch from the historic “red bricks” of Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint through Burton and Grand Blanc 

Township to the City of Grand Blanc. Thousands will line the streets to see classic cars and vehicles of every description.

Vehicles could join or leave the cruise AT WILL anywhere along the route in both directions from 4-9 PM.

No tickets required. Free event. For scheduling questions, please contact Bernard at 810-265-8365 or ms037@email.sae.org

---

Speaker: Kevin M. Kirbitz, Director – Heritage Operations. General Motors Heritage Center, General Motors Archives, and Durant-Dort Factory One

Monday, Apr. 17, 2023
Durant-Dort Factory One, 303 W Water St, Flint, MI 48503
5:00 PM Social
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Program

Kevin Kirbitz’ engineering expertise, Buick pedigree and deep knowledge of General Motors have converged into an automotive historian’s dream job: witnessing the transformation of the 19th century Durant-Dort Carriage Company Factory One in Flint, Michigan, into a modern community resource that also honors the innovators and risk-takers who helped make GM possible. The newly renovated facility, once one of the largest carriage factories in the world, is considered the birthplace of GM. In addition to Factory One, Kirbitz was also named manager of the General Motors Heritage Center, formerly located in Sterling Heights, Michigan, but now in the process of moving to Grand Blanc, Michigan. The Heritage Center serves as a display location for a portion of GM’s impressive collection of historic experimental and production vehicles along with a large collection of original documents and artifacts spanning the company’s history.

Kevin Kirbitz currently serves as director of the General Motors Heritage Center in Grand Blanc, Michigan, which houses a portion of GM’s extensive collection of historic vehicles as well as the GM Archives, and the renovated Durant-Dort Factory One in Flint, Michigan, once one of the largest carriage factories in the world and considered the birthplace of GM. Kirbitz has put his stamp on the company through more than 43 years in manufacturing, quality, product development, and communications. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in manufacturing management from General Motors Institute, now Kettering University.

Speaker: Dan Nicholson, Vice President of Electrification, Controls, Software & Electronics, General Motors
Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

Durant-Dort Factory One, 303 W Water St, Flint, MI 48503
5:00 PM Social
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Program

We’re electrifying the automotive industry, engineering EVs with purpose built, ground-up design, powered by our Ultium Platform1 technology. And because entertainment has a huge impact on culture, Netflix is joining the movement by increasing the presence of EVs in some of their original content. GM and Netflix are joining forces to give EVs the stage they deserve, reflecting society’s increasing excitement about an all-electric future.

Dan Nicholson was appointed General Motors Vice President Global Propulsion Systems in December 2014 and became Vice President of Electrification, Controls, Software & Electronics in 2019. Prior to that, Dan was the Executive Director for Global Powertrain Embedded Controls at GM. In that role Dan ran the day-to-day operations of the global engineering team responsible for all powertrain controllers and software as well all powertrain calibration.

Nicholson began his career with General Motors as a co-op student at Buick Motor Division in 1982. He has an extensive background in Product Engineering and subsequently progressed through a series of leadership positions including engineering group manager, director of controller integration, director of engine calibration, chief engineer for V8 engines, managing director of GM Powertrain-Germany GmbH where he led all powertrain operations for the country unit, and Vice President of Global Quality.

Nicholson earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University, a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, and a master of business administration degree from Stanford University.

Speaker: Collegiate Student Leaders
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
5:00 PM Social
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Program

We observe “National Engineers Week” with a banquet and technical program featuring presentations by students from Central Michigan University, Kettering University, Saginaw Valley State University, and The Kettering University AutoDrive Challenge Team. The students are members of SAE Collegiate Chapter project teams which compete in the SAE Collegiate Design Series http://students.sae.org/cds/ The design series has grown from a national competition to an international competition featuring students from Asia, Europe, North and South America. During this year’s banquet, the teams present will compete for the annual “SAE Collegiate Cup” presented by the Mid-Michigan Section. This event’s competition will be judged based upon the quality of the oral presentation of the team’s “Design Series” project.

Bavarian Inn Lodge Conference Center, Frankenmuth, MI 

Reservations required by Feb. 16, 2023 by emailing ms037@email.sae.org

Speaker: Tom Peters
Retired GM Design Chief, Consulting Curator of Exhibits at the National Corvette Museum
Program Chair: Mark Pope
Monday, Sep. 12, 2022
5:30 – 7:30 PM Tour & Meal
7:45 PM Program

The Lingenfelter Collection, 7819 Lochlin Drive, Brighton, MI

There is a tour of the Lingenfelter Collection. This is the premier car collection in the Mid West. It is not open to the public but it is available for special events. This event is scheduled for Monday Sept. 12, 5:30 pm to 9 pm, at 7819 Lochlin Dr. in Brighton, Michigan. View classic, exotic, and unique automobiles as Brian Baker discusses the legacy of Corvette and the National Corvette Museum. A lite meal of Michigan Pasty and beverage will be included with ticket purchase.

Do not miss this opportunity to visit the Lingenfelter Collection and meet Ken Lingenfelter. What started out as five cars packed into a modest three-car garage has grown into a huge, beautiful collection of unique cars in a 40,000 square foot space. Included is an outstanding collection of rare Corvettes While the collection is not open to the public, it is available for corporate and charity events. Ken supports the American Cancer Society with moneys from tour events. This tour is a charity event.

Tom Peters is the Retired GM Design Chief and Consulting Curator of Exhibits at the National Corvette Museum. 

Tom is no stranger when it comes to assisting with Museum exhibits, having co-curated ‘Car-toon Creatures, Kustom Kars and Corvettes: The Art and Influence of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’, a special exhibit that officially opened in January, 2020 and continues through April, 2021.
“Sean had the thought to see if Tom would be interested in being involved with the Museum in a more official capacity after his co-curation of the Rat Fink exhibit,” shared Derek E. Moore, Director of Collections / Curator at the Museum. “Of course, his design background with GM is huge and we figured the best use of his talents would be in aiding us in the overall visual experience of our exhibits at the Museum.”

Before the presentation, enjoy a genuine Upper Michigan Pasty prepared by Jason Edberg.

The Lingenfelter Collection, 7819 Lochlin Drive, Brighton, MI