Last summer, I was shocked beyond shocked when our beloved editor, Richard Read, asked me if I wanted to attend a BLTG (sandwich?) event hosted by Chevrolet in Seattle and Vancouver.  I’ve never been a girl who could say ‘no’ to a man, so of course I cleared my busy calendar (brunch, shopping, tea dances, standing in line for Lady Gaga tickets) to attend.

The kicker was that I could bring an “influencer”, as Chevy put it.  I immediately called the (current) love of my life Steve and invited him to join me.  Soon, we were in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, the gay district that is also known as the Swish Alps.  Before long, we were dining at Dick’s, sipping Seattle’s Best lattes and driving 2014 Chevys with big-time Hollywood producers who were far more stylish than us Midwest Bears, though we did blend-in nicely with all the guys, all the gays, and even a lesbian couple with child.

I’ve written elsewhere about the fabulous rides we had in both the Chevy Spark and Chevy Volt. What great little cars! These two are such a big improvement over what electric cars were when first introduced! The Chevy people — Michelle, Kevin, Shad and Rob — knew that the best way to win over gays is to turn ‘em loose and let ‘em go. No boring engineering talks or marketing slide shows. Our impressions and our opinions were our own. What’s not to like about that?

Over the last decade, car manufacturers have really been gearing up their efforts to attract LGBT buyers. These efforts started last century, but it seems that over the last few years, gays have been noticeable all over the automotive radar, and manufacturers like General Motors (which builds Chevy cars) have been paying attention — and responding.

This get-out-the-gay-vote by Chevy — possibly the first-ever LGBT writers’ event featuring new cars — not only shows their sensitivity but also their business savvy, and that sensitive savvy has been bursting out all over the company.

In one bold and smart move, for example, the General Motors plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been flying the Gay Pride flag right underneath the U.S. flag for one week a year during Gay Pride month.  (Click here to see the television coverage). The United Auto Workers union endorsed the move, and the great news is that both the union and GM probably nudged each other to take a bold move that would offend some of their most loyal truck buyers. Smartly, GM and UAW realized that the gains far outweighed any losses — revenue, goodwill or otherwise.

Make no mistake about it, manufacturers know you are reading gaywheels.com, and they want to make sure that you read all the good things you can about their cars and their companies. This, my friends, is no small accomplishment, as much has happened over the last 20 years to bring us to this point.

When I was writing for the major gay paper in Denver in 1993, another gay man named Steve approached me about test-driving new cars.  Colorado had just passed the very ugly anti-gay Amendment 2, which would have written into law that gays and lesbians do not have the same rights as other people. Steve represented many manufacturers, including GM, and he felt it was important to get LGBTs into cars, just as he got cars for Latino, female, African-American, and even Jewish markets.

Time after time, however, all the men at GM said no. Gays are not our market, the big cheeses said, which, of course, is not-so-veiled homophobia. Suddenly, a woman was in a decision-making position at GM (a big gender accomplishment back then) and she said ‘the gays’ could have a car if Steve could find a gay auto writer. I was his first and probably his only choice; at the time, my career in mainstream media was effectively over since I was now a known homosexual. That’s just how it was back then; come out, then pack your bags, you’re gone, if not under arrest.

That was 20 years ago and I have been fortunate to be test-driving cars ever since. As time goes by, the closets just keep coming apart, making way for — what else — stages. Right now, you are reading one of the best and most influential automotive stages on the World Wide Web. I have written for many publications and websites that have come and gone, and it thrills me beyond my imagination that I am here at Gaywheels.com, back to my roots (a la RuPaul) in gay media.

I tell you this story because it’s important to understand that as a gay community, we did not just magically become obvious to automobile manufacturers. Ugly words were said, feelings were hurt, and some straight (though probably closeted) male writers have at some point even told all the writers at Gaywheels.com that we (“The Gays”) don’t belong at car events. Yet we persevered. We stood our ground, dug in our heels or flats and put the car in drive. We did it for you, and we continue to push through every day for you and for everyone who drives a car.

It’s important that we let Michelle, Kevin, Shad and Rob know how much we appreciate how much they appreciate us. We must never forget…and we must keep on driving. And writing.

And having brunch every morning because that what’s LGBTs do, according to many of my breeder friends.