Velocity Corvette Club » General

Race Tracks in Texas

Mike — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:14:28 +0000

If you are looking for a good race track located near the Houston area, try one of these fine tracks.

MSR Houston – http://msrhouston.com/
MSR Cresson – http://www.motorsportranch.com/
GrandSport in Hitchcock – http://www.grandsportspeedway.com/
Eagles Canyon – http://www.eaglescanyon.com
Texas World – http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/
Texas Motor Speedway – http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com
Harris Hill Road – http://www.harrishillroad.com/
Driveway Austin – http://www.drivewayaustin.com/

GM sales down 49 percent last month

vccadmin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:55:05 +0000

Sales are have not improved for domestic automakers even with government help and steep discounts. Reports show that annualized US car sales slipped below 10m last month.

General Motors’ monthly sales of cars and light trucks fell by 49 per cent last month, Chrysler’s by 55 per cent and Ford Motor’s by 40 per cent, including vehicles made by Volvo, its Swedish premium brand.

The expectation is that we may be reaching the bottom soon, but I expect we still have a little ways to go before we start to see the market improve.

Source:Financial Times.

Chrysler Financial gets 1.5B Government Loan

Mike — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:48:02 +0000

This article from 1983 brings up some interesting points on Chrysler’s last bailout.

Ford and General Motors would have taken over much of a bankrupt Chrysler’s market and produced cars more efficiently, reducing the cost of domestic automobiles.

I hope it will be different this time around.

GM needs a new strategy to survive

Mike — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:04:40 +0000

For 76 consecutive years GM was the #1 selling vehicle manufacturer in the world. Toyota took the top spot from GM in 2008 with three brands: Toyota, Lexus, and Scion. As the US economy continues to deteriorate through 2009, GM must make significant changes to its product lines to survive. As part of GM’s restructuring plan presented to law makers, GM plans to keep four brands.

GM brands planned to keep:

Buick – affordable luxury.
Cadillac – high tech luxury.
Chevrolet – the performance, price, MPG, and value leader.
GMC – professional grade Chevrolet models.

We all know that a government bailout of GM, Chrysler, and Ford will not be enough to save anyone. The bailout may delay the inevitable, but as long as we still practice capitalism the market makes the final decision. Up to now, the market has not been pleased with the products produced by US automakers. But all is not lost, GM more so than Ford or Chrysler is positioned to reinvent itself and establish a new era of the automobile.

To reinvent itself GM will need a strong leader, one that can separate the GM of yesterday with the organization it needs to become today. GM will have to start from the ground up and find every bit of efficiency in its manufacturing and supply lines. Manual labor will have to be reserved for the luxury brands, and complete automation of the build process combined with a new production philosophy will need to be applied to everything else.

The new GM will need highly skilled labor to operate its automated assembly lines. The US is a knowledge based economy now; we outsourced commodity manufacturing years ago. We need to change the manufacturing game once again and implement a fully automated manufacturing process.

The formula is simple: QUALITY, PASSION, PERFORMANCE, and VALUE.

If you are familiar with the Corvette, then the above formula should be easy to understand. If GM can find a way to infuse the DNA of the Corvette into every product, they will be on their way back to the top.

What the world wants is more Corvettes.

2009 Houston Auto Show

Mike — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:08:41 +0000

The 2009 Houston Auto Show was missing something this year. In my opinion the only two attractions are the ZR1 Corvette and the Nissan GTR. The show is still worth the time, but I had just wished for more excitement.

New Rule:
Never take automotive advice from a man wearing a fanny pack.

How to Choose the Right Corvette Service Shop?

Mike — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:29:01 +0000

The Velocity Corvette Service shop is closed, but the club goes on. After two years in the service business, we end with some advice on choosing a Corvette Service Shop.

Choosing the right shop to service your car can be a difficult decision. Finding an honest and experienced technician that is also certified to work on your early or late model Corvette is even harder.

Most people just go to the dealership because the risk involved with choosing the wrong mechanic can lead to additional problems and even larger repair bills.

Although the dealership is usually the most expensive option, the most costly repair is the one that never gets fixed, and is paid for over and over again. The Corvette owner will get the best results when the shop is chosen based on its specialty. Performance work and tuning work is best done by those who specialize in performance, just as you would not want a performance shop trying to provide basic maintenance, diagnosis, and drivability repair.

Questions to ask when find yourself evaluating who should be servicing your Corvette:
• Does the shop have the equipment required to diagnosis the problem?
• Are their technicians ASE certified and are their certifications kept current?
• Does the shop specialize in Corvettes?
• How long has the shop been open?
• Does the shop have good references?

There are many excellent Corvette service providers in Houston, please consider supporting one of these fine establishments:
• Richey Collision (Collision)
• EnglandGreen (Performance)
• Corvettes of Houston (Maintenance and Diagnosis)
• Mac Haik Chevrolet (Maintenance and Diagnosis)

Vegas Baby, Corvette Style!

Dawn — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:31:04 +0000

You all know the saying “What happens in Vegas…” but this is a story I am excited to tell. It was that time of year again and Vegas was calling my name. So we packed our bags and jumped on a plane (sorry VCC BLU you have to stay home)! As we left the Corvettes behind I set my sights on winning some money and hitting the town. Who knows, I might win enough money for another Corvette!

One morning we planned to hit the buffet at the Bellagio and check out the seasonal display at The Botanical Gardens and Conservatory. Much to my amazement they happened to have a “Route 66” theme, with a 1962 Corvette as the focal point!

This beige beauty was on loan from The National Corvette Museum and was surrounded by flowers along with some vintage gas pumps and several American flags hanging above. In addition they also had a Ferris wheel, vintage bikes, and hot air balloons.

The theme was fitting for summertime and demonstrated how the Corvette is reminiscent of the good old days. It says a lot that they chose the Corvette over all other cars.

The theme runs through September so if you are planning to go to Vegas you should check it out. I managed to get some pictures so you could enjoy the display as well. Although I never did hit the jackpot (or come close) I will always remember this trip to Vegas!

New Online Feature: Corvette People

Mike — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:17:12 +0000

We thought it would benefit us all to get to know more about the people in the Corvette Community. There are so many interesting Corvette owners nationally that we decided to create a feature dedicated to the individuals that make up the global community.

The new online feature will be called Corvette People and will be a short interview format limited to Ten Questions. Through the ten questions we hope to reveal the full spectrum of Corvette owners, and learn more about what it means to be Corvette People.

If know of any good candidates please send your nominations for Ten Questions to mike@velocitycorvette.com.

John Wood’s 1984 Corvette featured in GM High-Tech

Mike — Tue, 15 May 2007 02:45:30 +0000

Velocity Corvette Club would like to congratulate John Wood for his 4 page article in the July 2007 issue of GM High-Tech Magazine. John’s 1984 Corvette has run a current best ET of 11.8 @119 mph for only $2000. John is one of the nicest guys we have met in the Corvette community and it is great to see him recognized for his accomplishments.

The July issue of GM High-Tech is on news stands now. Pick up a copy today.

What Your Car Says About You?

Mike — Sun, 13 May 2007 16:52:17 +0000

Forbes.com has an interesting story about what your car says about you. The image and stereotypes of cars and their drivers has always interested me. People are so passionate about cars that it sometimes seems safer to discuss other taboo subjects like religion and politics, then cars with someone from the “other” side.

The European car crowd usually has few nice things to say about American cars, so I was pleasantly surprised by the description of Corvette owners in this article.

Forbes describes the Corvette owner as:

“You are aggressive and in control. You appreciate style and visual aesthetics in homes, cars and architecture. You are successful and seek adventure. And you are probably something of a fanatic; over 95,000 people belong to Corvette clubs, and the National Corvette Museum has 20,000 members.”

Now compare that to the Dodge Viper owner:

“You are a man’s man; 96% of Viper owners are guys. You are an executive, manager or business owner. Driving is one of your favorite things to do, and you want to stand out in a crowd. You want your car to be able to outperform most others on the road.”

and finally the Ferrari owner:

“You are rich, passionate and highly educated. Owning an Italian car means a lot to you, as does commanding technology imported from Ferrari’s world-championship winning race cars.”

I would say these descriptions are pretty accurate, what do you think?

Source: Forbes.com: What Your Car Says About You