It was rocking year for the 2014 Corvette Stingray and now it has come to an end. Production of the 2014 Model Year Corvette officially ended on Friday, August 8th and its the 2015 Corvette Stingray that is now heading down the assembly line in Bowling Green. The Stingray was a gift that Corvette needed […]
Corvette Stingray is the ‘Most American Made Car’ Produced in the USA
If there’s ever been a car that represents the red, white, and blue American ideal, it’s got to be the Chevrolet Corvette.
No wonder, then, that the totally new 2014 Corvette Stingray rumbled to the top of a special ranking of the “most American†vehicles compiled recently by a Washington, D.C., university.
Researchers at American University’s Kogod School of Business have come up with an objective way to decide just how American a vehicle really is.
They use seven factors each year to decide the Kogod Made in America Auto Index, including where the body, interior, chassis, and electrical parts are manufactured (50 percent); where the engine (14 percent) and transmission (7 percent) are made; site of inventory, capital, and other expenses (11 percent); where research and development is done (6 percent); where the car is assembled (6 percent); and where the profit margin goes (6 percent).
They also add each vehicle’s score from the American Automotive Labeling Act, which was passed by Congress and requires passenger vehicles manufactured after Oct. 1, 1994 to have labels specifying their percentage value of U.S./Canadian parts content, the country of assembly, and countries of origin of the engine and transmission.
Based on all these criteria, Kogod ranks the Corvette Stingray and Ford F-150 in a tie atop the Most American list, each with a score of 87.5 out of a possible 100.
Both of the champions lost 12.5 points for having 25 percent of their body, chassis, and electrical components made in foreign countries.
Close behind these two iconic vehicles were four General Motors SUVs – the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and GMC Acadia Denali, all of which scored an 86 to tie for second place, thanks to having a slightly higher percentage of foreign-made parts than the Corvette and the F-150.
In fact, GM dominated the Kogod ranking with 18 of the top 21 vehicles (Ford had the other three). In case you’re wondering, the lowest-ranked vehicle was the Japanese-made Toyota Yaris with a score of 1.
Source:
Wall Street Cheat Sheet
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[VIDEO] Early 2014 Corvette Production Stats from Harlan Charles
![[VIDEO] Early 2014 Corvette Production Stats from Harlan Charles](http://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2014/013114_4b.jpg)
The Corvette Stingray has been in production since August 2013 and thousands of new C7s have already found their way to customers. At the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles was asked about providing some production stats for the new Stingray and he happily obliged.
According to Harlan, a total of 16,000 Corvette Stingrays have either been built or there are orders to build in the system. He says they are building about 3,000 Corvettes per month in Bowling Green.
The top three exterior colors so far are Torch Red, Black and Arctic White. He also mentioned that Cyber Gray and the new Laguna Blue were also “up there” in terms of customers’ ordering preferences. The Black interior is still tops while the new Adrenaline Red is very popular as well.
In the past, the Chrome wheel options were typically the top choice from buyers, but Harlan says the new black wheels are very popular and now it’s really close between black and chrome for the most popular color of wheels.
The Z51 package has been running close to 60% of all Corvettes ordered which Harlan claims is about all they can handle. Magnetic Selective Ride Control is on more than half of the Z51 orders.
Finally, Harlan says the most popular equipment group is the top-of-the-line 3LT.
You can watch Harlan along with Exterior Design Manager Kirk Bennion talk about the new C7 Corvette Stingray and Z06 from the Corvette Corral at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona last weekend. Thanks to Jake Drennon of the C5/C6/C7 Corvette Registry for sharing the video:
Just one tidbit about the new 2015 Corvette Z06. Harlan was asked if there would be a true Corvette Z06 convertible to which he replied, “I don’t really have an announcement at this time.” Hey, that’s not a denial so stay tuned!!
Photo Credit: DigitalDtour.com
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[VIDEO] 2013 SEMA: Interview with John Fitzpatrick
![[VIDEO] 2013 SEMA: Interview with John Fitzpatrick](http://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2013/110513_1.jpg)
At the Chevrolet Media Preview for the 2013 SEMA show in Las Vegas, we had the opportunity to talk with Corvette/Camaro’s Marketing Manager John Fitzpatrick. We spoke about the 3 new Stingray Concepts, 2014 Corvette Stingray production and we asked John about the rumors of the one year wait for the Z51 option.
Regarding those constraints, Fitzpatrick says it’s a matter demand and supply. Where they thought that the Z51 performance package would be ordered on around 50% of Corvette Stingrays, the popular option is running at 85% on initial orders. So while it’s true that there might be an increased wait time to order a Z51-equipped Corvette Stingray, those reports of it being up to a year are false according to Fitzpatrick.
John also tells us that the Convertible Corvette Stingray Model is still a go for late 2013 and they believe that once production starts, that will help ease the demand they have seen for the visible carbon fiber roofs.
Finally, John tells us that the ability to order the Corvette from any Chevrolet dealership instead of the initial 900+ dealers selected for the rollout will be happening soon. Dealers still must complete the training and have the service tools to be eligible to place orders for the new car.
Here is John Fitzpatrick from the Chevrolet SEMA Preview:
Related:
Report: Demand for the Corvette Stingray May Create a Massive Waitlist
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[VIDEO] Watch the 2014 Corvette Stingrays Get Built in Bowling Green
![[VIDEO] Watch the 2014 Corvette Stingrays Get Built in Bowling Green](http://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2013/093013_2.jpg)
Other than the official Chevy teaser video we saw earlier this year, we haven’t really been able to get inside the Bowling Green Assembly Plant to see how the new C7 Corvettes are assembled until now. Here’s a video that features six minutes of hot assembly line action featuring the 2014 Corvette Stingray.
Following the $131 million investment that GM has made to produce the C7 Corvettes, just about everything inside the assembly plant was changed, painted or cleaned. Plant Manager Dave Tatman likes to say “they don’t just build cars at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant, they build dreams”.
CorvetteBlogger will be in Bowling Green this Wednesday for a tour of the upgraded facility so stay tuned as we’re sure a lot of outlets will be focusing on the C7′s build process this week.
Source:
YouTube.com
Related:
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