August 2011 - C6Performance Journal

August 31, 2011

[VIDEO] Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Preparing for Baltimore

In the eighth installment of Corvette Racingâ€™s Track to Street video series, see how the team prepares for the street-course race in Baltimore, the city’s first ALMS event.

Sponsored By:

Bondurant School of High Performance Driving

Source:
Corvette Racing

August 30, 2011

[PICS] Corvettes at Carlisle

Here is our photo gallery from the 2011 Corvettes at Carlisle show. We had a great time and despite the forecast, decent weather held until Saturday evening. We’ll be posting some additional photos and videos to our facebook page so make sure to like us.

August 30, 2011

2012 Chevrolet Cruze Review – Cruzing to New York

We weren’t anticipating driving a Chevy Cruze to New York, but an offer to drive a new Chevrolet Cruze LT came from a major supplier, Honeywell Turbo Technologies.

August 29, 2011

[VIDEO] Corvettes at Carlisle: GM Walk-Around of the 2012 Corvette

For those that weren’t able to attend this year’s Corvettes at Carlisle show, here is the video from Friday of GM’s Corvette Team doing a walk-around of the 2012 Corvettes. Although many have seen these presentations at different shows and races around the country, we can always glean some new information from the team.

The seminar opened with the special presentation to Carlisle Events for the 30th anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle. I apologize in advance for the shaky camera work at the beginning of the video as I was trying to find the best vantage point while juggling two cameras.

The 2012 Carlisle Blue Corvette Grand Sport on display had several new accessories from Genuine Corvette Accessories and this was the first venue where they were showed in public.

In addition to the new features and options that were discussed, Tadge talks about taking the ZR1 and Z06 back to the Nurburgring as well as the recent test of the Z06 Centennial Edition by Motor Trend.

Following the presentation was a question and answer session and we threw up our hands and asked about the status of Cyber Grey which has been on constraint and unorderable since the spring. The good news was the answer in which we were told it should be available in about a month. Crystal Red has also been on constraint, but ordering has already opened back up for that color.

August 29, 2011

Corvettes at Carlisle: Keithâ€™s Choice Award

Corvettes at Carlisle: Keith's Choice Award

One of the hallmarks of any good sized car show is the opportunity to have your car compete for an award and Corvettes at Carlisle was no different. As one of the celebrity judges (my mom is so proud!) for the 2011 show, it was my job to wander the show field and find a Corvette worthy of the “Keith’s Choice” award.

Okay so the award isn’t really called “Keith’s Choice”, I just named it that in honor of Chip Miller’s “Chip Choice”. I had a few prerequisites before I put my sticker on a windshield. My two major considerations were that it had to be a classic Corvette – C1 to C3, and that it had to have been driven to Corvettes at Carlisle.

I thought I had a found a couple of contenders in the Midyear row where the 63-67 registry was set up, however, the black 66 Corvette I really liked already had been picked. As I wandered closer to the front of the show, it was there that I came across Big John Dunham and his white 1958 Corvette.

As I walked around the white coved 58 Corvette, I noted the historic Virginia license plates both front and back. The front of the car had many rock chips around the front grill and the car looked as though it had been driven quite a bit.

The owner and his son had chairs set up behind the straight axle Corvette and were resting their feet on the chrome bumpers. I casually asked if he drove the car up or trailered it, to which he replied that he had indeed drove it from Virginia. He added “It’s a driver with over 600,000 miles on it”.

Ding Ding, we have a winner!

I introduced myself to Big John and let him know his Corvette had been chosen for one of the Celebrity Pick awards. He went on to tell me that he bought the Corvette while he was in high school in 1969. Ovr the years, he said he had gotten married in the Corvette, drove it to court house for his divorce and then again for his second marriage. John drive’s this ’58 Corvette just about everywhere as he covers events for his online e-zine StillRunnin.com.

The Corvette is far from correct as it had undergone several major repairs following accidents and incidents in its 42 years with the owner. Currently, the engine in place is a a 283 V8 from a 1957 Corvette. The front end has be damaged a couple of times, but overall the Corvette still presents itself very nicely.

Big John also had show board in the windshield that outlined a hot-rodders definition of rock chips. Big John said Corvettes were made to be driven and although he does have a trailer, he says he uses it to haul his horses.

With my job done, I slapped the sticker on his windshield and tucked the notice on windshield and then headed to top of hill to listen to the 12 noon engine rev.

Life is good!

August 29, 2011

2005 Chevrolet Corvette $27,175; 75912 miles

This 2005 Chevrolet Corvette 2dr 2dr Cpe Coupe features a 6.0L V8 SFI 8cyl Gasoline engine.

August 29, 2011

Chevrolet New Small Car Earns Top Safety Rating in Europe

The new Chevrolet Aveo hatchback, which will be sold as the Chevrolet Sonic in North America beginning this fall, received a top five-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Program , which released its latest results this week.

August 28, 2011

Corvettes at Carlisle: GM Honors Carlisle Events on 30th Anniversary

With this weekend’s 30th Anniversary of Corvettes at Carlisle, GM honored Carlisle Events and Lance Miller with a special presentation prior to the start of the Corvette Team’s “What’s New on the 2012 Corvette” seminar on Friday afternoon.

On display at the Carlisle Fairgrounds Grandstand was the 2012 Corvette Grand Sport painted in Carlisle Blue. GM officially introduced the new color to those in attendance and then called Lance Miller up to the front where he was presented with a special poster.

The poster reads:

Standing Ovation for everything we love about Corvettes fans for 30 years. Congratulations on 30 years, Corvettes at Carlisle. As a token of our admiration, Chevrolet is introducing Carlisle Blue, available on all 2012 Corvette models. Thank You. Here’s to 30 more.

Presenting the poster were Corvette Team members Harlan Charles, Tadge Juechter, Kirk Bennion and Bowling Green Plant Manager Dave Tatman.

As this was my first visit to Carlisle, I can see why GM finds the show to be a premiere venue to mingle with their customers and get feedback on the Corvette lineup. The GM tent was busy throughout the days as the team members fielded questions, compliments as well as concerns and criticisms about America’s favorite sports car.

Happy anniversary, Corvettes at Carlisle and here’s to 30 more!

August 28, 2011

Custom car shop firing on all cylinders

Bennett Coachworks, at 1500 N. 4th St., does specialty restorations of rare classics as well as creating custom cars.

August 28, 2011

Corvettes at Carlisle: GM Shows Off New GCA Torque 2 Wheels and Stripe Package

Corvettes at Carlisle: GM Shows Off New GCA Wheels and Stripes

Corvettes at Carlisle provided GM’s Corvette Team the perfect backdrop to show off some new accessories, especially on the show’s new namesake color, the 2012 Corvette Grand Sport in Carlisle Blue. Shown on the Grand Sports were the new Torque 2 wheels and a stripe package which can be ordered at Chevy dealers through the Genuine Corvette Accessories catalog.

First shown during the Corvette Team’s 2012 powerpoint presentation at the C5/C6 Bash in April, the Torque 2 wheel is available in Chrome and Sterling Silver Painted versions, and are sized to fit the Grand Sport and Z06 models.

Also shown on the 2012 Grand Sport Coupe was the new full body stripe which will be available in four colors. The Grand Sport Coupe demonstrated a white stripe which I thought showed nicely on the Carlisle Blue exterior. The other available stripe colors are Satin Black, Metallic Black and Calico Blue.

According to Exterior Designer Kirk Bennion, the Calico Blue stripes were specifically matched to the ZR1′s blue-trimmed supercharger cover and brake calipers and answers the call from ZR1 owners who asked for their own specific color.

Here are pictures of the new accessories from Corvettes at Carlisle:

The 2012 Corvette in many ways is a blank slate that allow buyers the ability to uniquely customize their sports car. A couple additional options I liked on the 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Coupe with the full body stripe was the black headlight buckets and the blue stitching throughout the interior.