2006 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
Personal story and photograph submitted by owner Randall Shinn - courtesy of the National Corvette Museum website - for participation in the National Corvette Museum 2008 Historic Motorama II.
About the Car
This black with gray interior 2006 Z51 Coupe, manual transmission, competition gray wheels and all other options, hasn't really changed much since its museum delivery in April of 2006. A couple of noticeable changes on the outside - the exhaust is now Corsa's Xtreme system (plus Corsa's X-pipe), the stock rear spoiler has been replaced with the Z06 version, and the rear license plate frame is a Genuine Corvette Accessories piece. Perhaps not quite so noticeable outside are laser transceivers front and rear. Those transceivers go along with one of the additions inside the car, an Escort custom installed radar and laser defense system. Lloyd floor mats with the C6 logo have replaced the factory mats in front, and one in the rear now covers the floor of the cargo area. A Top Down Technologies Window Valet might also be spotted inside if you know where to look.
About Me
This is my third Corvette, the two prior models were a 1976 and a 1998. I'll also admit to acquiring a couple of Porsches and an ex-wife somewhere between the 1976 and 1998 Corvettes. I was lucky enough to participate in the NCM's first Historic Motorama with my 1998 coupe, which has since moved on to at least its second and third owners.
I 'grew up GM' - my father and his brother both graduated from GMI (now Kettering University) - and I observed nearly four decades of GM's 100 years while living in the Flint area. I was there when GM employed about 80,000 Flint area residents, so it's a little sad for me to read reports of that number now being only about 8,000. The University of Michigan decided to grant me a degree in finance, and Miami University of Ohio let me do a bit of grad work in systems analysis. I live in Ohio now, but my C6 displays a Michigan Alumni Association Lifetime Member decal in one corner of the windshield (another corner shows my NCM Lifetime/VIP decal).
I'm approaching my 10th anniversary as a Lifetime Member of the National Corvette Museum (NCM), and many have probably seen me volunteering there at the membership/brick/raffle table at most of the larger events during that time. The NCM has also seen fit to let me play (er...work) a bit on its own web site, along with doing most of the maintenance for both the corvetteracing.com site and the corvettecaravan.com site.
While I don't know if GM can last another 100 years, I'm certain that I won't make it 'til then, so I'm proud and honored to have been selected to participate in the Historic Motorama II portion of this GM Centennial Celebration.
Randall Shinn
NCM Lifetime Member 473
When GM celebrates the beginning of its next 100 years on September 16, 2008, 55 Corvettes will be on display outside its World Headquarters at Detroit’s Renaissance Center. The Corvettes are in fact the Historic Motorama II, a caravan from the National Corvette Museum (NCM) which is comprised of one example from each of the 55 years of Corvette production. The caravan will depart from the National Corvette Museum on September 10th with stops along the way. People attending the GMnext Day activities on September 16th will be able to view the Corvettes before and after the official program.
Look at the next Historic Motorama II Corvette participant, representing a cross-section of Corvette enthusiasts from across the country.
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