Cadillac auctioning first CTS V-Sport for charity
Thu, 23 May 2013General Motors will auction off the first Cadillac CTS V-Sport for charity. Mary Barra, head of global product development for GM, announced that the automaker will donate the first CTS V-Sport to the SAE Foundation to be auctioned in support for the organization's science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational programs (STEM). GM supports the STEM programs through its GM Foundation, both with financial grants and with 1,500 mentors and volunteers to help students with their studies.
This year, Mary Barra became the first woman to win the SAE Foundation's Industry Leadership Award in the accolade's 25-year history.
The CTS V-Sport auction will also include a performance driving school package for those with a mind to learn a thing or two about controlling the car on a road course. You can read the full press release below for more information.
GM Donates 2014 CTS Vsport to Benefit STEM Education
First production Cadillac model to be auctioned with proceeds to SAE Foundation
WARREN, Mich. – Mary Barra, General Motors senior vice president, Global Product Development, was honored Wednesday evening with the Society of Automotive Engineering Foundation's 2013 Industry Leadership Award. Barra is the first woman recipient in the 25-year history of the award.
Barra said GM would donate the first production 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport, including a performance driving school package, to the SAE Foundation.
The CTS Vsport will be the first Cadillac model to offer an eight-speed automatic transmission. The car is built on the high-performance award-winning ATS architecture and is equipped with a Twin-Turbo V-6.
A live auction will be conducted by Barrett-Jackson later this year, and proceeds will be provided to the SAE Foundation for its science, technology, engineering and mathematics student outreach programs.
"The SAE Foundation's STEM educational programs are vital to ensuring we ignite the passion for math and science in young students who will be the future leaders of the automobile industry," said Barra. "At a recent SAE a World in Motion third-grade skimmer project I was especially gratified to see students having so much fun applying key principles of math and science. So it is fitting to support SAE's programs by donating a vehicle that embodies what is possible when ingenuity meets engineering excellence."
GM has long sponsored the SAE Foundation's STEM outreach programs. In addition to financial support from the GM Foundation, GM provides more than 1,500 mentors and volunteers who help reach nearly 85,000 students participating in SAE's World in Motion K-12 programs.
"We need to ensure that the next generation of professionals has the skills and education necessary to compete on a global basis. SAE's programs integrate physical science basics with team-based learning – and show young people that math and science is a viable career choice," said John Calabrese, GM vice president, Global Vehicle Engineering.
"By investing in programs like SAE's a World in Motion, we help get students engaged at an early age and keep them interested."
By Zach Bowman