Owner: Corvette Blog URL:www.corvetteblog.com Join Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:30:05 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog about matters of interest to Corvette enthusiasts and other sports car lovers. Site statistics:Click here
Ken Stapel's Corvette Obsession 2007-03-07 16:43:51 Per word from the Corvette
Action Center, former moderator there, and longtime Corvette devotee, Ken Stapels has passed away. Ken had been awaiting a liver transplant.If you would like to examine a website devoted to all things Corvette, take a look at Ken's.[ Ken's Website ] Read more:Obsession
How to Not Drive Your Corvette! 2007-03-07 16:27:38 Observe this painful video of a Corvette
C4 driver eluding police at 165 miles per hour until one maneuver too many![ Da Bomb TV ]
The Scoop on Corvette SS (a.k.a. Blue Devil) 2007-03-07 15:27:02 Corvette rumors. Suggestions. Disavowals. Spy shots. Retractions. You'd think it was a soap opera!When Winding Road broke their story about their bogus black Corvette SS, do you remember the hulking scoop on the hood?When Jalopnik and others revealed the "real photos" of the red Corvette SS at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus last month, did you notice the cover/bra over the hood? It is not hiding a raised scoop, right? Where did it go?
This photo represents a Corvette SS with an inward scoop that would haul air into that supercharger without disturbing the view up front, a view that needs no disturbing in a vehicle that easily plows past 200 miles per hour out the showroom door, by the way!What do you think? Is this the final Corvette SS prototype? Read more:Corvette
, Scoop
, Devil
CorvetteBlog's OnStar Video Series - Part 1 2007-03-07 01:38:28 I've been thinking lately about how great OnStar
is, and how so many recent Corvette owners have OnStar equipped vehicles. Not everyone realizes all the components of those three buttons on your rear view mirror. I'm not trying to sell you the service, just point out its high points that I believe Corvette owners would enjoy.
Over the next couple of days we'll be offering videos from OnStar about select parts of their service. While yes, it isn't COMPLETELY Corvette related, it's still a great service to consider if you're looking to buy, or if you've not thought about it before and have it in your Corvette now. Also, your first year of service is free!
The video series was produced in 2006, so it doesn't reference 2007 models, but 2007 Corvettes enjoy all of these same benefits.
[ OnStar ]
Consumer Reports Cites Corvette as Most Satisfying in Reliability 2007-03-06 22:42:05 The April 2007 online edition of Consumer
Reports lists Corvette
at the top of the list of "Most Satisfying
" among Sports Cars and Sporty Cars in reliability.Honda S2000 took second, followed in order by Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mini Cooper S, Porsche 911, Mini Cooper Convertible, Mustang V8, Porsche Boxster, Mini Cooper Hatchback, Pontiac Solstice, Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Last place was reserved for Lexus SC430!In addition, Corvette took second place over all categories of vehicle![ Consumer Reports
]
National Corvette Museum Events for 2007 2007-03-06 17:42:52 The NationalCorvetteMuseum
in Bowling Green, Kentucky has a superb choice of events for Corvette enthusiasts this coming year. Check out any of these great activities in western Kentucky:The C5/C6 Birthday Bash is scheduled for April 26-28.The ZR-1/C4 Gathering follows May 3-5.The Cruise-In sponsored by www.corvetteforum.com will be May 24-26.
The 13th Anniversary of the Museum will be celebrated August 30 through September 2.Indy 500 Pace Cars will be the focus September 27-29.Classic Corvettes will gather October 11-13.The Z06 Fest runs October 25-27.[ Museum Events ]
Corvette Racing's Success in 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotlights GM Technology 2007-03-06 16:49:25 The one victory that every member of the CorvetteRacing
team prizes above all others is the 24 Hours
of Le Mans, the world's largest and most prestigious sports car race. This classic 24-hour endurance contest (scheduled this year June 16, 17) is sports car racing’s Olympics and World Cup, compressed into one intense day and night of round-the-clock competition. Five times in the last six years, Corvettes have won the GT1 class at Le Mans. This record of success against formidable international competition has played a crucial role in establishing Corvette's reputation for performance, durability and reliability around the globe.
Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen have stood on the top step of the podium at Le Mans three straight years, with victories in their No. 64 Compuware Corvette in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2001, Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows teamed with Scott Pruett in the No. 63 Corvette to take the class honors, and in 2002 O' Read more:Success
, Spotlights
, Technology
Corvette C6.R to Run Twelve Hours of Sebring Next Week 2007-03-05 21:17:52 In just about eleven days, the powerful Corvette
Racing Team takes flight in C6.Rs to extend its winning ways at the TwelveHours
of Sebring
(Florida). The race will be run on St. Patty's Day, Saturday, March 17.Corvette Racing officials had announced back in January that America's premier production sports car team was returning to the American Le Mans Series in 2007 to defend its GT1 Manufacturers, Team and Drivers championships.The excitement is building, and we're ready![ Corvette Racing ]
Corvette's Turning Point 2007-03-05 17:23:02 Within a period of less than two years, the original Corvette
, filled with promise as it was, was underperforming on the roads of America and in salesrooms across the country. But then came "The Turning Point."Russian born engineer and race driver Zora Arkus-Duntov appeared on the scene. With a background in engineering at Allard, Porsche, and Daimler-Benz, and experience in V-8 engine development, Arkus-Duntov wrote a three passage internal GM memo to Maurice Olly elaborately titled "Thoughts Pertaining to Youth, Hot Rodders, and Chevrolet."
This original December 16, 1953 memo, framed and preserved for posterity at the National Corvette Museum, laid out a proposal to GM to help "refocus future Corvette design efforts toward a luxury, performance proven car engineered after the philosophy of the great European car manufacturers." Of course, this approach worked as Corvette immediately rolled out a V-8 engine and a new phi
"Corvette" Personality Type 2007-03-05 15:12:38 Description of the Corvette
personality type:"You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do. You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive."Is this a description of you, or are you another sports car personality? Take the whimsical "Which Sports Car are You?" personality quiz. Read more:Personality
NASA Connection at the Corvette Museum 2007-03-02 16:40:30 One of my many surprises when visiting the National CorvetteMuseum
was the discovery of the NASA
connection. Not that there is necessarily a signed document of any kind between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Museum.One whole display room was dedicated to photographs of astronauts who have visted the Museum, the Cape Canaveral (now: Cape Kennedy) Corvette Club, and displays of patches and memorabilia.
I was told that NASA astronauts drop in unannounced, as do amazing numbers of the American military, all of whom are greatly welcomed and appreciated for their contributions toward making America this greatest country on God's green earth! When NASA talks about engine power to school students, they reference the Corvette. From NASAexplores: “You could also compare the Shuttle engines to a Corvette. The three main engines plus the two solid rocket motors deliver the horsepower of about 120,000 Corvettes. With all that power and all that fue
VetteCam Coming Soon for C5 & C6 Corvettes 2007-03-01 19:48:41 On February 28, the Detroit News announced that the in-car video system called VetteCam will be available for C5 and C6 Corvettes
in April, priced at about $995.This is same equipment we scooped back on November 21!According to the News, the equipment "provides a view of driver input, the vehicle's dashboard, and the roadway. In addition to weekend racers, CruiseCam's customers include school district drivers' education vehicles, private investigators, even storm chasers."[ Detroit News Article ][ Corvette Blog Article ][ Cruise Cam Int'l ]
New Corvette Incentive Announced 2007-03-01 16:57:39 Chevrolet has just announced the new Incentive
s running from today, until March 14th, 2007. The Corvette
picks up $250 for any GM Employee, Supplier, Dealership Employee, or anyone qualifying for GM Supplier for Friends. This Bonus Cash is good towards either a purchase or a lease of any 2006 or 2007 Corvette (not the Z06).
GM plans to launch their big advertising push for March Madness at the end of the first quarter. No details yet on any incentives the Corvette may receive, but in the meantime for those of you qualifying for GMS or GSU, now is a great time to act with an extra $250 on the table.
Also to note, for any dealers that have Instant Value Certificates left over from the Presidents Day Incentive Program, they do not qualify with this incentive. As always, you can email us with any incentive questions, or comment below and we'll research it for you!
The Missing 1983 Corvette! 2007-02-28 14:43:59 Those familiar with Corvette
history are well aware that there was no 1983 Corvette. The industry standard Corvette Black Book certainly shows no entry between the 1982 and 1984 Corvettes.Imagine my amazement this past Saturday at the National Corvette Museum standing in front of a white 1983 Corvette! This unique Corvette is shown to the right.The sign on the exhibit explains: "The planned 1983 Corvette brought forward some of the most far reaching design changes in Corvette's history. Many changes included high-technology that had not been proven for automobile application....Although the technology was available, it had to be developed into the manufacturing process with the quality, reliability, and durability proven before production of saleable vehicles could begin. The initial plan called for introduction of the newly designed 1983 in October 1982. There were 43 pre-production models built (but) a decision was made to withhold product Read more:Missing
Future Corvettes to Come as Right-Hand or Left-Hand Drive from the Factory 2007-03-08 19:25:24 A report out of the Geneva Auto Show this week suggests that future Corvettes
(as well as all other Chevrolet products) will be designed to accomodate right-hand and left-hand drive. They will be true world cars. The program will take as long as five years to roll out entirely.[ NewsPress ] [ Related Story ] Read more:Future
, Right
, Factory
Considerations When Buying a Used Corvette 2007-03-08 17:17:17 The Corvette
Action Center is a great repository of information. This article on purchasing a pre-owned Corvette gives a great overview of the subject.Buying
your first Corvette can be a difficult task if you're not sure what to look for. You've heard all the terms ("matching numbers", "body-off restoration", "frame-off restoration" etc), but you're not sure what they mean. Our goal here is to provide you with a little bit of knowledge before you go into the Corvette buying world and to supply you with a handy check list of items that you may want to check out the Corvette that you're interested in purchasing. Depending on options, some of the items on the list may or may not apply to the particular Vette that you're looking at. Hopefully, we've compiled a fairly broad enough array of items to look at that will cover just about all Corvette model years.
Below, are a few of those definitions defined and we've added the checklist for you to tak Read more:Considerations
Stunning 1969 Corvette Convertible Not Sold at $200,000 2007-03-08 16:53:45 This beautiful Can Am White 1969 CorvetteConvertible
with Saddle Interior has a 427/560hp L-88 and 4-speed.This Shark was sold new in Kansas City and titled in a the name of a construction company. Parts were gathered for about three years prior to the restoration. A prize winner and a really smooth handler, the car brought only disappointment to its owner at the end of February for not selling. Top auction offer was barely more than $200,000.[ Ad ] Read more:Stunning
NY Auditor Spends Office Budget on Corvettes 2007-03-08 15:28:53 The NY State Attorney General is looking into reports that the NY Office of Mental Health had approved payments of nearly $1.2 Million for site studies to a company called "Very Important Property"... also known as "V.I.P."
According to the New York Times, V.I.P. is nothing more than a post office box and a bank account opened by James Leggiero, the Auditor
in question. Mr. Leggiero, drives a Cadillac Escalade and reportedly owns three Corvettes
, including a highly sought 1958 model. All of the vehicles, and his mortgage, was paid by V.I.P.
It's incredibly unfortunate that the NY Office of Mental Health has been wrapped up in this. Think of what $1.2 million could do for those in need with mental health issues. Hopefully this is the end to the shenanigans and this guy's bubble has finally burst. Although he hasn't be charged with anything yet, you can bet his Corvette collection could be on the auction block before too much longer.
[
Perry, GA: Corvette Clubs & Fire Truck Pull for Charity 2007-03-09 17:07:15 If you're anywhere around Perry
, Georgia this weekend - you'll want to stop by Hamby Chevrolet. They are hosting the annual car show and fire truck pull to benefit the Special Olympics. They already have over 50 cars pre-registered for competition including two CorvetteClubs
. One is from Macon, GA and the other is from Atlanta, so you can be sure to see some great rides on Saturday morning. They say that there could be as many as 100 cars on display.
The day is sponsored by the Perry, GA Police Officers and all proceeds go to the Special Olympics.The first 75 participants in the car show to arrive get a goodie bag and a dash plaque. Door prizes will also be awarded throughout the day. The fire truck pull (which I would LOVE to see) begins at 11am and includes local high school students, and fire fighters from four local departments.It sounds like a great cause and the chance to hang out with 2 great Corvette Clubs makes it even better![ Macon Telegraph Read more:Truck
, Charity
, Fire Truck
Alternative View of the Corvette SS Look 2007-03-09 15:14:25 GMsource.com is showing an alternative concept of the coming Corvette
SS. Chris Pauwels has taken the same information we used from the scooped SS being shipped out of Romulus for Germany, and penned a proposed look. Please click to see it as I have not requested permission to use the photo.Chris thinks that the hood will be raised perhaps an inch or two, but with no air scoop in the hood at all. I agree that everything I've seen would accommodate this look, but I'm still leaning to the photo I showed a few days ago here at the Corvette Blog.[ Corvette Blog Story ] Read more:Alternative
Video: Corvette Plays with Others in Chevy SS Lineup 2007-03-09 14:59:24 Our friends at camaroZ28.com have been showing a video of a 2007 Corvette
Coupe playing with a series of other 2007 Chevy
SS models.Cobalt SS Turbocharged Coupe, Cobalt SS Sedan, Malibu SS Sedan, Malibu Maxx SS, and TrailBlazer SS all do some fancy moves to impress the one most fast and fleet: the 400 hp Corvette.[ camaroz28.com ] Read more:Plays
, Others
Corvette Events Wanted 2007-03-09 08:24:24 We're always looking for new and exciting Corvette
-focused events. Do you have a Corvette Club or have a special event focusing on the Vette? Let us know about it. Click here to email us at CorvetteBlog and we'll do our best to get you noticed.
We love Corvettes.
CorvetteBlog's OnStar Video Series - Part 2 2007-03-08 23:20:43 Our second installment of our OnStar
Video Series features the video "A Day in the Life." This video shows the main reporting screen for OnStar services on a typical day. It shows the entire US and where people are using OnStar, and for what purpose.
This video doesn't have sound, it's more of a watch the map fill up kind of piece, but still interesting to see the statistics behind OnStar and the actual areas of activity throughout the day.
Remember, the first year of service for Corvette customers equipped with OnStar is free!
[ OnStar ]
CorvetteBlog's OnStar Video Series - Part 3 2007-03-10 19:45:21 The third installment of our CorvetteBlog OnStar
Video Series features OnStar's "Turn by Turn Navigation". This service is great for any Corvette customer - with or without OnStar. Just tell the Advisor where you want to go and bingo, the directions are sent straight to the vehicle.
You receive both audio and visual prompts (through the speaker system and Driver Information Center, respectively). Remember, all Corvette owners that have OnStar as an option have their first year of OnStar service paid for complimentary. You do get one route free, so try it out and if you want to add it to your service, it's just a few bucks more a month as part of the Directions and Connections plan.
[ OnStar ]
Corvettes at Detroit Autorama Show - Part I 2007-03-12 17:25:13 There were many beautiful Corvettes
at the Detroit
Autorama this past weekend!
One of my favorite Corvettes, without question, was the 789, manufactured by n2a Motors of Santa Ana, California.
The front of the vehicle resembles the 1957 full sized Chevrolet. The side resembles the 1958. The rear is all 1959 Impala. All of this is assembled on a C6 Corvette chassis. Honestly, it may not sound right on paper, but this vehicle is beautiful!
My personal photos did not do the vehicle the justice these promo shots do for it. It is gorgeous from every direction. Personally, I'd like to see it in red and black, too.The factory is developing some other vehicles as well, all of which sound interesting to me. We wish them well because we would like to see versions of a Corvette like this at the Woodward Dream Cruise this summer, and then in car shows everywhere![ n2a Motors ]
It Must Be Corvette Love 2007-03-12 16:44:28 Greg and Susan Wageman used to cruise down our nation’s two-lane highways, including Route 66, in his blue Corvette
. Greg did the driving; Susan did the navigating.
Greg had always meant to teach his wife how to drive a stick-shift. But he didn’t get the chance as he died unexpectedly of a pulmonary embolism at age 48.
The first few days were a blur for Susan Wageman, 47. As weeks stretched out, she drew up a list to bring some sense of order to a life so painfully disrupted. On it: find someone to help her learn to drive a manual transmission. She wanted to keep alive some of her fondest memories of Greg, the man with whom she had fallen in love nearly thirty years earlier. Susan comments, “I know that it will be different on my own, but I don’t want to give up road trips in the Corvette.” We wish Susan our best.[ Mercury-News ]
CorvetteBlog's OnStar Video Series - Part 4 2007-03-12 16:25:00 The fourth and final installment of our OnStar
Video Series is most certainly my favorite. It's called "OnStar Command Center" and takes a look at OnStar's main center of operation in Detroit, Michigan. Chet Huber, President of OnStar, walks us through the various aspects of the OnStar Command Center.
Staff at CorvetteBlog have gone to see the Command Center and let me be the first to tell you, this is exactly what it is like. Very impressive and "NASA-like." It really gave us a great appreciation for all that they are doing to monitor, assist and protect drivers. The 911 information in the video is incredibly interesting and unique.
Remember, all Corvette owners that have OnStar as an option have their first year of OnStar service paid for complimentary.
[ OnStar ]
National Corvette Museum Honors Dale Earnhardt 2007-03-13 18:34:35 When 150,000 Corvette
enthusiasts vist the National
Corvette Museum
every year, one of the treats they encounter is a special display in honor of Dale Earnhardt
.At the base of the spire (or "frustrum" as it is called by some) in the SkyDome, display cases present a wide range of items either which had been owned by Dale Earnhardt
, or were created to honor him. This collection, which primarily came from Terry Neal Thomas of Kentucky, includes cereal boxes, mugs, knives, model cars, autographs, the tragic accident newspaper headlines, photographs, and many other items. In addition, a smaller similar selection is dedicated to Dale, Jr.Every Earnhardt fan will want to make a trek to see this amazing collection.[ NCM ] Read more:Honors
50th Commemorative Edition Corvette 2007-03-13 13:13:40 As I wandered through the Detroit Autorama at Cobo Hall on Friday, looking for Corvette
s, and in total amazement at the beautiful display of sheet metal and rolled fiberglass composite, I encountered a former client of mine.
As we chatted for a few, Larry Baker explained to me that he had acquired a vehicle in which I, as an author of the Corvette Blog, would be interested. And was he ever correct! He is an owner of a 50th Commemorative
Corvette!
Larry’s story is told on-line. Better yet, more product is available, so you can get one, too!
Related:
[ AutoWeek ]
[ Factory ] [ 789 Article ] Read more:Edition
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