NYLON - November 2007 - (Page 54)

ROAD RULES DANI STAHL GOES TO GM AND DISCOVERS SHE’S HELL ON WHEELS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN F. MARTIN AND JEFFREY SAUGER When GM asks me to come test-drive their Chevy Malibu at the company’s headquarters outside Detroit, I can’t resist the invitation. It’s Factory Girl’s second trip to Michigan and ﬁrst trip to Motor City (in my college application process, I developed a brief obsession with the University of Michigan which, to put it in car-talk terms, crashed and burned after a weekend spent in a fraternity house, convincing me that NYU was much more my speed). The ﬁrst thing I notice upon my arrival in Warren, Michigan is that it’s deﬁnitely a company town. Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to work for GM. Secondly—to my surprise—I ﬁnd a four-door sedan in place of the little sports car I had anticipated. Before I go any further, it must be said that, clearly, no one checked Factory Girl’s road record before inviting me to Michigan. As a New York ‘city kid’, I never really needed to drive. I got a license when I was 18 but that was pretty much the end of my career behind the wheel. I tend to ﬁnd myself very distracted by the process of controlling a car; there’s the radio, the manicure I seem to need, the requisite hair-check in the rear view mirror (very important), the cell phone, the BlackBerry messenger— you name it and it’s on my list of things to do. There was also the leeetle matter of the leeetle accident I had a few years back while driving through the Lincoln Tunnel, which I blame on the iced-coffee I desperately needed to grab. Accident-that-was-coffee’s fault aside, let’s just say, I’m not the most popular designated driver among my friends. Fortunately, judging from the dummy crash tests I watch after lunch, the Chevy Malibu is going to make it no matter which dummy is driving, even if it’s me. It’s a relief to note the cars hold up just ﬁne in the tests, although I on the other hand do not do as well because I get all freaked out by the loud noises and ﬂashing lights. So much so that I start to reconsider all the other activities I partake in while operating a motor vehicle. My visit to GM coincides with the famed Dream Cruise, an event for the ultimate auto aﬁcionado in which vintage car collectors travel from all over the United States to display their vehicles. The Dream Cruise happens along a roughly 22-mile-long stretch of Woodard Avenue (I clockwise from top: the burnout technique, a 3-d car model, i made it!, in the color and design studio at gm. factory girl design studio interior photographed by john f. martin. all outdoors photographs by jeffrey sauger.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of NYLON - November 2007

Contents Editor's Letter Par Avion Behind the Scenes Contributors Stars and Stripes Forever Mass Appeal: Los Angeles Mass Appeal: Austin Mass Appeal: New York Mass Appeal: Sneakers Haute Stuff Private Icon: Slums of Beverly Hills Cult Of: Ralph Lauren Blue Label Memory Lane Nesting: Top of the Block Factory Girl: Road Rules Fashion Road Trip Fashion News Mania: The Price is Right Canned Heat Counter Culture: Universal Picture Private Icon: Jane Fonda Beauty News The Future is Now Smoke And Mirrors King of the Jet Set Rock America Country Death Songs A Fond Farewell Personal Investment Stranger Than Fiction Film Strips Culture Club En Route: The Grapes of our Content Miller's Crossing I'm Too Sexy The Perks of Being a Wallflower Tourist Attraction Star Maps: Fair Isle Shopping List Bag Check: Roam If You Want To

NYLON - November 2007

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