Member’s Bio Page

Burt Bouwkamp

SPOUSE: Mary Ellen (Emme) Bouwkamp

RESIDENCE: Winter: 709 Kenwood Circle, Melbourne, FL 32940
Summer: 3641 Cook Valley Blvd. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

CONTACT INFO: Winter: (321) 610-7915, email: southburt@cfl.rr.com
Summer: (616) 940-3576, email: northburt@comcast.net

TENURE IN CLUB: Since approx. 2000

WORK: Retired in 1987

OTHER CLUBS: Dodge Charger Registry

CURRENT STABLE: 2009 Chrysler Town and Country, 2008 Dodge Caliber, 1968 Dodge Charger (photo below).

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY: 38 years in Chrysler product development. See attached chart.

Top five work experiences:
1. In charge of planning, styling, and engineering the European Chrysler Horizon (code name "C2") which won the European Car of the Year award for 1978. Chrysler USA decided to build this design at the Belvedere, IL plant.
2. Leading the team that planned the 1966 and 1968 Dodge Charger.
3. Leading the small team that planned, prepared, arranged, and supervised the 1960 Chrysler 300F speed and acceleration runs on the beach at Daytona Beach. We entered six 300F's and they finished in positions #1 through #6 and set a two way speed record of 144.9 MPH. Here's the headline in the next morning's Daytona Beach paper.

(The slowest 300F beat the old record of 139.4 MPH set by Tim Flock in a Kiekhaefer prepared Chrysler 300B in 1956.)
4. Leading the Chrysler team that worked with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to increase Chrysler's equity in MMC from 15% to 24%.
5. Leading the Chrysler team that worked with MMC to show that joint vehicle manufacture of MMC designed vehicles in the USA was feasible. (MMC and Chrysler subsequently formed Diamond Star Motors and built and operated an assembly plant in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.)



In 2017, Keith Boonstra arranged a lunch with Burt -- "Burgers with Burt." A group of Chrysler enthusiasts came by to talk with Burt
and hear stories of his days with Chrysler Engineering. We have this lunch in a series of videos;

First 25:33
Second 17:52
Third 20:00
Fourth 27:57
Fifth 10:24
Sixth 26:01

In 2018, Keith arranged another lunch.

Back row - Ralph Rhees, Keith Boonstra, Jim Krausmann, Brian Frank, Jim Rockey, John Begian, John Hannon, Andy Mikonis, Dan Richardson
Front row - Michael Burke, Jim Bartuska, Burt Bouwkamp, Bob Kelley, John Grady, Mark Obermann
Front front row - Noel Hastalis

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August, 2018