Automotive News Canada - September 2017 - 12

* S E P T E M B E R 2017

Michigan autonomous
test track to be
shared with Ontario
University of
Toronto grad drives
funding, education
at new test centre
By JIL MCINTOSH

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

Left to right: Bernard Leblanc, vice-president and COO for Groupe Park Avenue; Tommy
Caron, vice-president and general manager for Mercedes-Benz Quebec City; Norman
Hébert Jr., president and CEO of Groupe Park Avenue; Norman John Hébert,
vice-president of business development Groupe Park Avenue and Normand Barabe,
vice-president of finances for Groupe Park Avenue. ( P H O T O : B E N O I T C H A R E T T E )

Group acquires landmark
Quebec City M-B store
Former Mercedes mechanic
founded dealership in 1964;
named a Star Dealer
15 times since

"His hard work and unwavering dedication to the brand were truly exceptional. He
was a real asset to this organization, a true
pioneer."

STAR LEGACY

Parent began his career in 1958, repairing
Mercedes-Benz cars in a small garage
MONTREAL CORRESPONDENT
on Rue Arago in Quebec City. In 1964, he
founded Chatel Automobiles Ltd., bought
the garage and began selling Mercedes-Benz
ADDING A TWENTY-THIRD
cars.
dealership to its portfolio, Groupe Park
The concession moved to its current locaAvenue of Brossard, Que., has doubled its
tion on Rue Bouvier in 1974 on land previMercedes-Benz store count to two with the
ously owned by his father.
acquisition of Mercedes-Benz
For nearly 60 years,
of Quebec City.
Chatel Automobiles repreFounded by Maurice
sented Mercedes-Benz in
Parent, Chatel Automobiles
Quebec City. The facility
Ltd. - which since its estabhas undergone several renlishment in 1964 has changed
ovations and expansions
its public name to Mercedessince 1974.
Benz of Quebec City -
Parent's passion for the
has been a fixture of the
brand and his dedication to
Mercedes-Benz Canada dealit are well known to clients,
er network.
colleagues and friends, said
"We are fortunate to
Fulton: He has won the disbe the owners of a proven
tinction of Star Dealer 15
concession," said Groupe
times since the corporate
Park Avenue CEO Norman
NORMAN HEBERT
dealer-recognition program
Hébert. The group bought
President, Groupe Park Avenue
was introduced more than
its first M-B outlet when it
20 years ago. The program recognizes the
acquired Silver Star Montreal in 2016.
top-10 performing dealerships in a given
Mercedes-Benz of Quebec City has a
year.
respected community presence, a strong
Parent was joined at the dealership by
team in place, "and the brand's unprechis daughter, Nathalie, in 2000. Taking
edented success in this market have
on numerous management positions, she
made the acquisition of this franchise a
retires as vice-president of Mercedes-Benz
sound business decision [for Groupe Park
Quebec City.
Avenue]."
Joining the Groupe Park Avenue sets the
Mercedes-Benz Canada CEO Brian
dealership "on the right track," said Tommy
Fulton acknowledged the contributions and
Caron, who adds the role of vice-president
legacy built by Maurice Parent over the
to his general manager duties. - ANC
past 60 years.
By BENOIT CHARETTE

The brand's unprecedented
success in this market
have made the acquisition
of this franchise a sound
business decision for Park
Avenue Group.

AUTONOMOUS DRIVING IS
more than just the cars. The
technologies in vehicles and
infrastructure must be tested
and validated, and that's the
focus of the American Center
for Mobility being built in
Ypsilanti, Mich.
Soraya Kim is its chief
innovation officer, currently focusing on funding and
investment to build the
500-plus-acre (200-plus hectares) facility, about 40 kilometres west of Detroit. Her
other project is to educate the
workforce - those who will
work with autonomous vehicles, and those who will be displaced by them - and what
training both sides will need,
now and in the future.
The first phase is under
way.
"We started construction
in May on the highway-speed
loop, which will open in
December," Kim said. "We
will be building a technology
park to house companies and
build an ecosystem for this
mobility space.
A memorandum of understanding between Ontario and
Michigan calls for sharing of
technology for autonomous,
connected and electric vehicles.
"We want to create pipelines to hubs of innovation,
whether they're in Toronto,
or Seoul [South Korea], or
Silicon Valley, for technologies to showcase at our tech
park," she said. "That's farther along, but it's under my
purview."
Born in Seoul, Kim moved
to Canada and graduated from
the University of Toronto. She
practised corporate law in
Toronto before working with
General Motors in Michigan
as it separated from Delphi.
From there, she focused on

Soraya Kim guides development of an autonomous-vehicle testing site near Detroit.
(PHOTO: AMERICAN CENTER
FOR MOBILITY)

We want to create
pipelines to hubs of
innovation, whether they're
in Toronto, or Seoul, or
Silicon Valley.
SORAYA KIM

Chief innovation officer,
American Center for Mobility

identifying and validating
new automotive technologies
for the University of Texas in
Austin.

'DEEP-DIVE PROCESS'
"I'm not an engineer, and
it's not engineering," Kim
says. "We're validating based
on primary research. When
we find a technology, we go
through a deep-dive process
to understand it and identify
what differentiates it."
Kim was hired at the centre
when she was introduced to
CEO John Maddox.
"It's a small world," Kim
said. "He had been appointed and wanted to put a team
together. Through my skillset
as an attorney, I had several
interviews, and he thought I
was a good fit, not as technical, but as a business developer."
The centre is currently a
start-up but it's backed by several organizations, including
the State of Michigan and its
Department of Transportation,
and has US $65 million in
funding to begin building the
test facility.
Kim plans to focus on any
university working on mobility, including those in Canada,
and wants to make the centre
available for testing and as a
showcase to help commercialize the technology.

MULTIPLE TESTS
"We want to create a facility for safe and repeatable
testing before [these cars] are
deployed on public roads," she
said.
"Currently there are proving grounds, but we're building urban environments, highway speeds, rural environments, off-road, or when you
go out on Saturday to Costco.
"Some 35,200 people died
in the U.S. in fatal crashes in
2015. That's up eight per cent
from 2014, and based on a preliminary study of 2015, it's
anticipated to go up. If you
can eliminate human error,
and the technology has been
tested and validated, I think it
will make a significant impact
on the number of fatalities.
I'm passionate about what
we're doing because I think
we're going to be saving many
lives." - ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - September 2017