Consumer Reports Zeroes in on Texas Man’s Death in Corvette

By Detroit Steel - June 16, 2015

Man-Dog

We were pretty certain there would be a lot more discussion around the death of the elderly Texas man who recently died in a 2007 Corvette after getting trapped inside the car on a hot day.

The story, which we first covered here, is a serious reminder of how important it is to read those car manuals, which perhaps could have helped save James Rogers and his dog, as highlighted in the video below.

But the story, which has moved many of us all here at Corvette Forum, has also raised questions from Consumer Reports about some of those “unique” features found in vehicles like the Corvette.

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“This confusing-controls issue has been repeated in cases of unintended acceleration in vehicles with push-button starters; an SUV on train tracks that couldn’t move out of the way in time, supposedly because the driver couldn’t figure out the gearshift stalk; awkwardly placed transmission buttons; and now, sadly, to an older driver and his dog who succumbed to heat exhaustion when they were trapped in a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette,” writes Consumer Report’s Jeff Bartlett.

Bartlett goes on to suggest that the use of the electric doors in the C6 and C7 rather than the traditional door hinges — which has become quite a topic of discussion after Rogers’ death — were likely introduced to cut a few ounces from the weight of the car and give it a cleaner, more aerodynamic look.

However, one of the most important things to note in Bartlett’s report is that the recent incident isn’t a sign of an alarming trend with Corvettes.

“Looking through our car reliability data, we see that problems with door locks and latches are among the most common complaints. But there isn’t any worrisome trends among Corvettes,” he said.