Car companies, community & a cause

Last Saturday night (April 20) was one of those I-can't believe-I-get-paid-to-do-this kind of evenings. My wife Maria and I -- along with 550 of our closest friends -- were invited to attend the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute's 31st annual dinner. The name sort of says it all, and the dinner is a simple enough concept that even I get it: It's held to raise money. The money goes to Karmanos' cancer care and research, including bankrolling a new lab.

General Motors was the lead sponsor and -- here's one of the coolest parts -- the dinner was held at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, home to the Chevy Volt, Impala and upcoming Cadillac ELR. GM and Karmanos converted part of the plant floor into an elegant dinner space that just looked fantastic. Yep, we sat right there on the factory floor, half-finished Volts over our heads, and had an elegant, wonderful dinner. I can't think of a cooler place in which to do an event like this.

GM president Mark Reuss and his wife Kim chaired the evening and, boy, did they ever: The dinner raised a record-setting $2,534,635, making it Karmanos' most successful annual dinner ever.

What an honor it was to be included.

I bring this up for a couple reasons, not just because we had a ball -- we did. To me, though, smacking companies around when they screw up is easy. So, I think sometimes it's worth highlighting when automakers do something right. Maybe car companies don't get enough credit for all they do for a community or cause. It's also worth noting that maybe GM and the companies below are giving because the industry continues its recovery. That's certainly a good thing.

Here are a few more examples:

Ford Motor Co. is heavily involved with the United Way. Kia supports B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe), a nonprofit dedicated to teaching teens about accident avoidance and distracted driving and the like. BMW is involved with Tire Rack and its hands-on, real-world driving school.

And let's not forget how car companies -- Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and more -- jumped into the fray big time after Hurricane Sandy with everything from supplying cars and trucks for relief workers to donating to the Red Cross.

The question I have is, should automakers do this kind of thing? And if so, should they do it to build business, or as a community service? Should it be both? Do corporations have an obligation to give back to the community -- to serve a social good?

My personal opinion is, yes -- to all of it. I'd love to hear your thoughts. —wraynal@autoweek.com

Contact me on Twitter @WesRaynal

By Wes Raynal