Up next in 10
CORVETTE TODAY #259 - Corvette News & Headlines, Early April 2025
0 views
Jul 12, 2025
CORVETTE TODAY #259 - Corvette News & Headlines, Early April 2025 Thank goodness winter is in our rear view mirror! And our first big event of the season, the National Corvette Museum's Michelin Bash, takes place during the last week of April. Your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett brings back Keith Cornett from CorvetteBlogger to go over the latest Corvette news & headlines from the past two weeks! Here are some of the topics that Steve and Keith cover... 1. Corvette wins Kelly Blue Book's best resale value award 2. GM changes the owner retention policy on the ZR1 3. Bloomington Gold announces a new location for their June show
View Video Transcript
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.
0:28
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
0:39
is brought to you by Wheelcraft. Want to dress up your Corvette with bright chrome or black chrome wheels? Visit
0:44
wheelcraft.com and learn about their advanced PVD chrome finishing. They can refinish your wheels or offer a wheel
0:50
exchange for most models, and it comes with a 5-year warranty. Visit wheelcraft.com today or call them at
0:55
833-84-5334. You can listen to Corvette today on all
1:01
podcast platforms. You can also listen on your smart device. Just say, "Hey Google," or "Alexa, play the podcast.
1:07
Call corvette today and you're connected." And be sure to visit the Corvette Today website. It's corvette.com.
1:13
You can access everything there, including the Corvette Today merchandise store. You can also join our Corvette
1:18
Today Facebook group there as well. Also, make sure you sign up for the Corvette Today emails. notifications and
1:23
updates at corvette. CK.page and be sure to subscribe to our Corvette Today
1:29
YouTube channel. See all Corvette Today episodes on YouTube as well. And be sure to patronize our flagship sponsors of
1:35
Corvette Today, mid-eninec forum.com. The forum that focuses on the new mid-enine C8 Corvette. Meet a lot of
1:42
fellow Corvette enthusiasts like yourself at mid-engine corvette forum.com. Soul Performance Products
1:48
developed and manufactured in the United States. The Soul Performance Products exhaust portfolio has been tailored to
1:53
elevate the experience of the world's most exciting sports cars, including the latest generation of the Corvette, Soul
1:59
Performance Products at sulp.com. The official performance exhaust of
2:04
Corvette today. Aerolari wheels, a true forged wheel with over 20 unique styles to choose from for your C8, and widebody
2:11
versions of the C7, C6, and C5 Corvette. It's an amazing value starting at only
2:17
23.88 88 for a set of four fully forged wheels and use the promo code CT111 and
2:23
get $100 off your purchase. Visit aerolari.com. Sioka Corvettes. If you're a Corvette enthusiast, and I know you
2:29
are since you're listening and watching Corvette today, then you need to know about Sioka Corvette. They're based in Atlantic City where you can find over
2:36
100 new and pre-owned vets on the lot and inbound. Sioka also ships Corvettes all over the country, customordered to
2:42
your specifications. They're staffed with experienced pros who can answer all your questions. So don't compromise.
2:48
Visit seiocorvette.com. That's ciocorvette.com and find out more. Chevrolet together.
2:55
Let's drive E5 Wheels. E5 Wheels is a passionate and dedicated wheel company that serves only Corvette. They make
3:02
spun forged wheels for your C8, C7, and C6 Corvette. With the best fitment in the industry, E5 Wheels ensures your
3:09
wheels complement the aesthetics and functionality while optimizing the performance of your Corvette. Visit
3:14
e5wheels.com or call them at 3059647429.
3:20
If you're ready to finance your next Corvette, Woodside Credit is the go-to place for enthusiasts. With the lowest
3:25
monthly payments in America and a process designed to make getting behind the wheel quick and easy, it's no surprise Corvettes are one of the most
3:31
popular vehicles to finance. Visit woodsidecredit.com to estimate your low monthly payment with a quick quote. And
3:37
be sure to mention Corvette today as your referral for a special gift when your loan is funded. And a shout out to
3:42
Corvette Forum welcoming Corvette enthusiasts from around the world. All right, everybody. Here we go. It's time
3:48
to bring you the latest Corvette news and headlines with my pal Keith Cornet from corvette blogger.com. Keith is with
3:54
me every other week. We keep you current and uptodate on what's happening with America Sports Car. Keith, spring is
4:00
here. Welcome back to the show. I'm excited, buddy. It is car show season again. We got a lot of good stuff happening. Of
4:06
course, we're headed right into April, so lots of good stuff happening in April. But I'm actually going to be at Spring Mountain this week for the very
4:12
first Corvette owner school. And we're going to be joined with our good friends Mike Ferman who actually sold me my car.
4:18
Pretty excited about that. We got some other friends coming out, Jeremy Wellborn. We've got Tweety Bird and a
4:23
few other guys that all bought from Mike Ferman. We're doing the first owner school class out there. Fantastic.
4:28
You'll have to give us a report on our next news and headline show. And by the way, buddy, our next news and headline
4:33
show coming up in April will be the beginning of year number six for Corvette today. That's amazing, Steve. Congratulations.
4:40
Thank you, buddy. Let's get into it. Let's get a Corvette production update from the Bowling Green assembly plant.
4:45
Absolutely. Well, of course, you know, the Corvette assembly plant has been closed for the last two weeks as they were making some improvements to the
4:50
assembly line. We've said all along we believe these changes are being done to emphasize widebody production, allow
4:56
them to do more wide bodies back to back to back as opposed to having to separate them with Stingrays. I did go back and
5:02
get the vehicle counts to see where they'd be starting off. Today we have a total of 17,361
5:08
Corvettes reported for the 2025 model year. And of course that breaks down to 10,557
5:15
Stingrays, 59 Z06s, and 1,795
5:20
E-rays. They're going to be picking back up here again. That next closure for the plant, their final fourth week of closure will happen on May 19th. So
5:27
nothing next for the foreseeable future hopefully. It'll be interesting to see if they do reach their goal in being able to produce additional widebody
5:33
models here. That's great. Also, we have some big news. ZR1 orders were supposed to go in last week. How did that go?
5:40
So, it's a little different this time, Steve. So, last week, GM told their dealers that they would be contacted in
5:46
regards to adding carbon fiber high wings in the aero packages to the ZR1 orders. Of course, these are the very
5:51
first ZR1 orders that were placed back in February. And if you remember, the plant put them out there and then pulled
5:57
them right back. And then they said, "We're working on more highways." Last week was supposed to be the time to do it, but instead of doing the normal way
6:03
where they put out the number to dealers and then they get a constraint report, send in their orders this way. We think
6:09
that this is being handled actually through Detroit. Of course, it was Chevrolet Marketing that said, "We're going to get more high wings for our
6:16
customers back in February." And so, we think what's happening is they surveyed the dealers to say, "Okay, if you have
6:22
this many orders, how many high wings do you need this time?" So, we think they're doing it like that. The story is
6:27
actually incomplete because the source cycle actually closes today, Monday, and then tomorrow those orders that were
6:33
accepted will go up to 3,000 status. That's usually how it happens. We don't really have a count on exactly how many
6:39
high wings were found, but we just know that dealers are still waiting as of Friday to get those confirmations back
6:45
from General Motors on how many they would get. Still kind of up in the air there. Hopefully later this week we'll
6:50
start hearing about some target production weeks which will help us determine the ZR1 when it's going to start up and when we can expect to see
6:56
it. You know, usually orders are being produced four to 6 weeks after they were accepted. So again, we're just going to
7:02
wait and see in here, but looks like things are happening and so just stay tuned. It's finally rolling. That's good. And
7:07
you mentioned a new carbon fiber supplier coming to Corvette. You know, that's what we're hearing, Steve. And thank God, right?
7:13
Yeah. because they were so suddenly reversed on that 100% constraints for the highwing for the ZR1 and then all of
7:19
a sudden say no no no we're going to get more high wings. We kind of wondered how that was going to happen. But the rumor is a new carbon fiber supplier is out
7:27
there and we really hope that's the case. Of course Z06 is consistently being on some sort of constraints over
7:32
its arrow since production started in October 2022. We think these initial ZR1
7:37
orders will be very high for the high wings. We think split wheel coups and the high wings will be in much demand on
7:42
these first orders that go in. We're hoping that this is the case and they actually get rid of this constraint
7:48
once and for all. Okay. Do we have final pricing yet for the ZR1? Well, we were waiting. If you remember,
7:53
you know, when the configurator first came out, it would say see your dealer for details, right? And that was because
7:59
we did not have the gas guzzler tax yet. That final piece finally came in last week. And that gas guzzler tax is going
8:05
to be $3,000, which actually is the same for the Z06. So many people are saying, "Wow, that's a bargain."
8:11
Yeah, I was expecting $4,4800 or so, but it's $3,000. We had that confirmed from
8:16
Chevrolet. And now, if you go to the ZR1's build and buy configurator, it's fully functional. You will see your
8:23
build prices summary at the top right hand corner. And then in the line items, you'll see gas or tax $3,000. They
8:29
actually also cleaned up the configurator. Remember, they had that stray piece of carbon fiber showing up in the wheel wells. Those are all gone
8:36
now. You'll see the -ray radiator cooler there on the front of the car. That's gone. So, it looks like the configurator
8:42
is up and running and fully functional now. And of course, gas guzzler is going to cost you $3,000 on the ZR1.
8:47
How about that? Not bad. Also, GM has changed the retention policy on the ZR1
8:52
to one year, haven't they? Yeah. So, again, we had just a slate of information coming out on the ZR1, and we think it's just because it was that
8:58
order cycle that really triggered all that, right? So yeah, dealers finally got the form that shows the vehicle
9:04
retention program for Corvettes. Still shows that the Z06 and the -ray are subject to buyers owning that car for 6
9:11
months. But the new policy for the 2025 Corvette ZR1 is that owners now must hold that car for a year. And if they
9:18
don't and they sell it before then, of course, they will be black ballalled by GM and not allowed to order any future
9:23
high demand vehicles. And the car that is sold will no longer be covered by a warranty. Not real big fans of this
9:28
policy as it doesn't do anything to limit additional markups from dealers that add price to the car. It's just not
9:34
something that we're fans of. We did see some innocent people caught up in it with the Z06. We think there's a better
9:39
way to do it. We're just not quite sure how to do that yet. Yeah, that's the case. It's a one-year ownership program for the ZR1. There
9:45
will be consequences if that car is sold before that. Yep, definitely. All right. Also, Keith, I see that Corvette won the Kelly Blue
9:52
Book best resale value award. That's some good news. Yeah, this is always good news. So, first place again in the 23rd annual
9:58
Kelly Blue Book 2025 best resale value awards. Corvette does very well in the sports car category. In fact, this was
10:05
the sixth consecutive year for Corvette winning its category. Chevy's sports car also is a member of the top 10 cars for
10:12
the best resale value awards, coming in at number two on the list. And it shows that Corvette's 5-year resale value is
10:18
at 61% of its original sticker price. The only one above that was at 64%. Good
10:23
times there for Corvette and a good story to hear that we're retaining our initial value. It's always good to get those awards,
10:28
especially from places like Kelly Blue Book, isn't it? Absolutely. It's based on these cars holding their values very well. It's not
10:34
subjective like, oh, I really like my car. It's a market based research, right? That's good. Also, buddy, we have
10:39
two service related stories. First of all, GM has recalled some C7s from 2017
10:45
about a power steering issue. What's going on with that? Yeah, I guess this problem involves a bad printed circuit
10:51
boards that can cause intermittent open circuits and that triggers a charm and alerts the driver there's going to be a
10:56
sudden loss of power steering. So, and it's the power steering assist. So, it's not the full power steering, it's just to help you out. Affected owners are
11:03
actually going to get a letter probably in early May 2025. Dealers have been notified. There is a recall uh web page
11:10
set up at Chevrolet that you can always check by sticking your VIN number in there. Feel free to do that, but letters
11:15
are going to come in May. This is actually an expanded recall. This car was under recall for the same issue
11:20
before, but they just said, "You know what? We've got to expand it." It also affects owners of 2016 through 2018
11:26
Cadillac CTS's, the 2017 Cadillac ATS, and the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro. Pretty
11:32
big news there for 2017 Corvette owners. The second story we had is a technical service bulletin for 2024 and 2025
11:39
Corvettes over a door water leak. Apparently, there could be a bad front side door water deflector inside the
11:45
door. And what that does is it doesn't drain the water correctly. Water is actually getting into the cabin. If
11:50
you've noticed water where your emergency door handle poles are on the sides, if you see water down there, feel
11:56
water look mildwy or smells, you could have a water leak there, they'll check it out for you. If they think your car
12:01
is affected, they'll fix it for you under warranty if it actually is leaking. Cool. That sounds good. All right,
12:07
buddy. That's a lot of news, isn't it? I tell you what, there's just no stopping. We had the plant closed for two weeks
12:12
and we had all this news coming out. Exactly. Yeah, that's crazy. Well, let's take our first break. When we come back,
12:17
Corvette Racing and Corvette rumors are on deck here on Corvette Today. Wheelcraft's PVD chrome finish in bright
12:25
chrome or black chrome is the buzz of the Corvette community. But now, Wheelcraft is proud to announce they can
12:31
now do custom finishes for your OEM wheels, including the bronze wheel color option. And you still get the Wheelcraft
12:38
5-year warranty on all wheels. Wheelcraft offers factory wheel exchanges for C4 through C8 Corvettes,
12:44
or they can apply the PVD chrome finish to your current wheels. Buying a new Corvette? Wheelcraft will work with your
12:50
Chevrolet dealership to get your PVD chrome wheels there on time. You can drive away with your new wheels already
12:56
installed. Doing an RHC delivery at the National Corvette Museum. Wheelcraft has partnered with the NCM Motorsports Park
13:04
to do wheel exchanges once your R8C delivery is completed. You'll drive home from the NCM with your new Wheelcraft
13:10
wheels. Plus, you still get free lifetime access to the Wheelcraft Pit Crew. So, visit Wheelcraft.com or call
13:17
them at 833639-4231. Arrive in style with Wheelcraft. The
13:23
National Corvette Restor is a proud sponsor of Corvette today. Are you already an NCRS member? If not, you
13:30
should consider joining. And here's why. The NCRS means community. We're a community of individuals who love the
13:36
Corvette hobby and enjoy the fellowship that NCRS provides. We have NCRS chapters throughout the US and Canada
13:43
where members can meet monthly and share in the enjoyment of the Corvette with like-minded people. NCS means
13:49
excellence. NCS trains some of the best and most educated judges and informed owners in the car collector world. NCRS
13:56
means inclusion. Owners of both classic and new Corvettes are welcome. We offer flight and concourse judging for 53
14:02
through07 model years and sportsman awards for Corvettes ranging from 53 through 2025. NCRS means leadership.
14:10
With over 10,000 members, NCRS researches, writes, publishes, and distributes tech manuals and judging
14:17
guides for the 53 through07 Corvettes. No other Corvette organization does this, and they're available for
14:23
purchase. Members also receive the bimonthly and award-winning Restore Magazine and Driveline magazine
14:29
throughout the year. We also host an extensive technical discussion board at ncs.org.
14:35
Finally, NCS means value. Many of our prestigious awards can and often do
14:40
increase the value of the cars that achieve our rewards. Whether you own a 53 Corvette or the latest 25 model, the
14:47
NCS has a place for you. Check us out at ncs.org. Hi, I'm Mark Falter, host of
14:52
the Retirement Income Hour podcast and Corvette enthusiast. I know when I bought my Z06, I was thinking two
14:58
things. These cars are fantastically fast. And wow, are they expensive?
15:03
Owning a Corvette isn't just about driving fast. It's about living life in the fast lane. But are your finances
15:10
keeping up? On my podcast, I'll make wealth management as smooth as your
15:15
Corvette on the open road. Whether it's planning your retirement, building your investments, or how in the heck do I get
15:20
my retirement accounts to pay for this Corvette, I have got you covered. Search the Retirement Income Hour podcast
15:27
wherever you find your podcast, and let's shift your finances into overdrive. I'll see you on the open road
15:33
financially and literally. Investment advisory services offered through Mid-American Wealth Advisory Group, an
15:38
SEC registered investment advisory firm. You're listening and watching Corvette
15:44
Today with Steve Garrett. Thanks for checking out Corvette Today on podcast and YouTube. It's the only
15:51
current podcast dedicated to Corvette. Corvette Today is brought to you by Wheelcraft. Wheelcraft carries all the
15:56
latest factory wheel designs for the C8 Stingray, Z06, and popular wheel designs
16:02
from previous generations. Along with bright chrome and black chrome, Wheelcraft now offers bronze and custom
16:08
colors at half the cost of OEM. So visit wheelcraft.com or give them a call
16:13
833-639-4231. I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me is
16:19
my partner in crime Keith Cornet. Every other week we talk about what's happening in the world of America sports
16:25
car. In the second segment we cover Corvette racing and Corvette rumors. Keith, let's start with racing first.
16:31
Tell me how Corvette racing did at Sebring. The last race was at the 12 hours of Sebring and unfortunately all four
16:36
Corvettes in the race ran into some kind of trouble that kept them out of victory lane. The number three Corvette Z06 GT3R
16:42
would finish in seventh place, while the number four Corvette finished in ninth. The number three car was in great position in fourth place with under two
16:48
hours to go, but was forced to pit to fix a broken right rear suspension part. The number four Corvette was probably
16:54
the stronger of the two cars for most of the race, but it was forced to stop to repair an IMSA mandated scrutinering
17:00
logger that caused us to go three laps down. So, little issues like that in the course of the race that cause us to lose
17:06
laps and put us down the standings there. In GTD, we had the DXDT Corvette finish eighth in class, while AWA's
17:12
racing, they came off their win at Daytona. They took a huge hit during a restart with less than three hours to
17:17
go, and that dropped them to 10th in class. Between March breaking and getting whacked on restarts, the
17:23
Corvettes just didn't do all that great at Sebring this year. Corvette Racing's next event is the IMSA Weather Tech
17:28
Sports Car Championship at Long Beach Grand Prix. That's a street circuit April 11th and 12th. This race is only
17:34
for the GTD class and not GTD pros. And then also the top GTP prototype class
17:39
will race there. Just two classes racing at Long Beach. That's cool. Speaking of that Long Beach race, Tommy Milner is going to make an
17:45
appearance for us, isn't he? Yeah, he's back with DXT Racing. He'll be joined by Robert Wickens in the
17:50
number 36 Corvette Z06. Of course, Robert, we've talked before, he's a paraplegic after an indie car crash in
17:56
2018. And so, he's using hand controls from Bosch on the car. Tommy helped do the testing of that system back at the
18:02
Roar before the 24. We actually found out there's a button on there that is used to activate the pedals of the car
18:07
for when Tommy's in the car. That same button then will activate the acceleration and braking controls on the steering wheel for when Robert strike.
18:14
This is actually Tommy's second goound with DXT racing. You know, he was one of their drivers last year and they had
18:20
that incredible stint at the GT World Challenge America Series where they had eight consecutive wins in the Corvette
18:26
with Alec Udell. Good history there. Glad to see Tommy back. And of course, Tommy's excited because he hasn't been
18:31
able to run at Long Beach for a couple years because the way they split the classes up, right? He'll be part of that field this year
18:36
and he's looking forward to it. Also, speaking of the GT World Challenge America Series, I know Callaway Corvette
18:42
is going to race their C7 GT3R there, aren't they? Yeah. And this is kind of fun. I almost
18:47
feel like we're seeing an old friend again. This is the Callaway Corvette C7 GT3R. It first started racing, I
18:53
believe, in 2015. So, this is its 10th year of racing. They got a veteran driver, Merkco Schultz, I believe is his
19:00
name. Mishu Motors, guy's like 65 and just been racing forever. He's real excited to be back in the car. He raced
19:06
Callaway before. The first race actually happened over the weekend, so we don't have the results yet, but you can also
19:11
see the GT World Challenge America Series will be racing at Long Beach in April as well as with the Indie Cars and
19:17
then IMSA. So, look for them there. That's cool. All right. In the rumors category, Keith, I saw transports
19:22
leaving Bowling Green assembly plant. Did they have ZR1s on there? Yes, they did. Now, we don't know when these
19:28
pictures were taken because the plant has been closed down, but yeah, a guy on Facebook captured an auto transporter
19:33
leaving the Bowling Green assembly plant with two Highwing ZR1s on it. Now, we know they're ZR1's because they weren't
19:38
wrapped in the white transport covers that we usually see, but they did have window stickers attached. So, it seems
19:44
like GM's not using the transport covers when they're shipping their captured test fleet cars. That's what we think
19:49
these are. Okay. The other point to make about these ZR1s being transported is that with Jack Cooper out of the
19:54
picture, you know, GM is using a variety of different shippers to transport cars. We noted on this one that there were
20:00
only nine cars on the load as opposed to like the 10 that we always saw with Jack Cooper. We actually thought it was due
20:05
to size restrictions and the differences of the trailers versus the Jack Cooper trailers. But to use a little bit of my
20:11
friend John's terminology, a little birdie might says that it's more due to the weight of the cars as opposed to the
20:17
number of the cars. Oh, something actually to watch there. And of course, if you get a couple rays on that, you
20:22
know, you've got even a little bit more of a heavier load. So, a little something interesting to watch there. Not something that we're used to with
20:28
Corvettes about weight being an issue, but we do know that the cars have bulked up a little bit during the C8 era as
20:33
people like both the power performance of the car, but they also like their luxurious rides and the benefits they
20:39
get from that. The cars are a little heavier and of course, batteries don't help. That's true. Very true. Also, we saw a
20:44
ZR1 at Port Wilmington and it's on the way to the Middle East. Yeah, for a car not even in production
20:50
yet, we're seeing a lot of these cars just popping up here, popping up there. This comes again from Facebook, the C8
20:55
Corvette owners and friends group specifically. A guy was at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware where a 2025
21:01
Corvette ZR1 Highwing Coupe in Hysteria Purple Metallic was being shipped overseas. Now, there was a build sheet
21:07
there that showed it was the number 24 captured test fleet ZR1 built. It does show that it was headed for the Chevy
21:12
Arabia market. So either Dubai or Saudi Arabia is where it will most likely end up because we think it's a show car. We
21:18
do know that there are some shows up in Dubai that could most likely be its final destination there. And it's in your color, too.
21:24
Uh, it looks good. Looks good. That's awesome. All right, buddy. Final break is coming up next. After the
21:30
break, we're going to get to the fun side of Corvette, the lighter side of Corvette on deck next here on Corvette
21:35
Today. Are you ready for a better insurance policy without the Corvette tax with
21:41
agreed value protection? The value of your collector vehicle will never change. Plus, you'll save money. Get a
21:47
quick quote at ncm insurance.com. Hey Corvette lovers, this is Brian Sar
21:53
from IntelliSense Family Office. You formerly known us as True Wealth and Company. First off, a huge
21:58
congratulations to Steve Garrett on celebrating six amazing years of Corvette today. We've been proud
22:04
sponsors every mile of the way. You know the thrill and drive and the pride of ownership. But here's the big question.
22:10
Do you have the same confidence in managing your wealth? At IntelliSense Family Office, we specialize in helping
22:16
high- netw worth individuals like you protect, grow, and enjoy their wealth. Whether you're a successful entrepreneur, a professional athlete, or
22:23
someone who's worked hard to achieve your financial goals, we've got you covered with personalized expert advice.
22:29
We understand the unique challenges you face and the dreams you have for the future. From advanced tax planning to
22:34
succession planning, we provide comprehensive services tailored to your needs. Our goal to give you peace of
22:40
mind so you can focus on what you love. Ready to take your financial management to the next level? Visit
22:45
intellisense.com or reach out to us today at 9136538783.
22:51
Let's drive your financial success together. I'm Brian Sarf and I look forward to helping you live the dream.
22:57
Save the wave and see you on the road. Investment advisory services offered through IntelliSense Investment
23:02
Solutions Incorporated, an SEC registered investment advisor. When you want to buy a Corvette or any Chevrolet
23:08
for that matter, get yours from Hendrickk Chevrolet Shauny Mission located in Kansas City. Hendrickk Chevrolet is the largest Corvette
23:15
dealership and showroom in the Midwest. With a knowledgeable sales staff and Corvette sales specialists on hand,
23:20
they'll help you build the Corvette of your dreams. And they ship nationwide. With Corvette certified master mechanics
23:26
on site and a huge parts department with over 24,000 parts and $2 million in inventory, Hendrickk Chevrolet is well
23:33
equipped to take care of your every need. From sales to service to collision repair, Hendrickk Chevrolet has you
23:38
covered. Visit cheviusa.com or call 91384-1550.
23:44
Rev up your ride with the ultimate upgrade. The Radiator Grill Store is your go-to destination for top-notch C8
23:52
Corvette Stingray, Z06, and -ay accessories. Elevate your style with custom painted engine bay covers, sleek
23:59
front splitters, and side skirts that scream sophistication. Keep your C8 protected with premium radiator grills.
24:07
Stand out from the crowd at car shows and beyond. Use code CT10 for an exclusive 10% discount off your total
24:14
purchase at radiator grillilstore.com. Don't miss out on turning heads. Upgrade
24:20
your Corvette today. And now back to the only current podcast
24:25
on Corvettes. Corvette Today with your host Steve Garrett. Thanks once again for listening and
24:31
watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette. Corvette Today is brought to you by
24:36
Wheelcraft. Wheelcraft carries all the latest factory wheel designs for the C8 Stingray, Z06 and -ray and popular wheel
24:44
designs for previous generations along with bright chrome and black chrome. Wheelcraft now offers bronze and custom
24:50
colors at half the cost of OEM. So visit wheelcraft.com or just give them a call
24:55
833-639-4231. I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me is
25:00
my buddy Keith Cornet from Corvette Blogger. Just remember, if you want a deeper dive into any of the stories we
25:06
cover, you can always go to corvette blogger.com. In this final section, we always cover the fun side of Corvette.
25:12
First of all, Keith, GM has donated a 2024 Z06 to the New Jersey Community
25:17
Colleg's auto services program. Wow, that's nice that they donate a car, but it's a 2024.
25:23
Yeah. And I really like that Chevrolet does this. Obviously, they are training the next generation of the guys that are going to be working on our cars. You got
25:29
to have the experience to do that. So they donated a 2024 Corvette Z06. It was valued at over $150,000. I think it had
25:37
maybe 400 miles on it. So it was a CTF car that was being used at one point. They donated it to the Brookdale
25:42
Community College in Limcraftoft, New Jersey. That of course will be used to train the technicians of their automotive services educational program.
25:49
Some of these guys will be hired by General Motors to work in dealerships at some point. It's great they're getting
25:54
that experience now and can say, "Yeah, I actually worked on a Corvette Z06 back in the day." That's pretty darn cool. This next
26:00
story, buddy. First, it's on, then it's off. I don't know what to believe. So, Chevrolet said that there were some
26:06
Corvettes stolen from the Bowling Green assembly plant, and then they said we had ZR1 stolen, but then they said there
26:11
weren't ZR1 stolen. What's the real deal? Okay, so this was a crazy story. It happened over the weekend, maybe two
26:17
weeks ago. It was discovered that eight Corvettes were stolen from the Corvette assembly plant through a hole that was
26:22
cut in the fence and then the Corvettes were stashed at various apartment complexes around Bowling Green, like
26:28
seven or eight miles away. you know, down a couple exits on the highway. Even thanks to some quick work by the Warren
26:33
County Sheriff's Department, they discovered the first car, put it into motion to get in touch with the Bowling Green Police Department and the assembly
26:40
plant. That's how they discovered that up to eight cars were stolen. What was crazy though is in the photo, there was
26:45
a photo going around a Bowling Green Facebook page that showed a red ZR1 at the scene where there was a cop and they
26:52
were loading up cars. Initially, it was believed that the ZR1 was one of those cars that was stolen, but it was
26:57
actually driven to the scene of the recovery by a plant employee. Oh. So, that's why we thought there might be
27:03
ZR1's there. We did see that a whole bunch of Z06s were taken though, and that was one of the interesting things that we caught is that obviously with
27:10
the wings on the car, they were grabbing those and when the police found them, they still had like all the window stickers and everything on them. We
27:15
heard from a Chevrolet rep who confirmed that no ZR1's were taken. It's a crazy case though because the break in the
27:21
case came from a tow truck driver who was contracted to haul a 2017 Corvette Michigan. So when he gets to the scene
27:28
to where he's going to pick up this car, there's this 21-year-old black guy with three 2025 Corvette with window stickers
27:34
on them still. The tow truck driver said, "You know, this is really peculiar.
27:39
This is just something not right." He noticed a couple of the cars had damage to their front bottom fascias of the car. The driver called it in. Police
27:46
arrived. Actually, there's a quick foot chase through a parking lot, but they did get their suspect. And then, of course, the value of the cars estimated
27:53
to be stolen was about $1.2 million. Wow. I think a majority of them were the higherend cars that were taken from the
27:59
plant, but they did catch them all. The guy was quoted as saying, "If I would have made it back to Michigan, I would have been paid big." So, unfortunately,
28:08
he didn't get back to Michigan, and he's still going to pay big this time in the big house. Yeah, there were some additional suspects
28:14
there. They do have them on video. They were like dropping off these cars at different apartment complexes. Hopefully, this won't stop with this one
28:20
suspect that was arrested. Hopefully, they'll get his companions as well. Yeah. Crazy story. Crazy story. Yeah. And you know, this is
28:27
actually a trend that we've seen. You say to bank robbers, why do you rob banks? Well, that's where the money is. But we've seen assembly plants and
28:34
dealerships over the last 2 or 3 years really targeted by sophisticated thieves who can get in, get these cars out of
28:40
there, usually disable a tracking devices, and then sell the cars on the black market. The fact that they did catch these guys so quickly is just a
28:47
testament to some really quick police work and then some really dumb criminals maybe. Yeah, exactly.
28:53
We also saw executive chief engineer Tony Roma on Jay Leno's garage. He was talking about not only Corvettes, but
28:59
Cadillacs, too. Yeah, it was mostly to talk about the Cadillac CTS-Vs. They were had Jay's car
29:05
there. I think he's got a 2008 CTS-V. He says he just really loved the car back in the day. And this is where Tony Roma
29:11
was the guru of the V series. He started as an engineer on the V series, but he ended up as the executive chief engineer
29:18
of the V series programs before he joined the Corvette. Jay did actually sneak in a couple Corvette questions to
29:23
him. One of them he asked about the CTESV was like a four-seater Corvette and Tony took that as a compliment.
29:29
Said, you know, they're really two different cars and they're designed for two different kinds of drivers. I was kind of hoping we'd get a little bit
29:35
more transition to are we going to hear something about a 4C Corvette or maybe a Corvette SUV. That question didn't come.
29:41
But the second question Jay did ask is if the Corvette may ever be a standalone brand. And this is a little bit
29:46
interesting. Tony replies that yeah, there's a lot of talk in the world about that and that's all I'm going to say on the subject.
29:51
Wow. He really shut down that line of question quick. If you remember Mark Royce, GM president was on Jay Leno's
29:57
maybe last year talking about ZR1 and Jay asked him the same question and Mark said, "We'll never let Corvette outside
30:03
of Chevrolet. It's our halo." That kind of thing. It's interesting that though that these questions still come up and again there's still rumors out there of
30:09
a Corvette SUV and possibly a 4C Corvette that still might be in the works. We're not real sure where that
30:14
process is at this point, but you never know. You never know. That's for sure. Also, buddy, our final story. This is really
30:20
cool. The National Corvette Museum is doing some preservation work on a 53 Corvette. Do you know what VIN it is?
30:26
I think it's number 262. Okay. Of 300. But more importantly is this was the very first Corvette donated to the
30:33
NCM. It was donated back in 1992 by Ray Quinnland who was with the NCS. It was
30:39
the NCRS that was pushing to create a library and archives. The National Corpet Museum is what came of that
30:45
effort. Originally, it was just going to be a library and archives until Ray Quinnland donated this 53 Corvette in
30:50
which they said, "Well, I guess we'll do a museum as well." And look where we've come since then. Yeah.
30:56
This car has had a huge role in creating the museum. And so, they're going back and just doing some preservation work on
31:01
it. Not really a full restoration, but it looks like the car is going to get repainted. They're cleaning up some stuff that was done previously on it and
31:08
making sure that this car is going to be around for additional generations to enjoy at the National Corvette Museum. Pretty cool there. They actually work on
31:15
these cars within the facility itself. So, visitors as we're there for the bash hopefully will be able to see this car being some work on. Of course, they're
31:21
also working on Zora's car as well, that 74 Corvette that was donated. Cool stuff there happening. And 1953 Corvette, we
31:27
got to keep those around. Absolutely. I'm looking forward to seeing that car. That's really cool. I love it. Well, buddy, thanks for being
31:33
back on Corvette today. Coming up, a couple program notes. Next week, we celebrate the career of Kirk Benyan,
31:39
just like we did with Haron Charles. Oh, very nice. And then, like I said, our next Corvette news and headline show coming up in two
31:46
weeks will be the beginning of year number six for Corvette today. Wow, that's amazing. Steve, congratulations again.
31:52
Thank you, buddy. Take care. I'll see you in two weeks. All right, I'm headed to Spring Mountain. So, if you see me out in Spring Mountain, keep waving.
31:59
Thanks again for listening and watching Corvette Today. And be sure to tell your family, friends, and other Corvette
32:04
enthusiasts about the Corvette Today Show. And thanks to our sponsors, Wheelcraft. Want to dress up your
32:09
Corvette with bright chrome or black chrome wheels? Visit wheelcraft.com to learn about their advanced PVD chrome
32:15
finishing. They can refinish your wheels or offer a wheel exchange for most models, and it comes with a 5-year
32:20
warranty. Visit wheelcraft.com today or call 833-639-4231.
32:27
Soul Performance Products at souppp.com. The official performance exhaust of
32:32
Corvette today. Seioa Corvette at ciocorvette.com.
32:37
E5 wheels at e5wheels.com. IntelliSense at intellisense.com.
32:43
Also, Aerolari Wheels. Get $100 off your purchase with the promo code CT111 at
32:49
aerolari.com. Mark Valter with the Retirement Income Hour podcast. and Hendrickk Chevrolet in Kansas City at
32:55
chevysusa.com. Thanks for checking out Corvette Today on podcast and YouTube. If you'd like to
33:03
contact Steve with ideas for Corvette today, you can email him at stevegared djgmail.com.
33:10
Garrett has two Rs and two T's. That's Steve Garrett DJgmail.com.
33:15
Also, sign up for email notifications at corvette.k.page.
33:21
Follow Steve and the show on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and threads at Steve Garrett
33:28
DJ. Thanks again for listening and watching Corvette today. [Music]
#News
#Vehicle Shows