Month: March 2013

If you are like most enthusiasts about this time of year you are experiencing a bad case of “cabin fever”. Shut in by the cold and the snow and too early to wake your hibernating car from its winter sleep and take it for its initial Spring cruise, you can’t help but think of the warm weather and all of the things you will be doing once your Corvette emerges from beneath its flannel lined custom car cover and once again hits the road. One of the things that can help allay the winter doldrums and kick off the Spring is to begin to plan your summer “bucket list” of “can’t miss” events and one of the events that should be at the top of that list is “Back to the Bricks” and the fourth annual Corvette Reunion for 2013.

If you are a serious car enthusiast, particularly a “Vetter”, then “Back to the Bricks” simply cannot be missed. Often overshadowed because it is held simultaneously with the legendary Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, Back to the Bricks is the “event of choice” for “real” car enthusiasts. It ranks among the top twenty auto-related events in the country and takes place in the birthplace of the Corvette, Flint, Michigan. Back to the Bricks is actually a compilation of several events and activities beginning in June and culminating in a world class car show in down town Flint on Saturday, August 17th, that draws over 500,000 enthusiasts and as many as 40,000 cars. This year the event “officially” takes place August 13th through August 17th but in reality the activities begin June 7th through 13th with a week-long “Lakeshore to Lakeshore” promotional tour. That is followed up in early August with “Tune Up Party Week” the 5th through the 10th in preparation for the main event week extravaganza.

On Tuesday, August 13th, the Back to the Bricks main event week kicks off with a free drive-in movie, car show and party. Wednesday and Thursday have “rolling cruise” and swap meet events and Friday is loaded with events and activities: a car show, the Corvette “meet and greet” at the Brick Street Bar & Grill, in Grand Blanc, a vendor marketplace, and live music in the park. All of the events, cruises, and parties are just a precursor for the Saturday, August 17th, extravaganza when one of the most exciting and diverse car shows in the country is staged in downtown Flint, better known as “Vehicle City”. The streets are lined with cars and trucks of every type from over 500 Corvettes to muscle cars, rat rods, customs, low-riders and award winning restorations of classics. The show is scheduled to begin at 10 AM but “those in the know” get there early because almost a half million other enthusiasts will pack downtown Flint to take part in the festivities and see hundreds of the interesting cars.

Back to the Bricks spectacular is in many ways the antithesis of the vaunted Woodward Dream Cruise which takes place on the same day, seventy miles south of Flint in the suburbs of the Motor City. But there are really only three similarities between the two events: they are both automobile and enthusiast based events, they both draw huge crowds, and they are both staged in Michigan. But that is where the similarities end. During the Woodward Dream Cruise spectators sit along Woodward Avenue and watch cars of all types and quality slowly pass by, (days of the legendary Woodward stoplight burnouts are a thing of the past. Most of those that attempt a burnout are usually rewarded with a ticket from the local cops). At the Back to the Bricks events you will be able to get “up close and personal” with the cars and their owners and enjoy several supporting events from music to movies.

Where the Woodward Dream Cruise is at best “loosely organized”, in part because the event takes place in more than one city where official support varies greatly by municipality, the Back to the Bricks event is well organized and coordinated by a group of dedicated organizers with the full support of the city of Flint. Everything from food services, handicapped parking and restroom facilities is planned and strategically located to accommodate the onslaught of enthusiasts. Understand, that both events are considered to be among the best automotive events in the country and both should be on every enthusiast’s “bucket list”, but if you can only pick one event to attend the most knowledgeable and serious enthusiasts will likely give the nod to the “Bricks”.

Corvette enthusiasts will be pleased to know that once again the annual Corvette Reunion, is returning this year. It is the fourth and will take place on Friday night, August 16th and Saturday August 17th. The Reunion is actually an “event within an event” and open to all Corvette owners. The Reunion will kick off on Friday with a “meet and greet” that is open to all Corvette owners from around the country. The “meet and greet” party will be held at the “Brick Street Bar & Grill” in Grand Blanc, just fifteen minutes from downtown Flint. Old friends and first timers can enjoy good food and conversation centered around the cars and the event. Corvettes of every generation and every type can be enjoyed from fully restored, award winning classics, to custom and radically modified and even some full race Vettes will be on display. The Reunion event is considered to be a club by the Back to the Bricks organizers and as such all Corvettes can park together to display the cars. This event has grown by almost a hundred cars a year and last year almost 500 Corvettes from all over the country participated. As a result BttB has given almost half of the real estate designated for car clubs to the Corvette Reunion and based on the annual growth 2013 could be in excess of 600 Corvettes. The Reunion is exciting enough to stand on its own and will be covered by CorvetteForum® but when coupled with the rest of the BttB it’s simply “over the top”. If you are a Corvette aficionado it is well worth the trip to be a part of this “experience”.

It is important to note that Back to the Bricks and the Corvette Reunion are considered to be a 501C with all profits from event used to fund the revitalization of the downtown area in recognition of pioneers in the automobile industry and preserving Flint’s rich automotive history. Even though hard hit by the economic downturn Flint has not forgotten its strong automotive heritage and is recognizing legendary figures that have played an important role in Flint’s automotive history. Iconic automotive companies have long been associated with Flint and though many of Flint’s plants have downsized or closed, the city continues to recognize their contributions. The town was home to the first assembly plants of Buick and Chevrolet and at one time the city was home to the largest GM complex in the world. AC Delco, Fisher Body and the UAW also played significant roles in the history of Flint. Bronze statues of Louis Chevrolet and David Buick have already been erected and placed in the Bricks Statue Plaza, part of the renovated downtown area. Appropriately, the statues of these champions of the automobile have been totally funded by profits generated from the Back to the Bricks events and private donations. Plans call for the erection of at least eight statues in the future.

So it’s time to start waking up your hibernating car and get ready to enjoy another great year with your Corvette. I am confident that the Corvette Reunion and the Back to the Bricks event will rank at the top of your 2013 car related activities. Make your plans now!

Back to the Bricks event link: http://backtothebricks.org/index2.html
Corvette Reunion event link: http://corvettereunionatbacktothebricks.com/

Rick Tavel writes about automobiles with an emphasis on Corvettes and the hobby in general. You can email him at ricktavel1@gmail.com

Source:
Photo Credit: Tom Dahlem Flint Corvette Club

Related:
Corvettes Heading to Flint for ‘Back to the Bricks’ Reunion
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[PICS] The Corvettes of the 2012 Woodward Dream Cruise

 

Two new videos posted by Pratt & Miller show off an innovative new rear-racing radar system that made its debut for Corvette Racing at the recent 12 Hours of Sebring.

With just a glance, the driver can tell how many cars are trailing him and by how much, and whether or not they are a faster class.

“The system uses a rear-facing radar sensor to track up to 32 objects and runs on a custom-built Linux PC with a Core i3 CPU,” says Chris Hammond, Embedded Systems Engineer for Pratt & Miller.

On the first video, you can see how the radar can pick up other cars even when visibility is limited, which is especially important in an endurance race like Sebring. A color-coded system makes it easy for the drivers to take just a brief moment to tell what their opponents are doing. For example, a yellow marker shows a car that is moving at the same speed as this car, green denotes a car that is falling back, and red indicates a car that is gaining rapidly. Once the car is overtaken, a large arrow flashes to point the direction in which the opponent has passed. A line graph at the side of the screen estimates how many seconds behind the opponents are.

A second video is from a camera that shows us the point of view of driver Tommy Milner as he walks through the facility and then climbs into his car and takes off around the car. It shows how he’s able to use the system while he’s on the track.

Pratt & Miller is the only company to have such a system for racing and there are plans to sell the technology to other teams, though they haven’t decided how much to charge.

Source:
Autoblog

Related:
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One of the interesting displays at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was from Hagerty Insurance. It’s the 50th anniversary for two automotive icons – the Porsche 911 and the Corvette Sting Ray – and Hagerty asked fans to vote for their favorite.

Fans were handed a ballot to fill out to determine the winner. You can mark your ballot as a “straight ticket” for either of the cars, or you could selectively answer the six ballot questions which compared other model year of Corvettes and Porsches.

Those questions included the following:

1. Which car would you like to bring to the Friday night drags?
   1. 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera
   2. 1967 Corvette 427/435
2. You’re on the most deserted stretch of highway on the planet, the next fuel stop is almost 500 miles away. Which car do you want to be in?
   1. 1963 Corvette Z06 “Big Tank”
   2. 1982 Porsche 911SC
3. You can only have one car and you have to drive it year ’round. What will it be?
   1. 1995 Corvette Coupe
   2. 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupe
4. You want the valet in front of the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island to leave your car out front. What do you drive?
   1. 1973 911 2.7 RS in Viper Green with Black Carrera Stripes
   2. 1969 Corvette L88 Convertible in Daytona Yellow
5. You’re planning a trip on the Mother Road, Route 66. What do you take?
   1. 1967 Porsche 911S Targa
   2. 1961 Corvette in Roman Red with Ermine White Coves
6. You find yourself on the Autobahn A95 from Munich to Garmisch (one of the least congested stretches of the famous German highway), what do you want to be in?
   1. 2011 Corvette ZR1
   2. 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0

During the voting period, over 2,000 votes were cast and the final tally had Corvette as the winner by just 70 votes!

“Both are classic examples of groundbreaking automotive design, technology and value,” said McKeel Hagarty, president and CEO of the insurance company. “Considering the popularity of these iconic sports cars, the close voting results came as little surprise, despite their fundamental differences.”

Related:
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[VIDEO] Hitler Finds Out About the C7 Corvette
[VIDEO] A Mile in His Shoes: Porsche vs Corvette

 

Dispelling the recent rumors that the new C7 Corvette Stingray’s starting price will be approaching or topping $70K, Alan Taylor, automotive journalist and TV personality, said the new Corvette Convertible will retail for about $60K. During a segment on ABC’s popular morning TV show, “LIVE with Kelly and Michael”, Taylor introduced and literally uncovered several of the new cars being displayed and unveiled at the New York Auto Show this week.

On Tuesday’s show “performance” models were the topic where the new Corvette convertible was the last performance car shown during his short segment. The beautiful C7 convertible was shown along with the new Camaro SS, Jaguar F-type, and the VW Golf GTI. When Michael Strahan, former New York Giant defensive end and now the co-host of the show, asked Taylor how much the new Corvette convertible will sell for, Taylor told the viewers that the convertible will sell for just about $60K. Taylor’s reply about the convertible’s pricing would seem to be more in line with “under $60K” price alluded to in previous unveilings.

The Corvette Convertible shown on the TV show may have been the same car unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show a few weeks ago since it appeared in the same color combination. At the end of Tuesday’s show Strahan and his guest co-host Kristin Chenoweth got to drive away in the sleek new Cyber Gray convertible. Alan Taylor is the host of a three hour TV show, “The DRIVE with Alan Taylor”, which is centered around the latest automotive news, automobile test drives, and industry automotive experts.

If reviving Corvette sales and attracting younger buyers is truly one of the C7’s missions then it would seem illogical to bump the staring price by over $15K as rumored recently. Corvette sales have averaged between 12,500 and 14,000 for each of the last three model years which is about half of the annual sales in the years following the C6 introduction.

Rick Tavel writes about automobiles with an emphasis on Corvettes and the hobby in general. You can email him at ricktavel1@gmail.com

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Introducing the 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible

 

The new 2014 Corvette Stingray was one of the star attractions at the Amelia Island Concours earlier this month. In addition to showing off the new C7, they also gathered together a collection of some very rare 1963 Sting Rays as well. Click past the jump to check out some of the 50 year old Corvettes that were in attendance at Amelia Island.

Starring in Autoblog’s photo gallery are the original Corvette Sting Ray racer, the steel bodied Corvette Rondine, ProTeam’s right-hand-drive Z06 and the Dick Lang Racer, the cutaway Stingray, and the real deal Grand Sport #3. Several stock 1963 coupes, convertibles and Z06’s rounded out the impressive display of America’s sports car. We already showed you Mid America’s experimental XP-819 a couple weeks back.

The classic Corvettes were a perfect complement to the brand new 2014 Corvette Stingray which made its southeastern US debut at Amelia.

Below you can enjoy some of our pics from Saturday at Amelia Island then click on over to Autoblog to check out their gallery from the following Sunday.

For more information on the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance you can visit www.ameliaconcours.org.

Related:
[PICS] 2014 Corvette Stingray at the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance
Steel-bodied 1963 Corvette Rondine Still Amazing Fans After 49 Years
Australian Right Hand Drive 1963 Z06 Corvette Heading Back Home
Dick Lang’s Reborn 1963 Corvette Z06 Tanker Unveiled at ProTeam Corvette

[PICS] Experimental 1964 Rear Engine Corvette Prototype XP-819 Shows Its Stuff at Amelia Island

 

Maybe there’s something in the water.

On Thursday, Jason Mills became the second Bowling Green resident to win a Corvette through recent National Corvette Museum raffles.

Mills’ lucky ticket No. 82, which was drawn at 2 p.m. Thursday, proved to be the winner for a 2013 60th Anniversary 427 Convertible Corvette.

Since he lives so close, he didn’t let any grass grow under his feet, getting to the Museum that same day to see his new car and start the paperwork to take it home. The next day, he took part in the Museum’s R8C Delivery Program getting the VIP treatment as he took official delivery of his new Corvette.

Mills was inspired to enter the raffle after another Bowling Green resident, Barry Cummings, won a Corvette in a Museum raffle.

“When I heard that Barry had won a Corvette several months ago, I thought that maybe I could win, too. I called him on the morning that I bought my ticket to ask him how he did it,” Mills explained. “Barry told me that he got his tickets online and got them early when the numbers were low. I bought one $250 ticket, one $500 ticket, and several $10 tickets. It worked!”

While some people might be tempted to sell the car and pocket the money, Mills won’t hear of that. “I’ve already got two offers to buy it,” he says, ”but it’s a keeper. I’m building a house right now, and so tonight I’ll have to call the contractor about adding a garage.”

After all, he wouldn’t want anything to happen to such a nice Corvette.

You could be a winner, too, by taking part in one of the many Corvette raffles that the Museum holds each year, thanks to its 501 (c) (3) status. You can buy tickets in several ways, including at the museum, by phone at 270-781-7973 or 800-538-3883, on line at www.corvettemuseum.org/raffle, or at select Corvette and other car shows held across the U.S.

Source:
bgdailynews.com

Related:
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