posted 04-07-2002 01:49 AM                  

It was gratifying to have been part of the Prowler Owners CAAP Tribute Day, but the experience was not over yet. I was lucky enough to have been able to pick up my new Candy Red from the plant the day before the tribute. Mike and Judy Krehel flew back into town on Monday to be a part of the birth of their Candy Cat!! We were able to spend the entire week at the plant watching their car and the very last Cat (the blue one) being built. While Mike and Judy were very busy going through labor....I was able to spend time visiting with the plant craftspeople on a one on one basis. In all the other times I was there, I was able to walk around and say hello, but not really sit down and talk to these people in-depth. Obviously, they were working and it was not appropriate to disturb them. This week was different, however.

We were pretty much given free reign to be about the plant (following all rules, however). I talked at great length with a lot of the workers. The difficult part was watching people leave. As the last cars finished at each station, many of those people left immediately, as their job was finished for good. Lots of emotion that week. By the end of the week when the last Prowler came off that line, we had become closer and even better friends than before. I heard a lot of stories about how much they loved working at that plant. They loved that car as much as we did and they agreed that there would never be anything like it again. I was even told that there were several of them who own a Prowler! I heard a great many funny stories about the friendships they had there and the antics they played on each other. These people were truly a family. I talked to one young man who was very worried. He was being laid off and was concerned about finding another job....he has a wife and a 2-year old daughter to take care of. He told me later in the week that they had just been told that DC and worked out a deal with the UAW that would allow them to continue to receive a paycheck while doing some special assignments - he was very much relieved.

I want to share with you, some of the things that these people told me about the CAAP Tribute day. They were honest in telling me that they were very leery of what we had in store for them and not particularly happy about the whole thing. However, they told me that they were very surprised, very touched and very appreciative of the whole experience. A great many of them said that NO ONE had ever done anything like that for them, not even corporate. One lady told me that it was a long time coming.....not by us, but by anyone. One man told me that he'd worked for Chrysler for 25 years in various facilities, but never had he seen anything like that done for the craftspeople. Never had a group of owners paid tribute to the craftspeople that built the cars they drive. Many of them told me of the special places in their home that they are now displaying their Prowler plaques. They were also very thrilled with the cd and seeing (in many cases) themselves on the cd. They also said it was cool to see the people that bought the Prowlers and how they had modified their cars. One young man told me that during the tribute, he wanted to get up and say something to us, but he lost his nerve and then was sorry he didn't. Many said that they were truly touched by the fact that the Prowler owners shook their hands and thanked them for their part in building the cars. They all said that we were thanking them for building them so we could buy them. They say that if it wasn't for us buying them, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to build them and work at such a great job! So, I guess we all won!

It was great being with them all week and they said to me that they thought it was great that Mike, Judy and I were able to be there right to the end. There was sadness, emotional swings, laughs and hugs. It was an experience that I'll never forget.

At the end of the day on Friday, they invited us to a get-together at a local bar and grille. Mike and Judy and I went and ended up staying for several hours. By the time we were finished wrapping up our business at the plant, we were a bit late in getting there. We were quite taken aback when we walked in.......they all stood up and applauded!! We had a lot of fun with them and they were surprised to find out that I grew up less than a block away from there!! They asked us to take a group picture, which we did and everything ended on a more upbeat note.

One of the other things that many of the workers said to me during the week was that between the CAAP tribute day and our representation of the Prowler owners during the week, we made the final week much easier for them and they really appreciated it.

In closing, I just want to say that I am proud to be a Prowler owner. I am also proud of this group of Prowler owners who came together because of a common interest, but have stayed together and continued to grow because of friendship and comraderie. Thank you again, to all of you who came to participate and all of you who couldn't, but cheered us on from afar!

Click here for the beginning of this story:

http://www.prowleronline.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/005650.html

posted 04-07-2002 04:19 AM                  

I am sure there are many of us like myself, that would have loved to have been there but it just wasn't feasible at the time.

It was great to hear how appreciative the workers were of the tribute and heart-felt thanks that was bestowed upon them from all in attendence.

Thank you to all who participated in making this event a success and a wonderful tribute to the workers and for such a Great car!

I think that you all will go down in the history books of the automotive industries history of the Prowler story!

Wish I could have been there! Thank you to all who were there, from one of those who was there in Spirit!

Truely a unique and special car that deserved a special send off!

Sincerely, John Cramer

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Prowl-On...

posted 04-07-2002 10:15 PM                  

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posted 04-07-2002 10:34 PM                  

quote:

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One man told me that he'd worked for Chrysler for 25 years in various facilities, but never had he seen anything like that done for the craftspeople.

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Isn't that the way it is in most of corporate America? I am glad that many people from this forum could go and give these craftspeople a decent send off. I would have liked to have been there, but there was no way. Thanks to all the people who did go and make a difference in the lives of these people.