FEATURE Some of Thamer’s design sketches and the Chevy HHR, top right. HANNONA continued from page 20 an art portfolio, which he had not much experience with before. He went to the admissions office and was eventually accepted. The program at CCS was intense and difficult, with many students dropping off in the middle because of the pressure or the cost. His first challenge was to pass his freshman year, which he said was a “tryout” for the real program, which, according to Thamer, ranks number 2 in the nation. Thamer was behind his cohorts because he spent a semester getting caught up on other classes. Even as the dean told him he couldn’t make it into the program, he was accepted to the next three years of the car design program. Its exclusivity is justified by the lack of jobs available in that field. Only a few thousand people in the world get to design cars for a living. There were 20 students in the program to start, but that drops all the way down to single digits in some cases. “I used to pull all-nighters once or twice a week,” Thamer claimed. “They want to make sure you’re fueled by passion.” Thankfully, Thamer lived at home in Warren while he was studying. He claimed the entire basement as his workshop and had a scholarship to cover most of the costs; his parents picked up the remainder. At the end of his tenure, his story came full circle as he participated in the senior showcase, flaunting his car models. He made the list of almost all the companies that came to the show and had tons of offers from companies like Nissan, BMW, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. According to Thamer, GM was the most enthusiastic about him, and he saw a lot of growth opportunity in the company as they had many studios worldwide, so he took the job. That was 22 years ago. “When I come to Detroit on business, I don’t even get a hotel. I just stay with my parents,” he said. “That’s how close it is. It’s crazy how close my parents live to the headquarters, like less than a mile. It’s serendipity, I guess. There are not many places to work, so very few people are from here. The car design community is very international.” When Thamer designs a car, it takes about 2-4 years to reach production. His first design was one you’ll still see on the road today: the Chevrolet HHR, or “Heritage High Roof,” a retro-style five-passenger wagon modeled after the 1947-53 Chevy Suburban. The car has a classic feel with modern amenities. The HHR saw over 500,000 sales in its lifetime and, at its peak in 2008, ranked #36 in vehicle sales in the United States. Not bad for a first try. A large part of the car design business is patience and persistence. While Thamer finished this design before the end of 2003, it was still not produced and sold until 2005, and it didn’t gain serious traction until a year later. By then, he had moved onto bigger and better things. He was restationed in California at GM’s advance design center. “On the advance team, you work on things that are far term, the cars you’d see in showcases or auto shows,” Thamer said. Many of the projects he works on for the advance team are top-secret. This was a quick move for someone who only joined the company in 2001, but Thamer actively sought out traveling and new experiences. He was only there for two years when he made a bigger move to Brazil. By the time he got there, the HHR, his first official design, was in its first year of production. Thamer had long felt the pull of travel, and this experience helped scratch the itch. During the time he was there, Brazil was an emerging car market, and Thamer helped build GM’s design studio there with the ultimate goal of establishing a selfsustaining design community. “We had a low budget, so it’s a really different place than I was coming from,” he said. “We had to think more practically and cost-efficiently and in terms of production.” Often, Brazilian factories would receive leftover parts from Europe, which made for an interesting design challenge. During his stay, Thamer lived in Sao Paolo, which was the third biggest city in the Americas after New York and Los Angeles, and has now surpassed both. GM gave him a bulletproof car. The office was far from where he lived, and driving in Brazil was nothing like he’d ever seen. “It’s the most dangerous thing you can imagine,” he said. “There’s a bunch of tight corners and turns and it’s very fast. I had serious anxiety every time I had to drive.” Thamer loved the city culturally. “It was a big city, and there’s all these little pockets of beauty. You can drive about 60 miles to the beach too,” he said. “The food was the best part. Experiencing the barbecue for the first time was great, where they just bring you meat over and over.” HANNONA continued on page 24 22 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>SEPTEMBER</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
WE BUY ALL CARS Are you tired of your lease or just want out early? Even if you’re over your miles, that’s no problem, we want your car! WE PAY TOP $$ Give us a call at 313-952-2626 or stop in at our dealership on Grand River Avenue. WE BUY OUT ALL LEASES, MAKES AND MODELS. نحن نشرتي جميع موديالت السيارات-الحديثة واملستعملة بدون استثناء حتى اللييس .ترشفوا بزيارتنا. TWINS AUTO SALES • 25645 GRAND RIVER AVENUE • REDFORD, MI 48240 <strong>SEPTEMBER</strong> <strong>2023</strong> CHALDEAN NEWS 23