Hib Halverson
Technical Writer for Internet & Print Media
I'm thinking about ordering a brand new Corvette.
My checking account says: Ouch! Scary thought.
My brain says: WTF? Are you nuts!? :nono
My heart says:
Go for it!
My left foot says: I want a 427!
Uh-oh. I sense a bout of indecisiveness coming on.
My Wife and I have owned a bunch of Vettes since we got into the hobby a number of years ago, but everyone of them has been a used car. My '71 Big-Block hot rod? It was ten years old when purchased it from a guy who was in the Corvette club I was in at the time. My '95, I bought used out of the GM media fleet. Our '04, I bought used from Tom Henry Racing, the used Corvette and Camaro side of Tom Henry Chevrolet in Bakerstown Pennsylvania, after they found it for me on another dealer's lot in nearby Pittsburgh. It was once a GM captured test fleet car which the Pittsburgh dealer bought in an auction. My Wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, Dutchess of Goleta, bought her '82 CE from its first owner.
I decided, for the first time in my long affair with America's Sports Car, that I wanted a spanking new Vette–one which includes plastic bags on the seats and that new car "smell"–as opposed to worn upholstery and that "used car smell"–cigarette smoke, stale beer or rotting ham sandwiches.
Next step: pick a dealer who not only offered a good price but fit my comfort zone as far as the ordering and delivery processes. After buying a Vette and two other Chevrolets from Tom Henry at competitive prices and with great post-sale support, it would be hard not to go for a fourth. No doubt, there are those around the country who fashion themselves as "volume Corvette dealers" which might have been able to beat Tom Henry's price by a slight amount. And, no doubt, some of those Vette dealers, an example is Jack Cauley Chevrolet in Michigan, offer a positive buying experience. A few of the others–some of which have been torched mercilessly on this web site–might not.
Tom Henry is my kind of Chevrolet dealer. He'll tell you that he's "conservative" and that being so may have cost him some sales but he's kept his self-respect and ethics. Henry is, also, a hot rodder at heart with an affinity Corvettes and Camaros. His personal "collection" includes two of each and one of the Corvettes, a '72 LT1, he's owned since it was new. A hard-working teenager, he purchased it from the dealership when it was owned by his Dad. See - Tom's Toys Corvette LT1 for more about this car.
Back in the mid-'90s, Tom Henry was interested in road racing so he formed a separate division, "Tom Henry Racing", to sponsor a race car. "THR" also bought and sold used Corvettes and Camaros. Today, THR still deals in used hot rod Chevrolets, but it also builds and sells a special "tuner" version of the fifth-generation Camaro called the "Tom Henry Racing Camaro."
I've always been an "engine guy". While I certainly appreciate the technology in the LS9 (see Corvette Action Center | Model Center | C6 | 2009 ZR1 | Ruthless Pursuit of Power: Supercharged Edition - Page 1 of 7), the engine I think best demonstrates the Corvette's powertrain technology is the 505-hp LS7. Sadly, our government's increasingly stringent fuel economy regulation will make "big" motors like the LS7 impossible after 2013. I want that engine. The mystique surrounding it's big-thumping 427-cubic inches, 7100 rpm rev limiter, titanium connecting rods and titanium intake valves was just too seductive.
Guess all that's a clue as to what I want: a Z06 set-up as a basic "track car".
Carlisle Blue with the white stripe sold by Chevrolet Accessories, please. Titanium grey inside but I think GM should keep its high-zoot interior, the fancy navi and On-Star. I'll take mine 1LZ but with Z07 and a CF hood. I'll have the Tom Henry's body shop paint the top to match the rest of the body and I'll take the option which adds the neat-looking Chevrolet Accessory pedal covers.
So wadaya'll think?:confused
Should I spare my checkbook the pain and listen to my brain or–follow my heart and send Tom Henry Chevrolet a deposit?
My checking account says: Ouch! Scary thought.
My brain says: WTF? Are you nuts!? :nono
My heart says:
Go for it! My left foot says: I want a 427!
Uh-oh. I sense a bout of indecisiveness coming on.
My Wife and I have owned a bunch of Vettes since we got into the hobby a number of years ago, but everyone of them has been a used car. My '71 Big-Block hot rod? It was ten years old when purchased it from a guy who was in the Corvette club I was in at the time. My '95, I bought used out of the GM media fleet. Our '04, I bought used from Tom Henry Racing, the used Corvette and Camaro side of Tom Henry Chevrolet in Bakerstown Pennsylvania, after they found it for me on another dealer's lot in nearby Pittsburgh. It was once a GM captured test fleet car which the Pittsburgh dealer bought in an auction. My Wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, Dutchess of Goleta, bought her '82 CE from its first owner.
I decided, for the first time in my long affair with America's Sports Car, that I wanted a spanking new Vette–one which includes plastic bags on the seats and that new car "smell"–as opposed to worn upholstery and that "used car smell"–cigarette smoke, stale beer or rotting ham sandwiches.
Next step: pick a dealer who not only offered a good price but fit my comfort zone as far as the ordering and delivery processes. After buying a Vette and two other Chevrolets from Tom Henry at competitive prices and with great post-sale support, it would be hard not to go for a fourth. No doubt, there are those around the country who fashion themselves as "volume Corvette dealers" which might have been able to beat Tom Henry's price by a slight amount. And, no doubt, some of those Vette dealers, an example is Jack Cauley Chevrolet in Michigan, offer a positive buying experience. A few of the others–some of which have been torched mercilessly on this web site–might not.
Tom Henry is my kind of Chevrolet dealer. He'll tell you that he's "conservative" and that being so may have cost him some sales but he's kept his self-respect and ethics. Henry is, also, a hot rodder at heart with an affinity Corvettes and Camaros. His personal "collection" includes two of each and one of the Corvettes, a '72 LT1, he's owned since it was new. A hard-working teenager, he purchased it from the dealership when it was owned by his Dad. See - Tom's Toys Corvette LT1 for more about this car.
Back in the mid-'90s, Tom Henry was interested in road racing so he formed a separate division, "Tom Henry Racing", to sponsor a race car. "THR" also bought and sold used Corvettes and Camaros. Today, THR still deals in used hot rod Chevrolets, but it also builds and sells a special "tuner" version of the fifth-generation Camaro called the "Tom Henry Racing Camaro."
I've always been an "engine guy". While I certainly appreciate the technology in the LS9 (see Corvette Action Center | Model Center | C6 | 2009 ZR1 | Ruthless Pursuit of Power: Supercharged Edition - Page 1 of 7), the engine I think best demonstrates the Corvette's powertrain technology is the 505-hp LS7. Sadly, our government's increasingly stringent fuel economy regulation will make "big" motors like the LS7 impossible after 2013. I want that engine. The mystique surrounding it's big-thumping 427-cubic inches, 7100 rpm rev limiter, titanium connecting rods and titanium intake valves was just too seductive.
Guess all that's a clue as to what I want: a Z06 set-up as a basic "track car".
Carlisle Blue with the white stripe sold by Chevrolet Accessories, please. Titanium grey inside but I think GM should keep its high-zoot interior, the fancy navi and On-Star. I'll take mine 1LZ but with Z07 and a CF hood. I'll have the Tom Henry's body shop paint the top to match the rest of the body and I'll take the option which adds the neat-looking Chevrolet Accessory pedal covers.
So wadaya'll think?:confused
Should I spare my checkbook the pain and listen to my brain or–follow my heart and send Tom Henry Chevrolet a deposit?
