Comments on: How a Corvette gets built

CNET New.com's Road Trip visits the assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky., where every one of the iconic cars has been built since 1981--and comes away impressed.

[dascha1]

Yep, good stuff. Though I did see the old media version on History a while back, insightful to say the least. Problem is, what would CarMax give me on a 2004 today with the space and 15MPG hot dog mileage? For example, a Suburban 4-wheel STEER 4WD 2500 (sort of like the SSA motor cade) valued at 52k 4 years ago is now worth <10k to CarMax now. Don't try KBB.com because they've never bought or sold a vehicle since they've existed. And the economy on the Suburban is 15MPG to avg.

Thanks for sharing the glimpse!

[jasonvp]

quote from the article "I was surprised to find, as was explained by Hales, that each and every Corvette is made to order. That is, someone somewhere has purchased the exact vehicle they want, and now, it is put together here in Bowling Green." It's likely you may have misunderstood Hales. Each Corvette is made to order for a dealer. A dealer *may* or *may not* be ordering that car on behalf of a customer. He may actually be ordering it for stock.

This can be verified by going into any large Chevrolet dealership and counting the Corvettes they have in stock. Those all weren't canceled customer orders. They were ordered by the dealership for stock. It's no different than any other car GM produces, really...

Good stuff otherwise.

[ABrimberry]

JasonVP is correct regarding the "made to order process." At the plant, they do mark the cars with a sticker that have been ordered by an individual from a dealer. This distinguishes cars that are for dealer stock vs. an already sold car for an individual. Great article. One of the best I've read regarding the assembly plant.

[biooya]

"15MPG hot dog mileage" - My 05 gets about 29mpg highway, 22 city. Unless, of course, I'm being "aggressive". Deprecation on a 'vette is much less than typical cars.

[vrette]

I ordered my 2006 Corvette convertible exactly how I wanted it from a dealer, and took delivery at the Corvette Museum approximately 90 days later. Museum delivery includes the factory tour and the museum tour with one-on-one attention from a guide from the Museum (which had worked at the factory for years) for the entire time. My wife and I had a blast.

[open-mind]

Once Chevy gets the Volt perfected, I would love to see them create an E-Flex or electric version of the Corvette. I think an electric Vette that could go 0-to-60 in under 4 seconds (with a fuel cost/mile less than a Prius) would be quite popular. Kind of like a Tesla Roadster, but better and less expensive.

[tjackson82]

As a jornalist, I, too, got the VIP treatment at the factory for the story I was doing. The only difference is that I got to watch nmy own 2008 Velocity Yellow convertible get built and was able to start it and drive it off the end of the assembly line! It was the experiance of a lifetime and as a testament to the build quality, I now have almost 7,000 miles on the car and there have been zero problems! Way to go Bowling Green!

[expatisback]

Re. the museum delivery option, can anyone confirm if "watching your own be built" is the standard offering, or requires setup via dealership or other? Many thanks

[dadsgravy]

Wow! Everyone was white, fat, and wore shorts and a t-shirt. That's either the hiring requirement, or the standard uniform. Clearly that job isn't labor intensive and a salad lunch should be the mandate.

[dfwillcmk]

Didn't your mama teach to that if you could'nt say
anything nice to just keep your mouth shut. The plant
has a friendy very outstanding work force. They build a fine product!

[ferretboy88]

A prius doesn't get 50 mpg when you drive it 90 on the highway dorks. With a 6 speed a brand new corvette will get high 20's on the highway at a normal speed.

[victoriarose620]

these cars are just soso

[make_or_break]

Soso? Kinda like yer comment?

[SuperCavey]

Just like your mom was in bed last night, Oh Snap!. I'm a ford guy and love mustangs to death (although I don't own one, yet) but, I am not naive and will admit the Corvette is a great car. It has a strong history, great craftsmanship, and even more efficient than a lot of cars are on gas.

Anyone who says they are crap or just so-so are being stupid because chances are they can afford them and most likely couldn't handle the power they produce. I must say I'm surprised how many posters on this actually own a Vette.

[SuperCavey]

Just like your mom was in bed last night, Oh Snap!. I'm a ford guy and love mustangs to death (although I don't own one, yet) but, I am not naive and will admit the Corvette is a great acar. It has a strong history, great craftsmanship, and even more efficient than a lot of cars are on gas.

Anyone who says they are crap or just so-so are being stupid because chances are they can afford them and most likely couldn't handle the power they produce. I must say I'm surprised how many posters on this actually own a Vette.

[benjamin straight]

Cool article and informative.

[blurble]

Pathetic. You want to see where REAL cars are built?? Take a look at the VW Phaeton plant, or a BMW line in GERMANY. [Post edited to remove profanity]

[blurble]

Oh, forgot. PORSCHE is more iconic too, and has a better assembly plant. AND you can get euro delivery where you get to drive it on the autobahn. Seriously, the US needs to get a clue about cars --- if only GM applied this build to order with all their cars, there wouldn't be all their JUNK sitting on car lots that no one wanted in the first place. I'm surprised this thing even has xenon headlights (but not BI xenon) since the US is so far behind in implementing 10 year old technology. You can't tell me that anyone who could buy a Porsche for the same money would go with a corvette. The GERMANS always win.

[ppitalo]

Hmm? I think if you check the history books on W.W.II, you'll discover the Germans lost W.W.II with their high technology war machine.

Porsche doesn't build a car that meets the LeMans GT1 class requirements. If they did, it would lose to Covette C6R, just like the Aston Martins have the last five (5) years running.

[ppitalo]

The Corvettes pictured in the Bowling Green Assembly Plant parking lot on 6/17 were with the Lone Star Corvette Club (LSCC) based in Dallas, TX. Thirty three (33) LSCC Corvettes were in the caravan to the NCM and Assembly Plant. The LSCC caravan left Bowling Green on Wednesday 6/18 heading for the "Tail of the Dragon" on TN 129. On Thursday 6/19, the LSCC caravan traveled to Asheville, NC. On Friday 6/20, the LSCC caravan spent the day at the "Biltmore" house/estate, before returning to Dallas on Saturday 6/21. A group picture was taken at the "Biltmore" House on Friday 6/20. Please advise if you guys want a copy of the picture to post on your website.

[myvette1999]

I own a vette and I can honestly say that they are the best cars every made, and the gas mileage is outstanding. I appreciate the article and for showing just how the beautiful cars are made. So-So not hardly!!!!!!