General Motors Takes Its Environmental Initiatives on the Road
CSSI is helping General Motors take its environmental initiatives on the road by supervising the installation and maintenance of its interactive Environmental Lab, which we built for GM for last year’s Detroit Auto Show, at various events throughout the United States and internationally.

CSSI originally worked with GM’s Design for the Environment Team, part of GM Truck Group to create the computer-activated display that makes GM’s environmental initiatives come alive. The display is centered around a GMC Yukon which CSSI dissected to create some of the exhibit’s various elements. The truck is hooked up to fuel canisters, hoses, steel drums and even an ethanol-processing plant to demonstrate seven of GM’s environmental initiatives in a fun, interactive and educational way.

CSSI integrated the display elements with a video that features Bill Nye the Science Guy. Nye is the exhibit’s tour guide via four plasma screens placed around the vehicle. While he explains the hows and whys of the environmental technologies, the display glows, bubbles and clangs to further drive home the initiatives.

Project Manager Ross Hamilton and CSSI’s design team worked with GM’s Jerry King and Jackie Quinn on the creation of the exhibit and the current tour. CSSI has supervised the exhibit’s installation at the Los Angeles and Chicago auto shows so far this year. In March it will travel to New York, and then will continue touring the United States. Trips to Mexico and Germany are pending as well. John Woodward and Curt Kucik have been working onsite to ensure the exhibit’s proper installation and operation.

Appearing in conjunction with the Environmental Lab is a new interactive kiosk CSSI designed and built that presents GM’s website earthtroop.com, which was developed to educate children about environmental concerns. The kiosk consists of a pylon constructed of yellow powder-coated steel tubing and bright aluminum diamond plate. The pylon supports four web-based monitors and touch pads as well as a double-rotating sign. Ryan Hall developed the design and John Woodward led the Earthtroop project through the shop.