CCC Newsletter for this month.

2009 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees

Our 2009 Hall of Fame inductees were selected as part of our recent 4th quarter NCM Board of Directors meeting. Early Corvette design team member, Duane “Sparky” Bohnstedt; Corvette historian and writer, John P. Hinckley and Corvette racers, Anthony “Tony” DeLorenzo and Gerald (Jer) Thompson will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame as part of our 15th Anniversary Corvette Celebration over Labor Day weekend.

*Duane “Sparky” Bohnstedt – Instrumentally involved in the design of the 1954-1957 Corvettes and passenger cars and a member of the design team responsible for the three Corvette variations for the 1954 GM Motorama Corvette. Bohnstedt was also part of the design team that initiated the facelift resulting in the four tail light rear end design (forerunner of the Stringray design) introduced in 1961 and the front end with the flip-up headlights in 1963. These changes also led to the new fast back, split window roof.
*John Hinckley – Recognized for achievements that span over 40 years in technical contributions to Corvette, engineering and ingenuity as an expert historian and writer. Hinckley was also part of the team collaboration that resulted in the “Net Design and Build” concept and has published hundreds of Corvette technical articles for Corvette publications and for internal GM publications and trade journals.
*Tony DeLorenzo and Jer Thompson – A Corvette racing duo that dominated the SCCA racing and finished one/two 14 times in races where they entered two Owens-Corning Fiberglas (OCF) Corvettes. Their success in FIA long distance races included a 1st place finish in the 1969 Grand Touring at Watkins Glen 6 Hour; 1st place finish in Grand Touring in 1970 at the 24 Hours of Daytona; 1st in Grand Touring in the 1970 Sebring 12 Hour; and 1st in GT finish at the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona.

Hexagon Bricks Line Up the Corvette Boulevard!

It is exciting to see so many areas of the new expansion and watching everything come to life, including the Corvette Boulevard. The new layout of the walkway in the Boulevard is being lined with Hexagon bricks and at this time we have sold approximately 200 bricks that have been engraved and placed! Imagine the guests that will see your brick each day as they travel down the colorful Corvette Boulevard!

Each hexagon brick can be engraved with three lines of text and your choice of Corvette generation or NCM logo engraved at the top. You can reserve yours for only $200 for members and $250 for non-members, (non-members purchasing a brick will receive a one-year Individual membership). Bricks are engraved and placed in the order they are received, so mark your spot now to get in on the foundation of this new area by visiting our website or by calling us at: (800) 53-VETTE.

Make Your Ice Cream Flavor - Our Flavor

Our soon to be Café will be offering some tasty treats including a local Bowling Green ice cream favorite, Chaney’s Dairy Barn ice cream. We need your help in creating a unique Corvette ice cream flavor and catchy name to become the official flavor of the NCM Corvette Café.

Scoop together your ideas and email them to Lavonne Hellmann at: lavonne@corvettemuseum.org

Once ideas are submitted, Chaney’s will mix up a test flavor and the best tasting creation will become the official NCM flavor. Please submit your ideas by Monday, December 15 to participate. The winner will receive recognition in our “America’s Sports Car” Magazine and a Corvette Store gift card.

Bash Event Registration Now opened!

The 2009 C5/C6 Bash event is scheduled for April 23-25! Registration is now opened via our website.

The 09 Bash offers a sneak preview of our new Museum addition, the 2010 Corvette rollout, live entertainment, autocross, drag racing, road tour excursions and more! We look forward to seeing you soon. View the online event agenda and reserve your spot now.

"America's Sports Car" Featured Article

Catch a glimpse of the next issue of our member magazine "America's Sports Car" online! The new issue coming your way soon takes an in-depth look at the Corvette logo and how it evolved and you can view this feature here.

Our magazine offers exciting event coverage, historical Corvette features, and other Corvette news and information. You can receive our bi-monthly magazine by signing on to become a member of the Museum.

New in the Corvette Store

Surf the web in Corvette style with a Corvette computer mouse! Your desk will never be the same with this mouse with a USB receiver utilizing the latest RF and optical technology! These unique Wireless Corvette Road Mice™ are high performance accessories with 800-dpi resolution for enhanced accuracy and precision movement. Compatible for both PC and Mac computers.

The functioning headlights feature an on/off switch and smooth lines give the car a realistic look and feel. Order this and other specialty items online in the Corvette Store or by calling us at: (800) 53-VETTE.

"Pow Corvette" On Display

Guests visiting now through April 2009 can see a unique 1980 POW Corvette created as a tribute on wheels in honor of Vietnam POWs and MIAs. The expressively designed Corvette was the leader of our Veterans Day Parade and was the feature exhibit at the recent Vets ‘N Vettes event in November. Look for a full spread of the event coverage in the next issue of our member magazine “America’s Sports Car”.

This stunning Corvette features a dramatic paint scheme capturing the colors used on the Hanoi Taxi – the aircraft that flew POWs home from Vietnam. The hood depicts an eagle bursting through the barbed wire fence of a prison camp, carrying a set of dog tags into the sky. The car is on loan from Major Richard “Bull” Webster.

Mario Andretti Visit

Indy racecar driver Mario Andretti made a special visit to the Corvette Plant and Museum to “thank” everyone for the hard work and great job in manufacturing the Corvette – which is Mario’s “daily driver”.

Mario purchased a #500 ZR1 in honor of his win at the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. Our Museum team performed the pre-delivery inspection on Mario’s Corvette which will be shipped home for him to drive and enjoy.

Donate Your Used Vehicles

We are in need of vehicles to use to help us transport delivery program guests to and from the plant and to use during our busy show season. If you are looking for a year-end tax deduction, and have a reliable vehicle you would like to donate to the Museum please contact us.

We will put them to great use and provide you with the appropriate tax deduction documentation. Please contact Betty Hardison by calling (800) 53-VETTE ext 141