Sunday, November 04, 2007

Twitter This - Part 1

*this post is sort of longish, so get yourself comfy... and a drink.

You know when something cool and off the beaten track falls in your lap and you're pretty sure that you've been mistaken for someone who actually knows things and can contribute valuable insight but really you're just sort of clueless and are having a bad hair day?

Then you'll enjoy hearing about my weekend.

Or,

30 hours in Memphis.

Or,

Sexy men design sexy cars.

GM invited me to a social media event in Memphis featuring the all new Chevy Malibu... it was a drive the car/meet the people in charge/eat BBQ kind of event... also, it was the kind of event where all your expenses are paid. Come! Stay at the Westin! On Us!

Now, having been out of the professional world for many years, it has been some time since someone offered to pay for anything to have me anywhere (unless you count the time I was an out of control hormonally pregnant nightmare and my husband tried to ship me off to Hawaii to visit my mother), so to say I was flattered to receive this invitation would be a bit of an understatement. WHOO HOO was more along the lines of my response.

7:00 am Friday morning found me sitting on a Northwest flight for Memphis... excited to be on my way and a little worried that someone at GM would wonder how my name slipped on to the guest list.

I need not have worried... for along with the writers from Edmunds, Left Lane, the Torque Report, the NBC auto correspondent and a guy from Wired, were 6 fellow, (dare I say it?) Mom Bloggers.

Or, as Kelly (the prettiest woman in the Internet) put it, bloggers who are also mothers. But then she also writes "butt sex" in the memo section of her personal checks, so I think the fact that I developed a huge girl crush on her is no great surprise.

Before I go too much further, I need to say this: Kudos to you General Motors, for realizing and respecting the reach of the Internet and the influence of women in the blog-o-sphere.

Our first afternoon was spent comparison car driving. The Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima... the cars which are the Malibu's biggest competition. Not for nothing, but let me tell you this - the Malibu is by far the best name amongst the bunch... if you drive it you can pretend to be Malibu Barbie or Mali-boozer (not mine - that would be Kristen from Mommy Needs a Cocktail.... which she didn't because she is an incredibly pulled together woman with a very cute baby who came along and served as a chick magnet for Mr. Needs a Cocktail).

So cars were duly taken out and driven around town and little notes were made and then we had to go change for cocktails.

Cocktails were across the street at the Gibson Guitar Museum and Factory... we were given a tour which was awesome and also maybe gave some of us a bit of a contact glue high and then we were introduced to the Team (yes, bold with a capital "T") behind the (all new!) Malibu.

All I can tell you is this: If the entire world brought forth the amount of passion for their work as Tim, the aforementioned sexy designer, we'd all be living happier lives.

So, the new Malibu? She's really good looking! She's sleek and vaguely European and wayyy better than before. The interior is sporty and roomy and apparently she has enough safety features to please even the most hysterical of drivers (me).

We oooed and ahhed and nodded intelligently as the many auto enthusiasts asked questions and then with chat about being excited to drive all over MISSISSIPPI (quick! spell it backwards!) in the morning, we headed out for a fabulous dinner at BB King's restaurant where some of us Twittered the evening and some of us (me again) drank too much wine and ended up in a quasi-gay bar chatting with a pregnant girl who was getting married in the morning.

That's when I knew it was time to go.


my photos are rather sparse of the weekend thanks to an unlucky move involving a semi-opened bottle of VASA water, a Prada bag and the digital camera.

info on the drive itself in part 2... coming in the next day or so...


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are sort of in the market for a new car so I'll be interested in hearing what you thought about the Malibu (Maliboozer!) after you drove it.

Tammy said...

Wow - the designers have really improved the Malibu. Sleek & sporty!

Lucky you to get treated like royalty. Sounds like fun!

Shelley said...

What can I say girl ...you are livin' the life!

Hah! You kill me. :D I'll call you later.

Shell

Damselfly said...

Wow, you livin' the life! Oh wait, I see that another commenter already wrote that.

Um....

Glad you got picked to go and that you had fun. That Gibson museum tour actually makes me a little jealous. The car, in the photo anyway, looks nice too.

Daniella said...

What a cool weekend - or 30 hours :) I agree that it is wonderul that GM is recognizing the reach of the internet and bloggers - even the Mommy kind.

Kim Moldofsky said...

It was great meeting you; what a fun event! I have a cute photo with you and Mr. Torque Report; I'llsend it later this week.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Amie Adams said...

Kelly is gorgeous, isn't she?

And you're on Twitter? Where? I want to follow you!!

Kristin said...

Oh, I am not the Twitter... that honor went to part of the GM Team!

But, I am tempted... if only because it sounds a little nasty. ;-)

wzgirl said...

Ok, so, yeah. Fun. Good times. Good times with the Maliboozer - BloggerBarbie!

Jennifer (Jen on the Edge) said...

I wonder if I could get BMW to invite me to a weekend getaway???

Anonymous said...

You're so funny, I love it! Can't wait to read what you thought of the Hybrid.

Marisa

Mocha said...

I forgot to write you a check but it wouldn't have said "Buttsex" because I really, really owe you now for that lovely compliment.

You'll have to check out my lame haiku describing the weekend thus far but you stole my "sexy men design sexy cars" line. Dang.

I'm not writing that check now.

Chicky said...

Wah! I missed out on meeting Maliboozer Barbie?? I had to miss the weekend since my oldest was having dental surgery...stinkin weak enamel! ;-)

egan said...

Did GM pay you to post this? I've rented a Malibu a couple times in Hawaii. The car is a bit big for my liking, but it handled alright. I'm still a bit skeptical of American cars though. I know that sounds bad, but their reliablity is still suspect. It sounds like you had a great time in Memphis.

Kristin said...

Domestic Chicky, - Damn those teeth... I would have loved to have met you!

Egan - No. It was actually made very clear to us that we were under no obligation to post about either the Malibu or the weekend. However, as you said, the Malibu is such a "rental" in the mind of most, that I think this redesign is going to surprise many. GM was very upfront in recognizing their competitors and the very fact that, as you mentioned, the midsize car market in the U.S. does not lean toward American cars... they've really set their sights on changing that mindset. I'll be posting on what I thought of the drive and how the car handled in the next day or so... check back!

Anonymous said...

sounds like you had a blast. can't wait to hear more!
welcome back.
nicki

Pendullum said...

Sounds like a great time and kudos for GM realizing one ofthe most influential people in the bloggoshere...

Pollyanna said...

yeah, what Pendullum said, goes double for me. Can't wait to hear more stories about your weekend. And too dang bad you didn't get a pic of the sexy car design dude!

furiousBall said...

Gaahhh, drinks at the Gibson Guitar Museum.... wow, that would be heaven for me.

I haven't visited Mocha Momma's blog in a while, she is a cutie.

Los said...

I saw a commercial for the new Malibu - it looks nice ... my wife's parents have a 2-year-old Malibu, and that car looks like it was influenced by boxes.

I hope GM gets their act together!

Anonymous said...

Rock on! What fun! How about a post on your conversation with the knocked up chick at the gay bar? I bet it was interesting.

Christina_the_wench said...

We've rented a Malibu before for a vaca. It is a lot bigger inside than it looked. I give it two thumbs up.

BB King's restuarant? Oh girl, next time I get to go!

Jill said...

My first car ever was a 1978 Chevy Malibu so I have fond memories of it, but boy oh boy was it a boat. Nice to see all the improvements they made. (Hi Chevy people reading Kristen's comments section)

Lisa said...

Was thinking about you lots and wondering if you had gone and if so, how it all went.

(Hubby is back traveling. In fact, on Friday he was given less than 24 hours notice and was back on a plane on Saturday. Doesn't even know when he's supposed to get back. (Hopefully this coming Friday or Saturday.) Bah!

Anonymous said...

I got invited to one of those things by Hallmark, but I couldn't go. You're lucky you got some time away:)

Anonymous said...

What a fun trip! I went to BB King's place when I was in Memphis about ten years ago and had a great time.

Who could pass up a weekend like that?

carrie said...

Wow! What fun!

I'd been seeing the new ads for this car . . . and now I know someone with an "in"!

Can't wait to read the rest, and, glad you got a weekend away! It's good for the soul! :)

Joannah said...

That sounds like a blast!

Anonymous said...

Mmm. New car smell. What's that like? Mine has to last me until at least Zed graduates from high school. I'll read longingly about cars with good gas mileage until then.