Car Craftsman
In his work as senior creative designer at General Motors Industrial Design, Christopher J. Webb draws on a childhood fascination for the engineering and elegance of automobiles.
Inside China Automotive Conference Nov. 19
According to export.gov, China continues to "be the world’s largest vehicle market with the Chinese government expecting that automobile output will reach 30 million units by 2020 and 35 million by 2025." With that kind of projected growth, it's imperative that those involved in Michigan's automotive industry understand how that will impact not only China's industry but U.S. production.
Haunting at the Hackett Auto Museum
It's undeniable that Michigan's main claim to fame is its century-old automotive industry. And with a variety of car models once produced across many of the state's cities, each holds its own unique car history. [...]
SheHive Workplace Building Workshop
Creating a cooperative workplace is often a simple task but sometimes, for a variety of reasons, even well-meaning co-workers can get on each others' nerves — especially when in a manager-subordinate position. Ferndale's SheHive is an organization that works to connect women of all professions and is hosting a workshop series titled Like a Boss: Building Workplaces that Don't Suck from October to December on the first and third Thursday of each month. The event will focus on female managers in often male-dominated fields like the automotive industry and IT.
20th Anniversary Global Automotive Summit
For the past 20 years the PUSH/CEF Automotive Summit has discussed diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry for people of color. Held at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit on Thursday, Oct. 31, through Friday, Nov. 1, this year's theme is "Expanding the African-American Opportunity Pipeline."
Meet GM Worker Steven Del Gaizo
Work and identity are often strongly intertwined. For Steven Del Gaizo, he gets to be his authentic self while working on what he loves. In his current position at General Motors, he focuses on developing [...]
Ford Employee Talks Transitioning in the Workplace
Lynn Keiser’s transition from male to female in her job at Ford Motor Company could’ve been a nightmare. After grappling with gender confusion and its toll on her mental health for close to two decades, she was unsure what life as a trans woman in the professional workplace would resemble.
UM Dearborn Lecturer Earns Support from Ford Fund
Dr. Truman Hudson is a lecturer of multiculturalism at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Hudson, who won the 2018 Ford Fund Community Corps award, is currently conducting a class, EDA 515 – Communities and Schools: Building and Sustaining Partnerships, that will require students to work with LGBT Detroit and Ford GLOBE to co-design a leadership development supplementary educational curriculum. The effort is called the Blank Canvas Project.
FCA US, FIAT Brand Moves Beyond Pride Month, Celebrates LGBTQ Community Year-Round
The LGBTQ community is not only concerned about how they are being treated in their general lives, but in their places of work, too. And more and more companies are embracing the LGBTQ community beyond [...]
Ford to turn Michigan Central Station into a Haunted House
For one day only this month, Ford Motor Company will turn Michigan Central Station into a haunted house. Plans are underway for the event put on by Ford Motor Company Fund. Shawn Wilson, the fund's [...]
Ford GLOBE Builds Relationships with Allies on the Job
During Ford GLOBE's National Coming Out Day event on Oct. 11 at the Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, the LGBTQ employee resource group announced the GLOBE ally engagement project. The goal is to elevate Ford [...]
Ford Chairman Met with Trump Over ‘Infuriating’ Mexico Comments
BY BTL STAFF Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said on Oct. 5 he has met with Donald Trump to talk about the Republican presidential candidate's extensive criticism of the automaker's investments in [...]
Former Chrysler Executive Talks Workplace Inclusivity
Fred Hoffman, former Chrysler executive and his husband, Jim Stokes, married on Nov. 29, 2015 after 32 years together. The couple resides in Dearborn. The Fiat Chrysler Automobile Group had the 2016 Fiat 500X speciallywrapped [...]
Racecar Driver Comes Out on Road to Indy 500
BY NICK POUST First Openly Gay Racecar Driver in IndyCar Series Freddy Niblack. Photo courtesy of UNITE Magazine Indianapolis Freddy Niblack is the first openly gay driver in the IndyCar Series, but that's not [...]
Insider Scoop Into Ford GLOBE
Ford Motor Company GLOBE board chairman Bill Peters and former chairman Greg Stone. Peters joined Ford Motor Company two and a half years ago and works as a senior IT project manager in the application [...]
Longtime BTL Advertiser Hodges Subaru Moves To New Location
BY AJ TRAGER Hodges Subarus new location at 21205 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale. The company has been advertising with Between The Lines for 20 years and is committed to maintaing a relationship with the LGBT [...]
Your Lamborghini, Or Mine?
It wasn't too long ago that the right-wing American Family Association -- known for getting its membership to boycott groups, organizations and products -- targeted Ford Motor Company for running 2005 Land Rover and Jaguar [...]
Cars & Camaraderie
By Emell Derra Adolphus Lambda Car Club member Troy Congdon comes from a family of General Motors workers. He joined the Car Club in 2009 and owns a 1967 classic Buick. The car, he says, [...]
Chrysler’s Grand Gesture In Support Of LGBT Employees
By AJ Trager AUBURN HILLS - In a decade where not all employees receive domestic partner benefits let alone healthcare for themselves, Chrysler has been taking the lead in appreciating the diversity of its LGBT [...]
A Driving Force
By Christopher Treacy Travis Parman predicted the future. As the current director of Corporate Communications at Nissan, Parman oversees all sorts of relationships within the automotive industry. But it wasn't that long ago that he [...]
Out Of The Closet, Into The Boardroom
LGBT employees from Ford Globe, Chrysler Gala and GM Plus joined forces in one display at Motor City Pride 2012 in Detroits Hart Plaza. BTL file photo: Benjamin Jenkins Times were different for the [...]
Adam Bernard: The Car Guy
BTL photo: Andrew Potter When considering character in these socially progressive times, it'd be impolite to "judge a book by its cover." According to auto aficionado Adam Bernard - associate director of competitor intelligence [...]
Lambda: Cars & Camaraderie
By Emell Derra Adolphus The Lambda Car Club meets at Westpoint BBQ in Dearborn. Photo: Emell Derra Adolphus Lambda Car Club Detroit president Adam Bernard discovered his love of automobiles at an early age [...]
Baby, I Can Drive Your Car
By Dana Rudolph Mombian "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet" goes the old ad jingle. I therefore felt rather all-American on a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest to test drive the Chevy Volt [...]
Hi, Tech :)
By Jerome Stuart Nichols Technology moves fast. Car tech is moving even faster. From Bluetooth and voice commands to 17-inch touchscreens, increasingly complex in-dash "infotainment" systems are redefining what it means to be behind the [...]
Pretty In Pink
Because your car isn't gay enough, GM has released their 2013 Chevrolet Spark mini car in a color that's sure to get you noticed as you drive away from the gay bar: Techno Pink. "Pink [...]
Chevrolet, Lexus, Allstate Nominated For GLAAD Amplifier Awards In Advertising
LOS ANGELES - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced its nominees for the 2012 Amplifier Awards, and included are two automakers and one auto insurance company. General Motors' widely acclaimed "Mom, Dad, [...]
UAW Stands With President Obama On Support Of Marriage Equality
DETROIT - President Bob King on the United Auto Workers issued a statement in May that supports President Obama's announcement on marriage equality: "The UAW applauds President Obama's remarks on same-sex marriage, and we regard [...]
Gay-Friendly Automakers
Research among LGBT consumers shows that the majority of us want to spend our money with companies that have progressive policies toward their LGBT employees. The only problem is, that information hasn't been easy to [...]