Welcome to GM Authority – The Ultimate Independent General Motors blog, forum (coming soon), podcast, and video channel.
Every day, we deliver the latest General Motors news, analysis, trivia and a whole lot more.
Here’s what we do:
- We cover the latest GM news on our blog – 24/7, 365 days a year. All the articles we write are purely our own: you won’t find any copy and paste jobs here.
- Once a week, we cover the week’s news on the GM Authority weekly podcast. It’s the world’s first (and only) General Motors podcast and – quite frankly – it’s the best!
- We also bring you the GM Authority Debate, a podcast where we argue, debate, and lock horns about the most important General Motors topic in the world. Strong opinions abound!
- And if all that wasn’t enough, we also bring you GM Authority Back To Basics, a video show where we discuss basic vehicle components and how they work. Watch it here.
- The GM Authority Garage is the place where we review GM vehicles. Catch us as we film our reviews and share our opinions of The General’s products.
We live, breathe, drive, dream, and tune General Motors – and we hope you join us in this exciting transformation of old to new GM! Our goal is to bring General Motors fans and enthusiasts the ultimate place to keep up to date, discuss, share and learn. Here’s the GM Authority Team!
The GM Authority Team (In order of appearance)
Alex Luft
Alex’s GM experience started when his father had a 1994 GMT-330-based Chevy Blazer… in Russia. Driving over railroad tracks and going off-roading was simply awesome in the boxy 4×4. Showing his love for the SUV, Alex decided to give the Blazer a car wash… while it was snowing (he was 8). Doing so led to the locks freezing the next morning. This dedication and love to the Chevy brand was something Alex never abandoned. In fact, his enthusiasm for GM has grown over the years.
Alex loves driving anything with wheels, especially if it corners like it’s on rails, an appreciation for vehicles that are light and have great handling. He is looking forward to purchasing a yellow Camaro 2SS once he’s out of school and making the “big bucks.”
Having lived for 12 years in Russia, Alex is bilingual in Russian and English, and fluent in Spanish. So it would only be natural that when thinking about cars, Alex’s favorite subjects are strategy and competition, especially on a global scale. For example, how does the Malibu compare to the Ford Fusion? What will GM do with the next-generation Malibu and Epica (international markets)? How can GM improve its line-up to increase market share, customer satisfaction, and brand cachet? What approach should Chevy take overseas now that it wants to reach one million units per year by 2015? It’s topics like these that keep Alex up at night.
Alex’s daily driver is not a GM product! In fact, it’s a company-issued Lexus! Blasphemy, right? In reality, this has been a blessing in disguise, since Alex gets to experience what GM’s competition has to offer by driving a Toyota product. Now that’s true market research!
Apart from being the founder and webmaster of GM Authority and the host of all GM Authority podcasts, Alex is in his last year at Florida Atlantic University, seeking dual bachelor’s degrees in Marketing and Management. Alex is also founder of Destination: Theme Park, the definitive source for theme park reviews, news, and tips. Alex co-founded Theory 16, a marketing, consulting, and web development firm. He is currently working on a web application that will rock the world (and blow your socks off)!
Contact Alex here. See all posts by Alex here.
Erik Bentley
You could say that Erik Bentley is a true car fanatic. A real gear-headed, knuckle bustin’ fool. He’s the kind of guy who will stare at an engine and think more about the g-forces exerted on the rotating assembly at 6,500 RPM than the horsepower and torque it produces. For as long as he can remember, Erik has always been involved in some kind of auto sports. Whether it was cruising around with his father as a child in a Trans Am, or lying on his back changing his own oil, Erik was into it.
It was not until he began driving with a learner’s permit that Erik discovered he had a passion for all things mechanical. His first car was a 1997 Camaro RS – a convertible none the less (tough life, huh!). He modified what he could on the quaint 3.8L, 200 HP V6, and added some aftermarket flare to spice the outside up a bit. Soon after, he began to realize that this hobby might one day turn into something much more that that! This was also when Erik developed a passion for all things GM. Camaros, Corvettes, Silverados, Cadillacs, and even classic GM muscle – if it was produced by The General, Erik liked it.
Things got really serious when Erik was blessed enough to become the owner of a 2002 Camaro SS. Not only was the car fun to drive, but it was a blast to modify as well. Erik learned most of what he knows today by working on not only his Camaro, but vehicles cars as well, working at a high performance speed shop in Boca Raton for a few years. Among other things, Erik learned the basics of late model EFI tuning, suspension tuning, performance braking, performance driveline components, as well as custom chassis fabrication and safety modifications. While working as a mechanic at the shop, Erik was also introduced to things like turbocharging, supercharging, and nitrous oxide. Working on other customers’ vehicles gave Erik a solid foundation for what would eventually become a passion for anything that had an engine in it. While Erik worked at the shop, he also earned his ASE Certification as a mechanic, believing that a successful automotive career starts with a good education.
Erik owns and operates Guardian Auto Inspection and Fleet Maintenance located in South Florida. Guardian provides a mobile, on-site alternative to traditional preventative maintenance on commercial fleets. The company also inspects used cars prior to purchase for banks and credit unions as well as private buyers. For more information, visit his website at www.GuardianAutoFL.com.
Erik currently owns a 1965 Buick Special that he is in the process of restoring. The vehicle has been back halved and even has a roll cage. When finished, the vehicle will be considered a “pro-street” style hot rod. In pure GM fashion, Erik plans on swapping a Gen IV LS power plant and transmission into the vehicle, complete with EFI. Erik will keep everyone posted on his progress on the project through the site.
Please feel free to contact Erik with any automotive questions – he’s here to help!
See all posts by Erik here.
Manoli Katakis
Manoli (or “Manny”) carries Motor City oil in his veins. Living just north of Detroit, he feels, sees and understands just how GM and the rest of the American automotive industry impact his state (and country) on a level few others do. His background includes a fancy diploma from Oakland University with a degree in journalism. At first he wanted to enter the field of public relations. Luckily, that didn’t work out.
Manoli has been a GM fan all of his life. However, he goes beyond just the typical passion for cars: he also analyzes and constantly brings up points on subjects that seem to go unnoticed. While he may not be much of a gear head, his knowledge of the industry and passion for writing are exactly what lured him onto The GM Authority Team. His current field of expertise is The General’s full size truck models, especially the powerhouse Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra HD machines.
Write Manoli here. See all posts by Manoli here.
Wilson Nunnari
With GM in his DNA, Wilson is thrilled to have an outlet for his growing commentary on all things General Motors. Beginning with Oldsmobiles that were built before he was born and continuing with Pontiacs, he was destined to be subservient to The General although he learned to drive on a 3-speed Ford.
Wilson grew up on the coast north of Boston and for better or worse is a true New Englander. Favorite interests/activities (aside from cars) include spending time with family, traveling with friends, exercising, music, business, blogging/social media, and snowboarding. Although Wilson hates the cold, salt, and rust, winter is his favorite season because it brings car shows, teasers, reveals and lots of analysis along with it. It is also the best time of year to travel and work hard.
By driving anything he can get his hands on (which in the past year includes a DTS, CTS, GMT-400 Yukon, GMT-900 Denali, Impala, Aura, Vue, two Volvos, Toyota Yaris, Mazda6, Mercedes C300, and his own Audi), Wilson gains experience and pleasure which few other things can provide. It also makes him feel like a comparison test writer at Car and Driver, never a bad thing. He enjoys spoiling his own car and simultaneously flogging it around snowy New England.
Although bankruptcy beat him to it, Wilson aspires to be the one to turn General Motors around. While dissatisfied with several of the GM brands, Wilson is excited to see what a nimble GM can do once they settle on consistent marketing. Reading about the business end of the automotive industry brings Wilson to concentrate in Global Business Management at Babson College. Learning through experience is important to him and he thinks this is something he can gain from GM Authority and carry on to the automotive industry later in life.
Contact Wilson here. See all posts by Wilson here.
Will Maley
William is a car fanatic. Whether it was riding in his Grandpa’s sixties Plymouth Valiant Coupe or sitting in a Chevrolet Camaro at the auto show making engine noises, he has passion for vehicles.
William digests a lot of car news, vehicle reviews and automotive editorials. He simply knows way too much about cars to not share it with the world. He’s very analytical, asks the hard questions and does his due diligence to get the answers.
A writer for the AutoBird Blog, William covers the business side and the odd side of the automotive world. He brings all this experience, enthusiasm and passion to GM Authority.
Don’t even bother asking him about his dream car – or his next car – unless you want to devote a whole day to the subject.
Contact Will here. See all articles by Will here.
Conor Cameron
A life-long technical snob, Conor Cameron has been forced to look to the imports for innovation for much of his life. He finds technically brilliant solutions, regardless their source, far more impressive than mere brute force. When a horsepower race emerges, you will find Conor immediately drawn to the forced induction solutions over simple displacement increases. For him, automobiles are all about smart engineering: bulletproof reliability through better design and manufacturing processes; and maximum efficiency, either by squeezing the most energy out of a drop of fuel or squeezing the most power out of the smallest displacement engine possible.
Conor is very excited to see General Motors leading the charge in making America competitive again. He is particularly excited by the substantial quality improvements in the class competitive (potentially class-dominating?) seventh generation Chevy Malibu; the dynamic prowess of the Nürburgring-tuned CTS coupled with its powerful and efficient direct injection V6; and the GM-sourced magnetorheological damping technology used in modern Ferraris. (You know you have something good when Ferrari is licensing your technology). And unfortunately, that snobbery makes Conor’s favorite Corvette the C4 ZR-1.
These biases and a close following of the imports, rather unique among GM fans, are highly useful in analyzing GM’s resurgence, from providing a global context in which to understand GM’s efforts, to understanding the media bias that has developed against American automobile manufacturers over the last couple of decades, to establishing an intimate familiarity with the current benchmarks against which new GM products are being measured.
His experience with the technical end of automobiles has thus far been mostly academic. He enjoys reading about the theoretical and real world operation of new technology of all sorts, from performance to safety. At some point before the death of the internal combustion engine, he hopes to learn something with a wrench in hand. The ultimate goal is to develop the ability to completely disassemble and reassemble an engine. He also thoroughly enjoy washing and waxing cars. He has never had strong opinions with regard to styling, but often feels compelled to personally polish and wax abused, dark-colored finishes. A life-long Chicago resident who always parks outdoors, he understands the value of a good cleaner wax.
Conor graduated from Northwestern with majors in economics and communications. And accidentally mathematics. Obsessions outside the automotive realm include tinkering with free software and thinking about policy making.
Contact Conor here. See all posts by Conor here.
Hylton Jorssen
Hylton Jorssen was born with cars on his brain. As long as he could remember, cars – whether they be Hot Wheels or the real thing – were a part of his life. His love of GM started at 11 when he was given a private tour of the now idled, Framingham A body assembly plant when he was living in Wellesley, Massachusetts. “I was absolutely fascinated with the car assembly process – it was just an amazing process to be able to witness at such a young age.”
He joins us after a long reputation in the GM enthusiast community as a very outspoken individual. At times, his opinions are not for the faint of heart but his articles are guaranteed to be thought provoking. ‘We all owe William Durant, Ford and many of the great men after them a debt of gratitude for the lifestyle we live today. Somewhere along the line, people stopped listening to customers, business partners and stopped considering new ideas. My articles and comments are really about this new GM adopting an entrepreneurial spirit that had flourished in Detroit some 100 years ago.”
Now living in Ontario, Hylton continues to be a dedicated car enthusiast. His technical knowledge is usually on anything and everything “Camaro” since it is the car that he has cherished since being a young teenager. “I bought my first Camaro at 16. At the time I bought it, I thought it was a 1968 SS350. It had everything an SS would have (SS hood, emblems and wheels, etc.). I sold it when I was 19 to a Camaro restorer. He did a bit more research on the car and found original documentation for it. It turned out to be a Z/28! That killed me and I vowed to try and learn everything possible about Camaros.” 25 years later, he acknowledges that there are still things about the car he is trying to find out. He still works with other Camaro buffs to research and document new information. “Every Camaro generation has their gurus and all of them are incredibly dedicated researchers”.
He also backs up his talk with his current Camaro collection – he has at least one of each generation (5) and makes no promises that he’s done. “I love them all – they speak back to you in some way. Obviously, the older they are, the worse they handle but having one of each generation is like having your own time machine – you really get to see what GM was thinking as the years went by and how far they have progressed technologically over the past four decades.”
Contact Hylton here. See all posts by Hylton here.
Hakim Givens
Hakim is the youngest member of the GM Authority team. A teen, he’s just starting to drive… legally. But his passion for cars has been alive since he can remember. He was raised around GM cars – from his mom’s ’57 Bel Air to his brother’s ’73 C-10. He would never miss a ride in a car – no matter the destination.
Hakim has an eye for design and is GM Authority’s Rendering Specialist. He’s the guy that will look at a car, analyze the bodywork, and focus on details before anything else. One car that’s passed his test? The new Camaro of course – he plans to claim a white 2SS in a few years. He hasn’t heard too much of the Camaro while growing up, since half of his life, the car was on a seven-year hiatus. He went to his first big Auto Show in 2006. As soon as he saw the Camaro concept, he knew he had to have it – and has been on an unrelenting pursuit ever since.
Hakim wasn’t too thrilled at the new of GM cutting a few brands – including Pontiac (one of his favorite brands of all time), but he took a step back and looked at the big picture with an open mind and realized that a smaller and stronger GM was for the best. He’s a supporter of all of their decisions (save for a few… Converj cancellation, anyone?) and aspires to one day design cars for The General himself.
You can see Hakim’s work on all the “photochops” throughout GM Authority. Contact Hakim at his Facebook page here.
Lizette Gagné
Special thanks to the lovely, beautiful, and talented Lizette Gagné for making the GM Authority artwork, logos, and design. Lizette is also the one who keeps Alex mentally sane during the week and throughout weekends. She’s the host of Tweecap – the Twitter recap show – and co-founded Theory 16 with Alex – their graphics/design/web-development/marketing firm.
The best way to contact Lizette is to catch her on the Twitterverse right here.
