November 2012 - Page 2 of 13 - C6Performance Journal

November 29, 2012

2014 Chevrolet Corvette: First (Virtual) Drive

On January 13, 2013, Chevrolet will unveil the long awaited C7 Corvette, which is the next generation of America’s greatest sports car.

November 29, 2012

Dick Langâ€™s Reborn 1963 Corvette Z06 Tanker Unveiled at ProTeam Corvette

[PICS] Dick Lang's 1963 Corvette Z06 Racer

Back in the first part of 2011, ProTeam Corvette Sales posted an article on their website seeking more information on Dick Langâ€™s 1963 Corvette Z06 racer which they had recently discovered. After several months and a $224,000 Nabers Brothers restoration, they unveiled the recently completed car last weekend during a NCRS-sponsored Corvette Seminar at their Napoleon, Ohio facility. This was the first time it had been seen by the public since being returned to its Daytona racing livery.

Dick Lang was one of the top Corvette racers during the late 1950′s and early 1960′s. He owned a Xenia, Ohio Chevrolet dealership and raced in several SCCA divisions gaining regional and national regards as one of the top wheelmen in the A and B Production classes.

In 1963 he ran at Daytona International Speedway in two separate events. That weekend began a significant run of event wins and podium finishes. In 1963 He finished 4th in the SCCA A Production national standings and followed that up with a 3rd in 1964. He had already claimed another 4th place back in 1962. In 1964, Lang was the lone Corvette driver finishing in a top 5 dominated by Shelby Cobras. He sat out the 1965 – 67 seasons but returned in 1968 and then joined the Tony DeLorenzo Owens-Corning team in 1969.

The 1963 Big Tank Corvette Coupe, VIN #6553, was built on January 11th, 1963 and delivered to The Lang Chevrolet Co. according to the NCRS Shipping Data Report. Thatâ€™s within 5 days of other famous Z06â€™s belonging to Delmo Johnson and Mickey Thompson. It spent almost 50 years within 15 miles of Lang’s dealership. The car is now fully documented including a full owner history and numerous old photos. It is one of 199 Z06â€™s (http://www.corvettemuseum.org/specs/2006/Z06History.shtml) built that year and one of just 63 with a 36-gallon fuel tank.

You can read more on Dick Lang here or here.

Check out the Registry of Corvette Racecars for more information on Corvette Racers. Meanwhile, enjoy our photos of Dick Langâ€™s 1963 Z06 racer below.

Source:
ProTeam Corvette Sales

November 29, 2012

[VIDEO] 2014 C7 Corvette Trailer 2: Calibration

Today is November 29, 2012 and we officially have 45 days to go until the public reveal of the next generation C7 Corvette on 1.13.13 in Detroit. In counting down to the C7′s launch, Chevy has unveiled the second of four teaser videos and this one is called “Calibration”.

The voice in the video is Alex McDonald who is a performance integration engineer on the Corvette team. He says the 2014 Corvette “has a new level of electronic integration. You don’t feel like you’re driving to the car, you feel like the car is doing exactly what you want it to do. It’s making the car right for the road you’re on. No compromises.”

As you can see, the video contains many visual elements showing the C7 Corvette being tested on GM’s road course. In addition to stacks of tires, drivers in firesuits and personnel with laptops, we do get this new image showing the digital dash cluster with the driver manipulating the data display with a four-way switch on the right side of the steering wheel.

As mentioned, this is the second of four teaser videos to be released in advance of Chevrolet’s public reveal of the C7 Corvette on Sunday, January 13, 2013. The first video dealt with the new Corvette’s aerodynamics.

The final two videos will be unlocked on December 17th and January 10th on Chevy’s countdown website, www.one13thirteen.com.

Source:
one13thirteen.com

November 29, 2012

2012 Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals, Part V

If you have been keeping up with my serial on the Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals from Chicago from the past 10 days, you probably can figure out that if I’m up to Part V of my serial, I must have taken a lot of photos.

November 29, 2012

Find out which cars owners would buy again

Despite having a new electric/gasoline drivetrain and a sticker price exceeding $40,000, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid now tops our list of the most satisfying vehicles.

November 29, 2012

[VIDEO] Download and Drive the Camouflaged C7 Corvette on Gran Turismo 5

Earlier this month, players of Sony PlayStation’s Gran Turismo 5 spotted the Camouflaged C7 Corvette as a screensaver and speculation was that the car would be revealed after the real-life C7 Corvette was publically displayed on 1.13.13. Well, the surprise was on us as Chevrolet and Sony annouced that gamers would be allowed the first-of-its-kind driving experience by offering the Camouflaged C7 test Corvette for download and driving today on Gran Turismo 5.

Here is a promotional video showing the digital version of the C7 Corvette in action:

Chevrolet worked with Polyphony Digital, developers of Gran Turismo 5 to provide authentic driving experience in the seventh generation Corvette, an experience that until now has only been available to a handful of people in the world.

Developers paid special attention in creating the virtual Corvette prototype to show the creases and wrinkles in the camouflage material.

“Until now, only the most skilled drivers on the Corvette team have been authorized to push the test prototypes to the limits on some of the most challenging track surfaces in the world,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Global Marketing. “Through this unique collaboration with Gran Turismo, Chevrolet is able, for the first time, to give performance car enthusiasts access to such an exclusive driving experience.”

The C7 Corvette prototype is available for download through the PlayStation Store from the PS3 at no additional cost. Once you’re behind the wheel, you can drive the seventh gen Corvette on the world’s renowned race tracks, from Daytona to the famous Nurburgring.

“Gran Turismo has had many firsts and we’re excited to partner with Chevrolet for yet another â€“ bringing the first-ever Chevrolet prototype vehicle into a racing game,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital, Inc. “As car enthusiasts, weâ€™re thrilled to give fans this extraordinary level of access to the seventh generation Corvette that otherwise would not be possible.”

Here are some additional screen shots showing the digital C7 Corvette prototype on Gran Turismo 5

The 2014 Corvette will be introduced on Sunday, January 13, 2013. Follow along as Chevrolet countdowns to the unveiling on www.one13thirteen.com.

Source:
General Motors

November 29, 2012

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Striptease Continues With Gaming Twist

A camouflaged 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Test Prototype is being offered as a free vehicle download in the PlayStation 3 racing game Gran Turismo 5 starting today, as General Motors continues to find creative ways to drum up interest in the Corvette ahead of its unveiling on January 13.

November 28, 2012

Fla. car museum selling its treasures at auction

John Staluppi has spent a lifetime selling cars, so successful in his trade he boasts more than two dozen dealerships and more sales than he could count.

November 28, 2012

Corvette Assembly Plant to Add 170 Temp Workers for C7 Corvette Launch

Corvette Assembly Plant to Add 170 Temporary Workers for C7 Corvette Launch

Photo Credit: Alex Slitz/Daily News

It isn’t even here yet, but the C7 Corvette continues to stimulate the economy.

Corvette Assembly Plant Manager Dave Tatman announced this week that the GM plant in Bowling Green, Ky., will be hiring 170 workers for periods ranging from four to 18 months.

Word has already spread, and Tatman told The Bowling Green Daily News that about 550 people had applied for the positions as of Monday.

Current GM employees at the plant can refer a relative, friend, or neighbor for the jobs through the end of this week. Tatman says most employees have already made their recommendations, but he was planning to make another big push at meetings Tuesday and Wednesday.

The pool of applicants will be narrowed to 300, based on skills testing and drug testing, Tatman said, with the 170 temp workers then to be randomly selected from those.

The jobs will pay well, $15.50 an hour for 40 hours, with the possibility of some overtime.

Tatman says the temporary workers are needed to allow regular employees a chance to take vacations as well as to ensure that the C7 launch runs smoothly.

Already about 150 UAW and GM corporate employees are helping to gear up for the launch of the highly anticipated seventh generation Corvette. Tatman says subcontractors just finished work in the pretreatment area, with testing set for this week. The body shop is also done.

“We still have quite a bit of other work to be done,” Tatman says.

The upcoming C7 launch (with the unveiling set for Jan. 13 and production expected to crank up in the third quarter) has already enabled the Bowling Green facility to bring back all laid off workers, and at least another 100 people who have been laid off at other GM plants are expected to be hired back eventually at the Corvette plant.

“I expect we actually will exceed that number,” Tatman predicts.

Warren County officials are thrilled about the hirings. Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon says the increased number of workers at the Corvette plant will boost the local economy, with the new transfers likely to buy homes in the area and then spend their salaries there.

“There are a lot of people who will work hard to make sure that they are considered for those jobs,” Buchanon said. “That’s really good money.”

Source:
Bowling Green Daily News
Photo Credit: Alex Slitz/Daily News

November 28, 2012

GUEST BLOGGER CLAYTON MACKEY CAUGHT â€˜VETTE FEVER IN THE 1960S

Some of us are dreaming of a white Christmas. Others are dreaming of what the soon-to-be-unveiled C-7 will look like and how it will handle.

In this the most dreamiest time of the year and at the dawn of a new generation of Corvette designs, we cruise down memory lane with a variety of guest bloggers and their Corvette dreams.

These ‘Vette aficionados are not unlike Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” who dreamed of owning an “Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!” Our “Red Ryder” is really a “red (or black, silver, yellow, you name it) rider.”

The following post features special guest blogger Clayton Mackey of Clarkston, MI. He shares Part I of his series of three posts.

Part I
â€œI cannot ever remember not being interested in Corvettes â€” and for that matter, cars in general. I grew up in upstate New York in the 1960s and ’70s, the heart of the muscle-car era. What a great time to be a car enthusiast. Camaros, Chevelles, Firebirds, Challengers and Chargers captivated me. One of my favorites at the time was the AMC AMX. But reigning over all was the Corvette â€” the only true American sports car.

To this day one of my favorite Corvettes is the mid-year Big Block 427 convertible. Corvette engineers must love that car, too, because they recently brought it back.

As a teenager, I could only dream about Corvettes, as it did not seem possible that I would ever be able to afford one. I was thoroughly and undeniably hooked on speed. It seemed all I would ever be able to do is dream.

In the early 1980s, I worked with someone who owned a ’63 split-window coupe, so I happy to be able to get some first-hand information about my dream car. I managed to convince my co-worker to take me for a ride in it. (That didnâ€™t take much convincing, as, like most Corvette owners, he was eager and willing to show his car to whomever was interested.) That car did not disappoint. I continued to be hooked, and my dream became even more real that day.

In 1984 I traveled to Bowling Green, KY, to see the fourth generation â€˜Vette. I was able to tour the factory â€” the C4 was fabulous â€¦ probably one of the best looking cars I had ever seen (not just of â€˜Vettes, but all cars).

That sealed it for me. I knew that some day I would own one. A prerequisite, of course, was to buy a house with a garage where I could keep it. So now, I had not one, but two goals.

As the years rolled by, the Corvetteâ€™s design evolved, too. Then it happened. Corvette introduced the ZR1 â€” the King of the Hill, a mighty behemoth with an exotic Dual Overhead Cam engine. (Okay, maybe by today’s standards thatâ€™s only average. Remember, though, that back then, this was a Supercar.)”

Did Clayton buy the ZR1? Come back Friday to find out in Part II of Clayton’s Corvette series.