What keeps folks like Simon Sproule coming back to back-breaking auto PR jobs?

“You can’t go home again,” the author Thomas Wolfe wrote, in the book by the same title.  And usually, that seems to be true.  But not if you’re Simon Sproule.

In a relatively brief but meteoric career, the 40-year-old Brit went from a minor player in Ford’s global media relations machine to become the worldwide head of public relations for Nissan Motor Co., reporting directly to CEO Carlos Ghosn.  And then, late last year, Sproule shocked those who know him by announcing he’d be leaving the auto industry to join Microsoft as the tech giant’s new PR chief.

I have to admit, knowing him since he was a virtual child prodigy that I referred to as “Young Simon Sproule,” I didn’t really see him in the tech world.  Capable?  Absolutely.  But there’s something about the auto business that gets anyone connected with it, whether a worker bee, PR flack or media hack, hooked.  And so, I couldn’t even fake the slightest bit of surprise when the newly-married Sproule politely called me, this afternoon, to reveal that he was lured back by the siren call of Carlos Ghosn, and would be moving yet again, but this time to Paris.  Sproule will take on the newly-created position as head of PR for the Nissan/Renault Global Alliance.

“My heart is in the auto business,” he admitted from his office at Microsoft, noting that he’ll be back to work with Nissan/Renault on September 1st.

Over the last couple years, we’ve seen a massive reduction in the number of PR folks in the auto industry.  At GM, where there once were 100s on the public relations rolls, the cutbacks seem to come almost every other week.  Some, having gone through the tough times, are happy to take their severance or retirement checks and vanish.  But there are plenty of others, from Ford and Chrysler, as well, who continue to hang around town.

Over the years, some of them have started up successful independent PR operations, like Larry Weis, the former PR chief for the Ford division, who now runs AutoComm Associates.  Others, like Dan Bedore, who left Ford a couple years ago, have found a way to hang around by landing jobs with one of the imports.  As they gain share, it would seem obvious, they’re more than willing to expand PR staff by cherry-picking the best of Detroit’s cast-offs.

One man who always seems to find his way back to town is Steve Harris, who insisted he was going to retire after leaving Chrysler, some years back.  Instead, he landed the top spot at General Motors and set out to fix what was arguably one of the most media-unfriendly PR operations in the auto industry.  Once again, Harris thought he’d retire, three years ago, only to be lured back to the Renaissance Center, one last time, when GM began the downward spiral that ultimately led to its bankruptcy.

Harris will soon step aside, Chris Preuss taking his place.  Preuss proves there are indeed dynasties in the PR business, his father Paul, in fact, one of the first flaks I dealt with as a cub reporter.  Preuss, by all assessments, will do a great job for GM.  But do we really think Steve Harris will go away.  “Oh, yes,” he says, with a dreamy smile that makes it clear he’s thinking of that Santa Fe retirement home with its Chilhuly art glass collection.  “We’ll see,” is all I can say, in return.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came with the decision by the (other) Motor City Madman, Jason Vines, to sign up with Zondervan, the Bible and religious book publisher, a week ago.  Vines is a frustrated stand-up comedian who has engineered some of the zaniest PR events the auto industry has ever seen, including a preview of the Dodge Ram pickup, during the January 2008 Detroit Auto Show, that sent 100s of maddened – and humping – steers down Jefferson Avenue.

Vines has had a number of big time positions.  In fact, he headed Nissan’s U.S. PR before Simon Sproule, moving to Ford just in time for the devastating Explorer/Firestone tire crisis.  He then returned to Chrysler, where he’d worked for some years earlier in his career, as PR boss.

Vines left Chrysler shortly after the arrival of Bob Nardelli, the largely unloved CEO appointed by Cerberus Capital Management, after buying the automaker from Daimler AG, in 2007.  Since then, Vines has bounced around a fair bit, while making it clear he’d love to land another top job.  Friends were certain he’d show up at other Chrysler or GM, post-bankruptcy.

Is Zondervan just another holding tank?  While politically conservative, Jason isn’t one to watch his tongue.  “Oh, gosh,” is not one of his favorite expressions.  He could easily fit in with the crew of a merchant ship.  Or an auto PR operation.

It’s an addictive job, despite the endless hours and the incredible stress.  Hey, maybe that’s why some folks like the job.  We certainly know people like Sproule run up plenty of frequent flyer miles.  Young Simon Sproule will likely be using the ones he collected during his list stint at Nissan long into his eventual retirement.