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"C6 Roof Panel Recall" General Motors is recalling over 22,000 2005-2007 model year Corvettes with removable roofs. The recall was issued due to a problem with the adhesive between the roof panel and the frame. The failed adhesive could cause roof panel separation while the car is in motion. "If there is a complete separation, the roof panel may detach from the vehicle," according to the NHTSA. "If this were to occur while the vehicle was being driven, it could strike a following vehicle and cause injury and/or property damage." Dealers will install a new design roof panel free of charge to correct the problem. Split it According to some very reliable sources the next generation Vette will sport a split tear drop rear window. The traditional rear view mirror will be replaced by a digital rear view camera to enhance visibility.  Repent The End is Near Our sources at GM tell us that the Corvette will remain a viable production platform into the near future. GM will halt production of its high horsepower entries, ZO6 and ZR1 after the 2010 run. It seems that Obama and company has mandated a culture change. Econo buckets rule and hot rods drool will be the new corporate mantra. It is rumored that the 2011 Vette will sport a de tuned 5.3 liter powerplant. The new shift to less horses is politically correct for a bankrupt company. Oh well it was nice while it lasted. Cash for Clunker's Program  The federal government's $4 billion dollar cash for clunker's plan is now a subject for review. The plan centered around the idea of buying rarely driven second or third vehicles with lower fuel-economy ratings in an effort to stimulate new-car sales. Target vehicles included any SUV, car or truck that obtained less than 18 mpg. The Bills sponsors wanted to destroy 4 million gas guzzlers while at the same time stimulate American car sales. The results of this experiment are in and the news is not very encouraging. It seems that the real benefit of the program went to foreign car sales. 70 percent of the cars sold in the program were foreign. The program was modeled after many of the successful programs that the Europeans launched last year. These programs were very successful in spurring sales. The only difference is that the Europeans limited the incentives to European cars. Did we learn a valuable lesson from all this? Probably not. C7 Corvette 2012 debut postponed  The C7- lower, wider, faster are just some of the adjectives that the GM designers were using to describe the next generation Vette. It seems that the C7 is another victim of the weak economy. GM has made the decision to postpone the introduction of the C7. The C7's planned introduction of 2012 was initially pushed forward to 2014. The ailing corporate giant is now scaling back its operations and future marketing plans. The C7, and the entire Corvette concept is now in peril of being discontinued. GM has announced that it intends to lay off 110 workers in January and shut down production for two weeks at its Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green as it slashes Corvette production from 15 vehicles an hour to 11. The plant also shut down its Cadillac XLR production during December of 08, temporarily laying off about 30 employees who work on the XLR line. The layoffs in January affect Corvette and Cadillac XLR production workers. The plant employs about 800 workers Corvette sales took a nose dive in the past few months. Sales plummeted about 53 percent in October compared with sales through October last year. GM wants to dry up some of its excess inventory prior to a restart in production. Let's hope that a decision is actually made to restart production. Our sources tell us that prior to the postponement a 700+ hp blown small block was being considered for the top of the line C7 entry in 2012. We got an earful of on the situation at the November 08 SEMA show in Vegas. The unofficial word from the GM reps. at the show was:"every party has to come to an end" . Auto Sales Rebound?  What's now known as the Big Six - Detroit's General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, plus Toyota, Honda and Nissan - each posted December declines of more than 30 percent. December sales for Chrysler - which is fighting for its financial survival - were down a brutal 53 percent. Many dealerships reported that 40 percent of their sales came in the final seven days of the month, which indicated that funds from the federal bailout of the auto industry are being used. General Motors Corp. managed to end the year as the industry's top seller with 2.95 million vehicles sold. GM's December sales also increased 30 percent from October and 40 percent from November. "Given the ongoing challenges and the difficult market environment, we were very encouraged to see a volume rebound," said a statement from GM executive Mark LaNeve. Source - L.A. Daily News Corvette Chief Retires Tom Wallace, Corvette Chief at GM, will be retiring from GM in November of this year. His retirement was announced during a ceremony honoring Corvette history at the Peterson Museum. While no reasons were given for Wallaces's retirement, there is speculation that he may have been at odds with GM over the postponement of the long awaited C7. Wallace may have been unwilling to commit to the C7's postponed launch. The C7 was originally set for a 2012 model-year release, it has been pushed back to 2014. Wallace had a keen sence for performance-car marketing and a real love for the Corvette brand. His sudden departure will be a blow to GM's efforts in rebuilding the company. 2010 Mid engine concept Until the recent downturn in the auto industry GM was poised to begin a limited production run of mid engine FWD Corvettes in 2010. The mid engine vette was to be a marketing scheme that would have been limited to about 800 units. The photo below is a C7 mid engine concept that was taken on the set of the next Transformers movie.  Political Rides John McCain's first car was a 1958 Corvette! I wonder if he still has it. His current ride is a Caddy CTS  Cindy McCain's current ride is a 08 C6. On a recent interview on the Leno show She said that she would let the next president do a burn out in her Vette. Obama said the only thing he ever burned was his toast. Obama's first car was a Ford Granada. He now gets driven around in a bullet proof limo. Time to water down the brand Starting in 2010 The Corvette plant at Bowling Green will build the Cadillac XLR. Do you really want to get upset? The new 2009 Caddy will sport a 556 hp version of the ZR1 engine. Imagine that, a Vette getting its doors blown off by a Caddy. We warned you. Production of the next-generation Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, and Opel GT will also shift production to the Bowling Green facility in 2012. Let's hope the Corvette does not get lost in the corporate mess that GM has put itself in. More troubling news from Europe Mercedes will announce the release of a new grocery getter that will out power the current version of the Corvette. The soon to be released beastie is an E class sedan that has been massaged by AMG. It will sport a supercharged 6.3 liter v8 that will have more than 500 horses on tap. Come on GM wake up.  550HP Nissan GT-R, a New ZO6/ZR1 Contender Nissan's newly released super car boasts 550 HP a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds and tops out at 193mph. You can get one for about $71k. Sorry GM you should have seen this comming. This new rice burner has a 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 under the hood. Want more bad news? Nissan plans to release a more powerfully version of the GT-R in the near future.  "She's ugly but she sure can cook" New ZR-1 Sells for $1MILL. at Barrett Jackson The first ZR-1 off the line recently sold for $1million dollars at the Barrett Jackson auction. This was a Jay Leno charity deal for the United Way. The retail price of GM's latest darling will be around $100k  
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