Road Fever by Tim Cahill Page A

case someone liked his proposal. It was tight but not impossible.
    Less than a month later, January 10, 1987, Sowerby needed another $20,000, and he flew to Detroit to talk with GMC. He had accounting fees of $5,000, insurance premiums to pay, legal fees, telephone bills, telex fees, and he wanted me to accompany him to South America to research the roads, the border formalities, and the security situation. Airline tickets, once again, were a major expense.
    In his money-raising capacity, Garry has no illusions. He considers himself an honest “huckster.” A “dream merchant.”
    January 13, in Detroit, Michigan, according to Garry’s notes, had been a good day:
    “Ten-forty-two. Just left Ron Royer’s office. He works for the General Motors Overseas Development Corporation and for the International Export Division. What a great guy. Ron was involved in the last project, Africa-to-the-Arctic, and he met us in northern Finland and rode to the finish line with us. He’s about six three, Midwestern boy, talks about ‘bidness’ instead of business. Got a big flat-topped wooden desk about the size of a football field. Off in the corner there’s a big floor-standing globe of the world with a light inside it, so the thing’s glowing off in the corner. Pictures of the granddaughters, the daughter on a credenza.
    “Ron can’t get involved in this because his end is marketing North American vehicles built overseas. In South America, they do a lot of the actual assembly themselves. But he said he’d hook me up with some contacts.
    “So he’s going to call the people who handle Central American sales and service who can help us with contacts. Mexico is handled by Canada Chevrolet-Pontiac Division and that can be sorted out through John Rock’s group.
    “We went to see Al Buchanan, who is the vice president of GeneralMotors Overseas, and basically what Al can do, he can provide service and contacts in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Al’s office was more in the couch-coffee table mode. Some jazz playing on the radio and a perfectly clean desktop. Al travels a lot in South America and his suggestion was to go the west coast all the way. Forget the Amazon. Too many question marks.”
    Garry’s notes became a rhapsody. “I’m in a great mood about all this. I’ve got the support of John Rock, the guys that doubted me at GMC have fallen into line, and I walk into this vice president’s office on a two-minute lead time and he’s already keen on the idea. If I were trying to plug into GM on my own, well, it just wouldn’t happen.”
    On the same day, Garry met with GM advertising. “I told them we weren’t looking for an end on their stuff. No money for testimonials, no payment for using my image. Oh, Tim, I told them you didn’t want to be involved in the advertising in any way. So for giving up any possible money on the back end, they approved another twenty thousand dollars for the recces. It will pay for our trips to Central and South America.”
    Later the same day, Sowerby drove to the Detroit St. Regis hotel and met with Joe Boissonneault, from Stanadyne, a company that makes diesel fuel pumps and had recently introduced a new diesel fuel additive. “Joe’s a good guy and we’re friends. Stanadyne sponsored the ALCAN 5000. I asked for thirty thousand dollars up front and he gave me fifteen thousand. Said the appearances and advertising royalties after it’s over should come to maybe ten thousand. Joe said, ‘Don’t plan on retiring on this.’ I thought that too, but it’s just another building block. He wants to push the new fuel additive.”
    That evening—“Oh man. Come to America. Drive around Detroit. Score thirty-five thousand dollars American, fifty thousand Canadian. Got the bank paid off. I can tell Jane, it’s okay, go ahead and have the baby anytime. Yeah.”
    Garry’s made some notes on follow-up:
    “Get a letter of agreement off to Stanadyne re sponsorship.
    “Letter to