Fun Fact Friday: A Tale of Two Cities

June 22, 2012 1:46 pm CT

I’m a native Michigander (I point to my hand to show people where I live when I’m travelling), but I spend a good deal of time in Chicago. It’s truly my Second City. I love it when people think I’m actually from the Big Windy. Like many Detroit-Chicago transplants, I am a Chi-Troiter (careful how you pronounce that).

While I’m torn between two cities, I’m proud of the economic impact General Motors has on both metropolises. The reason I travel so often to Chicago is because it’s our key city we’re focusing on to improve awareness and purchase consideration for GM products. Here in Detroit, it’s like talking to ourselves. There’s a LOT of automotive presence here; in Chicago, not so much.

Here’s a snapshot of how it boils down, by the numbers:

And…drumroll…the amount the GM Foundation has contributed to Illinois organizations from 2008 to 2011:  $1,804,123.

I’m often asked why we do so many of our events in Chicago rather than Detroit. We need to concentrate on areas where we need to move the needle.

That said, we still do plenty where we’re headquartered, including the North American International Auto Show, The Detroit Grand Prix, The Woodward Dream Cruise and numerous national and regional media drive programs for our latest and greatest products.

Keep in touch with the Driving the Midwest team through comments here on our website, our Facebook page ,through our Twitter account @DrivingMidwest , or tell us why you want to drive our car. Who knows, you just might get an invite to one of our fun events!