Jim and Shirley Hornaday, Louise and I attended the 2022 NCM 28th Anniversary Celebration and 2022 Corvette Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this weekend. We attended many briefings given on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Of note were the following:
The Kai Spande Corvette Assembly Plant Update was big news! Plant tours will be come back starting in November - more details to follow on how we can get a club tour. Below is a copy of the NCM press release:
The National Corvette Museum (NCM) and Bowling Green Assembly are pleased to announce plans to resume plant tours of the only facility in the world where Corvettes are manufactured. Tours will go on sale to the public via the National Corvette Museum’s website on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. National Corvette Museum members qualify for early booking access, beginning on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. Tour scheduling will take place at the time of purchase with public tours expected to resume before the end of the year.
In 1981, General Motors moved production of the Chevrolet Corvette from St. Louis, MO to 600 Corvette Drive, Bowling Green, KY. Known as “America’s Sports Car,” the plant tour allows visitors to watch an icon in the making. The Corvette is the world’s longest-running, continuously produced passenger car with more than 1.75 million produced. The GM site consists of 212 acres, and the plant has 1.7 million square feet –equivalent to 39 acres or 29.5 football fields, under roof.
Plant tours were initially suspended in 2017 due to plant enhancements and significant layout changes of the facility. The Covid pandemic further delayed plant tours. “We have been waiting for this day for what feels like an eternity,” said Kai Spande, Plant Director for the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant and Board Chairman of the National Corvette Museum. “It’s a great point of pride for our workforce to be able to share what it takes to make America’s Sports Car. We cannot wait to start welcoming Corvette customers, enthusiasts, and friends back for tours of our plant.”
The Harlan Charles Corvette Team Update gave an update on the Z06 and Corvette’s number one ranking among the other sport cars in its class. Below is a copy of the NCM press release:
Charles began his presentation by reflecting on the many awards that Corvette has won in the past year, like the 2021 JD Power IQs Study that placed the Chevrolet Corvette as the highest-ranked vehicle in the Premium Sporty Car category. Charles shared that they are extremely proud of what they have accomplished so far and that they will continue working to create everyone’s dream sportscar.
The Corvette Team strives to attract new customers while also retaining loyalists. They are doing well at attracting a new generation with two-thirds of buyers being new to Chevrolet, having doubled growth with Generation X, growth in sales to Generation Y, and the highest Corvette loyalty since 2014. Charles encouraged current Corvette enthusiasts to graciously welcome the new generation of Corvette lovers that are starting to come along!
Charles then moved on to what is to come in 2022! Back at the 2021 Michelin NCM BASH, they announced three new paint colors: Hypersonic Gray Metallic, Amplify Orange Tintcoat, and Caffeine Metallic. This makes a total of 12 colors for the 2022 line. Back at BASH, they also announced the new low-profile spoiler that is available for the 2022 models. Charles mentioned again that this new spoiler is available without the Z51 performance package.
Earlier in the summer, the 2023 Z06 was announced. Charles shared a couple of exciting promotion videos, including one that shared that October 26th, 2021, is the OFFICIAL reveal date for the new 2023 Z06. The Corvette Team has been doing testing for the 2023 Z06 across America and Europe and are overly excited to show everyone the new car!
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We attended the Ambassador Meeting. We received an update on the Ambassador convention tentatively scheduled for November. There was a lot of discussion on how and when the plant tour will be run.
Also attended the meeting for the 7th National Corvette Caravan that is slated for August 29-31, 2024.
Guys just talking Corvette, Jim Hornaday, Kai Spande Kai Spande Corvette Assembly Plant Manager, Dale Ledbetter from the Hendrick Heritage ("Hendrick Man Cave"), and Bill Olszewski.
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