The Chevrolet Corvette is getting yet another boost in performance and luxury. The changes made to the 2008 Corvette come three years after the introduction of the current sixth-generation body style.  According to a recent AutoWeek article, the Corvette is getting “a boost in performance, more luxury features and, most likely, a higher price.”

The changes to the Corvette for the 2008 model year “are aimed at keeping the Corvette ahead of the performance-car pack amid stiffening competition,” according to Corvette’s assistant chief engineer John Rydzewski.

The new LS3 engine will be a 6.2L aluminum pushrod V8 boasting 430 hp, and replaces the 400hp 6.0L LS2. An optional two-mode exhaust system kicks up horsepower to 436. The Z06 model will also return for 2008 with 505 hp.

Even with increased horsepower, fuel economy remains the same: 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. Emissions are actually lower, which moves the new engine into a cleaner Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification category.

The 2008 Corvette goes from 0–60 mph in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of 190 mph. The manual and automatic transmissions have also been upgraded. According to GM, the six-speed manual will offer more positive gear changes, and the paddle-shifted automatic has new hardware and a new controller that delivers faster shifts. The production of the 2008 Corvette is slated to begin in late July of this year, with sales expected to start in August.

The Corvette has always provided a great opportunity for SEMA members to make aftermarket parts, whether style or performance-related. One example of such a company is Callaway Cars. The company introduced its C16 Cabrio at the 2007 New York Auto Show. 

Engineers have integrated powertrain, brakes and suspension enhancements into the current Corvette platform. The supercharged 6.0L engine boasts 560 hp at 6,200 rpm and 529 lb-ft torque at 4,750 rpm.  An optional performance package increases output to 616 and 582 lb-ft and carries the Vette from 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

Pricing for the C16 Cabrio starts at $128,765. Callaway was able to build this high-powered Corvette from data obtained from SEMA’s Tech Transfer program. The company requested specs for Z06 body panels, engine, transmission, and instrument panels, among other items. When specialty-equipment manufacturers obtain engineering data for new vehicles, such as the 2008 Corvette, it improves the accessory-friendliness of the vehicles. For more information on the Tech Transfer program, contact Oscar Muñoz at Techtransfer@sema.org.

Sources: Truett, Richard. (April, 27, 2007). “2008 Chevrolet Corvette: Faster, More Luxurious and Probably More Expensive.” AutoWeek. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from www.autoweek.com;
Callaway Cars. (March 19, 2007). “Callaway C16 Cabrio Makes World Debut At 2007 New York Auto Show.” Callaway Cars press release.

This story was originally published on May 2, 2007. For more industry news, visit SEMANews.com and subscribe to SEMA News at the bottom of the webpage to get the latest updates straight to your inbox, twice a week.

Good leadership drives the specialty-equipment industry, and business owners that clearly understand their role as leaders could help ensure a long business life ahead of their company. SEMA conducted a webinar earlier this year on leadership, and a presentation of that webinar can be viewed by clicking here. In addition to this valuable resource, a recent article posted on Dave Anderson’s LearntoLead.com discusses how founders of two auto manufacturers undertook their roles as leaders in their respective companies.

The following is a lesson in leadership presented by management expert Peter Drucker. There is a valuable lesson to aspiring “jacks of all trades” and micromanagers that must be heeded in order to maximize one’s own skills, that of your people and your organization overall:

The question, “where do I belong?,” needs to be faced up to and thought through by leaders as soon as their venture shows the first sign of success. But the question can be faced up to much earlier. Indeed, it might be best thought through before the new venture is even started.

That is what Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Company, did when he decided to open a small business in the darkest days after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Honda did not start his venture until he found the right man to be his partner and run administration, finance, distribution, marketing, sales and personnel since Honda decided from the outset that he belonged in engineering and production and would not run anything else. That decision made the Honda Motor Company.

There is an earlier and even more instructive example, that of Henry Ford. When Ford decided in 1903 to go into business for himself, he did exactly what Honda did 40 years later. Before starting, Ford found the right man to be his partner and to run the areas where he knew he did not belong—administration, finance, distribution, marketing, sales and personnel. Like Honda, Henry Ford knew that he belonged in engineering and manufacturing and was going to confine himself to those two areas.

The man he found, James Couzens, contributed as much as Ford to the success of the company. Many of the best-known policies and practices of the Ford Motor Company for which Henry Ford is often given credit—the famous five-dollar-a-day wage of 1913 or the pioneering distribution and service policies, for example—were Couzens’ ideas and at first resisted by Ford. So effective did Couzens become that Ford grew increasingly jealous of him and forced him out in 1917. The last straw was Couzens’ insistence that the Model T was obsolescent and his proposal to use some of the huge profits of the company to start work on a successor.

The Ford Motor Company grew and prospered to the very day of Couzens’ resignation. Within a few short months thereafter, as soon as Henry Ford had taken every single top-management function into his own hands, forgetting that he had known earlier where he belonged, the Ford Motor Company began its long decline. Henry Ford clung to the Model T for a full 10 years until it had become literally unsalable. And the company’s decline was not reversed until 30 years after Couzens’ departure when, with his grandfather dying, a very young Henry Ford II took over the practically bankrupt business.

This story and others like them beg the question that you must answer as a leader: Where do I belong? Look in the mirror, acknowledge the answer, have the good sense to stay there and build a team to supplement your personal weaknesses. Even if you’re under-capitalized or don’t think you can afford to hire additional personnel, you must ask yourself an even more important question: “Can you really afford to engage in areas where you have little competence?” And what is it costing you not to have people in key places in your organization that can execute their duties with excellence?

Two final questions: “What is the price you and your organization pay when you do have the right people in the right places, doing the right things, but persist in nit-picking them, continually second-guessing them or butting into areas where you have limited insight?”

And number two: “What will be the cost to you when these capable people have had enough of your micromanaging leadership style and leave your organization to go work for a leader who truly knows his or her place and has the good sense to stay there?”

Dave Anderson is an author, columnist, trainer and speaker for sales and leadership and has written several books on enhancing leadership skill.  For more information, visit www.learntolead.com.

Source: Anderson, Dave. (April, 2007). “Know Your Place and Stay There!” Retrieved April 27, 2007 from www.learntolead.com.

FEV Engine Technology Inc. (FEV) recently unveiled a developmental gasoline/E85 turbocharged direct injection (GTDI) engine that also features variable compression ratio (VCR) at the 2007 SAE World Congress. According to a company press release, the engine is being developed in-house, in tandem with several other DI engine projects that FEV is working on with various automakers. The engine boasts power similar to a V8 engine while delivering the fuel economy of a V6 engine and avoids many of the traditional drawbacks associated with the use of alternative fuels that typically have lower energy densities.

“This engine is a look at the future evolution of spark ignition engines as manufacturers seek to set a new standard for both power and fuel efficiency, yet face increasingly stiffer emissions requirements” said Robert Last, vice president of operations and communications for FEV.

“And by mating the GTDI with variable compression ratio capability, it will allow customization of the engine control strategy to adjust for the use of alternative fuels such as E85 that tolerate combustion without knocking at a higher compression ratios.” 

While offering the potential to generate V8 power from a V6 engine, this concept also provides a roughly 20%–25% percent improvement in fuel consumption.

Operation of the engine with a sensor or other means to identify the alcohol content in the fuel stream enables an optimal control strategy for VCR operation. During E85 operation, the engine can be operated at significantly higher compression ratios, with dramatic improvements in either performance or fuel economy, depending how the advantage is employed in the control strategy.

“While it’s still a developmental tool, we believe that we can achieve diesel-like fuel efficiency with a gasoline engine,” said Last. “The GTDI/VCR engine is just one example of advanced technologies that FEV is developing together with its customers that could ultimately reduce our dependence on imported oil.”

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory), PPG and other leading automotive suppliers presented research findings on a new glazed automotive windshield at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress. PPG’s Sungate EP automotive glass windshield significantly reduced the transmission of solar energy into a vehicle, keeping the interior cooler and improving fuel economy, according to a PPG Industries press release.

According to the NREL study, Sungate EP glazing can reduce front seat temperatures 27 degrees F (15 C) and air-breath temperatures 16 degrees F (9 C). This reduces air conditioner workload, along with fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions.

Sungate EP automotive glass is an advanced version of the original infrared (IR) reflective Sungate windshield. Previous research showed drivers could save up to 4%, or $66, in annual fuel costs using the Sungate windshield, which is featured on several current Mercedes-Benz and BMW models.

“Sungate windshields reduce the initial workload on a vehicle’s air-conditioning system, which represents the biggest use of power for climate control,” said Mukesh Rustagi, PPG global product market manager. “Because the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard, fuel efficiency increases, emissions decrease and consumers experience a cooler vehicle on entry.”

Rustagi said concerns about gasoline prices and global warming have made consumers more conscious of vehicles’ fuel efficiency and emissions output, so he comments that Sungate windshields benefit the environment, consumers’ pocketbooks and automakers trying to satisfy consumer preferences.

Sungate windshield technology also will help automakers meet the tougher emissions and fuel-economy requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) revised Supplemental Federal Test Procedure (SFTP), Rustagi said, without compromising vehicle affordability, safety or performance.

“Consumers are seeking technologies that improve their experience with their vehicles and help them save money and be environmentally responsible,” Rustagi said. “In the J.D. Power & Associates 2006 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study, nearly three-fourths of respondents were interested in having advanced solar-reflective windshields on their next new vehicles, and the Sungate windshield from PPG helps automakers fulfill that consumer interest.”

Source: PPG Industries. (April 19, 2007). “PPG Automotive Glass Helps Drivers Stay Cool and Save Fuel.” PPG Industries courtesy of PR Newswire.

DuPont, a manufacturer and distributor of chemicals and high-performance materials, is seeking to license a process for making self-supporting conductive films for electrical applications, such as packaging for transporting electrical components and static dissipating laminates for critical workbenches and clean-room environments. According to a brief description of this technology on Yet2.com, the company says that these films can also provide permanent shielding from electromagnetic interference for sensitive electronic devices. According to DuPont, some of the benefits of these films include:

• They can be formed over a support and cast into a three-dimensional self-supporting piece.
• The technology uses fluoropolymers to ensure solvent and harsh chemical resistance.
• The films can be made adhesive using flame treatment.
• The films can be heat-sealed to themselves to form bags.
• The conductive additive of the films is not carbon black, leading to easier processing and more uniform electrical resistance.
• The conductive behavior is not impacted by humidity.

For more information on this and other licensable technologies, visit www.yet2.com.

Source: Yet2.com. “Electrically Conductive Fluoropolymer Films.” Retrieved April 27, 2007 from www.yet2.com.

Dine with top Mexican press and meet with thousands of buyers looking for specialty-equipment products. How? Be an exhibitor at the Mexico City based Salon de SEMA, part of the PAACE Automechanika show. Sign up now to participate in the Salon de SEMA set for July 11–13. For more information on this top opportunity to sell your products in Mexico and Latin America, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org or visit www.salondesema.com.  

Is your company interested in expanding its business overseas?  SEMA provides member companies with free international reports, statistics, databases of contacts and networking opportunities. Check out what’s available online at www.sema.org/international.