Month: June 2012

The folks across the pond at Top Gear have gotten their hands on a Corvette Grand Sport Convertible. Regular viewers and readers of Top Gear already know that they’re not huge fans of America’s sports car aside from its super human performance. You can see what they thought of the GS after the break.

The relatively short article takes aim at pretty much all of the C6 nuances we already know about. They comment on the navigation system, aging technology, and – of course – the interior. We’re sure that the navi unit and interior will be addressed in the upcoming C7. Keep in mind that the current car was developed nearly 10 years ago so we understand that the tech isn’t going to be cutting edge.

Towards the end of the piece they finally figure out what the GS convertible evokes for so many enthusiasts: top down driving on a smooth country road narrated by the sonorous tones of a thumping American V8. They describe the experience as “…the brawny ‘Vette clicks into place: a big-screen blockbuster from an era when men were men…”

In the end, though, they recommend that you spend a few more bucks on a Z06, Porsche 911, Nissan GT-R, or Jaguar XK. Just note that the latter 3 rides will cost you roughly $10,000 more than a Grand Sport Corvette. We’ll still take the GS…

Source:
Top Gear

Related:
[VIDEO] Helicopter Crashes While Filming Corvette ZR1 Stunt for Top Gear Korea
DVR Alert: C4 Corvette Limo on Top Gear USA
[VIDEO] The Stig Sets New Top Gear USA Lap Record in Hennessey-tuned Corvette ZR1

 

We’ve heard for years that your typical Corvette driver is getting older and older, but this is ridiculous!

A 90-year-old Canadian recently struck it rich in the Canadian Cancer Society Lottery, picking up a Corvette and two Lincolns.

But retired minister Allen Cawfield and his wife Sandra say they’ll pass on the cars, taking the money instead.

He’ll get the check – some $166,240 – next Monday.

Despite turning down the cars, the man will still get the chance to take a spin in the Corvette, thanks to the generosity of the lottery manager.

You might call it beginner’s luck with Cawfield, who pointed out that he had never bought any kind of lottery ticket in his life.

He won the 2012 Corvette on April 21 in the daily car prize draw and then added to his winning streak on May 7 in the grand prize draw with two 2012 Lincolns (MKX and MKZ Hybrid).

Source:
CityTV.com

Related:
Saint Bernard’s Classic Corvette Giveaway
[VIDEO] Raffle Winner Picks Up 1965 Corvette Convertible
[VIDEO] Chrysler Autoworker Wins Powerball Lottery, Buys A Corvette

 

Want to learn how to be a high-performance driver?

Then you would do well to check out the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving after noting that the top instructors there came away with victories in all five of their races at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on June 2 and 3.

That string of wins included chief operating officer Darren Law and continued with vice-president of global operations Johnny O’Connell and instructor Andy Lee.

“We’ve been trained by the best at Bondurant,” Law pointed out. “All three of us have not only gone through the Bondurant School, but are also employed there, and we all took wins this weekend in Detroit. I don’t know that there’s any other driving school that has current employees racing in professional series and winning five races in the same weekend. Bob was very proud that all three of his guys made it to the podium and won all of their races this weekend. He follows us every single weekend and calls every night, wanting to know how things are going. He likes to throw in some advice now and then, some of his mentoring. It’s cool that he’s really excited about it and he’s really into it.”

Law and co-driver Joao Barbosa led the way in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race in their No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette-powered Coyote Daytona Prototype.

O’Connell steered his No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V to two overall and GT-class wins in the Pirelli World Challenge, and Lee drove his No. 20 Best IT Chevrolet Camaro to two World Challenge GTS victories.

Last weekend’s outcomes were really no surprise. O’Connell and Lee are atop their classes in the World Challenge 2012 driver championship standings with five of 12 races to go. Meanwhile, Law is only a point behind the leader in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype standings with eight of 13 races left.

The excellent showings didn’t escape the watchful eyes of Bondurant.

“I am so proud of my men,” he said, “and yes, I check on each one of them every race and I’m quick to praise them after their races. I am just so proud of them. Both Darren and Johnny were past instructors, went on to win world-class championships and made it full circle back at Bondurant to take the school into the next 44 years. Andy Lee has always been a fantastic Bondurant SuperKart and car instructor. I expect these guys to bring home first place every race. They have been groomed and know what to do and they do it well. They don’t disappoint!”

The Bondurant School is the Official High Performance Driving School of Chevrolet. The Phoenix school features a range of high-powered Corvettes and SS Camaros, including Chevrolet Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR1 Corvettes, plus Chevrolet SS Camaro, Sonic and Tahoe models.

Source:
Bondurant.com

Related:
[GRAND-AM] Action Express DP Corvettes Finish 1-2 at Detroit Belle Isle
Johnny O’Connell Joins Bondurant as VP of Global Operations and Corvette ZR1 Instructor
[VIDEO] A Conversation with Bob Bondurant

 

Here is yet another case of a Corvette owner trying to show off and failing miserably but being very fortunate at the same time. This video comes from a Cars and Coffee get together in Dallas. Like many of these popular Cars and Coffee events that take place around the country, there is sometimes a show put on by attendees when they leave the premises. Unfortunately for our hero in this C5 Z06, it didn’t go quite as planned.

While leaving the Dallas Cars and Coffee event, the driver attempts to burn a little rubber in the middle of a street. But three lanes wasn’t wide enough to contain the Corvette as the rear broke loose and he fishtails wildly, jumping a curb and heads directly where the audience gathers to watch these hoons in action. The driver was able to finally stop as the crowd cheers and geers him on.

The sound of the C5 Corvette hitting that curb was pretty loud and there was definitely some “scrappage” of the underbody as the driver turned the Corvette around on the shoulder and merged from the sidewalk back onto the street.

Luckily nobody was hurt during the attempted burnout except the driver’s ego, and now he can now relive the event over and over again thanks to YouTube:

At our local Cars and Coffee event at the DuPont Registry in St. Pete Florida, Pinellas County deputies stage at the exits to keep this type of hoonage to a minimum. The local police presence not only helps protect the public, but saves bad drivers from themselves as well.

Source:
Jalopnik

Related:
[PIC] Instragam Captures Aftermath of Corvette Accidents
Seizure Causes Woman to Crash Camaro Into Two Corvettes
[PICS] Corvettes at Tampa Bay’s Cars and Coffee
[FAIL] Corvette C6 Burnout Fail at Houston Cars & Coffee

 

General Motors released the annual production statistics for the 2012 model year on Tuesday which gives us the opportunity to see how many Corvettes were produced and which options and accessories were on each of the six models. As we stated in May 2012′s Corvette Sales Report, production of the 2012 Corvette ended in early May and a total of 11,647 Corvettes were built during the model year.

For the third year in a row, the Grand Sport Coupe is once again tops with consumers. The wide-body coupe model saw 5,056 built for 43.4% of total production. The base coupe was second with 2,820 produced for 24.2% of total production and rounding out the top 3 was the Grand Sport Convertible with 2,268 units built for 19.5%. These three models account for 87.1% of all Corvettes built for 2012.

On the other end of the spectrum, we see that the Corvette ZR1 production is continuing its decline in production since its peak of 1,577 units in 2010. In 2011, 806 ZR1s were made and now for 2012, that figure is 404 for 3.5% of total production.

The big news for 2012 was the one-year special edition package saluting Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary. The 2012 Corvette Centennial Editions were in high demand with a total of 2,201 produced (18.9%). Centennial Editions accounted for nearly 1 in 5 Corvettes produced and for the high end Z06 and ZR1 models, the Centennial Edition was chosen by even more buyers. Just over 50% of all ZR1s are Centennials while nearly 41% of Z06s are decked out in Carbon Flash Metallic.

Another new change for 2012 was the expanded 2LT Options Package which included the Radio Upgrade/Single CD with Navigation, Bose 9 Speaker Sound System, Bluetooth and the Heads Up Display. This newly expanded options package saw growth from 9.6% of 2011 Corvettes equipped with 2LT to 14.5% of 2012 Corvettes equipped with 2012.

Finally, for the first time, we are seeing some numbers broken out for tires. In 2012, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires debuted on the Corvette Z06 and ZR1 but the total count only amounted to 304 (24% Z06 and 46% ZR1). The Goodyear F1 Gen 2 Tires on Grand Sport Coupes, Grand Sport Convertibles and the Z06 totaled 1,314 for 11.3% of production.

Here are the full 2012 Corvette Production Statistics from GM:

I’m sure we’ll be able to find a few more interesting facts about the 2012 Corvette’s production statistics to share in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Source:
Bowling Green Assembly Plant

Related:
Officially Official: 2012 Corvette to Reach New Heights in Performance
Final 2011 Corvette Production Statistics
Final 2010 Corvette Production Statistics