TRAIL BOSS

First Things First: YOU MUST GET MUSEUM DELIVERY, especially with a newly designed vehicle like the C6. Case in Point: When my wife and I arrived at NCM at 7:45AM on 9/22/04 for our delivery of our Black/Ebony Z51 C6, we were met by Gary Cochriel, Delivery Manager and Curt Adkins, Delivery Team Member. They had tried to reach us in advance, but we were traveling in remote locations in Kentucky/Tennessee conducting genealogy research and had no cell service. They discovered that the right front headlamp assembly was misaligned with the body creating a large gap between the body and the headlight assembly. The car had been sent back to the plant on Monday and then again on Tuesday to correct the problem. As we met, they explained that the issue had not been resolved and at that time did not know when the car would be ready. They told us all the details and both my wife and I greatly appreciated their honesty. While we were making contingency plans, David Smith the Supervisor of NCM Delivery Preparation came in and with tears in his eyes apologized for the car not being ready. Now ladies and gentlemen, this is the individual you want prepping your new Corvette for in my opinion no dealership has anyone with this type of heart and caring! Shortly thereafter, David was called by the plant to come pick up the car as the issue was resolved. When we were able to inspect the car, the only concerns we found were a rubber slice on one wheel at the rim to tire interface and a mark across one of the polished wheel spokes. This rubber slice is a problem the plant is having on the line where the tire encounters a portion of the line or the drum in the vehicle run up area. It is said that there are over 200 wheel assemblies rejected in the plant for this slicing problem. Our car was returned to the plant and a new wheel assembly was put on for the tire slice problem. The wheel assembly with the line on the spoke was not replaced as polished wheel assemblies are in short supply. This issue will be resolved as a warranty with the dealership. Just imagine finding a problem like this when you go to pickup your new C6 at your dealership. If it took the plant two days to correct the problem, how long do you think it will take a dealership? Museum Delivery is the only way to go!

A great big thanks goes out to David Smith, Gary Cockriel, Curt Adkins, Judy Yanko and all the National Corvette Museum Team Members for a grand experience even under difficult circumstances!

Now, my impressions of the C6 made on our 842 mile journey home are as follows:
· The C6 can easily be driven during the “500 mile, not over 55 mph with varying speeds and no hard braking” break in period, especially if you wander the beautiful twisty back roads of rural Kentucky. Naturally, you need a “good dose of patience” to go along with the journey. Even under this restrictive break in criteria, the car is still a blast to drive!
· Compared to our 1997 Z-51 Corvette ( which is now For Sale), the C6 is a vast improvement. The C6 Z51 ride is smoother than the C5 Z51 and the interior in comparison is extremely quiet. The only noise issue seems to be tire noise while driving on an Interstate highway with a concrete surface . If you want ultimate performance and still enjoy the ride, the Z51 is the way to go.
· The car turns in very quickly with minimal body roll. Having spent quite a bit of time driving a ZO6 on track at VIR, the C6 Z51 is extremely comparable. Positioning of the throttle pedal and the brake pedal make for easy “heel and toe” downshifting
· As far as interior is concerned, there is more headroom and maybe a wee bit more room side to side. The console storage is less, but opens much easier than the C5. The glove box is just that a box to store a pair of gloves and if your lucky maybe a pair of sunglasses. The manual still does not fit in the glove box. I did not feel excessive heat coming from the center consol area and what heat there was is comparable to the C5. The “ballyhooed” molded door pockets are miniscule and shallow. The rear area does not seem to be as deep as the C6 and the large center storage below the floor is gone. That is a favored storage place in our C5. The two storage areas in the rear remain with comparable room as the C5 plus a nice hinged top.
· With the Heads Up Display, it is very easy to become a “HUD Head” to the detriment of frequent checking of all the gauges.
· The Navigation System is very accurate and the Coordinate feature is quite handy. As an example, we plugged in the longitude and latitude of a rural pioneer cemetery as we continued our aforementioned genealogy research on our journey home. Rhonda (as in “Help Me Ronda!”) in her soft but sometimes interrupting and irritating voice directed us “dead on” to the cemetery.
· The only driving issue occurred after about 350 miles, the car would occasionally “pop” out of 6th gear. I’ve never had a Vette do that before.

Now for those of you who have taken the time to read this far these next two items may be of interest:
· As you adjust the driver’s seat, the driver’s door handle is EXTREMELY vulnerable to scratching if you wear a large aviator style watch on your left arm or for the ladies a large diamond ring.
· For those of you who are taking NCM Delivery or maybe just visiting the NCM and will be staying in the Bowling Green area, there is a super Bed and Breakfast named the Victorian House in nearby Smiths Grove. It offers a Corvette Discount and if you are “first come”, a garage is available along with a bucket and water for washing off the “trail dust” on your Vette. The link is www.bbonline.com/ky/victorian

webdzynes

Very nice report! Thanks!

LS WON

I would be worried about the road rash and rocks on the drive back so have the mueseum put a bra on the car for you unless they can install the 3m X-pel protectant as that is just too many miles for something to happen.

corvdon

The popping out of 6th may just be a simple linkage adjustment. On the other hand.... If it is more serious, they may insist on replacing the entire transmission as they did when C5 came out. (been there, done that).
Hope that it is the easy fix for you.

LS WON

Again Just get an automatic.

_Nomad_

Thanks for the write up. I will be getting the Museum Delivery as well and since I will be staying over a couple of nights I will look into that bed and breakfast you mentioned.

TRAIL BOSS

They even fix breakfast early if you have a 7:45 AM Show time at the NCM

paystyle

Hahahaha! You must be joking.

Tenderfoot

Nice write up

HOTSOSS

Nice report but I continue to be disheartened by the problems that are found with the building of the C6. I think their QC is lacking to let cars out that have obvious problems. And jumping out of gear, thats a real problem, one that I'm sure will take some time to resolve, depending on your dealer's attention to customer satisfaction. I hope you call the factory and let them know about the gear problem. Otherwise, good luck with your new car.

CADreamingVette

Nice report.

This would be one of the many reasons I would do the museum delivery.

The only question I would need to decide would be if I am going to drive it all the way back to San Diego or order a covered car carrier truck to drive it back.

The concerns for me would be the rock / road damage with all those miles as well as breaking in the engine properly with the associated oil changes and whatnot.

Dealerships and the horror stories have made the museum delivery a must.

HHC5

Nice post!!!! Thanks

mlbz28

I also had the Museum Delivery done on 9/22 and met the gentlemen that started this post. I totally agree with him about museum delivery. Although I had no problems with my Machine Silver/Ebony coupe the people at the museum made us feel like we were # 1. Tom Fleming was our delivery guy and gave us a personal tour of the plant. At one point he went over to a guy working on the line and came back with my build sheet which he laminated for me. I also got to do the final checks and start a car for the first time at the end of the line. Pretty cool!! I drove back to San Diego via route 66/I40 and had a blast. 5 days and 2200 miles with zero problems and no road damage. I like everything about this car. No orangepeel, polished wheels look great. Was in the car at least 6 hours per day with no fatigue. Seats are very comfortable. Power was amazing but now that I have 2200 miles on it it's even more awesome!! Get a C6. You won't be disappointed.

TRAIL BOSS

Glad to see you had a great trip back to San Diego. My wife and I have been wondering about your journey home --- now we know!!!

MThomas

Trail Boss, congrats on the new VET!!!! Thanks for sharring your story. The museum staff is OUTSTANDING!!!!!! I'm going to have the honors on Monday, Oct 4th and I can't wait. Be safe and enjoy the new ride.

fdxpilot

Or have it shipped right to your garage, lock it up for good, and it will look great.

It's a car (definitely a great one) and is meant to be driven. A cross-country road trip in a new car is a great way to get to know it.

TJsToy

A lot said.... thanks.

TRAIL BOSS

MThomas, I know you'll enjoy 10/4. Are you in Columbus? I'm in Bay Village! Will be at Mid-Ohio this weekend racing --- no not the C6, but a Spec Racer Ford.

need-for-speed

Great story and agree on the TLC the NCM crew delivers.

My C5 did that twice..popped out of first gear. I read here that there are 2 rows of synchronizers and it needs to be firmly pressed into first gear. Hundreds of shifts into first gear later, and it has not happened again.

MThomas

Yes, I'm sure I will. This will be my second museum delivery. Also, yes I'm in Columbus, Ohio. Live on the north east side of town.