100 years of GM feted: Flint marks event with parade and some sadness

David Phillips / Special to The Detroit News

FLINT — Matt Assenmacher is a cyclist at heart and runs two bicycle shops in Genesee County, but, on Sunday, he had old-fashioned gasoline and a lot of nostalgia pumping through his veins.

His 1908 Buick Roadster — once owned by Buick’s first chief engineer, Walter Marr — led the procession as Flint marked the 100th anniversary of General Motors Corp. with a downtown celebration that was part parade, part car show and part homecoming.

"This town is still dogged by a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to GM," said Assenmacher. "But today is a day to be proud and honor what is one of America’s industrial giants."

Flint-built Chevrolets and Buicks dominated the parade lineup. And there was something for everyone — brass-era cars, Bel Airs, a rolling wave of chrome, stunning Cadillacs, sports cars, Buick Supers, muscle cars, motor homes and vans.

Crowd favorites included Robert Riegle’s 1944 GMC DUKW amphibious military vehicle, the 1953 Buick Skylark, a 1953 Corvette and a 1957 Olds Super 88.

Another favorite: Tim Store’s 1949 "Avalon Gray" Cadillac Club Coupe — the first car to sport tail fins. Store was 12 when he had enough money saved up — $650 — to buy the classic.

Marr’s grandson, Richard Marr of Ocala, Fla., showed up with a 1914 Buick Prototype Cycle car. It was the only one ever built.

The parade up and down bricked Saginaw Street capped a week of festivities in Flint — GM’s birthplace.

Like the company, Flint has suffered from job losses, plant closings and urban decay in recent decades as shifting consumer tastes, global competition, rising energy costs and environmental concerns have taken a toll on southeast Michigan’s auto industry.

But many in the crowd put aside GM’s staggering financial woes and relived the automaker’s glorious, innovative past — from tail fins to America’s first sports car, the Corvette, to the muscle car era and the latest gasoline-electric hybrids.

Cathy Hatch, a 47-year-old housekeeper for the elderly from Flint, marveled at the variety of vehicles that rolled by landmarks such as the old Durant Hotel and First National Bank of Flint, and within blocks of GM’s first headquarters on Water Street.

Her father, Harvey, worked at GM’s Fisher Body division in Flint for 38 years.

"It’s beautiful to see old cars that are still running," said Hatch. "I can’t imagine what it cost to keep them in such great shape."

Debra Mora and Kathy Mora, sisters-in-law from Grand Blanc, were impressed with the wide draw of owners at a time of high gas price and austerity.

The parade drew participants from Toronto, Florida, upstate New York, Kansas, Oklahoma and Green Bay, Wis.

GM was founded in Flint on Sept. 16, 1908, by William "Billy" Durant, who used part of his fortune from selling horse carriages to acquire Buick in 1904. Four years later, he formed GM as a holding company.

Bill Barnes, a 38-year-old attorney from Chicago, brought his Flint-built 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo to show off its flared hips and rear wheel wells.

"It’s the sexiest car out there," said Barnes. "With the biggest hood Chevrolet ever built."

Louis Kosbar of Davison remembered GM’s lavish 75th birthday party and wanted his rare 1930 Marquette sedan to be a part of the 2008 centennial celebration.

He was a die maker for Buick for 42 years and said the company spent $26 million in tooling and other start-up costs to build the Marquette — a model dropped after just one year.

"Buick was a cornerstone for GM and we hope they keep it," said Kosbar.

J. Dallas Winegarden Jr. said Sunday’s parade was more like a people-to-people celebration than previous GM birthdays and milestones, when thousands of people jammed downtown Flint, every plant staged an "open house," and Dinah Shore and other celebrities showed up.

"This giant’s been crippled and it will recover," said Winegarden, a Flint attorney.

David White, the director of Kettering University’s archives and head of Flint’s celebrations for GM’s anniversary, said the "parade was dedicated to the working people and retirees of GM."

Ed Hanson waited years for the chance to drive his 1908 Model F Touring Buick in the parade.

"This car survived longer than the plant where it was assembled," said Hanson, a retired GM engineer.

"It is sad to see the condition of GM today. Flint needed a day and parade like this to pump up the community’s spirits."