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CORVETTE TODAY Extra - Exciting News From Wheel Craft!
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Jul 12, 2025
This CORVETTE TODAY Extra episode brings you two amazing announcements from Wheel Craft! Ed Hollinshead from Wheel Craft joins your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett, to talk about pre-ordering wheels for your Corvette prior to PDI. Plus, you can now order Wheel Craft wheels for your R8C Museum Delivery at the National Corvette Museum! Check out this CORVETTE TODAY Extra Episode with Wheel Craft and some PVD Chrome wheels for your car!
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[Music]
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Welcome to Corvette Today, the show that
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talks about everything Corvette with
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your host Steve Garrett, lifetime member
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of the National Corvette Museum,
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president of the Corvette Club of Kansas
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City, Missouri, and radio disc jockey of
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the number one radio station in Kansas
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City for over 45 years.
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Here's Steve Garrett.
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Thanks for listening and watching
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Corvette Today, the show that talks
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about everything Corvette and the only
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current podcast dedicated to Corvette.
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I'm your host, Steve Garrett. I
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appreciate you tuning in on this
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Corvette Today Extra. Ed Holland Head
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from Wheelcraft is back with me with
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some incredibly exciting news. First,
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buddy, welcome back to Corvette Today.
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Oh, hi Steve. Thanks for having me on. I
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appreciate it. You know, I've said this
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before, but it bears repeating. You
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know, Wheelcraft is truly honored and
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grateful to be a sponsor of the Corvette
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Today podcast. June is going to mark two
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years we've worked together as a
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sponsor, and we've enjoyed the
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opportunity to learn and engage with
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your fantastic audience. The podcast has
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helped elevate awareness of our brand
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and significantly grow our business
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these past two years. Thank you.
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Thank you.
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If I might add, before we get started,
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there are two other individuals that
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have helped Wheelcraft enter and grow in
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the Corvette market. And it starts with
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our very first C8 customer. Gentleman's
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name is Ron Summers from Northeast Ohio.
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And we had applied our PBD bright chrome
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on his Cadillac Escalade. And when he
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took delivery of his C8 in July of 2020,
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he called us, but we didn't own any
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Corvette wheels in our inventory at the
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time. Ron promised and begged us to
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purchase a set to do an exchange with
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him, and he promised that if we'd just
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listened to him, we would be successful
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in the Corvette community. And three and
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a half years later, we're grateful for
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Ron's persistence as we now set for
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another milestone in our journey and
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that we'll be talking about this
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morning. But thank you, Ron, for being a
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great friend, advocate, and a great
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customer. The second person I would like
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to thank is Mike Ferman. You Mike is one
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of many household names in the community
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and has helped mentor Wheelcraft's
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growth from the day we met him. We
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attended our first Corvettes at Carile
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event in 21 and Mike found us in the
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grass fields of the swap market area and
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Mike immediately told us we needed to be
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on the midway the following year. Mike
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has also insisted we attend the spring
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bash which we did for the first time in
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22 and continues to offer advice on
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driving awareness of our PBD chrome
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finish. So from customer referrals to
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recommendations on shows and events,
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Mike has been a valued friend in helping
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shape who Wheelcraft is today. Before we
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talk about our next journey, I just
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wanted to drop that in. Thank Ron
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Summers, Mike Ferman, and you, Steve,
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for being in our corner and helping us
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grow the business.
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Buddy, the pleasure has been all mine.
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It has been an honor and a pleasure
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having you as our signature sponsor of
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Corvette today. And you're right, Mike
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Ferman is one of a kind. Ed, let's talk
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about two updates that you've done with
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Wheelcraft that totally benefits the
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customer. First off, you can now
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pre-order wheels from Wheelcraft prior
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to your PDI process. Isn't that correct?
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That's correct. And we really encourage
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people with new orders to contact us
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prior to their build reaching the 2000
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status. Our goal is to educate customers
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on the process before they commit to a
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wheel selection for their build. And
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when making that selection, customers
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choose the design and the wheel finish
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that range from high gloss to silver to
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polished aluminum, carbon flash, machine
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face, and so on. So, since we then take
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the OEM finish off of the wheels
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completely, no matter what it is, it's
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best to select the base model finish,
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right?
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We want to help customers save money and
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get the look they want for their new C8
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with our bright or black PVD chrome.
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Even if our first contact with the
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customer is after they have made the
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wheel selection, we have a process in
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place to have PVD chrome finished wheels
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arrive at their dealership in time for
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delivery. or in the case of an R8C
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delivery, we will have the wheels staged
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for installation immediately following
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the delivery process.
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Ed, that's fantastic. And that really
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leads me into something that I think is
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pretty groundbreaking. You can now order
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Wheelcraft wheels and have them
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installed on site at the Motorsports
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Park right after you do your RHC
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delivery at the National Corvette
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Museum.
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Yes, Steve, this is an exciting
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announcement for us. In March, we
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finalized our partnership with NCO
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Motorsports Park to offer our PVD chrome
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finishes and complete the wheel exchange
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at the Motorsports Park immediately
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following the R8C delivery experience.
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Ultimately, we want to enhance the
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customer's overall experience when
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selecting the museum delivery option.
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And our pre-modification process from
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planning to delivery lets our customers
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drive home with a wheel finish that
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really completes the look of their car.
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So, after customers take delivery, the
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new owners now drive over to the
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motorsports park where the talented team
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led by Griffland swaps the wheels for an
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identical set of the OEM wheels finished
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in our bright or black PVD chrome
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finish. And they remount and balance the
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tires so you're driving home with the
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look that you really want for your car.
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That's awesome.
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And then in addition to that expert
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installation process, the Motorsports
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Spark team has an exclusive offer
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reserved only for R8C delivery
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customers. So once the wheels are
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installed, the team will take the
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customers out on the track for a
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one-of-a-kind photo session at various
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locations along the course, including
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the finish line. This is a special way
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to cap off an exciting day taking
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delivery at the Corvette Museum.
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Wow, that's fantastic. Now, your bright
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chrome wheels are far superior than
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traditional chrome. Tell me more about
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that process. Well, we believe
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Wheelcraft has the highest quality
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finish available in the market, and it's
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really best to define what PVD chrome is
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and give a little background to the
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overall process to get us to
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understanding why ours is so durable and
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much better than traditional chrome. So,
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PVD stands for physical vapor
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deposition, and it's truly a process of
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applying a micro thin layer of chrome
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onto the entire surface of the wheel.
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The traditional chrome process layers
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material onto the surface through a
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series of chemical baths in order to
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achieve the chrome finish. The PVD
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process on the other hand takes place in
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a vacuum system where a solid material
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in our case chrome is converted into a
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gas and then that gas is then deposited
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onto the wheel where it converts back to
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a solid resulting in the chrome finish.
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Wow.
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So the chrome finish is applied to every
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part of the wheel surface except for the
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back plate of the wheel where it mounts
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to the hub. We finish the inner barrel,
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the rear of the spokes, etc. The PVD
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chrome process creates an inseparable
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bond between the chrome finish and the
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underlying alloy of the wheel. And the
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final step of the process is to apply an
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acrylic clear coat that seals in and
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protects the finish. So the extreme
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durability of our performance finish is
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due to the ultra thin thickness of our
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application. And really a question there
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is why is thinness so important? But the
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thinner the film finish, the tighter the
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bond with the alloy. The thicker the
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material, the more susceptible it is to
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chips, cracks, and peeling. So our
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entire finish measures in the range of 6
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to 9 mil of thickness. So in relative
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terms, this is slightly thicker than a
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sheet of paper that measures at 6 mil.
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Wow. In fact, we outline and demonstrate
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the entire DNA of our micro thin finish
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on our website at wheelcraft.com. On the
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our process page, we have photos and
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videos that show the structure of our
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finish compared to others and
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demonstrate with a hammer how durable
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the finish really is. There's also a
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link to take a virtual tour of our
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facility of the process page as well.
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And that's really, really cool. I've
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watched that a couple times and I love
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that. Now, buddy, I'm not a big black
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wheel kind of guy, but your chrome black
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wheels have truly changed my mind.
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That's pretty funny. You know, a lot of
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people say that and our black chrome PVD
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chrome finish is very unique. When
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people think of black wheels, the first
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image that comes to mind is a really
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deep jet black finish,
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right?
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Our black PVD chrome is essentially a
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chrome finish with a black undertone.
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Black wheels are not for everyone, and
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our black PVD chrome is a combination of
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chrome and black to provide a rich
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finish. And it provides a really unique
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look to set the car apart.
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It really does. Now, let's outline the
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sales process of getting Wheelcraft
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finished wheels for your car.
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Okay. Well, first, our ultimate goal is
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to educate our customers on our finish
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and then help them acquire finished
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wheels in the easiest way possible.
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Every member of our team has a customer
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first mentality. So, the process begins
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when a customer learns we can help them
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in the first place. We have wheels for
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the C8, the Z06, -ay, and many other
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generations of Corvette. But as I
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mentioned, the sooner we're able to
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connect and educate the customer on the
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PVD chrome finish, the better chance we
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have of helping customers save money on
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their wheel selection for their build.
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Customers can go to our website,
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wheelcraft.com and submit a quote
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request online or call us directly at
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833639-4231.
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So whether we're meeting the customer at
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the early stages of their build process
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or after they've taken delivery, we have
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a process in place to help them make
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this as easy and pleasant as possible.
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So, we first identify the wheel they
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have on their car or the wheel that they
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will be selecting to finalize their
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build. And then, as I mentioned, we
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manage multiple sets of Stingray Z06 and
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-ray factory wheels that can be finished
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in advance and then installed on the
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customer's car. The next step is to
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settle in on a desired wheel finish,
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whether it's bright or black PVD chrome,
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and then we can also discuss custom
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colors and finishes as well. So, we have
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a process in place where we will even
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ship a sample wheel face finished in our
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bright or our black PV chrome so the
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customer can see the finish firstand
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before they even place an order with us.
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Wow, that's cool.
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It is a pretty neat process and
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customers really appreciate and like to
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have it in their hands when they see
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exactly what they're going to be getting
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from us. So, we then outline a detailed
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quote. That quote includes the cost of
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the exchange process for the finished
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wheels and shipping. And if a customer
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is planning for an R8C delivery at the
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museum, the quote will include the cost
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of installation at the motorsports park.
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So from this point, we coordinate all
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the logistics for the finished wheels to
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be drop shipped to the motor sports
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park, a car dealership or tire store.
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Our entire touchless process makes it
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easy for customers to get the look they
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want without worrying about all these
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logistics. And as I mentioned earlier,
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the motorsports park team completes the
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entire delivery experience for R8C
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delivery customers with the exclusive
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photo shoot out on the track.
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Yeah.
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So, the best place to start really is by
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visiting our website at wheelcraft.com
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or calling us at 833639-4231
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and we can help outline the entire
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process,
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you know. And the beauty of all this is
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you don't have to pay for your wheels up
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front either. You don't even have to do
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a deposit with your customers. Isn't
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that right?
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That's correct, Steve. You know, we
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really have relied on the trust factor
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for our entire existence. We don't even
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have a core deposit and do not invoice
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our customers until the finished wheels
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are shipped to their point of
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installation. So, we are so confident
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our customers are going to love our
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finish. We do not expect payment until
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they have a chance to see the finishes
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on their wheels even prior to
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installation. In the case of the
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installations over at the motorsports
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park, customers will pay for the process
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following the installation at the main
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service desk at the park. Okay. So, how
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and where can people get a hold of
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Wheelcraft? One more time,
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we encourage people to visit us at
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wheelcraft.com or call the office at
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833639-4231.
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That's 833639-4231.
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In addition, customers can request
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information through the NCM Motorsports
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Park website at motorsportsark.orgdely.
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Nice. Ed, this is really cool and
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incredible news. Anything else before we
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go? You know, I just want to say thank
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you for inviting us to announce this
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exciting news of our partnership with
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NCM Motorsports Park. From the R8C
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delivery team to the outstanding people
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over at the Motorsports Park, we are
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really excited to help customers head
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home with the wheels they really, really
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want to finish the look of their car.
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So, and as I've said many times before,
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Steve, we're honored to be sponsors of
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the Corvette Today podcast and grateful
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that you help us deliver our message to
12:01
your followers. Thank you.
12:02
Thanks again for listening and watching
12:04
Corvette Today. And be sure to tell your
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12:11
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Today, you can email him at stevegared
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[Music]
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