"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" is a song from 1986 by a forgotten band called Timbuk3. While that alternative pop band's future did not pan out as well as its one hit song, we don't need to say the same for 21-year-old Adam Lumsden.
This author has known Adam since he became active in the MBCA, and his achievements and successes have been on a remarkably steep uphill path since then. Adam is the newest staff member of the National Business Office; a part-timer responsible for management and content of the upcoming new MBCA website and database, set for launch later this year. If you do not already know Adam, you probably soon will. He was destined for a career in the automotive world. His first (and only) car accident happened when he climbed into the family's car, pulled the shifter out of park, and rolled backwards, knocking over his grandmother, taking out the door, and backing into a tree. He was only 18 months old.
In December 2000, Adam's father joined the MBCA primarily for The Star and the club's technical resources to help support the 1980 450SL he bought for fun. Adam latched onto his father's membership but didn't attend any meetings or events until 2004. That was when Adam bought his own Mercedes, a 1983 300D. Member Roy Hunter chauffeured Adam to his first MBCA meeting merely because young Adam was not yet old enough to drive the car he had just purchased. That kind of ahead-of-the curve, out-of-the box thinking has defined Adam since he was a young child. Always a car lover, he had learned and was continuing to learn the ins and outs of car maintenance and repair on that SL under the tutelage of his father. From Adam's not-so-casual research, he had already decided he loved the W123 chassis, and he thought the power train (5-cylinder turbo-diesel) was cool. Therefore, at the appropriate time, he found his 300D in Texas and bought it sight unseen on eBay. He was just 15. He received his learner's permit the moment he was eligible, his full license with the same speed, and he has been driving that 300D and a variety of other cars ever since. He bleeds diesel fuel.
If you would like to know the measure of a man, look no further than his family. Adam is the firstborn of Scott and Ann Marie Lumsden. Scott works for a major automotive manufacturer in the area of competitive intelligence - cloak and dagger stuff. His mother is a chiropractic assistant and homemaker. Siblings Erica, 15, and Ryan, 12, complete the family. The entire clan is very involved in MBCA and other automotive activities in the metro Detroit area. Adam and Scott are in charge of field operations and layout for the prestigious Concours d'Elegance of America at Meadow Brook. Ann Marie coordinates the front gate volunteers. Erica and Ryan attend events, too; last fall, both took turns riding in various cars in a Midwest Color Tour that included four MBCA sections. Just a few weeks ago, Erica, not yet old enough to drive, attended the Defensive Driving/Autocross sponsored by the Western Reserve Section, "because car events are fun." She anxiously anticipates her first participatory Defensive Driving/Autocross next year. No doubt, she has a future in the MBCA as well - if we can just stop her from longing for a new VW Beetle.
During junior high school, Adam built his own computer and used it regularly, developing digital skills that complemented his growing automotive acumen, a winning combination. In high school, Adam was part of the General Motors Technical Academy, a two-year, six-credit combination of a traditional high school curriculum with a drafting, computer modeling, design, and pre-engineering program. GM offers the program at schools in Oakland County, Michigan, starting junior year, when students attend both home school and the Academy daily. It was here that he honed his interest in automobiles in a serious way. For his senior project, Adam had to reverse-engineer an RC kit car. Adam's team went a few steps further, developing a miniature hybrid diesel-electric power module for the car - a task far beyond requirements.
One of his instructors in the GM program took note of young Adam's skills and enthusiasm, and recommended him for employment at a web-design firm called IdeaCore (www.ideacore.com), He has worked there part time for the past four years. Adam is currently completing a degree in electrical engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit, while working for IdeaCore and now the MBCA as well. He is a busy young man, full of energy and exuberance. Add bits and bytes to that diesel fuel he bleeds.
Adam had a banner year in 2007, ramping up his involvement in MBCA activities and becoming vice president of the International Stars Section. Upon graduation from high school, the family celebrated with a European trip that included a visit to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Museum in Stuttgart. A well-placed note from this author in advance of their trip ensured they were not just another group of faces at the door. His efforts earned him the Great Lakes Region Officer of the Year award, and we were fortunate to have then-President Peter Lesler in attendance to present the honor. This was on the heels of having the section's newsletter selected as the "best of the best" by the Newsletter Committee. The editor? Seventeen-year-old Adam Lumsden.
Like a steady run through the gearbox and acceleration, in the past year, Adam became active at the National level, encouraged by attending the 2009 President's Meeting in Indianapolis. He joined the team that helped define the needs of the new database and website, and helped select the vendor to do the initial work. This was a perfect fit - an enthusiastic young member, of the demographic the Brodeur report wishes to attract, working on the club's future. It helped, too, that web work is Adam's forte.
Despite school and work, Adam still has time for cars. In addition to his beloved 300D (which he has allowed this author to drive in two autocross events), he has owned in the past few years a 1983 380 SEL (mostly scrap metal), a 1971 250 (in which he did an engine swap), and the one that got away - the 1987 190E-2.3 16V. It took him a while to track down the latter's slew of niggling runnability issues, but he did, only to sell it. He regrets that sale ever since - in a painful way when he sees a nice one on an autocross course. That is just the Mercedes collection. The family also owns a 1923 Willys Knight (resplendent with smoking sleeve valves), a 1966 Porsche 912 (a detour to the dark side), and a gem of a 1967 Jaguar 420 Saloon (no finer example of peculiar British engineering and luxury). Just weeks ago, Adam and his sister drove the family truck and trailer to Rochester, New York, to fetch Adam's latest acquisition, a 1915 Ford Model T Speedster. In the past few years, he has also worked on Bob Sirna's 300SL Bonneville Racer (featured in "A Gullwing at Twilight" and driven by John Cooper Fitch). Today, he is working on the engine management system for that car, which Sirna hopes to take to Bonneville once again. Are you remembering that Adam is just 21?
As our club goes though the rebranding process and you begin to see the tremendous improvements to the website and database, you will see the specific contributions Adam makes as part of a dedicated team. Six years of this 21-year-old's life have been involved in, and dedicated to improving, the MBCA, and we conclude that the future is very bright indeed - not just for Adam, but for the club as well.
