Chevy may have revealed the all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray a night before the official kick-off of the 2013 North American International Auto Show, but that didn’t stop GM executives from talking even more about the new super car or the Chevrolet brand the following morning at the Chevy press conference.
Following are remarks made by Mary Barra and Mark Reuss during the brief press event on Monday, January 14th. The comments we found most interesting include the current and future states of the Chevrolet brand, as well as the track-to-street carry-over benefitting the 2014 Corvette:
Mary Barra, Senior Vice President, Global Product Development
Good morning. We’re glad to have you with us here today.
What a great start to the Auto Show for GM.
Congratulations to the Cadillac ATS team on being named, “North American Car of the Year.”
And thanks to the voting journalists for recognizing the excellent work done on this car.
And now we’re here to talk about Chevrolet, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is on a roll — both here in North America and around the world.
I know you’re anxious to see the new Corvette… and we’ll show it to you shortly… but it’s important, first, to understand where Chevrolet is headed.
While Chevrolet continues to be a truly American brand, its global scope and scale grows every day.
Chevrolets are now sold in 140 countries, with more than 60 percent of current sales coming from outside the United States.
We have several of our newest global Chevrolets on display here today.
You’ll find the Chevrolet Onix, Orlando, Spin, Sail and Trax all on the upper level.
They represent the types of Chevrolets attracting new customers to our showrooms everywhere.
This global presence helped Chevrolet post record sales in 2011… and again in 2012.
I’m happy to announce that Chevrolet had its best sales ever last year — with nearly 5 million cars and trucks (4.95) sold worldwide.
That means that a Chevrolet was sold somewhere in the world every 6.4 seconds. In fact, Chevrolet is now the fastest-growing major automotive brand in the world.
And as we continue to feed that growth by expanding Chevrolet’s global operations, we are also aligning those operations behind a single vision…
This new vision statement embraces the spirit of ingenuity embedded in Chevrolet’s essence since the beginning… and it will continue to guide every aspect of our business moving forward.
For the first time ever, our Chevrolet designers, engineers, and retail personnel will be aligned under a single vision no matter where they work and live.
It’s a vision that empowers them to find smarter solutions to address customer needs. And “Find New Roads” will also be used in Chevrolet advertising around the world, starting in the United States this quarter.
With over 20 new Chevrolets launching globally this year, the timing couldn’t be better.
Several of those vehicles will go on sale here in the U.S.
Including the Spark EV, which will hit showrooms this summer.
Last month we unveiled the all-new Chevrolet Silverado.
From hood to hitch, the Silverado will be the best-engineered pickup in the market.
Every detail was designed and engineered to meet the needs of some of the most demanding customers in the business… full-size truck customers.
Among the many features is a new trio of powerful, efficient EcoTec3 engines… a stronger, quieter, more comfortable cab, improved steering, suspension and brakes, and the towing and hauling capability you’d expect.
But the most anticipated new car introduction this year has to be the Chevrolet Corvette.
First introduced 60 years ago — almost to the day — the Corvette was a uniquely American take on European sports cars.
It soon became an icon for auto enthusiasts everywhere.
And that enthusiasm continues to today.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great privilege to introduce — for the first time ever — seven generations of Corvette, including the 2014 Corvette Stingray.
Very few Corvettes have earned the right to carry the Stingray name.
They need a perfect balance of design, technology, and performance to be worthy of the honor.
The 2014 Corvette achieves that balance , and goes even further to re-define modern performance.
To tell you what we mean by that, please welcome my friend and colleague, Mark Reuss, the president of GM North America, and one of the biggest Corvette fans I know.
Mark Reuss, President, GM North America
Thanks Mary.
Believe it or not, the new Stingray is more “all-new” than the very first Corvette.
Even the ’53 Corvette borrowed parts from other car programs.
The only place we borrowed from for thiscar was the ALMS Corvette racing team.
From brakes, to carbon fiber, to cooling techniques, the technology transfer from racing has never been stronger.
The exterior design features race-proven aerodynamics that improves
high-speed stability.
And its dramatic appearance is just an indication of how different
the driving experience is in the new Corvette.
An all-new aluminum frame and other lightweight materials help achieve a perfect 50/50 weight balance and a world-class power-to-weight ratio.
With an estimated 450 HP and 450 lb-ft of torque, the all-new LT1 engine launches the car from 0-to-60 in under 4 seconds.
That’s the most power and the fastest acceleration ever for
a standard Corvette… and we expect it to be the most fuel efficient Corvette we’ve ever built.
New driver-oriented technologies will help seasoned drivers improve their
track times and make good drivers feel like a pro.
I’m talking about features like Active Rev Matching — a patented system
that anticipates what gear you’re headed to and adjusts the engine RPMs up or down for a clean, precise shift, every time.
There’s also the 5-mode Drive Selector that tailors 12 different vehicle attributes to suit your immediate driving situation — perfect for driving
in bad weather, on a track… or anything in between. The car adjusts to your needs.
This Corvette is truly a technological tour de force. Plus, the interior is completely transformed with state-of-the-art technologies and world-class craftsmanship.
Of course it will be built at our dedicated plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky — which has been completely re-tooled to build this car.
And we’re pleased to have the governor of Kentucky here with us today…the Honorable Steve Beshear.
I’d also like to recognize Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
Thank you both for being here.
I could talk about this new Corvette for hours, but I really want you to spend some time with it.
So let’s bring Mary back up here… and I’d like to ask two others to join us as well: Ed Welburn, our vice president of Global design, and Tadge Juechter, the executive chief engineer for Corvette… two people that were intimately involved in the development of our new Stingray.
Thank you for being here.
Now come take a closer look at the new Corvette Stingray.
The GM Authority Take
We love track-to-street carry-over as it relates to automotive technology. Absolutely love it. Also, the jury is still out on Find New Roads.
Comments
20 new chevrolet launched this year,thats good but really they are not launched in all the markets where Chevrolet is comercialized,thats a frustrating feeling from Chevy.
While the C7 is certainly praise-worthy, the new Silverado looks more like a mid-cycle refresh! I will keep my 2011 LTZ Duramax 2500. THAT was also worthy of great praise.