Chevrolet’s Most Versatile Family Hauler And Its Ultimate Rock Crawler Top The Fountain At Comerica Park Ahead Of Opening Day

Chevrolet and the Detroit Tigers are getting ready for Major League Baseball’s Opening Day by placing this year’s showcase vehicles atop the fountain at Comerica Park.

An all-new 2018 Traverse High Country and a 2018 Colorado ZR2 will sit high above the Chevrolet Fountain behind center field for the coming baseball season. Chevrolet has sponsored the fountain, which features an array of water displays and the sound of a tiger growling after each Detroit home run, for the last nine seasons.

“We are proud to continue the tradition of showcasing Chevrolet vehicles in the center field fountain at the home of the Detroit Tigers,” said Paul Edwards, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. “This year, we have chosen to display the all-new Traverse High Country and the Colorado ZR2 because they are among the most versatile and capable vehicles in the Chevrolet lineup and we know that they are tough enough to withstand the unpredictable Michigan weather.”

---

​Because every Chevrolet product endures rigorous testing before it ever hits the road, nothing special needed to be done to ensure the display vehicles can endure the range of weather conditions that occur during a Detroit baseball season. Each Chevrolet vehicle spends 200 hours in the Climatic Wind Tunnel, which is specifically designed to simulate extreme weather conditions including:

Minus 40-degree and 130-degree temperatures
10 to 90 percent humidity levels
Elevations from -700 to 12,500 feet
0 to 100 mph wind speeds
“The Chevrolet Fountain at Comerica Park is a significant representation of the robust and valuable partnership we hold with Chevrolet,” said Steve Harms, Tigers vice president of corporate partnerships. “Recognizable throughout Michigan and Major League Baseball, we are proud to display such an iconic symbol of community for everyone to see and celebrate.”

Chevrolet is the Official Vehicle of Major League Baseball and the Official Automotive Sponsor of the PLAY BALL initiative to support America’s favorite pastime.

From 2006 to 2017, Chevrolet reached more than 6.7 million kids through its youth baseball programs. The automotive brand has donated more than 136,000 equipment kits to youth baseball initiatives and held more than 1,637 free public clinics in partnership with local Chevrolet dealers.

“Play Ball: Baseball at the DIA”

Fans can celebrate the great American pastime throughout the entire MLB season by visiting a special Detroit Institute of Arts exhibition featuring artwork from the museum’s collection plus rare baseball cards, memorabilia and collectibles from the Rochester, Michigan-based E. Powell Miller collection. The exhibit opens March 29.

“Chevrolet has such a natural connection with baseball — through our long partnership with MLB and our dealers’ dedicated support of youth baseball programs around the country — that it made perfect sense for us to play a role in bringing such a wonderful display of baseball memorabilia and art to life at the DIA,” said Edwards.

A complete collection of more than 500 very rare baseball cards known as the T206 White Border Set produced in vivid color lithography, released from 1909–1911 by the American Tobacco Company, is an exhibition highlight. E. Powell Miller’s collection is noted for its rarity and superlative condition, and according to Professional Sports Authenticator it is ranked third in the world. The Miller T206 collection boasts a Joe Doyle “error card” as well as the coveted and extremely rare Honus Wagner card.

The exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Detroit Tigers 1968 World series championship. To celebrate this milestone, the DIA will feature vintage material from the Miller collection including Tigers baseball cards, programs and other publications, as well as Al Kaline’s autographed bat and memorabilia devoted to Kaline’s Corner, the section of the outfield named in his honor.

"In the ancient Greek Olympic games, arts and sports shared both venue and excitement. Contests to be the best poet or the fastest runner were equally competitive and celebrated," said DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons. "Like in the Olympic Games, the DIA will be a venue to celebrate the creativity of arts and sports. Families and sports fans on their way to a game will be able to discover great art featuring baseball themes and pieces of Detroit Tigers history. The DIA is more than a museum.”

Two baseball-themed art works from the DIA’s collection will also be on view: the 1993 large-scale painting “Hard Ball III” by American artist Robert Moskowitz and a new acquisition by contemporary Guatemala-based artist Dario Escobar, who will create a special installation of cut Detroit Tiger baseball bats that forms an outline of the Detroit skyline.