2014 C7 Corvette Stingray Reveal Remarks by Mark Reuss and Ed Welburn
January 13, 2013
MARK (Reuss, President, GM North America)Good evening everyone!
Well, tonight is of course another night in the incredible history of the American Sports car called Corvette.
Tonight we celebrate the introduction of the 7th generation -- or C7 as we call it -- here in the Motor City.
For 60 years Corvette has represented the state-of-the-art in performance cars.
To put it simply, this car is the reason I work at General Motors.
As a young boy, I spent many car trips hunched in the rear flat area of the mid-'60s coupes.
On many Saturdays my Dad took me to work with him at the Chevrolet Engineering Building in Warren, where the Corvette came to life.
On the way home , he would take me by the Research Building lobby to see the Firebirds and the original silver Stingray.
I, like many of my co-workers, want to work for the company that makes Corvette.
Its presence, its performance, its history and heritage... everything it stands for, has always raised the hair on the back of my neck.
And I know I'm not the only one in the room who feels that way.
Since 1953, through the good times and through the bad times for this company, there was always Corvette, demonstrating what it means to win.
To be the BEST.
And now, as we continue to bolster Chevrolet's best lineup ever, here comes the best Corvette ever.
The car is all new from the ground up.
And it is absolutely the best performance car that we know how to engineer and build.
I will eagerly put this car up against any of the top performance cars in the world.
In terms of design, technology and performance, this car is second to none.
And it is OBTAINABLE.
It is so dramatic and special, that we thought it deserved some extra recognition.
That's why we're calling it, once again, the Corvette Stingray.
First used on the 1959 Stingray Racer, then in '63 on what may be the most memorable series of models in its history... this is a name
we only use to mark special generations of Corvettes.
And C7 is indeed special.
Right now I'd like to ask the two individuals responsible for this transformation to join me here on stage.
Please welcome, GM's vice president of global design, Ed Welburn ... and the executive chief engineer for Corvette, Tadge Juechter.
ED (Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design)
Thanks Mark.
It would be an understatement to say this is a special night.
Not only are we introducing this amazing car...
We are giving it the name that is synonymous with emotional design and incredible performance.
TADGE(Executive Chief Engineer, Corvette)
Thank you, Ed, for your support throughout the design process.
Your team has created a design that is simply gorgeous and contributes enormously to making this the most capable standard Corvette we have ever built.
0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, astounding brakes and more than 1 g in cornering.
But it is not just about the numbers: In every way the driving experience will live up to the promise of the design and change your view of Corvettes forever.
MARK
Thank you Tadge and Ed.
The three of us could talk all night about this car.
In fact, we have on several occasions.
That's how passionate we are about it.
But you know, I'm as passionate about the people who worked on Corvette as I am about the car itself.
That includes Tadge and Ed, Dave Tatman, our Bowling Green plant manager and all of the people from design, engineering and manufacturing who have poured their heart and soul into this car.
A few weeks ago we travelled to Bowling Green and drove the first cars made in the plant.
The car is spectacular, and the people working on it are very proud to produce the Great American Sportscar.
They brought it to life.
Their commitment made this Corvette worthy of the Stingray name.
And many of them are here tonight.
I'd like you to talk to them and hear their stories. They're waiting to meet you in our Stingray Salon just over to my left.
So please join them, and come get acquainted with the new Corvette Stingray.
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