Today is the big day! We were up at dawn for the half-hour drive to the Cobo Center. The outside thermometer in the borrowed minivan read 0 degrees as the six of us (Ed, Shirley, Greg, Bob, Chad and me) bombed down the interstate to Motor City.
We arrived uneventfully and parked atop the Cobo Center:
The plan was to gather at 9am at the statue of Joe Louis in the anteroom area of the convention center:
(I yelled for everyone to stand still but no one listened..)
Shortly there were scores of Corvette fanatics there and shortly thereafter here came the America's Corvette Club folks all decked out in yellow t-shirts thoughtfully provided by the club sponsor Jack Cauley Chevrolet.
Among them was Colleen Egan who had arranged this early vist for us:
We trooped into the hall (there must have been more than 100 of us) directly to the Corvette display in the GM section of the hall. And, there it was:
..crouching there on its angled turntable, shining softly under the lights. Wow! It's (apologies to Coca-Cola) the REAL THING! And then I noticed in the shadows our surprise. Dave Hill, Corvette Chief Engineer was going to present the cars to his best customers:
Dave spoke to us for more than an hour (using notes so that nothing was forgotten)
.. and described every feature, every form-following-function decision that led to what he called "the perfect Corvette".
From every angle, the C6 is better and better and better looking:
The crowd liked everything they heard -- and I mean everything!
Well, some may not have liked hearing that the C5 is obsolete and that Dave doesn't (personally) care for white cars or the grey interior -- but that was about it.
An unphotographed highlight for me was when Dave demonstrated the removal of the roof panel and how it stowed in the back. While talking on his wireless mike he sat in the driver's seat, unclipped the three (new) latches, picked up the top (still seated), rose to his feet, walked it around the car and placed it inside -- all in one fluid motion. My guess? Dave's been working out!
The removable top fits into the trunk horizontally and stuff can be stored beneath it; much nicer than on the C5. You can still have your two golf bags in there AND the removable top panel (so we were told).
At the end of Dave's remarks, Colleen presented him with an honorary t-shirt:
In addition to the show car, Chevy also brought a rolling chassis without skin to show the changes to the underpinnings of the C6:
Another surprise was that the Discovery Channel was producing a C6 show to be aired in March; the crew interviewed a bunch of us. Can't wait to see that show!
I got a kick out of how even the kids were fascinated by the C6 Corvette:
Believe it or not, there were other cars shown here. I'm fascinated by so-called "super cars"; here's a sampling:
This is as good a time as any to describe "Chaz Cone's Car Categories":
| All motorcars can be classified in one of three categories:
Category 1: Cars you want and could possibly afford to buy
Category 2: Cars you could possibly afford but would not want
Category 3: Cars you want but could never afford
Examples of Category 1 cars:
C6 Corvette
Cadillac CTS-V
Hummer H2
Examples of Category 2 cars:
Pontiac Aztec
Any hybrid
Examples of Category 3 cars:
Everything in the photo group above!
|
Did I mention that the show was well-attended on opening day?
How crowded was it around the C6? I'm sure Chevy didn't put it's new truck next to the exhibit of the C6 just for a camera platform, but...
And there were other lovely images to capture today as well. Apparently using spokesmodels in skimpy clothing is "out" for the NAIAS; the ladies were mostly in black leather:
Well, by mid afternoon we were all pretty pooped but a few hours later we were all up for the Regsitry Dinner at..
.. Ginopolis' on the Grill Restaurant in Farmington Hills. Nearly 100 Registry members showed up for a great meal and a powerpoint presentation by our old friend Dave Peacy. Dave is out of Corvette now with a new assignment in GM but can't seem to get away from us!
Here, for example, are Bubba Cartner (on the right) and his other brother Darryl:
But there were others (perhaps more refined):
For those of you who think Kent Cartner is a non-participating S.O.B., here is evidence that you may be mistaken. Kent bought me a beer. I was so surprised at this demonstration of unaccustomed generosity that I drank a third of it before thinking to take this picture of the evidence:
After dinner, Dave Peacy showed a comprehensive set of PowerPoint slides with the changes represented by the C6. Click HERE to review those slides; they answer lots of questions about the C6.
Here are Dan, Dave Peacy and Jake at the end of the dinner. I promise you that Dave was substantially happier to be here than is apparent in this picture!
The evening continued with a party hosted by Ed and Shirley Duprey at their lovely home. They even had a cake with C6 photos created in edible icing:
Lots of the folks from the Registry dinner came by to enjoy the cake and other goodies:
..and so we end the fun for the weekend with sated appetites for C6, dinner, cake and comraderie -- and this disturbing image of Kent Cartner and his new best friend. Don't ask...
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