The General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant was packed full of community and state leaders, GM officials, media and supporters of Corvette today in hopes of good news with regards to the future of Corvette and Bowling Green. It was good news indeed as GM North America President Mark Reuss took to the podium and announced their plans to invest $131 million in the Bowling Green Assembly Plant, "This facility is particularly thrilling for me to be at because I've had Corvettes, in fact, Corvette is one of the reasons why I went to work for the company a long time ago," said Reuss.
Reuss announced that the next generation Corvette, the C7, would be produced in Bowling Green and that 250 jobs would be created.
He added that the current generation will continue for about two more years while work happens behind the scenes to update the facility and ensure the Corvette will continue to be the true American sports car built here for many years to come. The C7 model is predicted to be debuted Spring of 2013 for a 2014 model year Corvette.

 

On the news channels in Nashville we found out that the body panels for the C7 will be made at the old Saturn plant in Spring Hill, TN.

 

"Mike Herron, chairman of the UAW Local 1853, said front and rear bumpers for the next-generation Corvette will be molded and painted at the Spring Hill facility, meaning 13 new jobs. Those components will then be shipped to GM’s plant in Bowling Green, Ky., where the classic muscle car is produced."

The local factory is one of the few GM factories that has the injection molding capability to be able to manufacture the components, Herron said."

Where are the front and reas bumpers being made now?

Anyone got a camera?

 

Just saw another story that GM is hiring a lot of people and one of the reasons was a new transmission plant to build a new 8-speed trans....have to wonder if it'll find its way to the Corvettes?

 

I kindof hope not. That would be one seriously indecisive piece of hardware.

 

What? 8 speed will give it better execution and save on the mileage per gallon. This is the start to the DCT that should be on the high end corvettes. Look at and drive the Porsche cars. The Cayman and 911 are wonderful with DCT.

 

Or make it like the 8-speed IS-F where it's constantly shuffling around, never in the right gear, and takes forever to do an 8-2 or something.

 

8 or 9 speed is the tranny of the future.

 

I've got the Z51's MZ6 tranny and wish that I had a 7th gear for just cruising down the freeway.

 

Just how long do you manual lover think Corvette will be able to sell it's models when all the competitors are DCT. From BMW, Audi, Porsche, Ferarri, Lambo, Aston, Marseratti, Lexus LFA, Nissan GT-R to Mercedes are all going with either dual clutch or automatic. People are smart; they switch when technology makes driving more pleasant and faster. Most DCT is faster then manual; and automatics designed well are also faster too.

You cannot stay with the 1880s technology and still say manual is king! If you do; you are not living in reality! Look around and see the new cars. You do not want to have another GM bankruptcy in 10 years do you? You have to keep up with your competitors and be able to sell your car worldwide; just not in North America!

 

 

We don't know yet if the new transmission is DCT or torque converter equipped.

 

I for one enjoy driving. This means shifting, too.

 

I think a DCT will replace the auto and a traditional manual trans will be available also.

 

See this thread

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c7-g...-thickens.html

 

Can you affoard any of the cars you just listed? I think they will be able to sell them becaue normal poor white trash people like me can actually buy one.

I can't even look at a zr-1 and it is still just a crappy old 6 speed how much will they be with DTC.

 

"Crappy old 6-speed"?

The TR6060 is a pretty good transmission in its latest guise with carbon-fiber lined synchro's.

Mine shifts very smoothly in all weather, cold or not, warmed up or not. The throws are short and positive.

I love it.

It isn't going to be like an S2000's transmission because it has more rotating mass, but for what it is, I think it's as good as it gets.

----or----

Did you mean that you feel a DCT is superior?

How much do you think it will shave off your lap times?

Why don't you spend $4500 and go to Spring Mountain or one of the other schools and shave a TON off your lap times?

I don't understand why someone would give up the fun of rowing their own for pressing a little lever just because a magazine says "Hey, this is faster!"

The manumatic is why I didn't entertain the thought of a GT-R. It's boring. Everyone I know who has owned one has a similar story "It kicks *** from a dig, and I had a blast with it, but that gets old after a while, it's like a really-fast really rough-riding family car that handles well now. I want more driver-involvement. I'm bored."

One guy even traded his for a 370Z because the only place the car wasn't boring as hell was on a race-track and he didn't track it every weekend and driving it around town just wasn't as much fun as he thought it would be.

In contrast to that, I am loving my LS7/TR6060 combo and like it better each time I drive the car.

I readily admit that the DCT is faster. Sure is. Then again, so would ripping out my A/C, dash, and other interior parts. It would make the car a lot less fun to be in though. Same as going to a push-lever/button shifting transmission.

I just think that's boring as hell. My DD is an automatic and I constantly wish it weren't.

 

Can you do a burnout with the DCT?

 

Maybe that 131 mil is meant for building a mansion for Obama, 250 jobs sounds about right for his entourage while he is there.

 

what the eff is wrong with the PROPER gearbox in the vette?