General Motors realizes that most of Corvette buyers are car nuts, because they’ve bought a sportscar, and would love to be somehow involved in the process of making the car. And that’s exactly what they are offering to them! Customers who order a 2011 Corvette Z06 or ZR1 can choose an option to help assemble their cars’ LS7 or LS9 engines at General Motors’ Performance Build Center (PBC) in Wixom, Michigan.
So if you did this and later on anything went wrong went with your engine, you know it’s your own fault that didn’t build it properly! Other things you can do during in this program include attending driving school in Arizona or Nevada, take delivery of your vehicle at the National Corvette Museum or, if you have no job, watch it being built at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky.
The Engine Build Experience is an option of course, which is not cheap either. You have to pay $5,800 to help building your engine! Also you have to get to the factory in Detroit yourself. I’d rather let them build the engine and spend the money on a proper vacation!
“Corvette owners are some of the most passionate – and most involved – enthusiasts in the industry,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet marketing. “The Corvette Engine Build Experience offers customers an unprecedented opportunity to participate, hands on, in creating the car.”
“In a way, this is a dream program for a Corvette customer. I would have jumped at the chance to build the 427 in my ’67 ’Vette, and that didn’t have half of what goes into one of these modern precision engines,” said Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, Global Product Operations. “Today’s LS7 and LS9 Corvette engines are pinnacle achievements in engineering, and to personally involve our customers in their final creation shows the depth of Chevrolet’s commitment to make lasting connections with the customer.”
Other programs include:* Corvette plant tour, where customers can follow their vehicle down the Bowling Green assembly line
* Corvette Museum delivery, where customers take delivery of their new Corvette at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green
* Corvette ZR1 Driving School, which offers complimentary attendance at either Bob Bondurant’s Corvette Driving School in Arizona, or Ron Fellows’ Corvette Performance Driving School near Las Vegas.“Simply put, no other sports car manufacturer can match the level of personal customer involvement that Corvette offers,” Campbell said. “The Corvette Engine Build Experience takes this personal involvement to an unprecedented level.”