by Jenna Oskowitz

When you get tired from sitting in panels all day or sitting in conference room chairs, the NLGJA Student Project has a great solution for you!

Stop by the GM/Cadillac table in the Expo Center, and ask to take a test drive. General Motors will allow you and as many of your friends as you want to test drive a Escalade hybrid or a Cadillac CS around Dupont Circle. A GM employee will navigate and show you all of the popular LGBT tourist spots. For every convention-goer who test drives a car, GM will donate $25 to the Student Project.

"General Motors has a LGBT outreach strategy," said GM public relations manager Travis Parman. He said that the gay community tends to appreciate more luxurious and tech-savvy vehicles. In GM's experience it found that Cadillac, Saab and Saturn seem to fit our community's needs.

GM, which participating in the NLGJA 2007 convention, came back for another year. But this year it decided to add a twist. "NLGJA is important to us," Parman said. "So we figured what better way to get people to experience our vehicles while helping NLGJA at the same time."

Parman gave two students a tour around town while letting one drive the vehicle. On the tour he pointed out Lambda Rising, the HRC headquarters, the White House and the Washington Monument.

"So far we have had a good amount of test drivers," he said. "We are hoping to get at least 100."