ZO6
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 313
From:
ZO6
Well yesterday, I put a deposit down on a new Z06. Looks like the best I can hope for is to get the car by late 2006, which would make the car a 2007. Gonna be a long wait.
What follows is a post, a person made on another forum, about picking up their Z06. I can hardly wait
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Today I experienced one of if not the highest point in my car guy life. I had the opportunity to tour the assembly plant for Corvette at Bowling Green. I not only got to tour but had a privatetour by a very exceptional person, Kevin.
The individual tour was made possible by the info exchange on this forum, GM (through Kevin...more on Kevin latter), and the fact that my Z06 was up for production.
Go back to this morning, a little after 9 o'clock. I arrive on the line where my Z06 is in the last 4 hours of it's assembly process. I'm given the build sheet and brought up to speed on the build.
After we watch it move through several stations, Kevin takes us to watch the processes that the car has gone through to this point. We see the frame shop, the dash sub-assembly, watch the "marriage" of drive train to body, the doors put on, etc. etc. and we go through the XLR line, and a ton of other stuff for about an hour an then go back to my car.
This is where everything steps up a notch. One of the line guys comes over and tells me how awesome the car is and then thanks me for purchasing it. in fact several workers stop to meet me and make comments about how awesome the Z06 is. I watch the window sticker get put on, the fluids put in the car, a lot of stuff I can't remember too.
Then I get to get in the car in the passenger seat. Todd is programming, pushing buttons left & right and talking with the monitor stuck outside the window. He then says OK were ready...you get to start engine for the 1st time, just push that button in one time.
a few stations latter and they are checking body gaps with computer readers and monitors that show pass/fail for each check. there are about 20 spots checked...mine failed 3. those 3 are rectified minutes later before the last line quality check.
I'm then put in the drivers seat while I watch more programing going on by Roger who then brings up milage on the DIC which displays 0...zero He says "that's the last time you will see that, put the clutch in, starter up, and drive it off the line.
Kevin has taken about 20 pics throughout this time. Needless to say it's hard to put into words everything you see and how it feels to get to fire your car up before anyone else does and get to drive it off the line.
What I can say is 1st, every Vette owner should tour BG and 2nd I have to acknowledge and thank Kevin for making this possible.
Kevin has one of the coolest jobs around but he didn't exactly luck into this dream job. Kevin is content to tell you he is just a good ole KY boy but read between the lines and it doesn't take long to see a very dedicated, intelligent, multi-talented person with a lifetime of valuable experience. He is the best of the best and a valuable asset to Corvette and GM. He kept us informed, entertained, connected, and personable through the 4 hours we were together.
After today I really feel GM cares about their Corvette customers. something I never felt with my C5 experience that began 7 years ago with my purchase of my C5 coupe on 02.10.00. I can't imagine how other brand customers could get a personal tour of their car getting built. I guess it happens, but not to average joe's like me.
I hope there are no glitches with transportation or the dealer completing the deal...but at this point I feel pretty good about Corvette, GM, & Chevrolet.
BTW: of course we did the museum after that. After getting to see my car go down the line, getting to be the 1st one to start the engine & drive it off the line I was on cloud nine (whatever that means), anyway is was a pretty cool day
What follows is a post, a person made on another forum, about picking up their Z06. I can hardly wait
-------------------------------------------------
Today I experienced one of if not the highest point in my car guy life. I had the opportunity to tour the assembly plant for Corvette at Bowling Green. I not only got to tour but had a privatetour by a very exceptional person, Kevin.
The individual tour was made possible by the info exchange on this forum, GM (through Kevin...more on Kevin latter), and the fact that my Z06 was up for production.
Go back to this morning, a little after 9 o'clock. I arrive on the line where my Z06 is in the last 4 hours of it's assembly process. I'm given the build sheet and brought up to speed on the build.
After we watch it move through several stations, Kevin takes us to watch the processes that the car has gone through to this point. We see the frame shop, the dash sub-assembly, watch the "marriage" of drive train to body, the doors put on, etc. etc. and we go through the XLR line, and a ton of other stuff for about an hour an then go back to my car.
This is where everything steps up a notch. One of the line guys comes over and tells me how awesome the car is and then thanks me for purchasing it. in fact several workers stop to meet me and make comments about how awesome the Z06 is. I watch the window sticker get put on, the fluids put in the car, a lot of stuff I can't remember too.
Then I get to get in the car in the passenger seat. Todd is programming, pushing buttons left & right and talking with the monitor stuck outside the window. He then says OK were ready...you get to start engine for the 1st time, just push that button in one time.
a few stations latter and they are checking body gaps with computer readers and monitors that show pass/fail for each check. there are about 20 spots checked...mine failed 3. those 3 are rectified minutes later before the last line quality check.
I'm then put in the drivers seat while I watch more programing going on by Roger who then brings up milage on the DIC which displays 0...zero He says "that's the last time you will see that, put the clutch in, starter up, and drive it off the line.
Kevin has taken about 20 pics throughout this time. Needless to say it's hard to put into words everything you see and how it feels to get to fire your car up before anyone else does and get to drive it off the line.
What I can say is 1st, every Vette owner should tour BG and 2nd I have to acknowledge and thank Kevin for making this possible.
Kevin has one of the coolest jobs around but he didn't exactly luck into this dream job. Kevin is content to tell you he is just a good ole KY boy but read between the lines and it doesn't take long to see a very dedicated, intelligent, multi-talented person with a lifetime of valuable experience. He is the best of the best and a valuable asset to Corvette and GM. He kept us informed, entertained, connected, and personable through the 4 hours we were together.
After today I really feel GM cares about their Corvette customers. something I never felt with my C5 experience that began 7 years ago with my purchase of my C5 coupe on 02.10.00. I can't imagine how other brand customers could get a personal tour of their car getting built. I guess it happens, but not to average joe's like me.
I hope there are no glitches with transportation or the dealer completing the deal...but at this point I feel pretty good about Corvette, GM, & Chevrolet.
BTW: of course we did the museum after that. After getting to see my car go down the line, getting to be the 1st one to start the engine & drive it off the line I was on cloud nine (whatever that means), anyway is was a pretty cool day
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 313
From:
RE: ZO6
getting it for msrp. the dealer doesn't know what msrp will be at that time. No one knows... I suspect around 72k.
You can get a Z in a mth or two, if you are willing to pay a "mkt adjustment" of a 10k mark up. That is the reason, I have to wait so long to get the car.
GM can't produce them fast enough, with the engines being hand built. Once demand slows, after this summer buying season, dealers will have an "inventory" to sell. Up to now, dealers don't have anything to sell, other then the cars with "market adjustments".
In Calf. Z's have been selling for MSRP + 20k.
As far as you driving it, ...........well, ummmmmmm sure.
<yikes>
You can get a Z in a mth or two, if you are willing to pay a "mkt adjustment" of a 10k mark up. That is the reason, I have to wait so long to get the car.
GM can't produce them fast enough, with the engines being hand built. Once demand slows, after this summer buying season, dealers will have an "inventory" to sell. Up to now, dealers don't have anything to sell, other then the cars with "market adjustments".
In Calf. Z's have been selling for MSRP + 20k.
As far as you driving it, ...........well, ummmmmmm sure.
<yikes>
HCF Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 7,699
RE: ZO6
i cant wait to see what my bosses can do this year on the track. apparently they are outperforming the C5 Z06s with T1 bars, full suspension, 450+whp, and slicks. dead stock. stock tires. holy hell. I rode in his ex-C5, and that thing was a beast. the only cars that he didnt just claw down and pass were a Ferarri 355 and....oh wait, thats the only one. and he lapped a few highly modded M3s, in a 20-25 minute session. and he was coming up on that Ferarri when the race ended (well, it was time trials, not a competitive race, but its close enough) and he had almost a full lap headstart. when you get that car, you have to join SCCA and take it to some track days. theres no explaining the power of that car, you have to get it on a track and find its limits, or you will eventually kill yourself. My boss has well over 100 hours of instruction, and many times that of race time, and he has already scared hmself two or three times with the new car. oh, and run it on 93 octane, the 91 kills the power bad. well, he still got 491hp at the wheels on 91 with just a set of long-tube headers, but i want to redyno it on 93.
