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First Sinkhole Corvette Restored, Returns to Corvette Museum

It’s not every day that a car encounters a sinkhole and survives to tell the tale—unless it’s a Chevrolet Corvette. This past February, a sinkhole developed beneath the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, engulfing eight Corvettes on display before stopping its expansion. Now, Chevrolet is proud to announce that the first sinkhole victim has been restored to its former glory and is on its way back to the museum for display once again.

“After that unprecedented event, the ZR1 was the first car to be lifted out of the sinkhole,” said Jim Campbell, US vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “It was great to recover it, bring it back to Chevrolet, and begin the restoration of this significant Corvette.”

The first sinkhole Corvette restored is a 2009 ZR1, nicknamed the “Blue Devil,” and was also the first car pulled out of the sinkhole. Despite falling nearly 30 feet, the Corvette wasn’t fazed and drove out of the museum on its own power. The damage to the car took six weeks to repair and included cracked carbon-fiber ground effects, bent rear control arms on the driver’s side, and cracked oil lines leading to the supercharged LS9 engine.

Two more Corvettes will be restored next year, while five others will remain in their as-recovered state. If you are looking for your own Chevy sports car, make sure you stop in to Stalker Chevrolet today!

Valet Mode Coming to 2015 Chevy Corvette

On the completely redesigned 2014 Impala, Chevrolet introduced a valet mode. Valet Mode has received some upgrades for the 2015 Chevy Corvette, including Performance Data Recorder.

Now, not only can you lock interior storage, disable Chevrolet MyLink®, and audio and video. But now you’re also able to track vehicle data. That’s right you can track speed, engine RPM, gear position, and g-force when Valet Mode is active in the 2015 Chevy Corvette.

PDR on 2015 Chevy Corvette — The 2015 Chevy Corvette comes equipped with the innovative Performance Data Recorder system. General Motors®

“Think of it as a baby monitor for your car,” said Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager. “Anyone who has felt apprehension about handing over their keys will appreciate the peace of mind of knowing exactly what happened while their baby was out of sight.”

For those who want instant feedback they can instantly playback video on the Stingray’s color touchscreen, while the car is parked.

Harlan Charles stated, “Performance Data Recorder was initially designed as a tool for track days…“We soon realized the system could have many more applications, such as recording a scenic drive up Highway 101, or recording when the Valet Mode is activated.”

The Performance Data Recorder system features a 720p high-def camera mounted within the windshield header trim. This captures video from the driver’s point-of-view and records. PDR also comes equipped with a self-contained telemetry recorder. Using a GPS receiver, the telemetry recorder is hardwired into the ‘Vette’s Controller Area Network to access vehicle information. To store and transfer data the PDR system has a built-in SD-card slot in the glove box. An 8 GB card can record approximately 200 minutes.

Four different data overlay options are available while recording Performance Mode, Sports Mode, Touring Mode, and Track Mode.

Performance Data Recorder and Valet Mode will be available on all 2015 Chevy Corvettes.

Chevy Corvette Stingray 101

Buy a car. Go to school? Not your typical buying process, but owners of the 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray have the opportunity to do just that.

Chevrolet is offering new Stingray owners the opportunity to really learn how to get the most from Corvette Stingray. For $1,000, Stingray owners can participate in a two-day program at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School or add a 3^rd day for an additional $1,150. The $1,000 price tag is a reduction of over $1,500 from the standard 2-day rate.

Ron Fellows is an accomplished SCCA, IMSA, NASCAR, and American Le Mans race car driver. His impressive race history features a host of Le Mans wins behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette. Ron’s wealth of knowledge and history with the Corvette makes this an ideal partnership with Chevrolet.

“We are proud to be the official high-performance driving school for Chevrolet and the Corvette Stingray,” said Fellows. “Our goal is to ensure every driver leaves with enhanced driving skills, more confidence on the street and track and, most of all, a deeper understanding of his or her Corvette’s capabilities and how to safely enjoy the car to the fullest.”

For those of you lucky enough to own the C7 and are interested in signing up for the program here are a few details.

The program takes place at the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club in Pahrump, NV. The discounted rate provided by Chevrolet is good for one year from the retail purchase of your new Chevy Corvette Stingray and only applies to the original owner. Only one attendee per vehicle is eligible for the discount and all attendees are responsible for the cost of travel and accommodations.

For those owners worried about potential hazards and/or putting excess miles on their new Stingray, no need to fear, Ron Fellows Performance Driving School has a fleet of Corvette Stingrays available for your use during instruction.

This is a truly unique experience. If you or anyone you know owns a Corvette Stingray, we highly recommend looking into this program to learn all about the capabilities of an amazing machine.

Chevy Awards Show

The North American International Auto Show opens each year by handing out various prestigious awards. The most coveted awards include the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck/Utility of the Year. On Monday, Chevrolet took home both.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was Named 2014 North American Car of the Year

That’s right. Two of Chevy’s magnificently redesigned vehicles grabbed the top spots in each division. General Motors had another impressive showing, as several models appeared on the finalist list.

For Chevrolet it would have been a big year, regardless of the awards. The much anticipated release of the Stingray and Silverado were met with much adulation, and at NAIAS the praise continued.

To receive the North American Car of the Year and/or North American Truck/Utility of the Year, 48 full-time automotive journalist vote on winners from a list of finalist.

Awards for both the Corvette Stingray; the seventh production of the bringing back a famed moniker, and the Silverado; a complete redesign and third evolution of the truck, show how dedicated Chevrolet has been to making consumer focused vehicles.

Recently promoted GM CEO Mary Barra said, “I hope that people look and if they haven’t considered General Motors or Chevrolet, they’ll get into the showroom, because I’m confident if they get into the showroom they’ll see a lot of vehicles they like.”

We’re certainly proud of the strides Chevrolet has made to put better vehicles on the road and we look forward to continued success and even more new vehicles in the future! (Chevy SS, anyone?)

What’s An Efficient Sports Car? Chevy Corvette Stingray

More good news about the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray? Yes, this car has it all. Not only does it have 455 horsepower, but the Corvette Stingray recently set the standard for sports cars in the fuel efficiency department.

At an EPA-estimated 17 MPG city and 29 MPG highway coupled with that 455 horsepower make the Corvette Stingray the only vehicle on the market to deliver 455 hp and greater than 29 MPG highway.

“The Corvette Stingray establishes the benchmark for modern performance cars by using technologies to deliver more performance and more miles per gallon,” said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer for the Corvette. “We expect more and more performance cars will follow Corvette’s example.”

This is not to say other sports cars don’t deliver more than 29 MPG highway, but those that do offer significantly less power. Like the Porsche Cayman and BMW Z4 sDrive28, 30 MPG/275hp and 34 MPG/241 hp, respectively.

And there are other vehicles that deliver more than 455 hp, but they give up significant fuel economy. The Jauar F-Type S and Audi R8 V10 offer 495 hp/23 MPG and 510 hp/19 MPG, respectively.

The design, technology, interior, power, legacy, performance, and now amazing fuel economy make the 2014 Corvette Stingray the choice for a new sports car this year.

Chevrolet Corvette’s 60th Anniversary Edition Is Sure To Turn Heads

Chevrolet is getting ready for the 60^th birthday of one of their signature vehicles, the Corvette. While they’re getting ready let’s take a peek at some of the history of the iconic Chevrolet Corvette.

On January 1953, the GM Motorama show, held at the world re-known Waldof-Astoria in New York City. In front of a room full of onlookers lay the bell of the showroom, and the first of what would eventually become one of the globe’s most recognizable cars, the Chevy Corvette.

Let’s jump forward ten years. After the Corvette was introduced, the Chevrolet design team saw fit to shake things up again with an innovative new design. 1963 showcased the Corvette Sting Ray. The unique design was inspired by General Motors design chief Bill Mitchell. The Sting Ray was the first modern American car to feature an independent rear suspension.

Here’s a quick fun fact for Corvette fans, 1983 is the only year no Corvettes were produced for public sale. The only place to see on of the restored 83 Vette’s is the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY.

Chevy produced the 1 millionth Corvette in 1992. The flagship of the Corvette’s, the ZR-1 with a V8 engine, first hit the streets in 1990.

January of 2012 let loose the 60^th Anniversary 2013 Convertible Collector Edition. This model has been promoted as the fastest convertible in the Corvette’s history. For the speed obsessed driver, Chevrolet created the 2013 Corvette ZR1 equipped with a handcrafted LS9 638-horsepower supercharged V8 engine and a test track top speed of 205 mph. This ZR1 is the fastest car Chevrolet has ever produced.

Want some additional history on the Corvette? Take a peek at the video below.

Here’s to 60 more years for Chevrolet and the Corvette.

Video courtesy of Chevrolet via YouTube