Car design guru gets energy from kids
Almost a year ago, Andrea Allen, a
Grade 7 teacher at Morning Star
Middle School in Mississauga, Ont., began communicating with the
folks at Chrysler to have vice-president of design and SRT brand CEO
Ralph Gilles interact with her students.
Allen did not want distance to be a barrier, so she planned to use Skype to introduce her class to the influential executive.
However, Gilles’ schedule brought him to Toronto, which allowed him to visit the school and speak to the entire seventh grade, rather than just one class.
Known for his laid-back and inviting style, Gilles endeared himself to students by talking about his own experiences as one of the only black kids in an all-white Montreal school.
He made the diverse crowd of kids laugh when he showed a school photo of himself with a tall afro (he has a lot less hair now) before moving on to talking about his path to success in automotive design, drawing comparisons to the students’ work in the art-focused school.
A Q&A session followed and the young people surprised the adults on hand by asking interesting questions about cars, design and what qualities it takes to be successful in the auto industry.
Following the presentation, Gilles led the students outside to have an up-close look at his personal 2013
SRT Viper. The second car to roll off the production line, the rear hatch of Gilles’ Viper has been signed by each employee who was involved in the build.
As the kids excitedly looked at the car, I asked why Gilles chose to visit the school. “It’s this energy,” he said. “The minute you come in the room, you can feel the anticipation,” adding that he loves the challenge of connecting with the students and while it can be tough to miss a day in the office, “I leave richer than when I came; I am always inspired by them.
“If I can touch two or three kids out of this crowd, and maybe 10 years from now they send me a letter saying, ‘Remember that time you came over?’ well, that would make my day.”
BLUE OVAL LEADS THE WAY AS AUTO SALES CLIMB IN APRIL B-CLASS BRAND AMBASSADORS FOR MERCEDES-BENZ CANADA TEST MYFORD TOUCH WITH NEW PHONE APP
With winter over, Canadian consumers made their way back to new-car showrooms in April, creating a surge of 8.9 per cent in sales for the month over April 2012. This improvement helped boost year-todate sales to a 1.4 per cent improvement over last year. The Detroit Three led the way in units sold, with Fusion and Edge sales pushing Ford to the top of the charts with 27,895 vehicles sold. Second place went to Chrysler, with 25,675 vehicles sold. More importantly, this was Chrysler’s best April since 1989. General Motors sold 25,072 units, their best month since June 2011. On a smaller scale, two manufacturers deserve high fives all around, as Acura saw a 39.3 per cent increase in sales to 2,086 units and Mitsubishi made an incredible 73.4 per cent improvement to 2,265 vehicles sold. Things were not so rosy for some other manufacturers, as Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Volvo, Smart, Mazda, Kia, Hyundai and Land Rover all suffered declines. Over the past few years, social media have become an integral part of marketing new cars. Not only is it important for manufacturers to be active, but having fans who support and promote a brand is key. In an effort to boost fan interaction, Mercedes-Benz recently held a contest called B-The Face, to find four personalities who fit the BClass’s own traits of B-Seen, B-Adventurous, B-Spontaneous and BPlayful. More than 20,000 fans voted to decide on the four finalists who will receive a B-Class for a year to help them assert themselves as B-Class Brand Ambassadors.
Toronto singer/songwriter and actress Michelle Danes was chosen for B-Seen, while Toronto area real estate agent and MMA fan Charles Ruocco is B-Adventurous. Kingston, Ont., radio personality Chelsea McDermott was voted B-Playful and B-Spontaneous went to B.C. food blogger Natasha Chudyk.
One of the most important considerations for younger car shoppers these days is the level of connectivity. But to fully experience everything, a prospective buyer has to sit in a car, which means being fawned over by a sales person.
Ford has devised a way to change that with the creation of the “MyFord Touch Guide,” an app that allows users to explore climate, phone, entertainment, navigation, settings and info screens on their phone. The “MyFord Touch” app is available through Google Play and the Apple App Store. wheels@thestar.ca