Many times automakers will include small, fun features on vehicles that are there for nothing more than amusement, generally called “Easter Eggs.” One such Easter Egg exists on the new carbon fiber composite bed from GMC, but this feature is more than just an amusement piece.
On the bottom of the new CarbonPro bed, about three quarters of the way up towards the cab, you’ll find a small stamp in one of the bed’s ribs that reads “Connors Way.”
To understand where this comes from, first you must know that General Motors first started developing the CarbonPro back in 2010/2011, nearly a decade before it was set to be released.
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At the time the project started, a man named Timothy Connors was the Chief Engineer of Manufacturing at GM, though he held many titles throughout his years at the company. In 2015, with the CarbonPro project rolling along, Tim passed away suddenly in a motorcycle accident.
It was clear after hearing the story from the truck’s current chief engineer, Tim Herrick, that Connors played not only a significant role at GM, but was loved throughout the company for his hard work, vision and personality.
Herrick felt so strongly about getting the nod to Connors onto the bed, that he introduced the imprint in secret, only telling the brass once the manufacturing process was already set. If they didn’t like it, he offered to personally write a cheque to cover the costs of removing the stamp.
No cheque was ever written, and now every CarbonPro bed that rolls off the line near Ft.Wayne, Indiana, will have a little nod to the man responsible for getting the whole project rolling.
Update 4/25/19: Updated to correct the spelling of Connors Way.
