Spring 2008

Big Bad Green Machines!

Everywhere you go today Corporate America is going Green.

The environment is on everyone’s mind… Indy and C6.R Corvette Racing are no different. In the automobile business you usually associate environmentally friendly with less horsepower, less speed and less FUN! Thanks to our friends at Pratt & Miller and the Corvette Racing Team, that perception is changing. Even the Indy 500 has a Corvette pacing that is Green.

On May 25th Corvette will be pacing this years Indy 500 for the 10th time— a record unmatched by any other vehicle! It’s hard to believe that it has already been 30 years since that first two-tone Black and Silver Corvette Coupe paced Indy for the first time back in 1978. In celebration of this honor, Chevrolet created a beautiful 2008 Black and Silver Indy Pace Car Corvette replica. The good news is that you can order one of these Indy Pace Cars in a Coupe or a Convertible for your very own pacing pleasure! These very limited C6 Pace Cars will be signed by two time Indianapolis 500 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, the perfect ambassador to lead the Indy 500 in an E85 powered Z06 Corvette.

Leave it to Indy to raise the Green banner even higher by having two Corvette models pace the Indianapolis 500 in the same race!

Indy’s first lap will be paced by a customized non-production Z06 Corvette E85 concept car that runs on E85 ethanol fuel, similar to the E100 fuel that powers all of the race cars in the Indy Car Series. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Its benefits include reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and a reduced dependence on foreign oil while providing us with a higher octane rating than gasoline.

 GM is using this stage to show its dedication to flex and alternative fuels. Is E85 the miracle answer to our oil dependence? I don’t think it is THE answer, but it is surely ONE of the answers. I say, if it can power a Corvette and still give us that adrenaline rush of horsepower and torque, along with that great sensation we have all come to love and enjoy in our vettes, then it’s just fine wit

Thanks to Pratt & Miller’s hard work within the C6.R Racing Team, they are going to be racing both C6.R #3 and #4 on E85 during part of the American Le Mans Series which will include the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15, 2008. Can you say… Alternative Flex Fuel in a 750+ hp Corvette race car? Way too cool… I mean Green!

Times, they are a changing! It is with great sadness that we say Good Bye to a great friend of the Registry, Corvette Plant Manager Wil Cooksey, who is retiring March 1, 2008 after 15 years of guiding Corvette to new heights. Wil is a real Corvette enthusiast! He bought his first Corvette in 1969. But to show you how much he loves Corvettes, he still has the 40th Anniversary Coupe that he was given as his first company car when he arrived at the Plant in February 1993. He always said he just couldn’t believe that he got to drive a Corvette every day to work! On a personal note, any time the Registry ever needed a speaker for an event, Wil was there. He always said that being around customers taught him a great deal about his product.

The first time I saw Wil he was getting into his C4 drag vette to fire it up for all the Corvette enthusiasts at our first C5 Birthday Bash in 1998. I knew right then that Corvette was in the right hands. It was clear that this was not just a job to him, but a labor of love. He is a real CAR GUY and just the kind of guy you want watching over the building of your dream vette. Under Wil’s direction, the Bowling Green Assembly Plant won numerous awards for Quality, to the point that it seemed like every time I was at the Plant, Wil would be guiding a group of GM folks who came to see how the Master did it! No one will dispute the fact that he turned the Corvette Plant into a model of Quality for GM. His motivation was always customer satisfaction first! Whenever he would speak at one of our events, he always asked those in attendance for input on the model Corvette currently being built. He was never afraid to field the hard questions and he always answered in plain English, instead of the usual evasive talk of Corporate America. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Wil is the Car Guy’s car guy!

Liz and Wil Cooksey.  Photo by Charley Robertson.

So on behalf of the entire Official C5/C6 Registry, we say a BIG C5/C6 THANK YOU, WIL, for bringing Corvette to its current world class status of quality; but more importantly, thanks for making so many of us so very happy with our new Corvettes! Don’t worry about Wil’s retirement time because effective January 1, 2008 he is now Chairman of the Board of the NCM. That’s what I’m talking about!

Wil, you are a true enthusiast for Corvette… You are the VETTE MAN!
If it’s Spring, then it must be the season to be planning for the C5/C6 Bash! This year the Bash takes place April 24-26, 2008 and it promises to be bigger and better than any before.

I still have members telling me that the Early Arrival Kick-Off Party held at Jim Van Dorn’s Auto Masters last year was a hoot of a time! I never realized how much members enjoy eating dinner under Corvettes ON A LIFT! So this year, back by popular demand, we will once again have mouth-watering Kentucky barbecue, live music and dancing at our Early Arrival Party on Thursday evening. Don’t forget, you need to call or email the Registry Office to make your reservation for this party.

As in the past, there will be a Corvette Quality Clinic for 2008 Corvettes, a powerful line up of Drag Racing at Beech Bend, a Ground Breaking Ceremony for the NCM Expansion, a memorable evening with Wil Cooksey and Paul Graham celebrating the retirement of Corvette Assembly Plant Manager Wil Cooksey and the introduction of the new Plant Manager Paul Graham. And that’s just a start! The 2009 Corvette lineup will be introduced on Saturday by the Corvette Brand Team with their traditional “walk-around” presentation. This is your chance to get up close and personal with the new ZR1! I’m sure all the engineers who contributed to this new Bad Boy will be on hand to answer any and all of your questions on this latest Super Car.

The real FUN happens Saturday night at the “Margaritaville” Banquet held at the Sloan Convention Center, and this year will be no exception as there will be live music and dancing! You will not be able to enjoy any of this Corvette excitement unless you register! So check out the NCM schedule of events and register at www.corvettemuseum.com/registration/c5_bash/agenda.shtml or call the NCM at 800-538-3883. Early registration closes at 5:00 p.m. on
April 11th.

That’s it for now. See you all at the C5/C6 Bash!

C6Ya! Dan