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Car and Driver Names 2014 Corvette Stingray to its “10Best” List

Car and Driver Names 2014 Corvette Stingray to its 10Best List
Photo Credit: Roy Ritchie/Car and Driver

The 2014 Corvette Stingray continues to draw “oohs” and “aahs” from virtually everyone connected with the automotive industry.

Car and Driver magazine is the latest to honor Tadge Juechter and his amazing team’s creation by naming the new Corvette Stingray to its annual “10Best” list.

For years, dating back to at least 1984 with the introduction of the C4, the Corvette has always been a numbers car, capable of putting up segment-leading statistics but not always shining in other important areas.

That’s no longer the case with the seventh-generation Corvette, Car and Driver gushes.

“Judging from the new Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette, GM now knows how to bridge the gap between the driver and the spreadsheet,” the magazine says. “These cars aren’t simply about the cold pursuit of data. They’re about the interaction between human and machine.”

(By the way, the CTS joined the Stingray on that magazine’s prestigious list, too.)

Car and Driver praises the Corvette for its new electric steering, which “reports the squirm of the tires and, by varying the resistance, every tenth-of-a-g change in cornering force.”

Likewise, the suspension has been tuned magnificently by the engineers, Car and Driver reports, making the Corvette capable of provoking “stupid grins every time you drive it.”

The Stingray earns kudos overall for being “just so well honed,” the magazine says.

“Not only is its electrically assisted steering system unexpectedly sensitive,” Car and Driver says, “you can practically feel the thousands of man-hours spent developing its Michelin tires, its stiffer structure, and, on Z51 models, its electronically controlled limited-slip differential.”

The magazine also uses a sidebar to explain how GM is able to sell the new Stingray at such a bargan price.

The engine is a masterpiece, but it’s just part of a batch of more than a million Gen-V V-8s used in many GM vehicles. So while it does have special features over some of its kin, overall the Corvette engine takes advantage of economies of scale by riding along with the whole family. That engine uses 150 parts fewer (and lots less dollars) than a comparably powerful BMW twin-turbo.

The light and stiff aluminum frame that’s used on all Stingrays is built at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant now, with robots and automated laser welding doing all the heavy lifting instead of humans.

Kudos, too, to Plasan Carbon Composites, which invented a new process that has been called the first major step toward mass production of carbon-fiber parts. That new idea has cut process time by 75 percent and reduced costs by 30 percent.

Brembo likewise earns a nod for contributing to the savings by building subassemblies – including the suspension knuckles, wheel hubs, brakes, speed sensors, and other parts in the wheel wells – and getting them to the factory with just-in-time delivery.

By the way, Car and Driver says it takes this list very seriously.

“For a full week each fall,” they say, “we lock the office, turn off our phones, and engage in the most comprehensive and focused driving in the car-evaluation business.”

Source:
Car and Driver

Related:
Motor Press Guild Names Corvette Stingray its 2013 Innovation Vehicle of the Year
Automobile Magazine Names 2014 Corvette Stingray its Car of the Year
Road and Track Names the 2014 Corvette Stingray the 2013 Performance Car of the Year

 

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Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals is this Weekend!

Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals is this Weekend!

The Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show is celebrating its 5th anniversary this weekend in Chicago. The annual fiesta of fiberglass and steel is back inside the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Saturday and Sunday November 23th – 24th. Show hours are 9am-9pm on Saturday and 9am-5pm on Sunday. A $20 bill will get you in the door. Kids 12 and under are free.

This is one of our favorite events to attend each year and the 2013 event surely won’t disappoint. The Class of ’63 and ’73 invitational displays will celebrate 40 and 50 year old classics including some wonderful Corvettes. Meanwhile our friends at Corvette Central will once again sponsor the Triple Diamond judging and display. This competition is strictly for Corvettes that have previously achieved the prestigious NCRS Top Flight and Bloomington Gold awards.

In addition, be sure not to miss the unveiling of a freshly restored 1967 L88 roadster Saturday at 10:30am. The C2 L88 will be flanked by matching silver 1968 and 1969 L88’s all from the same California collection. Have goose bumps yet? Last we heard 10 of the 20 1967 L88 Corvettes will be shown as well. If you’re still not satisfied, you can wander over and check out the SR2 Corvette on display too.

As usual there’s also a plethora of muscle cars present as well. Special displays this year will include Mr. Norm’s, Nickey, and the very first Shelby Cobra made. Mopar fans will be ogling over the Plymouth Roadrunner Invitational display. The Shelby Snake Pit returns for its 5th installment in 2013 as does the Baldwin-Motion Madness area. Original owners and their cars will be celebrated with their own display as will Oldsmobile’s mighty “W” cars. Finally there are the Barn Finds and Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Racing displays.

Unrestored Corvettes and muscle cars will be presented in Vintage Certification section. There’s even a display for classic bicycles as well a collection dedicated for Ford Performance cars.

You’ll want to swing by the displays of our sponsors Adams Polishes and Mid America Motorworks who are both also sponsors of the MCACN show.

Numerous seminars will take place throughout the weekend. Topics range from collector car appraisals to reproduction tires to high end restoration.

Mecum Auctions will be streaming coverage of their Anaheim sale in their Mecum Lounge.

Celebrity appearances this year include former Corvette Plant Manager Will Cooksey and former Corvette racer Tony DeLorenzo. Others appearing include painter Charlie Hutton, Joel Rosen (Motion Performance), Barry Poole, Don Grotheer, and Mr. Norm himself.

If you’re looking to make a purchase at the show be sure to take a stroll through the swap meet, car corral, and vendor areas. Young gearheads and the young at heart can compete in the model car contest. The 2013 featured artist is Michael Irvine.

Since we’re not going to be able to attend the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals this year here’s how you can help. If you’re going to the show this weekend, be sure to post some of your photos on our Facebook wall or tweet us @CorvetteBlogger.

Tickets to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals are $20 at the door, but you can grab discount tix at one of several local supporters prior to the show. The show runs 9-9 on Saturday and 9-5 on Sunday. Check out the MCACN website for more details on the show.

Source:
MCACN

Related:
[PICS] The Corvette Racers of the 2012 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals
[PICS] The 2012 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN)
Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Revs Up This Weekend

 

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[VIDEO] Father of Corvette’s Chief Engineer Takes Delivery of a New 2014 Corvette Stingray

[PIC] Father of Corvette's Chief Engineer Takes Delivery of new 2014 Corvette Stingray

On Wednesday at the National Corvette Museum, Mat Juechter took delivery of a new 2014 Laguna Blue Corvette Stingray Coupe.

Why so special you ask?

Mat’s son is none other than Corvette’s Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter. We hear that Mat already has a vanity plate for the car: MYSNSCR.

The car is Mat’s second Corvette, the other being a C6 which is his daily driver. Tadge said once he saw the new Stingray, he had to have it!

Click here to see a larger version of this unique R8C delivery at the National Corvette Museum.

Here’s a video posted by the NCM that has Tadge and Mat talking about the car, and the clap-out the staff gives the duo as it’s driven out of the Museum.

It’s been a good week for Tadge. Automobile Magazine named his Corvette Stingray the 2014 Car of the Year and he himself was named 2014 Man of the Year. But to have your father be there and show his support by purchasing “his sons car” is pretty special indeed.

Source:
National Corvette Museum

Related:
Automobile Magazine Names Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter its 2014 Man of the Year
Automobile Magazine Names 2014 Corvette Stingray its Car of the Year
[VIDEO] The 2014 Corvette Stingray Seminar from the NCM Bash