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The Corvette in a high-mileage future
New fuel economy rules won't kill the performance car, chief engineer says,
but the 'Vette will need to adapt.
Tadge Juechter, General Motors' chief engineer for the Chevrolet Corvette, wants to set one
thing straight: the Corvette is here to stay.
"It's my job to make sure that Corvettes do not go away.
New legislation requires a nationwide new car fuel economy average of 35 miles per gallon by
2010. That means the Corvette will have to change, Juechter said. It won't have to get 35 miles
per gallon, of course, but it will have to do its part to raise the average.
The challenge will be to make sure needed changes don't damage the image of a car that's
important to its legions of fans and to GM's corporate image.
The Corvette has been a performance flagship for GM since its introduction in 1953. It's also
been a value flagship for the Chevrolet brand with performance that matches European sports
cars costing twice as much.
Juechter's task will be maintain both sides of the Corvette's brand promise - high performance
and low price - while also dealing with the increased fuel economy requirements.
It won't be easy because the Corvette is already a closet fuel-efficiency freak. A highperformance
sports car that puts out 430 horsepower from a 6.2 liter V8 engine, the 'Vette's
estimated highway fuel economy of 26 mpg is actually better than some 4-cylinder sports cars
including the Pontiac Solstice and Honda S2000.
Corvette engineers could simply cut back on all that engine power. Packing 430 horsepower -
a number bumped up from 400 in just the last model year - the 'Vette would seem to have
some to spare. But a horsepower cutback would be an absolute last resort, Juechter said,
something he would accept "kicking and screaming."
If power had to be cut back, engineers would find ways to lighten the car even more, he said,
preserving the all-important power-to-weight ratio.
"We expect that we will be able to continue to improve performance," Juechter said.
Reducing weight could mean increased use of lighter materials like aluminum, special alloys
and composites and even carbon fiber, which has a large role in the ZR1 super 'Vette.
Those materials are expensive, though, which threatens to undermine that other key Corvette
appeal - its price.
"How do you do that at a reasonable cost that our customers will understand?" Juechter
asked.