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General Motors used the Chicago Auto Show to introduce the world to its latest concept vehicle, the Corvette Centennial, which will be featured in the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie on June 26th. According to GM, the vehicle is nothing more than a styling buck that was influenced by the original 1959 Stingray racer when it was spotted by director Michael Bay while he was touring GM's operations looking for inspiration for the first Transformers movie. Don't expect this concept to spawn any sort of production vehicle, which, needless to say, is a shame.

In robot mode, the Corvette Centennial Concept will take the form of Sideswipe, who will reportedly be a skater with wheels for feet. The General doesn't have anything in the way of new product to show off here in Chicago, so it's using the blockbuster movie to drum up interest instead.

Source: AutoBlog

Yea I know - this isn't "new". Back maybe a month ago GM put out a release for a "CSC" 2009 Corvette. It amounted to some stripes, stickers, and a few grabs from the parts bin. Maybe not a bad idea, unfortunately the RPO will only go on base model (1LT/1LZ) vettes and your color choices are restricted. Just recently GM released a photochop of the package. It doesn't look too bad and I do like how they integrated the jake skull in with the car. The dark colored headlights add a nice touch too - just like Mario Andretti's silver ZR1 (#500) was done with black headlights.

I can see why they did this. Give the affordable vette a competitive spin. The whole 'bad boy vette' campaign was geared towards injecting younger energy into Corvette Racing. Demographically the younger crowd can't swing the big dollar cars like the ZR1.

Hit the jump for GM's description of the package.


2009 Competition Sport Corvette (RPO CSC)
Chevrolet introduces a new Corvette package available for a limited time!
The Competition Sport package is for the Corvette purist and driving enthusiast- Perfect Corvette for the enthusiast who attends driving schools and track events
- Focus on lightweight and performance driving
- Serious track influenced design features- Excellent value pricing - Limited build scheduled for Spring '09 only
Included in the package:
- Competition Gray Exterior Stripes, Wheels, and Headlamps
- Corvette Racing ‗Jake‘ and CSR logos on b-pillar, headrest, and center armrest
- Ebony Interior with titanium embroidery
- Corvette Racing Pedals from GCA
- Special engine cover
- Racing style numbers with number based on build sequence to be installed by customer
Available in either Coupe 1LT with 436 hp or Z06 1LZ with 505 hp versions
- Z06 version available in 17U Blade Silver or 41U Black
- Coupe version available in 17U Blade Silver or 10U Arctic White
- Coupe version also includes in package:
- Z51 Performance Package, NPP Performance Exhaust, Differential Cooler
- Head Up Display
- Red Painted Brake Calipers
- Z06 tall spoiler

This past Tuesday (12/23/08) was the last day of Production at most GM plants until late February. Automotive industry lay-offs and plant shutdowns fill the news these days. The Bowling Green, KY plant is no different. I visited the Bowling Green assembly plant to watch my Z06 be built on the last day of production before the shutdown. Production starts back up late February at a reduced production schedule.

Read the full story after the jump!



This is the story of my 2009 Cyber Grey Z06 (3LZ)...

I wanted to order it in February as a birthday present (similar to the GTO back 5 years ago). But I really wanted it to be ready early in spring and wanted to enjoy it before they announced the 2010's. There was no combination of options like I had wanted anywhere in the country. If I was doing this, I was going to go all the way and get what I really wanted. It would then make it worthwhile. With the doom, gloom, and 2 month shutdown from GM - I ordered early. Just so I'd be first inline in March. Well, someone must have seen a 'sold order' and pushed it up the line. The TPW was the 2 day work week before closing and Christmas. I really wanted to see it come together and also meet some of the people that did the hard work. It would put my mind at ease to know they were not slapping it out just to ship it.

The Monday it was scheduled to be built I spoke with Lori at the Corvette Museum. She was beyond helpful. She gave me my VIN and also told me what job # the car would be at later on that day. The Corvette Museum does 'buyer's tours' to allow buyers to watch some of their car go together during a special tour of the plant. She informed me that if I was there for the 6AM shift the next morning I could see the last few hours of production. The miracle was that at 5PM on Monday I was on the freeway with 2 friends headed from Milwaukee Wisconsin to Bowling Green Kentucky. (I have an awesome wife). The not so miraculous side to the story was that we arrived around 2AM in Corvette-Town. After 3 hours of shut eye and a refreshing shower we were at the front door to GM's Bowling Green Assembly Plant.

The buyers tours are given by retired assembly workers. Jerry was the retiree that was our personal guide all day. I can't describe the vast amounts of information this man has stored in his memories. He started working with GM in St Louis, building full sized chevys and trucks. For a year he worked at the St Louis Corvette plant and just moved with Corvette to it's new home in Bowling Green.

Jerry had some bad news for us. We were lucky that it turned out in our favor. The plant shut down early on Monday because of a parts shortage. We walked all the way to the back of the plant and found my production number. It was sitting above a motor hanging from some hooks. We got in at ground zero practically. The only thing we missed was some of the interior going together and the assembly of the main body.

The line runs all the Corvette models. Every few in the line are Z06's and even fewer in the line are the $100k+ ZR1. The Z06 and ZR1 models are more labor intensive to assemble, if they had them back to back the line would backup.

We walked over to where the brakes were put onto the front and rear subframes, then placed together with the rear end, transmission, torque tube, and finally the motor. At that time I was given a copy of my build sheet and a few other sub assembly sheets. We were also given fender knockouts from export fenders painted the same color as my car.

What really took me by surprise were the people behind the car. Down to earth hard working Americans. Practically every other person on the line asked us which one was “the one”. I can not even recall the amount of people that congratulated me, thanked me, and wished me a Merry Christmas. One worked even waved me over just to shake my hand. For some of them it was their last day at the plant. It was a little emotional.

We watched as the body was married to the chassis. Then it began to come to life. Headlights, fenders, exhaust, hood, front fascia…. wheels and tires. I started to get the feeling that my tour was a little special since we caught it early and it was the last day before shutdown. One of the workers had me sign and date the underside of the engine cover. I was also the first person to start the car. The person in charge of doing the electrical and computer testing brought me in the car and explain all the tests. When he said “hit it”, I pushed the ignition button and it came to life. The worker after that doing some of the functionality testing also brought me in the car to explain everything he was testing. These guys were all extremely and genuinely nice. During the final inspection all the gaps and panels were checked. I was a little worried seeing some of the panels earlier – but they went the distance to make it perfect. Adjustment after adjustment until the hatch and hood fit perfectly. Before it drove off the line they had me sit in the drive seat and start it up. They told me to give it a few rev’s and thanked me once again for my order.

We followed the car to watch the alignment of the suspension and headlights. From there it went on a Dyno for powertrain testing. Then it went to a water testing booth and was doused with water for 2 minutes. They tested for leaks then drove it out back of the plant to the rattle and bump track to test – you guessed it, rattles and bumps.

From there we went to the Corvette Museum to meet Lori. We took a walk around. I wont pick it up until March when the plant opens back up. Until then it’ll be warm and cozy with the Museum.

Special Thanks...
Corvette Museum
Bowling Green Assembly Plant
CorvetteConti.com

Back at the Nürburgring, the hot Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 has just ripped four seconds off its claimed 7:26 lap. The new time, with Jan Magnussen at the wheel, is a claimed 7:22.4 for the full 12.93-mile loop. While the number is pretty bloody fast, it is still .3 seconds off the time earned by the Dodge Viper ACR (ouch, those three tenths really have to hurt!). We take these lap times with a grain of salt, as we've yet to see everyone on the 73-turn course under the same conditions, and with officially certified timing equipment. Again, so you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, Corvette ZR1 - 7:22.4 and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22.1.

Source: AutoBlog

Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Nevada - the same location as the many pictures of the silver Camaro SS came from a week or so ago.

The 422-horsepower 2010 Camaro SS and the 638-horsepower 2009 Corvette ZR1 are out having some fun on the track!

The video is very raw, hence the variance in the audio, but it's still a blast seeing these two powerhouses being tossed around the twisties!

Source: 5thGen.org

We're looking at the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR and 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, but we're imagining a '68 Shelby GT500KR staging next to a Corvette with one of the 427-cubic-inch V8s on the Connecting Highway in Queens, New York, probably sometime during the Nixon administration. We don't know how the cars are tuned or which driver has the better hole-shot technique, but we're calling our street race in favor of the Vette.



You see, there's no historical basis for a close Corvette-Mustang rivalry. A Corvette of any year is a little too fast and smart to be street racing ratty muscle cars. It's a real sports car, the kind of car that's still fun when you start going around corners.

But maybe it's a different story with this 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR and 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Each of these rear-wheel-drive coupes has a V8 rated for more than 500 horsepower at the flywheel. And with the release of the limited-edition 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, Ford has moved in on Chevrolet's price territory. The GT500KR leaves the Ford factory as a $46,730 GT500 coupe and is shipped as a rolling chassis to Carroll Shelby's facility near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. By the time the KR cruises out of Shelby's shop, it's an $82,395 Mustang.

As such, the King-of-the-Road Mustang must now contend with this $76,920 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. And though the Z06 is a few horsepower shy of the upcoming ZR1, it's not an easy mark. The GT500KR will have to play like a sports car just to keep up.

Continue reading by pressing the link below.
Source: InsideLine

For those hardcore corvette enthusiasts here's the grill for you.

Features:

* Fully welded 14 gauge steel construction
* Fiberglass cover constructed from 2000 degree fiberglass resin
* Perfectly instulated firebox
* Propane and charcoal version available
* 5 Year UV protected black cover embroidered with the customers name and the date that the item was hand-crafted
* Custom VIN color matching available
* Polished Aluminum Diamond Plate Accents
* Working taillights via a 20 foot retractable AC cord
* 10 Year UV protected gel coat
* Four standard colors: yellow, black, white, and red

Pricing:

* $1795 charcoal
* $2195 propane


For more info go to bbqvette.com