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Winter - 2004/2005
by
Dan Adovasio
One
Hot Super CORVETTE!
The big news in
Corvette land has to be the introduction of the 2006 C6 Z06 at the North
American International Auto Show.
You’ll read more about this fabulous Corvette and its
fantastic capabilities in this issue and upcoming issues, and also on
our
C5 website.
Suffice it to say, we have ONE HOT SUPER CORVETTE! Everyone will be
referring to this Z06 as the SUPER CAR for the masses! It keeps up with
the Porsche, Ferrari and about any other multi-hundred-thousand dollar
car for about a third of the price. While doing that, it’s probably more
comfortable and easier to drive than any of the so-called SUPER CARS. I
think this Z06 Corvette is going to be a quick study. It’s as
comfortable on the track as it is on a 200-mile road trip. To me, it
ranks up there as one of the best to come out of the General’s
performance shop in a long time.
But there is a drawback. The biggest one that comes to
mind is not mechanical or design, but rather a pesky little item called
“DEALER MARKUP.” Because of the tremendous value this Z06 will have, I’m
afraid that it’s going to be a great temptation for dealers to be
selling it at thousands above MSRP. But rallying to our defense against
that pesky dealer markup is Chevrolet who is planning to build 7,000 of
these HOT SUPER CORVETTES during the 2006 model year. Hopefully this
strategy will keep the dealer’s markup price reasonable. At this time
the price has not yet been set, but I believe this is going to be a
pretty affordable SUPER CAR!
My trip to Detroit was chilly; in fact it was downright
cold! I’ve been laying in the Florida sun for a month now and I can
finally move my frostbitten fingers to type this article! The event
kicked off Thursday night at Les Stanford Chevrolet with a reception for
our members. Gary Stanford and his brother Paul, along with Scott
Montgomery, their Sales Manager, pulled out all the stops for our
members. The Stanford brothers are great Corvette dealers and a true
friend of the Registry. Everyone could tell by their customer comes
first attitude and their friendly customer service why they have grown
to be the second largest in Corvette sales in the country.
The highlight of the evening was a surprise appearance by
David Hill, C6’s Chief Engineer. When I arrived he was already
entertaining members, which he did for the next two hours! Members, I
gotta tell ya, you can’t pay a person to have this kind of loyalty to
customers. I could tell David was dog tired from a long press day at the
auto show talking to the International and US press and executives from
everywhere. He took what little free time he had that day and spent it
with his customers, the Corvette enthusiasts. I’ve known David for a
long time and I could tell he had put in a real hard long day, but he
never let it show. He was all smiles, patiently answering whatever
questions were asked of him by our members. The C6 Z06 will always be
tied to David Hill’s vision for Corvette and it should be. David has
consistently refused to compromise or take the easy way out in order to
give enthusiasts the very best Corvette possible. To me, I think we’re
“dog gone lucky” to have a Chief Engineer with his kind of dedication
and passion for Corvette.
At our dinner Saturday night in Detroit, we had Nate
Love, who is now running the show over at Corvette Marketing. His
presentation was 100% about the Z06 and his marketing vision for it. He
is a breath of fresh air! I gotta tell ya, we now have a marketing
executive who really cares about the customers and about YOU the
enthusiast! It’s Saturday night and you know he has a family to get home
to, but his enthusiastic dedication allowed him to stay until the last
member’s question was answered. Get this, the questions that he couldn’t
answer……he emailed us the answers on Monday. UNBELIEVABLE!
We finally have a Corvette marketing executive who cares.
Between Nate Love; Harlan Charles; Jim Campbell, head of Chevrolet
Marketing; and David Hill, head of Engineering; we have the perfect
DREAM TEAM! I’m really looking forward to BIG things coming from
Corvette over the next couple of years as it dominates the world’s
sports car market and becomes the sports car of choice throughout the
world.
Recently I’ve heard grumblings from C5/C6 Registry
members who are also members of the National Corvette Museum regarding
some misunderstandings that they have had with the Museum’s policies
and/or procedures. As Director of the C5/C6 Registry I do get to hear
both sides and they both have some excellent points. “What should I do
about this, Dan?” is the most common question I’m asked. My reply is……as
hobbyists, if the Corvette is really our world, then the National
Corvette Museum is the center of our universe. And for the NCM to thrive
it needs our support, but that is a two-way street. In order for the NCM
to thrive and achieve, it is my belief that they need to support the
Corvette enthusiasts. We need them to preserve the history and keep the
focus of our hobby, but they need us to survive and thrive.
Let’s all remember that the Museum is there to serve its
members and the Corvette enthusiasts, and that the Corvette enthusiasts
need to give the Museum support because we don’t want it to fade away.
Sometimes people in their day-to-day trials and tribulations lose track
of this relation-ship between the enthusiasts and the Museum. Let’s hope
that those who influence them get them back on the right track.
While we’re on the subject of the NCM, please don’t
forget that our biggest event of the year is coming up April 21-23 at
Bowling Green, KY and that is the
C5/C6 Birthday Bash. This year promises to be a blow-out with up
close and personal views of the C6 Z06. I saw it up close in Detroit and
it was fantastic! I’m telling you, you do not want to miss this unique
opportunity to be one of the first to hear it run and see it go. Make
sure you mark this date on your calendar and I’ll C6 you there!
C6Ya! Dan
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