[Stingray]

A recent online review in regards to Larry Edsall's book:

BY SUSAN CARPENTER
AUTOMOTIVE CRITIC
Published: Feb. 13, 2014 Updated: Feb. 15, 2014 8:19 a.m.

In the 61 years since Chevrolet introduced its Corvette, GM's most iconic nameplate hasn't just captured the hearts and minds of auto enthusiasts, it's come to define the American sports car. “Corvette Stingray: The Seventh Generation of America's Sports Car,” published by Motorbooks, offers an in-depth look at one of the most acclaimed cars of the 2014 model year, including hundreds of photos.

We caught up with the book's author, automotive journalist Larry Edsall, to talk us through the seven most surprising facts about the C7 Stingray.

1. The role the U.S. Treasury Department played in saving the Corvette.
I'm sure there are a lot of Corvette enthusiasts who were very opposed to the idea of the government bailout, and they'll be surprised to find out the feds not only saved GM but in particular saved Corvette. In the book, C7 chief engineer Tadge Juechter said he was ready for the worst when the Treasury guys came down to Bowling Green, Ky. He thought there was no way they were going to let GM keep a factory for one car. Instead, they said, “Tell us about the next Corvette. There has to be another Corvette.”

2. The close work between the Corvette development engineers and the Corvette racing team.
When car companies talk about racing to learn, it's usually a marketing effort. But the racing team really benefited the development of this car, especially its aerodynamics.

3. The global design effort.
For the first time on a Corvette, GM opened its design to every studio it has around the world. Every designer was invited to offer ideas about the Corvette, even people who had never seen a Corvette in their native country. It helped create a global identity for the car. Chevrolet needs the C7 to be a more global car, not just an American muscle car.

4. The interior design is better than it's ever been.
Usually it's a bake-off. Everybody turns in their designs, and the design directors pick the two or three best and then it goes to Ed Welburn, GM's vice president of design. But on the C7, he said, basically, “Start over. None of these are good enough.” That said a lot about the commitment to the car. Also, on the passenger side there's now a grab handle. The story of why the grab handle is there is also kind of interesting. When the mule cars – prototypes – were built, the engineers took the interior designers out for thrill rides. Two of the designers are big guys, but they were getting flung around in the car, and when they went to grab something, they both grabbed the shifter. So the designers went back and designed the grab handle, which the Corvette has never had before.

5. New technologies.
No Corvette owner will ever see this because it's hidden in the back behind the trim panel, but when you close the hatch on a car like the Corvette coupe, there's a lot of air pressure working against the hatch. They were so committed to making this car lighter that they used this thing called shape-memory alloy. It's a metal that changes shape when heated, then goes back to its original shape at ambient temperature. It was developed for the U.S. Navy for use in submarines because of it resists corrosion, but when an electric current is ran through it, it heats and changes shape. They used it to open a vent so when the hatch is closed, the air escapes.

6. The most fascinating aspect of the tail lights isn't their controversial shape (they're no longer circular) but the vents around them.
Part of what they learned with the racing team was how to do a better job of letting the air that cools components escape more efficiently. The radiators were moved to the back of the car to lower the frontal size. After doing its job, that air has to get out of the car cleanly or it creates turbulence and hurts the car's top speed and fuel economy. Wind-tunnel testing helped figure out how to vent around the tail lights once the air has done its job. It's a very clever and elegant solution.

7. Prototype testing.
In the book, we show them building the prototypes for testing and we walk readers down the assembly line at Bowling Green. You can make an appointment and see the Corvette being built, but they never show you the prototype shop where they're building the prototype cars, and we have a whole chapter on that.