{"id":32748,"date":"2024-05-22T21:14:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T01:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32748"},"modified":"2024-05-22T21:14:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T01:14:17","slug":"event-to-honor-gms-milford-proving-grounds-help-gleaners-feed-the-needy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/event-to-honor-gms-milford-proving-grounds-help-gleaners-feed-the-needy","title":{"rendered":"Event to honor GM’s Milford Proving Grounds, help Gleaners feed the needy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milford Proving Grounds helped birth a century of the some of the world\u2019s best known road creations, from four-wheel brakes to supercharged Corvette V-8s to crab-walking GMC Hummer EVs.<\/p>\n

This weekend, it will help raise money for Metro Detroit\u2019s neediest residents.<\/p>\n

To celebrate MPG\u2019s 100th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday, the GMPG (General Motors Proving Grounds) Retirees Club is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Gleaners Community Food Bank. The location? The Lingenfelter Collection in Brighton, home of some of GM\u2019s best, most notable Corvettes, Camaros and other performance beasts developed at the proving grounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cGleaner\u2019s is an amazing charity, and when the Proving Ground Retirees Club approached us to do a fundraiser, we were excited to be a partner,\u201d said Ken Lingenfelter, CEO of the Lingenfelter Engineering mod shop that take great GM performance cars and makes them greater. \u201cAnd, of course, we\u2019re proud to celebrate the Proving Grounds’ 100th birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Gleaners and MPG are pioneers.<\/p>\n

Founded by Gene Gonya in 1977, Gleaners was one of the country\u2019s first food banks. From its humble, east-side Detroit warehouse beginnings, Gleaner\u2019s has grown to serve Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties, providing food to nearly 400 shelters, pantries, soup kitchens and schools, while offering direct, drive-up grocery distributions.<\/p>\n

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Charitable event for Gleaners. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

GM\u2019s Proving Grounds opened as the world\u2019s first dedicated automaker test facility in 1924 with two buildings and 5.5 miles of test roads on 1,125 acres in rural Metro Detroit. The brainchild of GM President Alfred Sloan, an MIT-educated engineer, it blossomed into a high-powered lab testing the cutting edge of technology. In addition to automotive advances, it has produced breakthroughs in guardrail safety and video technologies. The grounds have since expanded to encompass 150 miles of test roads (including the formidable \u201cLutz-ring\u201d race track named after GM product guru Bob Lutz) spread over 4,000 acres employing some 4,500 people.<\/p>\n

The Lingenfelter Collection houses one of Michigan\u2019s biggest auto collections with hundreds of cars spread across 40,000 square feet in Brighton. It has become a go-to space for charitable benefits everything from Toys to Tots to the Pink Fund fighting cancer.<\/p>\n

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This 1990 Rick Mears Edition Corvette ZR1 is among the vehicles to be displayed Saturday at the Lingenfelter Collection during an event to raise money for Gleaners. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Among its treasures are vehicles that underwent testing at MPG. Vehicles like the 1990 Rick Mears Edition Corvette ZR1 making 357 horsepower with a top speed of 184 mph. Not bad for its time. And then there is the unique 1957 prototype \u201cDuntov Mule\u201d \u2014 the first V8-powered Corvette that hit speeds of 163 mph.<\/p>\n