Adam Boca

More information can be found here!
http://store.corvettemuseum.com/services/buyertour.asp

We are excited to be able to offer the Corvette Buyer’s Plant Tour in conjunction with the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant! This program is offered to provide new Corvette buyers with a VIP Tour of the Assembly Plant. See and experience the assembly of America’s Sports Car with your very own personal tour guide. You and up to 3 guests can enjoy a private VIP tour of the Plant to see many areas not included on the general Plant tour. Your tour guide will provide information at the paint areas, body start area, installation of seats, doors, trunk deck, steering wheel, airbags, engine, etc. in addition to the general tour stops such as the marriage point, first start, end of line, and dyno and water testing.

We will make every effort to schedule your tour on the day that your car is being built. However, we cannot guarantee that you will see your car at any point in the production process due to unforeseen events that may increase or decrease production time and scheduling.

Cost
The cost of the Corvette Buyer’s Plant Tour experience is $350 and is payable on-line upon registration below. You must have an order number from your dealer before you can sign up for this tour.

What to Expect
After you have registered and paid the $350 fee, the NCM will monitor your car’s order number status.

Approximately 8-14 days prior to your car’s build date, you will be contacted by a representative of the Museum to provide you with the estimated build date. At this time you can make travel arrangements. It is recommended that you purchase refundable airline tickets if you intend to fly, as the scheduled date may change due to unforeseen events that may increase or decrease production line rates.

Day of the Tour
You will be scheduled for a tour date and time. Please note that the plant operates from 6:12a.m. Central Time to 2:42p.m. Central Time. You may need to arrive the day prior to your tour if you are scheduled for an early morning tour.

The VIP tour will last from 3-5 hours. You will not be following your car during the entire tour, as you will be taken to other areas of the Plant to see the assembly process that all vehicles go through.

The NCM representative will contact you if there are any changes to your scheduled date or time. It is very important that we are provided with a cell phone number in order to reach you on short notice or after your arrival to Bowling Green.

No Guarantee
It is the desire of the Museum and the Assembly Plant that your tour experience enables you to see your new Corvette during your visit, but we cannot guarantee this as part of the program. The National Corvette Museum and the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will not be responsible for any costs you incur for this tour whether you see your car or not. You will not be entitled to a refund if you do not see your car, but we do promise that you will receive a memorable tour of the Corvette Assembly Plant.

In the event that several other tours are scheduled on the date that your car is to be built, your VIP Tour may be scheduled for a date before or after the date your car is built. Again, you may not see your car, but you will receive a VIP Tour of the Plant.

What to Wear/What to Bring
Closed toe shoes (no sandals) are a requirement for all visitors. No cameras, backpacks, purses, fanny packs, cell phones or other packages or containers may be brought into the plant except by special request (for medical reasons, etc.).

Age Restrictions
Children must be seven years of age or older.

Guests
You may bring up to 3 additional guests at no charge. A maximum of 4 people may go on the Corvette Buyer’s Tour.

R8C Museum Delivery Program
The Corvette Buyer’s Tour Program is NOT part of the R8C Museum Delivery Program. Museum Delivery Option R8C is totally separate and ordered through your Corvette Dealer at the time the order for your new Corvette is placed. If you purchased Museum Delivery Option R8C, you may also participate in the Corvette Buyers Tour by signing up through the link below. The additional fee required to participate in the Buyers Tour is $350 – this fee is in addition to the Museum Delivery Program fee. Please note that to participate in both programs will require two different trips to Bowling Green.

For additional questions regarding the “Buyers Tour” contact Gary Cockriel – Museum Delivery Program Manager at: gary@corvettemuseum.com or Delivery Department Assistant – Lori Bieschke at: lori@corvettemuseum.com or (800) 205-4248

Corvette Junkie

$350 seems like a lot and no guarantee that you will even see your car. For $350 I would expect to be able to spend the whole day with the car as it's being built.

Zoomin

You get a VIP tour of the plant as part of R8C. Why would I pay $350 (which I think is a fair price IF you get to see your car) if there's no guarantee? What incentive does the Museum have to make sure I can see my car.

Can you explain what differences there are in the R8C VIP tour, and the one in this new plan?

Seems to me if a buyer signs up for R8C and this tour, that you should get a credit of $350 toward R8C if it doesn't work out. The free plan was much better in this regard. I thought part of the rationale behind this move was to ensure that more people would be able to take the tour if the NCM took it over since only one guy was doing the special plant tour. I think all is does is ensure that more people will take the tour because it was little known prior to this, thereby making it even harder to see your car getting built.

But, after all this bluster, I guess we should be happy we even get a shot at it. I'd just like to see the value, and would like to see some concession if the main part of the attraction is not delivered.

UNKNOWN

CF needs to put up a new forum so owners can pool up on the deal.
4 owners can meet an split the 350 cost. Factory build date forum.

2 cents

Adam Boca

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances they plant may be shut down, wither it is an hour or 2 weeks. We have seen guys come all the way down to see their car and the line shuts down and can not produce cars and the guy is out of luck. This is the reason for this clause...

This is more of a watch your car being built. With the R8C tour you are in the plant for roughly 2 - 2.5 hours...With the Build Tour you are in the plant for roughly 5 hours. Most or all of this time you are watching your car. When walking with your car you will be told about the current build section.

I think the guarantee is being blown out of proportion. I have rarely seen issues, but it can happen and we want you to be prepared.

I will pass this on...

mikeerbC6

wow thats a lot money cash

Adam Boca

We will only look up 1 car...

H101

Thanks Adam, it is good to see the Museum picking this up rather than letting it die.

I took the R8C option in 98 and 05, and for the 05 Kevin spent a half day with us and the car while it was on the line. I got to ride in it before the wheels touched the ground, to start it the first time and to drive it off the line. As I've said in other posts, it was better than a week at Disney World!

I want to throw in some words of support on some specific points-

The "no guarantee" bit- Kevin had the same clause in his conversations with us. We flew down knowing that the car was supposed to be on the line, but we also knew that a last minute parts shortage for our particular build or any one of a thousand other things would lead to a big disappointment. The Museum sponsored tour will have the advantage that one big variable- Kevin's availability- will be taken out of the equation.

The "cost" bit. Yup. $350 bucks is a chunk of change, as is the charge for the R8C delivery. But... my calcs say it was costing Chevy about $200-$350 bucks each time they took one of us through the build tour. While I really appreciate everyone else supporting me when I went through, I would have paid for it and will pay for the next pass. Probably a good time to note my wife thinks I'm nuts for paying for two trips down plus the fees to the Museum in order that the General need not transport a car that I have paid him to transport... but, then she thinks I'm crazy about a lot of things.

Finally, this is another way to support the Museum and who knows, a bit of it may even be deductible.

Zoomin

Hey Adam - thanks for the response. As with all new things, there are wrinkles to be ironed out. Your quote above really lends validity to my concerns. I have to commit to R8C when I order my car. To be assured of seeing my car, I'd place my order for the buyers tour as soon as possible. Now the time comes for my car to be built and you guys discover that this clause comes into play:

I can understand there are plant issues beyond the NCM's control, but if this event happens, I believe you should absolutely refund the money IF the buyer elects not to take the tour. There's no point in doing the tour twice, and if the buyer isn't seeing his car, the tour will last no longer than a usual R8C tour.

In the event the plant won't allow a tour, why won't a refund be allowed? Let's say a customers car is being built the day that Blue Devil os coming down the line, and the plant does not allow visitors. Why am I out $350? Why can I not reschedule a tour for another day (assuming I didn't do R8C)?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is a program I'm very interested in. Like many, one of the things I'd like to do once is see my car getting built and starting it up. The only thing worse than not being able to do this would be taking a $350 kick in the groin too. You could have an area with bricks that have names of unlucky buyers - at least.

H101

I agree with Zoomin'

If you find that your car will not be on the line, or if the plant is shut down, you should be able to cancel. I guess I had almost assumed that since you suggested refundable tickets, just in case.

Zoomin's post made me go back and read yours.

water boy

Imagine the $350.00 spent to see someone elses car being built. I know things happen, but damn. I'd be upset.

The price in itself is not alll that bad, IF I was assured to actually see my car, and be able to walk with it for the whole 3-5 hour tour. Maybe even slip something in the tour that was previously off limits with the KEVIN TOUR. That would be pretty cool. I think that the demand for this tour will be there even with the price, if a little assurance or extra perk was given.

Vette owners will pay for just about everything and anything. Package some line workers sweat while building the vehicle, and I guarantee that someone somewhere will want it for their Vette wall of fame!! LOL

Good idea, it just needs some tweaking.


WB

Adam Boca

These are questions that are out of my area (I work in events)...I would contact Gary or Lori, their email addresses are in the first post...You may want to call them and chat with them...800.538.3883 ext 124 for Gary or 151 for Lori...

SteveTurner

I agree. it wou;d seem to me that Kevin did a better job than what the NCM offers for $350. Does not seem to be worth it.

It'sHerVette!

Great idea but some real thought ought to be given to:

1. Why would someone want two plant tours in a couple of weeks especially if one of them was 5 hours long and included HIS car.

2. Why would someone pay for museum delivery including a tour if he already had one two weeks before. I'd just probably get the car sent to the dealer.

3. It seems to me that there should be a "Combination package" for folks who want both which includes the assembly plant tour while his car is being made and just the museum portion for the delivery.

4. The refund/rescheduling part needs some thought too. It's a lot of bucks to flush down the dumper if things don't work out.

team5150

This is really I have just paid 50K for my car and it is going to be produced next week. Now they want another $350 out of me for a tour to (maybe) see my car ? Why would I pay $350 and air fare, rental car & hotel to see someone elses car being built ? A few months notice to new owners would have been the right way to handle this whole thing. I'm REALLY pi$$ed.

I was planning on flying back to BG from So Cal to see it being built, BUT now I get to pay the same price as someone that has 3 more people with them ? How many people are on each VIP tour?

So does this mean if I go alone and 3 other "loners" are on my tour they get $1400 for the same tour ? Or do I get a 1 person tour for my $350 ? Why not AT LEAST come up with a PER PERSON price ?

What moron up the food chain there came up with this idea ?

I guess GM has hit Skid Row so hard that $350 out of the few people (relatively) that buy a Corvette is going to what - paint the deck chairs on the Titanic ? The lunches at the Exec dinning room cost more than this is going to net them.

The sad thing is they KNOW we are not going to cancel any orders for our cars so it makes them no better than the oil companies that feel they can do ANYTHING to the customer and they have no choice but to take it - in the rear !

Sorry Adam - not directed at you personally - just to the same morons that got GM in the trouble they are in. This was copied to Gary at the email you posted - hope he enjoys his Exec dinning room lunch that we're now paying for.

vettesmith02

Hi Adam,

For my two cents, I know when I ordered my Trans Am back in 1990, I would have gone to the factory to see it being built. Now that I can order a Vette, and will soon, you can bet your life I would come down to see that baby being built. I would also return for a Museum delivery, but I don't know if I would be THAT interested in another tour, although that remains a possibility. (I love factories as long as they are car factories).

If for some reason at the time I order the Vette and decide that I cannot make it for a Museum delivery, at least the possibility exists that I can still see MY car being built. I understand there is no guarantee, but from my standpoint, that's not a big deal. I certainly understand that sometimes the line HAS to be shut-down, i.e. Ford last week with their transmission problems. No suprise there.

Thank you for making the program available and I'll see you soon!

Steve

water boy

[QUOTE=team5150]This is really A few months notice to new owners would have been the right way to handle this whole thing. I'm REALLY pi$$ed.


A gradual phase out would have been better for those already in the loop.

WB

Adam Boca

team5150,

no worries on the post...Here is what I understand from Gary..

If you are comeing alone you will have yourslef and the guide...I do not think anyone else will be with you...So it will be one on one attention...The $350 is for us to track your car (2 weeks), the buyers guide staffing (5 hours of personal attention, Gary and the staff that will be tracking the car, phone calls, etc) and more that I can not think of right now.

You can trust that Gary (NCM employee, not GM employee) is not have a Exec dining room lunch like you mentioned..Gary and the other staff of the NCM would give you the shirt off of their backs.

Adam

water boy

Adam, you're a true gentleman for actually taking the time to address the many posts/complaints in this and other threads.

I realize that you are only the messenger, and are trying to make the most of the situation/ bad situation in the eyes of many about to take delivery of their vehicles, and were planning to take advantage of the free Kevin Tour.

Thanks for you input.

WB

RADRB8

I was fortunate enough to have Kevin take me on a tour as my C6 was being built. Super tour, and I got to start the car before it was driven off the line....Kevin even took pictures and e-mailed them to me. Fabulous experience, but no way would I have paid $350.

Sorry, just another GM PR mistake.