[Chevelle-List] A note on GM and their licensing

[Craig A. Ellis]

It is worth mentioning that GM is the largest corporation in the world. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I think we're talking about a $250 billion dollar organization. I think what happens is that small manufacturers and distributors are not even on their radar screen. GM does not have a whole lot of people assigned to the task of seeking out small companies infringing on their copyrights and patents. I'm not trying to start a bunch of hoopla here but we work with GM guys all day long. It is not a flawless company but there are a lot of very good people that work there. I'm just a bit reluctant to bash them for being GM. When the day is done, they flat out own the rights to every product they ever built. That they support our hobby at all is pretty remarkable - they sure don't make any money on it. Seriously - you're talking about maybe a few tens of millions of dollars at the absolute most in a company of 250 billion. It's like one one-hundreth of one percent. The only reason they bother with resto parts and crate engines and other stuff is because there are a bunch of gearheads in the company and, frankly, it helps them sell cars and trucks to the public. We need to hope that they never get an eco-freak car hater at the top because you can bet your last dollar it will all be over in the blink of an eye. CAE