Muscle Cars 'May Be Legislated Out of Existence'
Tougher fuel emissions standards may turn hot rods, like the 620 hp 2009 Corvette, into an 'endangered species.'


Dec. 20:

The 2009 Corvette ZR1, the fastest, most powerful automobile ever produced by General Motors may be the last in a tradition of muscle cars.

DETROIT — When General Motors Corp. pulls the cover off a new supercharged version of the Corvette at the Detroit auto show next month, it will unveil a performance car designed to rival or better even the fastest, most expensive exotic cars from Europe.
But the Corvette's chief engineer says the 2009 Corvette ZR1 may be the last in a long tradition of Detroit performance cars, endangered by stronger federal fuel economy regulations and limits on carbon dioxide emissions.
"High-performance vehicles such as this may actually be legislated out of existence," Tadge Juechter said at a recent showing of the ZR1, which is designed to have around 620 horsepower.

President Bush on Wednesday signed into law legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming.
The legislation requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
But Juechter said to sell one of the Chevrolet supercars, GM would need to offset that with cars that get 45 mpg.
"It could really be an endangered species," he said.

Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst with the consulting firm Global Insight, said predicting the death of the muscle car might be premature.
The Corvette, he said, is fuel efficient when compared with its competitors. Although fuel economy figures weren't released for the ZR1, the current 505-horsepower Corvette ZO6 gets an estimated 15 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway, according to GM.

The ZR1, he said, gets around the same mileage as a Chevrolet pickup truck, and GM won't be getting out of the pickup business because of gas mileage standards.
"I think it's a little over-dramatization," Bragman said. "GM wants to sell big, high-performance, fun cars. And typically that's what Americans want to buy."
Performance cars of the future may be powered by smaller engines or electric motors, he said, but they won't die.
The ZR1 will have a top speed of more than 200 mph, driven by an all-new supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine. It has 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels and a suspension tuned to provide extraordinary cornering grip, GM said.

The car has a carbon-fiber hood, fenders and roof for weight savings, and its huge carbon-ceramic brake rotors give it great stopping power, the company said.
The ZR1 will cost around $100,000 and probably will go on sale next summer.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317556,00.html

 

There will always be a back yard mechanic, that'll get the horses out of the barn.

 

I just read this. I doubt that the vette will go away because of fuel economy legislation.

BTW, just in case you haven't seen this on the Chevy web site > http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/zr1/

 

Chevy won't get rid of the 'Vette. They might have to slow it down a bit, but so will the foreign exotics.

 

35MPG shouldn't be that big of a deal with all the new technology. My old worn out 20 year old '87 gets 32 with the cruse set on 75 and the ac blowin' full blast. Just because the hp is there doesn't mean they have to use it when do their certification testing. I really believe they had the means to do those numbers and better,long ago but chose not to for greeds sake. Not gonna build the vettes anymore?....sounds like a sales ploy to me. But...if they stop building it all of ours will jump in value, huh?

 

Nice marketing ploy I would say. Put the thought out there that the Vette may end production and see how many people will scoop up the new ZR1 at $100,000.00 each. Can't hurt sales if people believe they MIGHT get the last year vette. What will they think of next or do they really believe we are that gullible!! There will always be a market for the CORVETTE!!!! It is the only product line Chevrolet has to identify with.