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Corvette rolls out $103,000 super car
High gas prices could limit sales
By G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III • Staff Writer • July 22, 2008
The Tennessean
G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III / THE TENNESSEAN
Dave Ressler drives the first Corvette ZR1 off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky., on Monday. He bought the car for $1 million at a January auction.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The first of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 super cars — the most powerful production vehicle General Motors Corp. has ever built — came off the assembly line Monday afternoon, driven by the man who paid $1 million for it in a charity auction in January.
Also the most-expensive Chevrolet ever produced, with a list price of $103,300, the ZR1 showcases the capabilities of the world's largest automaker, but comes perhaps at the wrong time, as the nation grapples with $4-a-gallon gasoline and consumers turn their attention to fuel-efficient vehicles.
"You have to wonder if the ego trip goes with the car the way it used to, what with the price of fuel and the way people are looking down their noses at big SUVs and pickups," said George Peterson, president of the automotive marketing research firm AutoPacific.
But demand for high-performance sports cars remains fairly steady even through economic downturns and periods of rapidly escalating fuel prices, he said.
"They might not sell a lot of these cars, but it's still the top vehicle in the GM lineup, and something they can always brag about," Peterson said.
The fact that an American manufacturer can build a super car that can run with European models that cost several times as much gives GM a boost in image not only at home but around the world, he said.
The car's supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine cranks out 638 horsepower and allows the car to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Its top speed is 205 mph, GM said.
"The ZR1 is an incredible machine by any measure," Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said in a statement released in conjunction with Monday's rollout. "There's simply no other vehicle in the world that does a better job of balancing performance, price and fuel economy."
Fuel economy? That's actually one of the ZR1's strong points, GM said.
It's EPA rated at 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway, which beats most of the world's high-performance sports cars by a large measure. The Lamborghini Murcielago, with similar performance and a price tag three times that of the ZR1, is rated at 8 mpg city and 13 mpg highway.
Even though its fuel economy is better than that of most V-8 powered pickup trucks, the ZR1 is subject to a $1,700 gas-guzzler tax because it is a car; trucks are exempt from the tax. A $10,000 interior package and a $2,000 chrome-wheel option can raise the total price to $117,000, including freight.
But Peterson said people who buy cars such as the ZR1 usually can afford them and the gasoline it takes to run them.
There probably are fewer potential ZR1 customers this year than last, though, because of the current economic downturn, he said. "Even the richest folks are seeing their portfolios reduced, so they're not as rich as they were last year."
ZR1 production will be limited, although GM has not said how many will be built.
The Bowling Green facility, which was reconfigured from an abandoned Chrysler air conditioner plant, began building Corvettes in 1981 and is the only place they are assembled.
Its approximately 900 workers also assemble the Cadillac XLR roadster, which is built on the same architecture as the Corvette.
Museum gets first ZR1
Dave Ressler, who owns Chevrolet dealerships in Mandan, N.D., and Bozeman, Mont., bought the first ZR1 at the Barrett-Jackson collector-car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. GM donated Ressler's $1 million bid to the United Way of Southeast Michigan.
"I already have the world's oldest Corvette," Ressler said, referring to a 1953 Corvette he bought for $1 million at the Barrett-Jackson auction in 2006. That car was the third 'Vette made and is the oldest surviving model, he said. Both cars were displayed side by side outside the plant Monday afternoon for an employee celebration to mark the start of ZR1 production.
"I wanted to have both the newest one and the oldest one, at least for a little while," Ressler said.
But he won't drive his new ZR1, he said. He plans to have it trucked home and put in his museum in Bozeman, where he already has 45 other Corvettes.
"It actually belongs to my granddaughter, Ayden Lynn, who is 10 months old today," he said.
The baby was in the front seat with Ressler as he drove the car off the line. His car was painted Le Mans Blue and is the only one that will get that color, GM spokeswoman Andrea Hales said.
The ZR1 is outfitted much like the $70,000-plus Corvette Z06 model, but with the more-powerful engine. The Z06, with a normally aspirated 7.0-liter V-8 engine, is rated at 505 horsepower. The base Corvette coupe, with a 430-horsepower 6.2-liter V-8, begins just under $48,000, while the convertible starts at just over $52,000.
ZR1 models come only in the coupe body style and with a six-speed manual gearbox; the six-speed automatic offered on the standard models is not available on the ZR1 or Z06.
Leather seats are standard, but the optional interior package brings custom heated sport seats embroidered with the ZR1 logo, side air bags, a Bose audio system, navigation system, Bluetooth phone connectivity and a power telescopic steering column.
Contact G. Chambers Williams III at 259-8076 or cwilliams1@tennessean.com.
High gas prices could limit sales
By G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III • Staff Writer • July 22, 2008
The Tennessean
G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III / THE TENNESSEAN
Dave Ressler drives the first Corvette ZR1 off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky., on Monday. He bought the car for $1 million at a January auction.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The first of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 super cars — the most powerful production vehicle General Motors Corp. has ever built — came off the assembly line Monday afternoon, driven by the man who paid $1 million for it in a charity auction in January.
Also the most-expensive Chevrolet ever produced, with a list price of $103,300, the ZR1 showcases the capabilities of the world's largest automaker, but comes perhaps at the wrong time, as the nation grapples with $4-a-gallon gasoline and consumers turn their attention to fuel-efficient vehicles.
"You have to wonder if the ego trip goes with the car the way it used to, what with the price of fuel and the way people are looking down their noses at big SUVs and pickups," said George Peterson, president of the automotive marketing research firm AutoPacific.
But demand for high-performance sports cars remains fairly steady even through economic downturns and periods of rapidly escalating fuel prices, he said.
"They might not sell a lot of these cars, but it's still the top vehicle in the GM lineup, and something they can always brag about," Peterson said.
The fact that an American manufacturer can build a super car that can run with European models that cost several times as much gives GM a boost in image not only at home but around the world, he said.
The car's supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine cranks out 638 horsepower and allows the car to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Its top speed is 205 mph, GM said.
"The ZR1 is an incredible machine by any measure," Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said in a statement released in conjunction with Monday's rollout. "There's simply no other vehicle in the world that does a better job of balancing performance, price and fuel economy."
Fuel economy? That's actually one of the ZR1's strong points, GM said.
It's EPA rated at 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway, which beats most of the world's high-performance sports cars by a large measure. The Lamborghini Murcielago, with similar performance and a price tag three times that of the ZR1, is rated at 8 mpg city and 13 mpg highway.
Even though its fuel economy is better than that of most V-8 powered pickup trucks, the ZR1 is subject to a $1,700 gas-guzzler tax because it is a car; trucks are exempt from the tax. A $10,000 interior package and a $2,000 chrome-wheel option can raise the total price to $117,000, including freight.
But Peterson said people who buy cars such as the ZR1 usually can afford them and the gasoline it takes to run them.
There probably are fewer potential ZR1 customers this year than last, though, because of the current economic downturn, he said. "Even the richest folks are seeing their portfolios reduced, so they're not as rich as they were last year."
ZR1 production will be limited, although GM has not said how many will be built.
The Bowling Green facility, which was reconfigured from an abandoned Chrysler air conditioner plant, began building Corvettes in 1981 and is the only place they are assembled.
Its approximately 900 workers also assemble the Cadillac XLR roadster, which is built on the same architecture as the Corvette.
Museum gets first ZR1
Dave Ressler, who owns Chevrolet dealerships in Mandan, N.D., and Bozeman, Mont., bought the first ZR1 at the Barrett-Jackson collector-car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. GM donated Ressler's $1 million bid to the United Way of Southeast Michigan.
"I already have the world's oldest Corvette," Ressler said, referring to a 1953 Corvette he bought for $1 million at the Barrett-Jackson auction in 2006. That car was the third 'Vette made and is the oldest surviving model, he said. Both cars were displayed side by side outside the plant Monday afternoon for an employee celebration to mark the start of ZR1 production.
"I wanted to have both the newest one and the oldest one, at least for a little while," Ressler said.
But he won't drive his new ZR1, he said. He plans to have it trucked home and put in his museum in Bozeman, where he already has 45 other Corvettes.
"It actually belongs to my granddaughter, Ayden Lynn, who is 10 months old today," he said.
The baby was in the front seat with Ressler as he drove the car off the line. His car was painted Le Mans Blue and is the only one that will get that color, GM spokeswoman Andrea Hales said.
The ZR1 is outfitted much like the $70,000-plus Corvette Z06 model, but with the more-powerful engine. The Z06, with a normally aspirated 7.0-liter V-8 engine, is rated at 505 horsepower. The base Corvette coupe, with a 430-horsepower 6.2-liter V-8, begins just under $48,000, while the convertible starts at just over $52,000.
ZR1 models come only in the coupe body style and with a six-speed manual gearbox; the six-speed automatic offered on the standard models is not available on the ZR1 or Z06.
Leather seats are standard, but the optional interior package brings custom heated sport seats embroidered with the ZR1 logo, side air bags, a Bose audio system, navigation system, Bluetooth phone connectivity and a power telescopic steering column.
Contact G. Chambers Williams III at 259-8076 or cwilliams1@tennessean.com.