Chevrolet unveils 2014 Corvette Stingray

Corvette enthusiasts and sports car fans all over the world have been waiting to see the new Corvette, and Chevrolet unveiled it this morning at the Detroit Auto Show. As you can see from the photos, the new design is stunning and we’re pretty confident that this will be a big hit for Chevy and GM. This sexy beast goes on sale in the third quarter of 2013.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower (335 kW) and 450 lb.-ft. of torque (610 Nm). It also accelerates from 0-60 in less than four seconds, and Chevy expects it to be the most fuel-efficient Corvette, exceeding the EPA-estimated 26 mpg of the current model.

Chevrolet decided to bring back the iconic Stingray name with this all-new corvette.

“Stingray is one of the hallowed names in automotive history,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. “We knew we couldn’t use the Stingray name unless the new car truly lived up to the legacy. The result is a new Corvette Stingray that breaks from tradition, while remaining instantly recognizable as a Corvette the world over.”

Here’s a great photo of a classic Stingray in the background.

Here’s another great photo, with the all-new C7 with the prior 6 Corvette body types in the background.

The Corvette is one of the most iconic American nameplates, and frankly it’s very gratifying to see GM triumphantly introducing the newest version of this sports car that many of us have admired since we were kids. We can’t wait to drive one!

  

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UCB Presents All-Stars of Improv in New York’s East River Park

The Upright Citizens Brigade theater, nationally renowned as one of the absolute best resources for improv and sketch comedy in the country, presented a couple of its best troupes last night in New York City’s East River Park, as part of the annual SummerStage festival. Showcasing two distinctly different collectives with a brief intermission, the show was a great example of how good improvisational theater can be when carried out by skilled performers adept at thinking on their feet. It was a unique treat to be in attendance, especially since this particular show will, by definition, never be seen again.

The first troupe, known as The Pox, followed the format of UCB’s celebrated “ASSSSCAT!” show, featuring a monologist telling a personal anecdote based on an audience suggestion, followed by a series of improvisational sketches based on that monologue. Their skits revolved heavily around the experience of out-of-towners visiting New York, such as a scene in which a tourist is robbed at gunpoint in Central Park, then decides that video of the robbery would be a great souvenir of his visit and begins directing the robber while his friends film it. Another highlight was a sketch in which a teacher ruins the joy of swearing for her twelve-year-old students by telling them that Shakespeare coined many of the English language’s best curse words. One of their best ideas, however, was the last scene of the first set, in which a man gives god credit for everything from work promotions to his wife’s pregnancy (“No, I think I knocked god up … or god knocked himself up”), then likewise shifts the blame for a car accident in which he is at fault onto the almighty.

The second troupe, Sandino, was even better, weaving their sketches seamlessly together into a bizarre, alternate-world scenario until, by the end, they felt less like random sketches than cohesive scenes in a play. Using a shouted audience suggestion, “P90X” (which further research tells me is some sort of workout program for which I am undoubtedly too lazy), Sandino improvised a dystopian tale of a world in which robots are programmed for only three functions – rage, sex and boredom – and people have jobs like drunkenly dancing nude in glass towers. Though the set begins with two of the performers working out, the phrase “P90X” ended up referring to a prisoner who has become a problem for his captors, one of whom suggests that the solution is to let him loose in Detroit and see who survives, him or the city of Detroit. This is all part of an evolutionary experiment he feels is vital to the human race, and later this same character reappears to serve an arsenic-laced dinner to a friend, for the same reason. “It’s not a lethal dosage,” he insists. “It’s just going to hurt real bad.”

It’s truly amazing how well Sandino incorporated elements of all their sketches into one large narrative, to the point that the final revelation that prisoner P90X is actually Virgin Group mogul Richard Branson (who designed the boredom robot in order to gain perspective on his overly exciting life) made perfect sense. This is a tremendously talented group of performers, and while I feel privileged to have attended their only performance of this specific material, I certainly hope a video recording is made available in the near future. 

  

Woodward Dream Cruise: Day 1

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If there’s one automotive pilgrimage that must be made by gearheads everywhere, it’s the Woodward Dream Cruise. Located in the automotive Mecca of Detroit, MI, the Woodward Dream Cruise is a weeklong event that celebrates the religion of cars. The Dream Cruise specifically worships the sect of classic American muscle cars with big V8’s, aggressive lines and bad attitudes. All cars are welcome, but these vintage American hulks from a bygone era reign supreme. Today was the calm before these cars are awaken from their slumber and marched towards Woodward Ave. Every year brings something unique, and this year is no exception.

This year’s Dream Cruise marks not only the year of Chevrolet’s centennial anniversary, but also the 100 millionth small block Chevy V8 to be produced. If there were one spokesman for the entire muscle car movement, one defining piece, it would be the Chevy small block. There is no better place to pay homage to this piece of engineering than the Woodward Dream Cruise.

The mission of the Chevy small block was simple: create an affordable engine to bring the power that the marketplace demanded. In 1955, chief engineer Ed Cole completed that task. The result was the Chevy small block.

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Final Destination for the Chrysler 200 Drive to Dallas

Bullz-Eye and our fellow bloggers made it to Dallas (North Texas!) for the Big Game, ready to have some fun. It was great to finally drive into Dallas and see all our comrades who finished their drives earlier and flew into Texas. We all made it to our destinations safely and securely in our Chryser 200s. I must say that none of us had any idea that the Eminem ad was going to launch the 200 as no other car before the 200 has been launched!