GROSSE POINTE SHORES, MI – Ford and General Motors logos won’t be among those shown as sponsors of a premier classic-car event set for Father’s Day at the sprawling Edsel & Eleanor Ford estate on Lake St. Clair here.
But you will find Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and a batch of automotive suppliers supporting the Eyes on Design Automotive Design Exhibition, as it is formally called.
GM and Ford may be skipping sponsorship, but there will be plenty of their nameplates among the 300 mostly privately owned vehicles on display.
To be fair, both previously have supported the show during its 30-year history. And GM recently decided to shift the emphasis of its charitable foundation to science, technology, engineering and math education, vehicle and road safety and sustainable communities.
Still, it’s especially strange that Ford has passed on sponsorship, considering it’s being staged at Chairman Bill Ford’s grandparents’ home.
Sponsors kick in anywhere from $2,500 to $40,000, Eyes on Design reports. That’s a pittance weighed against the record profits GM and Ford have been piling up. It’s doubtful that cash, at the high end, would even buy a 30-second spot on cable news.
And it’s for a good cause: Proceeds “are a major source of revenue for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology’s (DIO) important work with the visually impaired and blind,” the organization says.
There’s another Ford connection: The DIO, founded by Dr. Phillip C. Hessburg, who also is the prime mover behind the fundraising design show, is the research-education arm of the Henry Ford Health System’s Department of Ophthalmology where he practiced for many years.
Hessburg credits top designers at the Detroit Three automakers with helping get the show rolling in 1987, but he’s a bit saddened by the absence of the Big Two this year.
“We miss them,” he tells WardsAuto. “They’ve backed away from special events, but we’ve tried very hard (to win them over). It seems they have other places for their foundation money.”
Only half in jest, Hessburg says, “Even 25 dollars would be welcome to show support for this event, because it’s worth supporting.”
The exhibition runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 18 and features classic cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles. It also celebrates the centennial of Lincoln.
