Riding Shotgun with Larry Courtney
During the last ten years I have received literally thousands of emails and I have answered almost all of them. They range from questions about the 2003, 2009 and 2014 National Caravans from the Caravan Chat, Corvette Shows, and Road Trips, Visiting Michigan and Corvettes on Woodward. Emails come in from every state except Hawaii. Maybe there was one but I can’t find it. I get emails from countries around the world that includes: Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Pakistan. If I don’t know the answer I will either find it or redirect the question to someone much smarter. Some just write to say hello and send a picture of their car. Some will send a copy of their club newsletter or show information. I have received videos from other clubs and the funny thing is when I turn off the volume that everyone is just like the people in my club. The Corvette Family is one that spans the world.
I have three directions I am going in right now. I have Corvettes on Woodward our annual food drive and monster Corvette party; this is my pride and joy. Michigan Captain of the 2014 National Caravan celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this is my passion. America’s Corvette Club I am a director, show co-chair of Corvettes America and write the club newsletter, this is fun. Add to this help the regional Corvette Clubs grow the Motor City Corvette Concours Show into a premier event like Corvettes America.
One more thing, Verna and my personal road trips, when we get a chance to meet some of the thousand people on my lists. We have been given advice on where to go, where to stay, where to eat, what to see and when we get there, a hug of welcome is waiting.
I have my Corvette completely wrapped with an American Flag design. Included in this wrap are some sponsors that support my charity, my club’s show and the 2014 National Caravan. I sincerely thank them. They are Matick Chevrolet, Corvette Central and Cauley Performance Automotive. We received a lot of attention at Corvettes America, this year’s Corvettes at Carlisle, the National Corvette Museum 18th Anniversary and the Corvette Expo in Sevierville, Tennessee. We are having lots of fun with kids wanting their pictures taken while in the car.
Beginning this year I will be sending three different newsletters. One for America’s Corvette Club, one bi-monthly covering the 2014 National Caravan and the third also bi-monthly covering information about Corvettes on Woodward.
Finally I plan to send out a schedule of other club meetings and events I will be attending. Come out and support all the Corvette clubs. I hope to have a trunk full of goodie bags to hand out to everyone that signs up for information on the 2014 Caravan. I am asking vendors to help fill them because they will be available twelve months of the year. Let me know when and where your club meets.

Speaking of vendors they support all or part of everything I do or America’s Corvette Club does. Thanks to George Matick Chevrolet, Callaway, thanks to Cauley Performance Automotive, Corvette Central, American Custom Industries, Aresco, DJ Racing, Muskegon Brake, Paragon Reproductions, Vettestorations, Lenihan Photos LLC, Galli Shirts and Sports Apparel, Masterworks, Pratt Miller, Lingenfelter, Katech, Auto Zone (for books and die cast they are on Woodward), Zip Corvettes, Harlan Charles and his terrific team that never refuses a request appearance, Cruis’News, C-Magic Auto care products, Mid America, authors Jerry Burton and Greg Banish, magazines Vette Magazine and Vette Vues, writers Colin Mathews, Mark Phelan and Christopher Phillip, the staff at GM Heritage Center and GM Performance Build Center, Lisa at Moose Preserve and Rob at Hooters on Rochester Road and Big Beaver, Paulette, Dana and Lisa at the Radisson Hotel- Bloomfield Hills, and Bill Clark from Somerset Inn. These are the people and companies that always help. Thank all of you.
One thing we also have in common is we hate tons of email clogging our in box and this is the purpose of this email. What information or newsletter would you like from me? Do you want a specific newsletter or all three? Do you just want to be on my Christmas card list? Yes, I snail mail a couple of hundred cards a year if I have your address. Do you want to be removed from my lists? I apologize in advance if you get more than one copy of this letter. Obviously you are on more than one list or I have multiple email addresses for you. Some were auto-added.
Please let me know. You can also request to be removed.
Most of you know I am on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Corvette Chat, Digital Corvettes and Corvette Forum. You know where I live and have all of my phone numbers so I can’t hide if I wanted to.

I thank my wife Verna for her love and support. Without it I would accomplish nothing.
Sincerely
Larry Courtney

PS. Watch for information coming on the 60th Corvette Birthday Party June, 2013

Corvettes on Woodward 2012

I will be posting updates soon about this year’s Corvettes on Woodward. There is a caravan coming up from Atlanta

Rumors & Spy Stories

Now that the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera has been revealed in the flesh, all enthusiast eyes are turning toward General Motors, where the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette has assumed the mantle of the most anticipated future product in the car world.

Yes, America does still build rocket ships, as Chevy likes to say, and the C7 promises to live up to that hype. Spy shots of the car offer several clues as to how the next-gen Corvette will differ from its direct predecessors yet perhaps draw on the car’s singular heritage.

Looking at these photos, it’s evident the wheelbase of the Corvette will change. The wheels, particularly in front, are clearly off-centered in this C6 body shell being used as a test mule. This indicates a longer wheelbase which could return a more comfortable drive character. The photos also suggest a narrower layout.

In back, there’s a quad exhaust configuration, though intriguingly, the outer two pipes are capped off. That could have a variety of implications.

Corvette also sells the C6 with two frames, one made of steel for the base versions and an aluminum frame for the Z06 and the ZR1. It’s expected that the C7 will go strictly with steel.

GM said in May that it will spend $131 million and will add 250 jobs to improve the Bowling Green, Ky., factory that builds the Corvette. That’s a dramatic increase from the $39 million spent in 2005 when the site changed over to produce the C5. The facility has built Corvettes for 30 years.

Production of the C7 will begin in 2013, and the car launches as a 2014 model.

That dramatic increase in spending has led to speculation that the Corvette could be in for a major facelift. Reports have suggested a seven-speed manual transmission could be offered. It’s also possible that the 6.2-liter V8 could be downsized, perhaps to about 5.5 liters. The current V8 in the Corvette ZR1 employs supercharging, but twin-turbocharging has also been rumored as a future technology. A V6–perhaps reinforced with some kind of forced-induction and making a high output–has also been generating considerable chatter among Corvette fans.

Also look for some carbon fiber, but not as extreme as the tactics employed by some supercar makers such as Lamborghini.

GM design chief Ed Welburn has told Autoweek that the Stingray concept from the 2009 Detroit auto show will not be the C7. But many reports have suggested that the next Vette could get a split-window option.

Chevy has sold 9,123 Corvettes through the first eight months of 2011 in the United States, a 5 percent uptick compared with the same period in 2010.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110928/CARNEWS/110929888#ixzz1ZMTOHicB

More money donated, delivered on Monday September 26

My wife Verna & I collected an additional 800.00 in donations for the Open HandsFood Pantry and we delivered it to them on Monday. We also brought soaps and lotions donated by dermatologist Dr. Anthony Cardillio. We brought a box of 1000 plastic food carrying bags.

Thanks to everyone that came to help support the Open Hands Food Pantry.  By the best count we had 563 Corvettes, collected over a month’s supply of food and raised over 3000.00 dollars. The money will buy an additional thirty thousand punds of food.  That is a lot of food.  See you all next year.

Open House at GM Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan

GM Performance Build Center in Wixom and UAW Local 653 showcase plant at open house event

What: GM Performance Build Center in Wixom – Citizens of Wixom and the surrounding areas are invited to participate in a rare behind-the-scenes tour of General Motors Performance Build Center as a thank you to the community for many years of support.

When: Thursday, August 18, 2011. Free plant tours will be held from noon – 4 p.m.

Where: Guests should enter the plant through the main visitor lobby entrance in front of the building. Parking is available in front of the building.

Plant address: 30240 Oak Creek Drive, Wixom, MI 48393

Who: Public event.

Details: Plant tours include an opportunity to view highly skilled UAW Local 653 engine builders assembling high performance Corvette engines by hand. Additional attractions during the open house include Chevrolet Corvette vehicle displays, as well as the highly sought after Chevrolet Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicle. Safe Kids USA will be on hand to demonstrate how to keep children safe in and around a car, including demonstrations, and much more.

SAFETY: GM Performance Build Center is an active manufacturing environment
• For safety reasons, appropriate footwear (low-heeled, fully closed) is required. No open-back, open-toed, sandals or high-heel shoes (over one inch) will be permitted in the plant.
• All visitors to the plant must sign a waiver form before touring the facility.
• Age restriction is set at 8 years old and up for plant tours.

GM is hosting open houses this year in each of its 54 U.S. facilities as a tangible way to thank the American public for their support, and to showcase our great employees and the exceptional new products that we offer in today’s market.

Contacts:
Kevin Nadrowski
Plant Communications Manager
313-498-5464
kevin.1.nadrowski@gm.com

Corvettes on Woodward Only a Couple of Weeks Away

Here it is August 3, 2011 only a short time away and I really need to know what you would like to do. Some of the tours are almost filled, some have room. I know that many of you have kept me up to date and some clubs have even sent in spreadsheets with their planned itinerary. So this should be really easy. All you have to do is hit the reply button, fill in your name and then put yes or no by the tours you are interested in.
CORVETTES ON WOOWARD is a charity that supports The Open Hands Food Pantry in Royal Oak, Michigan. The need is great. The only registration is a donation to the food bank either/and/or non-perishable food or cash. I appreciate the Corvette Family for coming out and helping.

YOUR NAME
FOOD DRIVE AT RADISSON NOON- 7:30 PM

GM HERITAGE CENTER 11 AM TOUR WEDNESDAY 10.00 CASH ADMISSION

GM HERITAGE CENTER 1 PM TOUR WEDNESDAY 10.00 CASH ADMISSION

SEMINARS AT THE RADISSON GREG BANISH FUEL INJECTION FRED GALLASCH C5
BILL CONNELL CALLAWAYS

MOOSE PRESERVE WEDNESDAY 9 PM-? SEPARATE CHECKS
SQUARE LAKE AND WOODWARD AVENUE

HOOTERS THURSDAY 7 PM -? SEPARATE CHECKS
ROCHESTER ROAD AND BIG BEAVER ROAD

KATECH ENGINES FRIDAY FRIDAY AUGUST 19 9 AM
WWW.KATECHENGINES.COM

GM PERFORMANCE BUILD CENTER THURSDAY AUGUST 18 OPEN HOUSE NOON UNTIL 4 PM. THE BUILD CENTER IS LOOKING FOR CORVETTES TO BE IN A CAR SHOW IN FRONT OF THE BUILD CENTER. TOURS START EVERY FEW MINUTES AND BUILDERS WILL BE THERE TO ANSWER YOU QUESTIONS http://www.gmpowertrain.com/pbc

The requests for museum tours to the Ford factory and the Chrysler Museum and Morely Chocolates are very mixed and it was difficult to arrange group tour prices and times. Call me 586-218-8616 Larry Courtney
vjnlcsvette@aol.com

THE FOLLOWING TWO SHOWS WERE PICKED BY VETTE MAGAZINE AS SOME OF THE TOP, MUST SEE, REGIONAL CORVETTE EVENTS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 

CORVETTES AMERICA

Join us on AUGUST 13, 2011 in White Lake, Michigan

Registration gates will open at 7:30am and remain open until 11:00am

Corvettes America, celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, draws automotive enthusiasts from across Michigan as well as surrounding states and Canada. It also has national ranking regularly drawing participants from California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York State among others. This NCCC sanctioned show, which is the largest all Corvette show within a two hundred mile radius of Detroit, will go on rain or shine. The Show is hosted by America’s Corvette Club of Michigan. Spectators will view some of the finest examples of the Corvette line competing for over 35 awards. In addition, numerous Corvette aftermarket products will be offered by leading Corvette suppliers. Show Chairman is Jim McDonald.

E-mail us at info@corvettesamerica.org or call (248) 208-0323 for more information.

 

 

CORVETTES ON WOODWARD

AUGUST 17-19 2011

FOOD DRIVE & CRUISE

vjnlcsvette@aol.com 

Corvettes on Woodward has grown to one of the largest all Corvette events within a 400 mile radius of Detroit and attracts 400+ Corvettes from across the US and Canada. The event coexists with the annual Woodward Dream Cruise. The main focus of the event is to collect food and donations for the Open Hands Food Pantry. During the three days participants tour the GM’s Private Museum, The GM Heritage Center, The GM Performance Build Center, as well as visits to Detroit area Corvette specialists Katech Performance, Advanced Automotive Technologies, Spectre Werkes, Race Car replicas, Masterworks Automotive Services and Alternative Automotive Technologies. This year’s event will host a special presentation of the 2012 Corvette by Harlan Charles, Corvette Product Manager, and his team. A unique display by Corvette Central will feature a cut-a –way C4 Corvette. Muskegeon Brake, Cruis’News, Kim’s Gold Dust, and a booth by the National Corvette Museum will also be there. There will be seminars by Greg Banish on fuel injection, Fred Gallasch on the C5 Corvette and Bill Connell on the Callaway Corvette. It all begins at noon at The Radisson Hotel in Bloomfield Hills Michigan. Additional meet & greet parties will be at the Moose preserve on Wednesday night and Hooter of Troy On Thursday. Contact Larry Courtney vjnlcsvette@aol.com or call 586-218-8616

Corvette Sales and Production

June is the traditional model year start for the Corvette and last month the new 2012 Corvette began rolling off the Bowling Green assembly line. The start of production of the 2012 model year singled the end of 2011 models and the final count of Corvette’s produced last year was 13,596 – an 11.5% increase over 2010’s 12,194 production total.

In June 2011, 1,299 Corvettes were delivered to new owners. That was -7.5% off the June 2010’s Corvette sales, which saw an increase in sales due to the introduction of the Grand Sport models. For the 2011 calendar year, Corvette sales are up 8.5% to 6,896. Last year’s numbers for the same time period were 6,355.

 

We are currently tracking an estimated national inventory of 3,375 Corvettes. 432 are 2012s, 2,668 are 2011 models and there are 275 available 2010 Corvettes. Last month we were also tracking 14 available 2009 Corvettes, but those look to have finally been removed off the books.

July’s incentives remain the same with 2011 Corvette buyers receiving $3,000 Dealer Cash or 1.9% financing up to 60 months or 2.9% for 72 months. For the remaining 2010 Corvettes that are still in dealer showrooms, $4,000 in Customer Cash is available or finance it for 72 months at 0% interest.

 

Corvette Delivery Statistics for June 2011
Month				Calendar Year-to-Date
Month	2011	2010	% Change	Months	2011	2010	% Change
June	1,299	1,405	-7.5%	Jan-Jun	6,896	6,355	+8.5%

Archived Monthly Corvette Delivery Statistics
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2011	721	955	1,163	1,454	1,304	1,299
2010	854	624	955	1,089	1,428	1,405	1,199	1,135	1,109	1,011	836	979	12,624
2009	842	1,027	1,183	1,407	1,643	1,396	966	746	1,585	1,154	952	1,033	13,934
2008	2,015	2,071	2,692	3,190	2,904	2,082	1,870	4,242	2,318	1,170	1,093	1,324	26,971
2007	2,234	2,784	3,158	3,227	3,300	2,377	2,377	2,877	2,837	2,484	2,438	2,914	33,685
2006	2,579	3,058	3,655	3,516	3,317	2,938	2,794	2,990	3,056	2,761	2,773	3,081	36,518

 
Corvette Stock Report:

A check of Jeff Hardy’s websiteshows a total of 3,375 Corvettes on the ground. Last month’s total was 3,987 for a net change of -612 Corvettes. Here is the breakdown by years and models:

• 2012 Corvettes – 432
• 2011 Corvettes – 2,668
• 2010 Corvettes – 275

 

2011 Corvette Inventory Breakdown:

• Corvette Coupes – 726
• Corvette Convertibles – 202
• Corvette GS Coupes – 934
• Corvette GS Convertibles – 462
• Corvette Z06 – 165
• Corvette ZR1 – 179

 

2010 Corvette Inventory Breakdown:

• Corvette Coupes – 91
• Corvette Convertibles – 62
• Corvette GS Coupes – 24
• Corvette GS Convertibles – 31
• Corvette Z06 – 17
• Corvette ZR1 – 50

 
Bowling Green Production:

• 2011 Model Year Production in June 2011: 823
• 2012 Model Year Production in June 2011: 616
• 2011 Model Year To Date Through June 2011: 13,596
• 2012 Model Year To Date Through June 2011: 701
• 2011 Calendar Year to Date through June 2011: 6,925

 
Source:
GM.com
JeffHardy.com

 

 

  

CORVETTES ON WOODWARD

THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2011

The party Wednesday August 17th, night at the Moose Preserve was a lot of fun but this afternoon we are going to the GM Performance Build Center in Wixom.  Did you make your reservations?

This year GM decided to do something different.  They are having tours of many of the GM facilities all over the US.  When the tours are announced I will let you know to email for your scheduled time.  The tours at the Build Center will be on Thursday August 18 noon until 4 PM.  The tours will start every 15 minutes and they will be 30-40 people per tour.  The builders will be on hand for you to meet your builder.

The following companies have graciously invited us to tour their facilities on Thursday & Friday. Please let me know what companies you would like to visit.  Tours are usually limited to 30 people but multiple tours can be arranged.

Advanced Automotive Technologies, Katech Engineering, Specter Werkes, Race Car Replica, Alternative Automotive Technologies, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Henry Ford Museum, Walter P. Chrysler Museum, Morley Chocolate Company.

There is also a Track Day sponsored by MasterWorks on Thursday August 18, 2011 at Milan Drag Way.

I need to know what you are interested in to set up final times.

If you haven’t set up your time at the Heritage Center please send your request.

 Tours are 11 AM and 1 PM. Wednesday August 17

 

And tonight, Thursday August 18th, we go to HOOTERS

Big Beaver and Rochester Road 7 PM till?   Separate Checks

Look forward to hearing from you.

Larry & Verna vjnlcsvette@aol.com

 

Check these websites for more information. 

Advanced Automotive Technologies www.aatcars.com 

Katech Engines www.katechengines.com 

Chrysler Museum www.chryslerheritage.com 

Alternative Automotive Technologies www.allautotech.com 

Specter Werkes www.spectergtr.com 

Ford Rouge Factory Tour www.thehenryford.org/rouge 

I need to know your decision by July 31, 2011 

Larry  vjnlcsvette@aol.com  or call 586-218-8616