Up next in 10
We hope you're enjoying the holiday season. And we also hope this includes listening or watching CORVETTE TODAY on a weekly basis.
Your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett, welcomes Keith Cornett from CorvetteBlogger back to the show to bring you the latest news & headlines in the world of Corvette.
Here are a few of the topics Steve and Keith cover:
1. The Bowling Green Assembly Plant will close plant tours on February 5th
2. E-Ray production has now been moved to January/February 2024
3. The C8 Corvette is on Car & Driver's 10Best List again
4. The E-Ray will compete for Road & Track's 2024 Performance Car Of The Year
5. The National Corvette Museum makes it's 2,500th R8C Corvette delivery
If you think that Corvette news slows down during the holiday season, we beg to differ. Plus, we are also approaching a CORVETTE TODAY milestone - episode #200 is fast approaching! Thank you for your loyalty and dedication to CORVETTE TODAY.
Listen to the podcast, watch the YouTube video, join the Facebook group, sign up for weekly email notifications, follow the show on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X (Twitter) and Threads. Plus shop in the CORVETTE TODAY Merchandise Store at:
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0:00
[Music] Welcome to Corvette Today, the show that
0:06
talks about everything Corvette with your host Steve Garrett, lifetime member of the National Corvette Museum,
0:13
president of the Corvette Club of Kansas City, Missouri, and radio disc jockey at the number one radio station in Kansas
0:20
City for over 45 years. Here's Steve Garrett.
0:27
Thanks for listening and watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette and the only
0:33
current podcast dedicated to Corvette. I'm your host, Steve Garrett. I appreciate you tuning in. Corvette Today
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is brought to you by Wheelcraft. Wheelcraft has the ultimate holiday gift offer for you. Buy a $100 Wheelcraft
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the latest Corvette news and headlines with my buddy Keith Cornet from corvette blogger.com. Keith here every other week
3:19
with me. We keep you current and uptodate on what's happening with America's sports car. Keith, welcome back to the show. Happy holidays, buddy.
3:26
Yeah, glad to be here. Of course, we made it through Thanksgiving. We made it through all the craziness of shopping, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving
3:33
Tuesday. It's been a whirlwind. And I guess the next time will be right before the Christmas vacations. Yeah, the
3:38
Corvette news doesn't stop just because of the holidays. That's right. Our next news and headlines will be Christmas Day and then
3:44
the week between Christmas and New Year's because Christmas starts on a Monday. So, it's going to be an interesting year this year. That's for
3:50
sure. Yes, it will. Well, buddy, let's start off as we always do with an update of Corvette production at the Bowling Green assembly
3:56
plant. Absolutely. Well, we've been checking the VIN sequence counts and actually they've been real strong the last few
4:01
days. 189, 190, 186. It just shows no sign of slowing down. So, what we've got
4:07
so far, we're checking out the Roger Ke numbers on Facebook. Chevy so far has built 6,98 Corvette Stingrays and then
4:14
we also have an additional 2,276 Z06s and that's for the 2024 model year.
4:20
So, so far we've got 9,184 completed. Of course, that's just last week sometime. And then looking at those
4:26
numbers, you know, we wanted to see the breakdown and it shows that 75% of production is going to Stingrays and the
4:32
other 25% right now is going to Z06s. With the two cars in play, they're they seem to be banging them out. You know,
4:37
we might have some constraint issues, some parts coming in that we're still looking for, but for the most part, it looks like they're completing cars. We
4:43
also saw a picture of the back lot of the assembly plant, and it's a sea of white covers, which I think is good news
4:49
that it does tell us those cars are ready to ship because they do have the transport covers on them. But on the flip side, that parking lot is really
4:55
filled. That makes us concerned because we do know that there is a shortage of transporters to be able to take these cars to the dealer. So that might be
5:02
slowing down just a little bit. That lot is full, Steve. It's going to be interesting to see how they're able to get those all out to the dealers.
5:08
Yeah, absolutely. And we did find out that production is now moved to the January February time frame.
5:13
Yeah, you know, we were supposed to see starting in October. They just keep getting pushed back. So obviously haven't started yet. We know officially
5:20
that Ben O1 purchased by Rick Hendrick. That hasn't started yet. There have been no further allocations actually since
5:26
October for this performance hybrid sports car. What we're seeing is those TPWs for people that had an R8C museum
5:32
delivery. They keep getting knocked backwards. You know, they were seeing December 4th was what we originally saw
5:38
and then we know two of those people that had December TPWs that have now fallen back to the first and the second
5:43
week of February. GM has provided zero guidance to its dealers regarding the -ay. So, at this point, we really have
5:49
no fixed certain date of when they are going to start. I think it'll be one of those things where we might either get a
5:54
heads up notice a day or two before, or it might just be one of those things where we're checking Roger Ke's production numbers and all of a sudden
6:01
we see a couple digits there under the -ay columns. Either way, a lot of people still waiting to see that -ay production
6:06
start. At this point, we're just going to kind of sit back and wait until it happens. Yeah. And we had no allocation obviously
6:12
for December, but obviously we had plenty of Stingray and Z06 allocation. Yeah. So the allocations came out on
6:18
Thursday last week. They were sent to dealers and then this Thursday dealers can start matching those allocations to their customer orders and then submit
6:24
them into the GM order bank. We called around as we do. We did a quick survey and dealers told us they got zero -ay
6:30
allocations, but most seemed pretty happy with the number of Z06 and the Stingray numbers they got. This coming
6:36
Thursday, we'll also have the latest constraint report which will tell us about what kind of options can be placed
6:41
on these orders going in on Thursday as well. We've recently have seen the real slowdown in any carbon fiber arrow for
6:47
the Z06. The engine appearance packages have been slowed down, but hopefully we can kind of get past this. It's just one
6:53
of these things. We'll have to watch that constraint report and see what it says. Yeah. I think they totally underestimated the want and need of
6:59
carbon fiber accessories. Exactly. Yeah. And also, I was really sad to see this.
7:04
This might be a temporary thing, but the Bowling Green assembly plant tours are going to be closing on February 5th.
7:10
Would they maybe start putting ZR1's on the line? You know, there's a lot of speculation about that and this is probably the
7:16
biggest news to dropped since our last news and headlines podcast is that Chevy is closing the plant tours on February
7:21
5th. In their statement, they say due to manufacturing advancements, tours offered by the National Corvette Museum
7:27
of GM's Bowling Green assembly plant will be suspended beginning Monday, February 5th, 2024. At this time, there
7:33
is no confirmed date for plant tour resumption. So that tells us it's it's not a week, it's not two weeks, it's not
7:39
the month of February, it's probably going to be longer than that. We like to think that this is a positive move. They're closing the plant for
7:45
outsiders to shield some of the upgrades that might be happening for our America's favorite sports car. We know that the 2025 ZR1 may be one of those
7:52
cars that we're going to see next year. So they obviously could be building some CTF versions of that car. But I think
7:58
even more likely, Steve, is you know, we've been hearing some of these midcycle changes coming up that have been rumored for the platform. And that
8:04
even includes like the removal of the great wall of buttons from the Corvette's interior, right? So, you know, if you're inside the plant and
8:09
you're doing a tour and you're going to see those skiffs going around polling the parts various places, but also
8:14
they're stored over in their own little areas of the plant. So, it could be possible as you're just walking by. They
8:20
might not be building one, but all of a sudden you see an interior that has no great wall of button. That would be a deal killer right away for the future
8:26
product announcements that they like to do at the Bash and other places. Sure. It could be that's what those manufacturing advancements are. They
8:32
don't want Joe Q public going through the plant noticing any changes for next year. I think this is going to be a bit
8:38
longer. In the end, it's going to be a good thing. Although, I really hope that we get the tours back up and running by
8:43
the bash the end of April just because that's obviously a huge influx of people that are passionate about the Corvette.
8:48
Last year's Bash, they sold out all the tours during that time frame. Hopefully, we can get back in there and see it open
8:54
up again in April. I bet that's what's going to happen. I think so, too. Also, Keith, the C8 Corvette was named Car and Drivers 10
9:01
best list again. That's pretty cool. Yeah, the streak continues for the C8 Corvette as the Stingray and the -ray
9:06
were both named in the 10 best cars by car and driver. It's the fifth consecutive year for the C8 Stingray to
9:11
be named to the list and we are tied for second with Porsche with 25 total times to make the list. I think the number one
9:17
car is the Toyota Camry or something like the Honda Accord. You know, they got like 37 or 38 wins to our 25. So,
9:25
we'll never catch that. This is a really big deal for General Motors. Great that the Corvette's on there. Obviously,
9:30
there's a couple other GM products were also selected. The CT4V Blackwing and the LT4 powered CT5V Black Wings were
9:38
also selected for a third consecutive time. Car and Driver, they call their 10 best list. This snapshot of cars, but
9:43
obviously they prefer the performance versions, which is why we're doing so well there. Great to be on that list.
9:48
Not part of the World Domination Tour, but definitely dominating that list. Yeah, definitely. And speaking of
9:54
awards, the 2024 Corvette also won the JD Power ALG Residual Value Award. What
10:00
is the ALG Residual Value Award? Yeah. Well, this award honors vehicles that are projected to hold the highest
10:06
percentage of their manufacturer suggested retail pricing after 3 years. So, according to JD Power, this value
10:11
retention is key variable to the lease cost of a vehicle and then underscoring the automaker success in areas of
10:17
long-term quality, design, as well as overall desiraability of that car. We get the award now, but it's a kind of an
10:23
advanced notice of how they think it's going to do here. And of course, we won that midsize premium sporty category is
10:29
where the Corvette falls in that. JD Power actually evaluates nearly 300 cars from 2024 model year. And then through
10:36
their analysis of used car vehicle pricing, the outlook, and the brand and product competitiveness, they come up
10:41
with that list. Two other GM vehicles were honored in their categories. They were the Chevrolet Tracks and the GMC
10:47
Sierra 3500 heavy duty pickup truck. Hey, we'll take the awards. Just another one on the mantle shelf.
10:53
And anytime you get a JD Power award, they're no Fly by Night organization. That's a big deal. That's a big deal for sure, buddy. Let's
10:59
take our first break. When we come back, it's Corvette Racing and Corvette Rumors coming up next on Corvette today. We all
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Garrett. With me is Keith Cornet from Corvette Blogger. Every other week, we keep you current and uptodate on what's
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happening with America's sports car. In segment two, we always cover Corvette racing and Corvette rumors. Keith, it
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looks like Corvette Racing is going to be testing a Daytona real soon. Isn't that right? Yeah, actually they just completed a
15:31
test. They had their two Corvette Z06 GT3RS at Daytona International Speedway last week. This was an IMSA sanctioned
15:37
test. So other teams were all there. They run the cars through a tech line for evaluation by race organizers and
15:42
then they get some track time as the team start a new chapter for this great new car. Doug Fihan always talked about
15:48
the book. They write the book. They go to a course, they go to a track, they do all their testing, they figure out the
15:53
best setups for that track and it goes in the book. Well, last year's book is out the window because this is a brand
15:58
new car, different characteristics. As Feehan would say, they're writing a whole new book for this new car. That
16:04
was the IMSA test that just happened. The roar before the 24 actually is coming up January 19th through the 21st.
16:10
And then the running of the Rolex 24 Daytona kicks off the following Saturday on January 27th. As we are heading into
16:15
the holidays here, there's still a lot of testing going on. There are a lot of preparations and then beginning of the
16:21
year, it all switches into high gear. Yeah, and that's just a few weeks away. So, that's going to be pretty darn interesting.
16:26
Yeah, we're going to keep our eyes on that for sure. And I was looking to see if AWA was down there. I didn't see anything on their social media channels,
16:32
but I bet they were also testing there. And of course, we're waiting to see the cars delivered in the WEC for TF Sport,
16:39
the British team that's going to be campaigning over there. A lot of moving parts right now we're going to be keeping an eye on. Yeah, definitely. In the rumors
16:46
category, we think we've got a little bit more clarity about those Corvettes up in Michigan, right? Yeah. You know, it's six weeks, Steve.
16:52
Six weeks we've been harping about these 2024 Corvette Stingrays that were sent to Michigan for these unknown repairs or
16:58
updates. Finally, we got a little bit of word from General Motors as to what the problem is. You know, we've been going back and forth. Some are saying, "Oh,
17:04
no, it's the transmission." Some are saying, "It's got to be structural. You know, it's got to be structural." What we're finding out is a couple of the
17:10
owners that have cars up there, they've been in touch with GM's executive resolution board. Before we were asking,
17:16
you know, what's wrong with my car? And they wouldn't be told. They just said, "Oh, it's just you're waiting on some parts or things like that." Well, two
17:21
owners in the last week were talking to members of this executive resolution board, and they were finally told that
17:27
the issue is with the dual clutch transmissions. Those transmissions were revised for the 2024 model year and they're specific to Stingray, which is
17:33
why we're only seeing Stingrays being sent to Michigan. Apparently, these Corvettes are being cycled through a Penske service center up there, and
17:40
we're hearing that the transmissions are being rebuilt to fix whatever problem there was. The good news is that dealers
17:45
and the NCM have reported that they've received completed cars back from Michigan. Oh. They're moving them through. The reason
17:51
why they were sent to Michigan in the first place was space constraints. They just don't have that kind of room at the museum, not only for the storage of
17:57
those cars, but to cycle them in and out and do those repairs, whatever they may be. They were sent up there to Michigan
18:03
where they were told it was all hands- on deck, but hopefully with cars returning now and getting back to their
18:08
customers, hopefully we can get this resolved and finally put behind us. Also, Motor Trend thinks that we still
18:13
might get a Corvette SUV and an EV concept, and that will be revealed later
18:18
next year. Yeah, this was interesting. Last week, GM CEO Mary Barah sat down with the Detroit Automotive Press for an annual
18:25
fireside chat and was asked specifically about future Corvette stuff and did the whole, you know, we don't talk about
18:30
future product thing. Sure. Motor Trend, however, was more than happy to talk about future product. What
18:35
they did was they used her name to start the rumors. Basically said she didn't say anything. This is coming from them
18:41
and their sources. But according to them, we're going to see an ice powered Corvette SUV revealed in 2024 as well as
18:47
a full EV Corvette concept revealed. Motor Trend says that the concept EV will be instantly recognizable as a C8
18:54
with nods to previous generations. We found that a little bit interesting because last month there was a Chevrolet
18:59
dealers meeting in Las Vegas. That's where that one video that racing that Ferrari came from. And supposedly
19:05
dealers got a look at the new ZR1 as well as we heard it described as some futuristic concept which we believe that
19:11
could be that EV Corvette that Motor Trend is talking about. But, you know, as we started thinking about it, it could also be an upcoming EV Camaro,
19:18
which would make a whole lot of sense because that car officially ends production, I believe this month. There's been a lot of talk about the
19:23
next iteration of the Camaro will be as a full EV sports car. That could be what that might be. All we know is it's a
19:30
futuristic car, although Motor Trend does say it is instantly recognizable as a C8. But in terms of those two cars, we
19:36
also have the ZR1 most likely revealed sometime 2024. I would say within the first 6 months and certainly maybe
19:42
within the first three months. But we could also then have a grand sport. There's been a lot of chatter about that. Although a lot of that chatter is
19:48
coming from the chattering class like us and YouTubers and other people and not really coming from inside the house as
19:54
we like to say, right? Whatever the case, 2024 is really shaping up to be a busy year for the Corvette team.
19:59
Yes, absolutely. And also Carbon Revolution that makes the carbon fiber wheels for the Z06 may open a factory in
20:06
Mexico and that would serve North America. That would be really cool. Yeah, they're based out of Australia,
20:11
but they're eyeing a plant in North America to serve the manufacturing here because according to them, America is where all this is happening. We think of
20:17
the carbon fiber wheels as a performance wheel, but there's also a big push to lower the vehicle weights of EVs. And
20:23
these carbon fiber wheels is one way to do that. The rumor suggests that the carbon revolution plant will end up in
20:29
Mexico. They say that these plants are highly automated, but we're also still looking at a few years away before it
20:34
becomes a reality. very interesting that they do want to be closer to manufacturing in the United States. Of
20:41
course, not only the big three from America, but then also you've got a lot of foreign investments and Japanese
20:46
companies and European automakers building cars here as well. I think they're looking to get in on that. And and speaking of Carbon Revolution, I
20:53
wanted to mention this as well. We talked maybe a couple months ago about they did a reverse merger and went
20:58
public on the NASDAQ. I've been following their stock price. It's been a little crazy. It's jumping up and down.
21:03
It was like at $10, $10, $10 before the merger. And then once the merger was complete, it shot up to like 200 some,
21:10
fell to 70, was at 40. It goes to 30 to 40 to 50 to 30. I mean, it's just all over the place. That ticker is CRV.
21:19
If you want to follow along some of that fund, it's an interesting ride. They're getting some volume on that stock.
21:24
There's a lot of speculation still. Once it calms down, it could be a solid investment for someone that likes to get
21:29
into the automotive side of things as well as service performance cars and EVs, the future of EVs. So, pretty
21:35
interesting. Yeah, definitely. That would be an emotional purchase right there for sure. Yes, buddy. Let's take our final break. When
21:41
we come back, it's the lighter side of Corvette on deck next here at Corvette today.
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You're listening to the Corvette Today podcast with Steve Garrett.
24:18
Thanks once again for listening and watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette.
24:23
Corvette Today is brought to you by Wheelcraft. Wheelcraft has the ultimate holiday gift for you. Buy a $100
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Wheelcraft gift card, they'll actually bump it up to a $250 gift card. And that's good for any Wheelcraft purchase
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and it never expires. This offer is available now and it's good through Christmas Eve. So visit wheelcraft.com
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and pick up your $250 gift card for only $100. I'm your host Steve Garrett. With
24:47
me is Keith Cornet, my partner in crime. Every other week, we keep you uptodate on what's happening with America's
24:52
sports car. In the third and final segment, we always cover the lighter side of Corvette. Keith, the -ray is
24:58
competing for the 2024 Road and Track Performance Car of the Year. It sounds like we're getting all the motorist
25:04
magazines in the fold, aren't we? Well, you know, that's right. And this hybrid EV is just something to behold, I
25:10
guess. But they all want to test it. They want to make sure is this a car that fits with the both the Corvette lineup, but also in the hierarchy of
25:17
where we are with performance cars today. And again, with that all-wheel drive system, you know, it really puts the there at the forefront of
25:23
performance. Last year the Z06 won this award and it would be great again to see the -ray follow up with the title this
25:30
year. But man, there are some seriously stiff competition. First up, there's the Porsche 911 Carrera T. It's got a manual
25:36
transmission right away. They've got the advantage. And then there's some heavy hitters like a $500,000 Ferrari 296 GTB.
25:43
Wow. You have an off-road capable Lamborghini Huracan Strad. I hope I said that right. You did.
25:48
And then I don't know what this is. It's a single seat 1,200 lb BAC monot track
25:54
special. I don't know how they got the nod to compete for performance car of the year, but there they are. Whatever the heck
25:59
that is. But then on the lower end of the pricing spectrum, you've got the Mustang Darkhorse, brand new car there
26:04
from Ford, and then a Nissan Z Nismo. So, the E-Ray definitely has its work cut out for it if it's going to snag
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this award. I don't know, Steve. That's some pretty stiff competition in the fold there. Yeah, I like this performance car of the
26:16
year award, but boy, you're right. There's a lot of stiff competition there. Yeah. And real quick, while we're
26:21
talking about awards, whatever the heck happened to the North American car of the year award? Yeah. I know the -ray
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was up for that as well. Unfortunately, it did not make the cut. I don't have the three winners in front of me right now, but it was announced at the LA Auto
26:33
Show last month that it did not make the cut. Okay, let's talk about the Z06. It sounds like there was a C8 Z06 that
26:39
caught fire during a canyon run. What happened with that? Yeah, Z06 Corvette was participating in a Thanksgiving Day
26:46
Canyon Run with some other exotic drivers. Really looked like a great day. You had blue skies, you had curvy two-lane roads, and of course, 670
26:53
horsepower at your disposal. And one of the cars that was following this orange Z06 had a dash cam. And as they're going
26:58
through, and all of a sudden, you just see this puff of smoke come out of the exhaust. And then within another 15 or
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20 seconds, they pulled up to a stop sign, and you start seeing a trail of oil behind the car. The guy behind the
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Z06 is beeping and he yells at him, "Hey, your car's on fire." But then he just goes on his merry way, leaving the
27:15
guy stranded there on the side of the road. So, we don't really know what happened to him. You couldn't see any flames from the video, but you did see
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some smoke. Hopefully, that driver is certainly okay, as well as his car. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, your car's on
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fire. Bye-bye. Bye, people. They're crazy. Oh, well. Also,
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George Foreman is selling his Corvette collection. What does his Corvette collection consist of? It's not just Corvettes. He's got like
27:39
50 cars. Apparently the grill master really likes his automobiles because he's been collecting them for a long
27:45
time. He's got the Corvette wise a 1958 Corvette Roadster, a Sebring silver 1963
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Corvette split window, and the 6800 mile 1991 Callaway B2K twin turbo
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convertible. Wow. The three great cars. They're all for sale on Hagerty. They have a new online
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marketplace. Bidding goes on just under two weeks. I think another 13 days. These cars are still affordably priced.
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It looks like I think the Callaway was sitting at $30,000 $35,000. If you want one of the big man's Corvettes, the
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boxing great and grill master George Foreman, check out hagerty.com and go to their marketplace and you'll see some advertising for win George Foreman's
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cars. That'd be a conversation piece. Owning a George Foreman Corvette. That's for sure. Yeah. And I'd be like, "Oh, all I got
28:28
the grill." Yeah. Thank you. But I got the grill. It's okay. Our final story, Keith, and
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this is kind of like the best for last. The National Corvette Museum has delivered its 2500th Corvette, which is
28:40
so cool. Yeah. The RAC program just reached this big milestone on November 16th with the delivery of the 25th00 Corvette for this
28:47
year. So, they did 2500 this year. It was a hypersonic gray over two-tone blue Z06. And it belonged to Chuck and Angela
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Harbor. They had no idea when they were walking in the museum that their car was the 25th00 delivery for the model year.
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NCM did a nice video of the car, the presentation. Definitely something to check out there. The NCM says that they
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delivered actually 2525 Corvettes for the model year and that was twice the amount of deliveries done
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in 2021 where they only did,276 new cars delivered. We've been to the museum a bunch of
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times. It's a great way to pick up your cars. It's priced now at 1,495. You get the plant tour which again in
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February there will be no plant tours. You get the NCM tour and think you can go over and do some parade laps on the
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racetrack as well. I continue to think that they're gonna be pretty busy going into 2024. It is a cool thing to do. If you've
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never had an R8C delivery at the National Corvette Museum, every Corvette owner deserves at least one. That's for
29:43
sure, buddy. Thanks for being back on Corvette today. Happy holidays and we will talk to you on Christmas Day.
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Glad to be here. You know, we're going to be stocking up on some toys for our little kitties out there, getting them some stingrays. I know we've got a
29:55
Barbie Corvette on order for one of the granddaughters. So, all kinds of good stuff happening. and we will talk to
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you, I guess, right before Christmas. Thanks again for listening and watching Corvette Today. And be sure to tell your
30:06
family, friends, and other Corvette enthusiasts about the Corvette Today Show. And thanks to our sponsors,
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True Wealth and Company at retirewithtr.com. Also, Aerolari wheels. Get $100 off your
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purchase with the new promo code CT111 at aerolari.com. And Hendrick Chevrolet
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in Kansas City at chevusa.com. Thanks for checking out Corvette Today
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on podcast and YouTube. If you'd like to contact Steve with ideas for Corvette Today, you can email him at stevegared
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djgmail.com. Garrett has two Rs and two T's. That's Steve Garrett DJ@gmail.com.
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DJ. Thanks again for listening and watching Corvette today. [Music]
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