The good times appear to be back for the auto industry recovering strongly from the 2008 recession.
Expansion underway at Southern Indiana Chevy Dealer
The good times appear to be back for the auto industry recovering strongly from the 2008 recession.
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (32 Corvette photos)
There’s no better way to start off the week than Midyear Monday! This week we’re recognizing our over 63,000 Facebook fans. Now just sit back, relax, and enjoy an entire gallery dedicated to 1963 Corvette coupes, convertibles, Z06’s and Grand Sports.
Source:
Corvettes on Tumblr
Related:
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (28 Corvette photos)
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (25 Corvette photos)
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (30 Corvette photos)
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (25 Corvette photos)
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (31 Corvette photos)
[GALLERY] Midyear Monday (22 Corvette photos)
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article [GALLERY] Midyear Monday (32 Corvette photos) originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or one of our select partners, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.
Fire Destroys RPI Designs Headquarters
It’s time for the Corvette community to rally around one of our own as an early morning fire Saturday destroyed the RPI Designs fiberglass plant in Beloit, Ohio.
RPI offers many C5/C6/C7 Corvette parts and accessories, ranging from custom body color painted parts to exhaust systems, grills, and more and says on its website that it’s shipped over 110,000 orders to satisfied customers since 1999.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the weekend blaze, which gutted the 8,000-square-foot plant that made plastic aftermarket parts for Corvettes and Camaros. No cause has been determined, but the building was insured.
North Georgetown firefighters responded to the fire, along with six other fire departments, including Homeworth, Beloit, Sebring, Winona, Washington Township, and Damascus. They were able to bring the fire under control in 40 minutes and returned later Saturday morning to extinguish hot spots, according to North Georgetown Fire Chief Ed Reichenbach.
On the company’s Facebook page, owners Josh and Renee Greenawalt made this statement:
“We want to thank all of the volunteer fire departments who came out to our shop in the early hours of the morning to battle the fire. All of you give so freely of your time to help others while still having to work to support your families. Many of the firemen today after battling the blaze for 2+ hours had jobs that they were running late to get to. We appreciate each and everyone one of you and what you do for the community! When we get our business back up and running your kindness and generosity will not be forgotten. May God bless you all and keep you safe in the future.”
The company posted this morning that it is currently moving to a new shop and has shut down painting and carbon fiber for 5-10 days during the move. “As soon as we get back up, we’ll process your painted/carbon order ASAP,” they said. “Other parts will continue to ship as normal. Thank you for your support.”
RPI is also asking customers for help:
“Since our molds have been destroyed in the fire, we are looking for past customers who bought our parts, to send us the following pieces, so we can build new molds and make more products, including C7 Corvette ZR7 Stage1 Splitter (update, a great customer stepped up and we have one on the way!), C7 Corvette ZR7 Stage2 Splitter, C7 Corvette ZR7 Stage1 Side Skirts, C7 Corvette ZR7 Stage2 Side Skirts, C6 Corvette ZRAL Front Splitter for Standard C6, C6 Covette ZRAL Front Splitter for Z06 Corvette, C6 Corvette ZR1 Style Side Skirts for Standard C6, C6 Corvette ZR1 Style Side Skirts for Z06 Corvette, and C6 Corvette Z06/Grand Sport Front Fender Extensions/Mud Guards.
We have off site backup molds of all of our other products, but we need help getting these parts back to our shop to make more molds. We are going to give any customer $100 RPI Store credit for stepping up and letting us borrow your parts. We will re-paint them to perfect condition. We will also pick up the parts from your house via FEDEX and ship them back to your via FEDEX, no cost to you. All other orders for other parts are not going to be affected with this fire we had. These other parts will continue to ship on a normal schedule.”
Source:
MorningJournalNews.com
Related:
RPI Designs Now Offering C7 Corvette Stingray Lower Painted Bumper Covers
CORSA Performance Announces Partnership with the National Corvette Museum
Zip Corvette Offers a Powerful Line Up of C7 Headers, Exhaust Systems and Engine Accessories
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article Fire Destroys RPI Designs Headquarters originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or one of our select partners, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.
[VIDEO] Tailor-inspired Custom-Fit Covers Protect the C7 Corvette and Other GM Vehicles
We’ve all pointed excitedly whenever we spot a truckload of Corvette Stingrays coming down the interstate, all dressed up in their protective white covers.
Now, here’s the inside story about those “fancy suits.”
General Motors has joined forces with CoverCar, part of an Italy-based company, to create custom covers for some GM vehicles, including the 2014 Corvette Stingray, Cadillac ELR, and the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickup trucks.
The goal is to make sure those vehicles make it to their owners looking like they just left the assembly plant where they were manufactured.
“These covers address an important part of the customer experience, ensuring that vehicles delivered thousands of miles away appear as though they just rolled off the assembly line,” said Noel Hunt, GM manager of international quality.
Already, Stingray owners have turned the one-time-use covers into souvenirs of their delivery experience, and many want to be at the dealership when the covers are pulled off so they can capture the big moment with their cameras.
The Stingray was actually the third GM vehicle to take advantage of the covers, with the export versions of the 2013 Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera leading the way.
Since last year, CoverCar has been working from an operations center in Michigan so that it could be close to the assembly plants to craft the custom covers for the Corvette, ELR, and full-size pickups.
Keeping the elements out with these covers is especially critical when the vehicles are shipped thousands of miles overseas over a period of weeks.
“GM and our dealers in Dubai and the wider Middle East region are delighted that the covers provide great protection not only during the shipping process but also against the unique environmental conditions we see here; namely sand,” said Maurice Williams, president and managing director, GM Middle East.
“The covers help us to deliver our vehicles to our customers at the high levels of quality they expect and we demand,” he said.
In the past, export vehicles were protected from scratches and dirt by a plastic film, but “the best solution is to custom-fit the covers for each model to ensure they stay factory fresh during a lengthy journey that spans weeks and includes time at port and on a ship,” Hunt said.
Right now, an estimated 100,000 GM vehicles will be protected by the new custom covers, but other models could soon see the same special treatment, according to Hunt.
Source:
General Motors
Related:
[VIDEO] Removing the Corvette Stingray’s Transit Cover
Chevrolet is Now Shipping 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupes to Dealers
[PIC] 2014 Corvette Stingrays On Hold at the Plant
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article [VIDEO] Tailor-inspired Custom-Fit Covers Protect the C7 Corvette and Other GM Vehicles originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or one of our select partners, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – The Pride Of Paoli
Back in the day, it was possible for a devoted Corvette enthusiast to order up not just a Vette for racing, but one that could take on the well-sponsored “big boys” who ruled the roost in SCCA A/Production racing back then-and win! One of those was Milton “Babe” Headley of Paoli, Pennsylvania.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – The Pride Of Paoli
Back in the day, it was possible for a devoted Corvette enthusiast to order up not just a Vette for racing, but one that could take on the well-sponsored “big boys” who ruled the roost in SCCA A/Production racing back then-and win! One of those was Milton “Babe” Headley of Paoli, Pennsylvania.
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Second Straight Win for Magnussen, Garcia
New Chevrolet Corvette C7.R a winner again in California
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 4, 2014) – It wasn’t nearly as easy as last time, but Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen scored their second straight GT Le Mans victory in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on Sunday. The duo won a hard-fought battle for the second consecutive season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – this time in their No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
Garcia won by 4.710 seconds as Corvette Racing took its third straight win at the track and seventh since 2004.
“Today was another fantastic day for Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Corvette Racing,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet’s Director of Racing. “It was a tremendous performance by everyone involved. The strategy and execution was perfect from the start. We saw again why this class of racing is among the best in the world.”
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R ran among the leaders early and often before finishing fifth in class after Gavin was hit from behind and spun off track late in the race.
Magnussen led all 42 laps of his stint, although this one wasn’t nearly as calm as his race to victory at Long Beach last month. Instead of a 10-second lead, he rarely led by more than a second and was under tremendous pressure. Twice, the Dane had to lock up the brakes going into the Corkscrew turn, the first time when he was pushed wide by a prototype just before the braking zone.
On a one-stop strategy following a pit stop and driver change at the one-hour mark, the focus of the battle turned to Garcia and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari. Garcia bided his time and used a slower car as a pick to move into the lead with 22 minutes left. With solid tires and great balance, he was able to steadily pull away.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15. The next GTLM round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship takes place at Watkins Glen on June 29.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I knew we had a really good car going into this race. The C6.R was successful coming into here, and I knew the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R would be good too. We proved that yesterday (in qualifying) because everything was running up to where we wanted it to. I knew the trick would be to save the tires because I saw Jan was having troubles with that. I knew he flat-spotted once or twice the front right, so it was difficult for me getting into the car knowing I had to save the tires. It was a good call on the pits just to do one stop. We lost a position to the Ferrari because Jan lost quite a bit on the in-lap and we lost maybe a second. I tried to overtake once or twice the Ferrari but I saw on pure pace that it couldn’t happen. Then getting back on my mind I knew I had to run those tires for half an hour, so I decided just to give up a little bit of pressure on them and just start saving tires as best I could. Doing that I wasn’t losing much time to them, maybe a little bit, and as soon as he caught traffic I could get him back. In the end if paid off pretty good and then I used traffic again. When I saw that prototype going to pass (the Ferrari), I really went for it and make a run as much as possible and he had no chance to block me. Then with 20 minutes to go I could use the tires I had saved.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“This is the perfect preparation for the team to go on to Le Mans full of confidence. We know when everything works we can win. Antonio did a fantastic job. He was fighting every lap. When the opportunity came there wasn’t a clear track where he was able to pass the Ferrari. As soon as the opportunity came he was there and then able to pull away for a safety margin. It was a fantastic job by the whole crew, the engineers, everyone at Corvette Racing.”
(His stint) “This was a tough stint. To begin with I had quite good grip and balance in the car. Towards the end there when the Porsche was catching me, I got pushed a little bit wide by the DeltaWing and had a huge lock-up into the Corkscrew which gave us a flat spot so that kind of took our edge away a little bit. I really, really had to fight for my position then.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was another one of those races where we showed a lot of promise, and it just didn’t really work out for us whatsoever. With the limited track time we got here, we took a bit of a shot with the setup of the car. For whatever reason, we were working our rear tires just a bit harder than most other cars out there. Tommy did a great job in hanging on to the car for so long with those worn rear tires. We took a gamble with the tires for my stint, and it was looking like it was going to be pretty good. Then the rear of the car just started to really snap away. It caught me out going into (Turn) Six – I ran wide up the hill there. I was able to get back on it and got going again. But then the No. 56 BMW was coming like no tomorrow; they had stopped and I knew they were quicker than us… I don’t know what happened, but as I came through the center of turn one, I got hit and turned around and we lost three spots. It kind of summed up our day really… very frustrating. A lot of effort from all the guys with the stop, and they did a great job. It is frustrating. It just seems right now like we can’t seem to catch a break. We always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with people. We’ve got to turn that around. We go to our next race, which is our biggest race of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hopefully it is a really nice change in our fortunes this year because it has been a rather testing first few races for us. We need to go back, regroup and think about exactly how we are attacking these weekends and if we are doing something slightly wrong, we need to address it and fix it because we need to be 100 percent for our next big race in Le Mans.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Tough stint there for sure. With the practice schedule, we didn’t get a whole lot of running. We weren’t too sure how long the tires were going to last. We found out pretty quickly in the race that we were on a little too soft of a compound early on so our lap times suffered quite a bit. Then I made a mistake in (Turn) Four and ran wide. We lost five or six seconds, something like that. Stuff like that makes a difference in a race like this with no yellows. It would be nice to get a yellow to pack everybody up, and go for the race. But, that is probably not going to happen. The gap was pretty big for awhile there, then it kind of closed up as Jan had issues as well. So he kind of brought the whole field back to me again so we aren’t too far away. But, it is hard to pass here, so every little mistake and things like that will definitely show itself at the end of the race.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“What an incredible day for Corvette Racing! Today, everything had to be perfect to win – the driving, the strategy and execution. Once again, Corvette Racing did it all and that is what enabled this victory. Two victories in a row is a great way to head to Le Mans – the most important race on our schedule.”
Source:
Corvette Racing
Related:
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Pole Position for Garcia, Corvette C7.R
[VIDEO] The Corvette Racing Seminar at the 2014 NCM Bash
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Gearing Up For Monterey Repeat
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Second Straight Win for Magnussen, Garcia originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or one of our select partners, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.
[VIDEO] Corvette Stingray Shown in White House Correspondents Skit
Remember that 2014 Velocity Yellow Corvette Stingray that was spotted wearing the Washington D.C. vanity plate “The VP”? Turns out it was for Vice President Joe Biden. At least, that’s the premise behind a video shown at Saturday night’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner.
The video features the acting talents of both the real VP Joe Biden along with HBO’s VEEP Julia Louis-Freyfus who decides to skip the dinner and instead, Biden takes her around Washington D.C. in his Yellow Stingray.
Along the way they check out the Oval Office, eat ice cream in the White House Kitchen and then get matching tattoos.
Biden has been in the news several times this year regarding Corvettes so we’re sure this was a fun video to pull off.
Source:
CorvetteVideos.TV
Related:
Is This Vice President Joe Biden’s New Corvette Stingray?
[VIDEO] VP Joe Biden Really Really Likes the New Corvette Z06
[PICS] Vice President Joe Biden Visits the Corvette Display at NAIAS
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article [VIDEO] Corvette Stingray Shown in White House Correspondents Skit originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or one of our select partners, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Pole Position for Garcia, Corvette C7.R
Corvettes on front two rows in GT Le Mans class for Sunday’s two-hour race
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 3, 2014) – Antonio Garcia continued Corvette Racing’s stellar record at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca today with pole position in the GT Le Mans class. The Spanish star captured his first fastest qualifier honor with Corvette Racing with a lap of 1:22.373 (97.809 mph) in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
“It was a great lap by Antonio and a great day for Corvette Racing,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet’s Director of Racing. “A second straight pole position in this class is no easy achievement. It speaks volumes to the team’s preparation, strategy and execution with the new Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.”
Corvette Racing will be on the front two rows in the class. Oliver Gavin qualified the No. 4 Corvette C7.R fourth on the grid at 1:22.768 (97.342 mph). Sunday’s two-hour race for the TUDOR United Championship’s GTLM and Prototype classes begins at 2:45 p.m. PT.
“The lap was pretty good… right on the limit everywhere,” said Garcia, who teams with Jan Magnussen. “The Corvette C7.R worked pretty good. I just have to carry on the momentum we have.”
A victory Sunday would be the third straight in Monterey for Corvette Racing. Garcia and Magnussen won last year while Gavin and Tommy Milner were victorious in 2012. In both instances, the race winners went on to win the driver’s championships in the American Le Mans Series. All totaled, Corvette Racing will go for its seventh victory at the circuit since 2004, and Garcia’s pole was the fourth time a Corvette Racing driver was the fastest qualifier in class.
Garcia and Magnussen also are coming off a victory in the most recent TUDOR Championship race at Long Beach in April. It was a double podium for the team with Gavin and Milner third.
CORVETTE DP: Westbrook second in qualifying for Spirit of Daytona
Richard Westbrook led the contingent of Corvette DP drivers in the TUDOR Championship’s Prototype category. The Englishman set a lap of 1:18.788 (102.259 mph) in Spirit of Daytona’s No. 90 Corvette DP. Westbrook, going for his third straight pole at Laguna Seca, was just 0.227 seconds off Johannes van Overbeek’s pole-winning time.
Three Corvette DPs will make up the first three rows in Sunday’s race. Christian Fittipaldi was fifth for the championship-leading No. 5 Action Express Racing entry at 1:19.175 (101.759 mph). Ricky Taylor qualified sixth in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Corvette DP at 1:19.504 (101.338 mph).
Live television coverage of the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix starts at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
The TUDOR Championship is the result of a merger between the ALMS and GRAND-AM’s Rolex Sports Car Series. Corvette Racing will compete in 11 races around North America plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
CAMARO Z/28: Second-Place Finish for CKS duo of Curran, Aschenbach
Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach scored the second straight podium for the new Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R on Saturday with a runner-up finish in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport (GS) race. Curran qualified second and led the majority of his stint, and Aschenbach finished 0.473 seconds behind John Edwards’ BMW.
This was the first race for the Camaro Z/28.R following a GS victory at Sebring. Stevenson Motorsports’ Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis won there. Stevenson’s duo of Matt Bell and Andy Lally were 11th in the No. 6 Stevenson Camaro on Saturday.
The next round of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is May 24 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.
TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“This a good sign. The car really worked good. It was really difficult with this practice situation where you actually never got any clear lap or any clear feel of the car. So we were just kind of guessing or taking parts of every single lap we did on different parts just to make the car faster. It was a gamble but I think I’m on the right team to do it. The car was really good right out of the box, and Jan did most of the practice. That paid off quite a lot because he kept working on the car making it faster. And even if I did just 10 laps of practice too, the car he gave me was already really good.”
(Success in Monterey) “This race track has a nice history with Corvette Racing. Last year we were up front and ended up winning. And now with the C7.R it looks like even better. I think the guys did tremendous work back home, and even if we have a very limited time of practice, maybe that is a good thing. Maybe if you give more time to the other people, they will get closer. The car worked really good, and I did a pretty good lap also.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was nice to get out there on track with nobody else. I didn’t have any trouble with traffic, or anything like that. I just didn’t get the most out of tire when I compare my lap to Antonio’s. I lost time in particular corners where I needed to commit a little bit more and just get the rear of the car loaded up. I just didn’t hit the tire at the point where it had maximum grip. That is exactly where Antonio executed, and I didn’t manage to do that unfortunately. But I think there are a couple of setup changes in the mix as well that we need to go and look at. But that’s the way it can be when you only have two hours of track time. You take a stab at it, and sometimes you hit it right and sometimes you don’t. Today we didn’t quite get it right, but the No. 3 car did, and they’re the pole position winners which is great for them.”
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA CORVETTE DP
“Last year we had a one-lap wonder car, and this year it feels like we have a better car. It wasn’t very smooth going into qualifying. We had a clutch issue in Practice 2, and I thought we were going to have the same issue in qualifying. The guys did a good job to band-aid it up, so I can’t say it hindered me in qualifying but it was always in the back of my mind that it could come back. We will get that changed for the race. The car is behaving for the race. Of course I wanted pole – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t – but starting from the front row is great for our recovery.”
CONTINENTAL SPORTSCAR CHALLENGE QUOTE
LAWSON ASCHENBACH, NO. 01 CKS AUTOSPORT CAMARO Z/28.R
“We had a really good Team Chevy CKS Autosport Camaro Z/28.R. The guys have been working really hard since Sebring to counter this weight the series added to us. Unfortunately at the end we didn’t have any tires or brakes left. I was kind of hanging on there for dear life, and luckily the guys behind me starting fight among themselves. So we’re happy with second place. It’s a great momentum for our team. Sebring felt like we were kicked in the stomach after doing so well. We’ll take P2 and hopefully we can do one spot better in the next race.”
Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix – TUDOR Championship (all times PT)
- TUDOR Championship Warmup: 8 a.m., Sunday, May 4
- Grand Prix of Monterey (Prototype and GTLM): 2:45 p.m., Sunday, May 4
Laguna Seca: Watch It!
- Sunday, May 4 – 5:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)
Source:
Corvette Racing
Related:
[VIDEO] The Corvette Racing Seminar at the 2014 NCM Bash
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Gearing Up For Monterey Repeat
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: First Victory for New Corvette C7.R
© 2014 CorvetteBlogger.com. The article Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Pole Position for Garcia, Corvette C7.R originally appeared on the website Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle at www.CorvetteBlogger.com. If you are reading this content other than our RSS feed or our partners at CorvetteForum.com, then you’re on a website who is using this feed without permission.