Membership Report - by James Andreson
We have 95 members. Welcome to Joel Forman and Susan Scheller!!
If you need a name tag, please send me an email through the Corvette Atlanta website.
Presidential Report - by David Morgan
As I swelter in the heat and humidity of a thunderstorm, I long for fall. Wait, wait summer just started and it is too early to wish for fall. We haven't even had the lake party yet. We did have one of the most successful Stone Mountain Park picnics in a long, long time. We had nice sunny weather, not too hot and no rain. With thirty five members and four guests attending, it was a nice crowd. I guess the offer of all the hot dogs you can stand to eat was enough to bring out the hungry. I was pleased to get to see some very old friends, Ron & Cindy Michael, from my early roots with the club. I was pleased that I got to see Ann Clark, after a long absence at club events, and meet Carol Brownell for the first time. We also had Joel Forman attending as a visitor. Joel has a nice 2008 Blade Silver C-6. He attended the Jim Ellis car show and will hopefully join us as member soon. Another old friend, recently missing in action, Scott Baize also attended.
Just a word about the newer cars attending. Many of us gathered around Ed Clarks' new Grand Sport, white convertible, for the guided tour. Wow, what a fine Corvette, well worth the wait for Ed! Scott Baize had his seldom seen Ron Fellows Special Edition Z06 for us to admire. It is another example of the special edition type cars the Chevrolet hopes will be collector's material at some future auction, as do the current owners. Larry Viatkus and Lisa Dekalb arrived in Larry's "used, but-new-to-him" C-5 black Convertible. Larry says the same thing the Morgans say, "an automatic Corvette is the hot tip in Atlanta traffic. It did seem as if we had more members actually drive their Corvettes to this picnic than in some previous years.
The next big events of the summer season is the Sixteenth Annual Lake Oconee Party at the Morgan's home. We are scheduled for July 17th, to allow for the NCCC Convention in Florida July 24 thru 31st. We will have more information, sign up sheets, etc. prior to the lake party, but I do want everyone to put that date on their planning calendars. Remember, the club furnishes the main dish, Holcomb's Bar-B-Que pig and Brunswick stew, plus soft drinks. Everyone brings good food to share. This is an all day affair, so do plan on making this a "don't miss" event. Hopefully, the good old GA DOT will not be paving on I-20 this year, causing really awful traffic pack ups.
The club has responded well to the challenge of VP of Activities, Michael Campsmith, to come up with good, fun events. I commend Michael for job well done. Continue to watch the Activities section of your newsletter and pay attention to the blast emails for upcoming things to do.
On a last person note. I went to the Scott Baize school of car trade-ins and traded both my old '96 Impala SS and my old '94 Corvette coupe for a newer Corvette. It is a like new 2006 Victory Red convertible. This convertible has a Cashmere interior and black soft top. The "oh wow" factor is extremely high, as the original owner installed a Calloway supercharger on the motor, boosting the HP to new highs. Nancy' will get this for her daily driver when her Nissan Murano comes off lease in mid July.
We did have a couple of code issues with our "used, but-new-to-us" Corvette as soon as we got it home. We were attempting to meet Marvin & Debbie Payne, on Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend and as Nancy drove her new, high HP convertible in bumper-to-bumper traffic, she exclaimed to me, "something is wrong with the car, if has no power". Friends, those are not words you want to hear, in heavy traffic, on I-20 East, at about 5:00 PM, on Memorial Day Friday! The code read, "Reduced Engine Power" and the car went in to Limp Mode. That is so you can limp on back home and return to the dealership ASAP. Monday, which was actually a holiday, our dear club friend, David Fulcher, put his electronic diagnostic computer on the car and explained why is went into Limp Mode and most importantly, assured us we had not just bought a Lemon Yellow convert, rather than Victory Red convertible. To the credit of Jim Ellis Chevy, our sponsor, our car was ready in two days, all problems corrected, at no cost to the Morgans. That is a story worth telling to all my friends in Corvette Atlanta.
I hope all are having a good summer, staying inside & enjoying your A/C!!!
My NCM Experience - by Ed Clark
I now have accomplished the ordering, buyer's tour and NCM delivery of my new 2010 Grand Sport convertible and I have enjoyed nearly everything about the whole process. Nearly everything you ask? Well two long hauls to Bowling Green in a matter of weeks was a bit much but the drive home on the second trip in the new car was great!
I learned a great deal going through this process. Starting with placing the order at Jim Ellis Chevrolet, Reggie Stagmaier proved to be very helpful in explaining in detail what my options were and then getting my decision down on an order form. With the various option packages, one decision potentially impacting others, you may have to make compromises as you do this and having Reggie assisting you is a great help. While I had spent a good bit of time on the internet investigating what I wanted, it was still a challenge getting it right. Be sure when you go through an ordering process that you have a sales person like Reggie who is a Corvette specialist and know GM's ordering process helping you!
The Buyer's Tour offered by the NCM proved to be an interesting adventure for a car nut like me who has had his old car partially apart several times. I was accompanied by Larry McCool of the Museum staff who is very knowledgeable about Corvettes and the assembly process and provided loads of information about what was happening and why. The total time to assemble a car a Bowling Green now is a bit over three days. Drive train assemble and painting were two parallel initial steps. Seeing racks of new engines and learning the differences between base, Grand Sport with and without dry sump, Z06 and ZR-1 engines often came to minor difference, like if the engine had an oil fill cap or not. Or it was very easy such as when you see the blower on the ZR-1 engines. Initially you watch the drive train assembly as the paint area isn't available to tour. At about 8 car/hour, your vehicle seems to creep along at times while in other areas there is a swarm of activity.
I learned that there are several build sheets along the way. Initially one for the power train and one for the body, other abbreviated ones may be added as well then all those are removed and a final one is taped to the front of the car that stays with it to the end of assembly. The plant starts production at about 6:15 a.m. And you soon learn that the communications with the production line is with short music bits played over the intercom system. Your vehicle has a production number assigned to it that is not the VIN and you will often see that number on the parts being pulled as the car moves along The assembly line workers were very friendly toward me as a buyer and would often tell me what they were doing and thank me for buying the car.
My car was the second one off the line on a Tuesday morning and as usually happens on the public tours, I was given the opportunity to start it and was presented with a "birth certificate". The NCM was very organized in scheduling the visit, keeping me updated on the production schedule and providing a very personable and knowledgeable person to accompany me. If you are at all interested in how a car goes together, I can recommend the Buyer's Tour as something that goes well beyond the normal public tours and it is done with your car as the subject you are watching.
Last month a group of 12 Corvette Atlanta representatives went to Bowling Green including my family to visit the museum and assembly plant and look over my shoulder as I went through the NCM Delivery. What a great time I had and I believe the others enjoyed it as well. Before we left on the trip to Bowling Green I received an e-mail from Vince Capka asking me if it was my car on the NCM delivery web site. I had been looking but missed it being rolled out. Vince later provided me with hundreds of individual shots from the museum web cams including all of the club members standing around and me looking nearly overwhelmed as I was learning how all the buttons, switches and controls worked. Thanks to all the club members who participated for making this two great days!
Larry McCool of the NCM staff was once again very professional and thorough in the explanation of how to operate the car, in adjusting the normal R8C process to accommodate the Corvette Atlanta members and making this a very memorable day If anyone is considering the R8C delivery, I can certainly recommend it and will be glad to provide additional details of my experience.
A recommendation: Get the performance exhaust option - it is reasonable quiet cruising down the road but sounds great when it opens up!
51st NCCC Convention
While the club was attending the High Museum exhibit, Donnie and I were in Palm Beach, Florida meeting with the staff at the Marriott hotel and Palm Beach International Raceway - making final arrangements for the upcoming NCCC National Convention. The overall number of participants is currently down - which means the group that goes to Convention is going to have to eat and drink a BUNCH to make up the difference. Since we have a contractual amount to be spent on food and beverage at the hotel, food is being added for additional nights and pool parties. Attendees WILL get a huge bang for their buck!!
Corvette Atlanta will be represented by Michael Campsmith, Jim & Dee Gowin, Corky & Yvonne Key, and Don & Betty Parks. Don't let this fun pass you by - come and join us!! The full week registration fee goes up on June 1st. Visit this link to sign-up: 51st NCCC Converntion
Cruising with NCM - by Dan Nugent
The National Corvette Museum has been sponsoring an annual cruise for nine years with the Northern Europe Cruise ending June 26. Tom & Karen Fuller, Carolyn and I were among the 80 Corvette enthusiasts from all over the country (also Canada and New Zealand) who enjoyed this fabulous 14 day cruise starting and ending in Southampton, England with 7 ports of call as far north as St. Petersburg, Russia. What makes these cruises particularly nice is that a Bowling Green, KY travel agent, Sheri Clarke, makes all the arrangements for the cruise and shore excursions as well as special events for the participants. She travels with the group to coordinate and facilitate all the many details, as well as solve any problems that may arise. A member the NCM staff is also part of the cruise and gives briefs on the activities and plans at the museum.
Past cruises have included Mexican "Riviera", Mediterranean, Alaska (twice), New England, and Panama Canal. Several NCM cruisers have been on all of them! The next cruise will be a 7 night Hawaiian Cruise from Honolulu with 5 ports starting Feb. 26, 2011. A cruise is definitely the best way to see and enjoy the Hawaiian Islands based upon my own personal experience some 22 years ago. Reservations are now being taken for this cruise and more information is available at www.ncmcruzcom or by calling Sheri Clarke at 866-417-3748. This is a unique opportunity for Corvette Atlanta members to go on a cruise with other club members as well as Corvette lovers from around the world. Sheri makes sure that everyone is having fun and arranges special Corvette events and parties to enhance the cruise experience. Talk among your club friends and see who wants to go. Special rates are protected by reservation booked through Sep. 25, 2010.
Three Dozen Men and One Woman - by Dave Brownell
This is not a politically correct retelling of the Corvette saga. Instead, it reflects an automotive world that was changed by the contributions of many people, and for this purpose, is confined to reflections of several books about the development of the Corvette. Hundreds of thousands of men and women are ultimately involved in the story; including designers, producers, sellers and consumer of these cars over the past 57 years. But only three dozen or so have contributed to the point that their work has been captured in lore and in print. The greatest names would begin with the ultimate automotive magician, Harly Earl. The list of dreamer / mechanic / drivers includes Zora Arkus Duntov, Ed cole and John Heinricy. Designers include Bill Mitchell, Jerry Palmer, Larry Shinoda and John Calafero. People who put their reputation on the line when the Corvette was about to be snuffed out are Bob Stemple, Dave McLellan, Dave Hill and Bob Lutz. That one woman was Betty Skelton, who liked to prove that she could drive with the very best, and still look good while doing it!
I have two books to refer you to if your are interested in the people who began the Corvette concept in the very early 1950s. GM teased us with the first Motorama Corvette, a crude but seductive car that under-delivered on everything but dreams, and then worked hard to make many of us enthusiasts. There are others, but these two books, of the more than forty Corvette volumes I have on my library shelves, provide a great beginning for those with an interest of the story The first is a 2002 hard cover book by Dave McLellan, a professional engineer who joined Corvette in 1959, and served as their Chief Engineer from 1975 until 1992. His Corvette from the Inside, tells much of the story, including the re-engineering of an average 1953 car into something spectacular and world-class by Zora Arkus-Duntov. I got my copy from Amazon.com, but the NCM bookstore has a fresh supply. McLellan is an engineer-storyteller who personally witnessed many of the battles that involved the C-1s up to the C-5s, and reflects a particular emphasis on the C-4s and 5s. I highly recommend if you're interested in what makes the last 25 years of Corvette engineering and performance so special.
If you want a political, industrial, or romantic history of Corvettes, and intrigue and survival are important elements, the 1996 book, All Corvettes Are Red, by James Schefter was written for you. Mostly told about the development of the C-5, this book took Schefter almost eight years to write. He was granted unprecedented access to every aspect of GM's development, testing and marketing of Corvettes. This book "is not just the most authoritative book ever written about the Corvette, it is the most revealing account of the inner workings of the U.S. automotive industry."
There are other Corvette books that I can recommend, but if history of the car is of interest, these are the two that I can tease you with. Let me know, and we can arrange a book loan for you to sample. They're so good that you'll probably want to have your own. In future articles, I'll get into several books on the marketing of the Corvette Sizzle that affected all of us.
Articles for the C-A-Review
We are very fortunate to have folks this year that are willing to write articles for our newsletter. Please express your thanks to them for their efforts in making the publication more interesting. Should you be approached to contribute materials for one of their upcoming articles - we hope that you will look upon the request with enthusiasm and pride that you will make news and/or the cover!!