GM Makes-A-Wish come true for teen with leukemia
General Motors recently gave Aaron Robinson, a junior at the Charter High School for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia, an unforgettable gift. The creative 17-year-old has a love for designing automobiles, so in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish foundation GM designers transformed his sketches of a Pontiac Trans Am design into a virtual 5-foot-by-10-foot computer projection model. Robinson's life has been marked by a battle with leukemia, and he is fortunately now in remission.
The design, of which The Detroit News appears to have no pictures (the one above we believe is another sketch of a future Corvette C16 done by Robinson and reinterpreted by GM designers), shows a model that takes design cues from the 1953 Chevy Corvette, as well as a one-headlight grille inspired by the 1945 Tucker. Amaury Diaz, creative designer for the Rear-Wheel Drive High Performance Studio at GM, said about the experience of interpreting the young man's design, "That is as much fun as I'll have this week."
It was refreshing that we didn't find news of GM's giving nature in its own list of press releases, as something like this shouldn't be treated as a marketing opportunity. Although we do hope GM will release some more pics so we can view Robinson's works from some additional angles.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Giggles of Doom 5:24PM (6/28/2006)
A nice gesture, so call me cynical if the idea of having a sketch turned into a 3D model doesn't sound nearly as impressive as if they had turned it into a physical model, even if it was only from foam.
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Whydrive 5:55PM (6/28/2006)
What GM should be doing is donating money to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition just like Toyota all these years....
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Talis 6:15PM (6/28/2006)
#1 I understand what you mean, but this is still cool as hell. I can picture the kids face when he saw the projection of HIS design floating there infront of him. That God though that his leukemia is now in remission.
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GhostDoggy 6:59PM (6/28/2006)
They couldn't turn it into a physical model, Giggles, because that department at GM took early retirement. lol
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Stoneman 8:25PM (6/28/2006)
I'm sorry but that design is really, really bad.
But I hope his cancer is in permanent remission.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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Jaymez 10:51PM (6/28/2006)
WhyDrive, why should The General donate any money to an organization that was founded by a racist? If they did that, The General would never get another penny from me. "Revrend" Jesse Jackson can suck my left nut.
While I think a scholarship to a Desgin school would have been more interesting, this is still a pretty trick gift.
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Nate Wesley 11:28PM (6/28/2006)
"And I'd also like to say to all of my generation and generations to come: Enjoy your beautiful life," ..."All of these materialistic things -- don't pay it any mind."
Sounds like this young man is wise beyond his years. And his design isn't half bad, either.
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Rolling his eyes 12:04AM (6/29/2006)
Response to No. 2
You are joking right?? Rainbow Push - The gimmie gimmie coalition.
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xsivone 7:30AM (6/29/2006)
Stoneman is an asshole. Picking on a kid thats ill.
And BTW, your website is weak. How can you give a top pick on a car, when you've hardly driven many? What the hell makes you an expert anyways?
DORK ASS!
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Arnie 9:20AM (6/29/2006)
"Stoneman is an asshole. Picking on a kid thats ill."
??? Sorry man, but being ill does not make this design better. We all hope he'll get well, but the design is really bad.
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Paul 11:21AM (6/29/2006)
GM is taking advantage of sick children.
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Jason 1:44PM (6/29/2006)
Not to be nit-picky John, but the Tucker (commonly referred to as the Tucker Torpedo) was a model year 1948 (having made its debut in 1947), not 1945... OK, yeah, i'm too nit-picky. Sue me. :-)
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