CORVETTES of BUFFALO 1 June 2016 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF www.corvettesofbuffalo.com COB VETTE NEWS Since 1981 Notes from the President Volume, 35 Issue 6 What’s Happening This Month See page three. Sunday, May 22nd was a beautiful day for a BBQ at Wings Flight of Hope in Orchard Park. The membership was out in force with approximately 95 members present. Thank you Lee & Mike Buccilli for arranging the BBQ and to all the members who brought goodies to share after dinner. A special thank you also goes out to Sam Iraci who won the 50/50 and preferred the money go back to the club. The club donated the entire amount, $228 to Wings Flight of Hope which will allow them to fly patients out of town for medical care at no charge to the patient and their family. We are all fortunate to drive great cars and we should be very proud as a club to help out others. At the BBQ I talked to Lowell Rothenberger who filled me in about the seven members who traveled to Springville the day before escorting the Queens for the Cavalcade of Bands. Unfortunately it rained. Again. As I write this column, next on the COB calendar is the Williamsville Memorial Day Parade. Member John Heffernan said we have 35 Corvettes signed up for the parade, with many new rides. The local cruise nights have been well attended by members who are helping out by passing out flyers for the Salvatore's Italian Garden Super Cruise on Wednesday, June 29, and our 12th annual Corvette Caravan in August. If you talk to people interested in attending our events but don't have any flyers to pass out refer them to our website corvettesofbuffalo.com; where they can download a copy and mail to register. For the members who post on Facebook be sure to check out COB where Dan Wroblewski and others post pictures. Finally congratulations and welcome our newest members, Dave Spencer and Gail & Mike Gruber. Have a great summer. See you at an upcoming event. Frank Super Cruise Request For Volunteer’s For the Super Cruise on Wednesday June 29 th , volunteers will be needed to help with basket raffle, 50/50 split raffle, parking, registration, set up and take down. Sign-up sheets will be available at the May and June meetings. Everyone’s help will be greatly appreciated. If anyone has any questions please contact me. Thank You Again, John Biggie
Transcript
CORVETTES of BUFFALO 1
June 2016
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
www.corvettesofbuffalo.com
COB VETTE NEWS
Since 1981
Notes from the President
Volume, 35 Issue 6
What’s Happening This Month
See page three.
Sunday, May 22nd was a beautiful day for a BBQ at Wings
Flight of Hope in Orchard Park. The membership was out
in force with approximately 95 members present. Thank
you Lee & Mike Buccilli for arranging the BBQ and to all
the members who brought goodies to share after
dinner. A special thank you also goes out to Sam Iraci who
won the 50/50 and preferred the money go back to the
club. The club donated the entire amount, $228 to Wings
Flight of Hope which will allow them to fly patients out of
town for medical care at no charge to the patient and
their family. We are all fortunate to drive great cars and
we should be very proud as a club to help out others.
At the BBQ I talked to Lowell Rothenberger who filled
me in about the seven members who traveled to
Springville the day before escorting the Queens for the
Cavalcade of Bands. Unfortunately it rained. Again.
As I write this column, next on the COB calendar is the
Williamsville Memorial Day Parade. Member John
Heffernan said we have 35 Corvettes signed up for the
parade, with many new rides.
The local cruise nights have been well attended by
members who are helping out by passing out flyers for the
Salvatore's Italian Garden Super Cruise on
Wednesday, June 29, and our 12th annual Corvette
Caravan in August. If you talk to people interested in
attending our events but don't have any flyers to pass out
refer them to our website corvettesofbuffalo.com; where
they can download a copy and mail to register. For the
members who post on Facebook be sure to check out COB
where Dan Wroblewski and others post pictures.
Finally congratulations and welcome our newest
members, Dave Spencer and Gail & Mike Gruber.
Have a great summer. See you at an upcoming event.
Frank
Super Cruise Request
For Volunteer’s
For the Super Cruise on
Wednesday June 29th,
volunteers will be needed to help
with basket raffle, 50/50 split
raffle, parking, registration, set
up and take down. Sign-up
sheets will be available at the
May and June meetings.
Everyone’s help will be greatly
appreciated. If anyone has any
questions please contact
me. Thank You Again,
John Biggie
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CORVETTES of BUFFALO
Officers President ---------Frank Pastore ------ 716-694-9024
Board of Directors Sue Brownlee ------------------- 716-693-4654 Dick Brownlee ------------------716-693-4654 Mike Buccilli --------------------716-648-2037 Bruce Graham -------------------716-741-3350 Jim Kelly --------------------------716-681-7931 Skip Polowy ----------------------716-201-1889 Rich Zahner ----------------------716-225-1188
Committees Membership Barbara Lipome 716-691-8845 Newsletter Dennis Buckley 716-759-2972 Phone Comm. Lynda Graham 716-741-3350 Sunshine Comm. Karen Rothenberger 716-675-9467 Or Diane Skeide 716-876-1197 Webmaster Jim Bonus
716-695-7643 Activities Dir. Lynda Graham 716-741-3350 Club Photographer Dan Krakowski 716-675-5880 Face Book page Manager Dan Wroblewski 716-542-2041 Liaison for Out of Town Corvette Clubs Mike & Lee Buccilli 716-648-2037
Meeting every second Saturday of the month at First Presbyterian Church
9675 Main St. Clarence, NY, 14031 Meeting starts 7:00 p.m.
Ralph Kramer was one of the first Chevrolet executives to bolster GM support for the
Corvette Museum in its founding years. He helped the museum gain stature with the management of Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Division, providing several major contacts which were developed and established, opening doors and helping to preserve history. Through Kramer’s contacts and influence, many individuals both inside and outside GM became aware of the Museum’s mission, and many current Corvette Hall of Fame inductees were introduced to the museum by Kramer. He found ways to create Chevrolet media events that got the Museum noticed around the world. Although its official independence from GM was a constant, Kramer’s quiet work with Chevrolet General Manager Jim Perkins on behalf of the Museum saw it survive and grow. Had it not been for Kramer, the one-millionth Corvette likely wouldn’t be a museum display piece today. He served on the NCM Board of Directors from 1990 to 1998.
Kramer was a reporter for The Indianapolis News before joining GM in 1973. During his tenure in Chevrolet public relations, he managed Chevy’ pace car and race engine presence at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He left GM in 1995 to become the Speedway’s public affairs director and director of the Hall of Fame Museum. In 1998, he formed TheKramerCo., a PR
and marketing firm. He helped found the “Corvette Enthusiast” magazine, where he was a columnist. Since then, he has authored two books about the Speedway, “100 Years of Racing” and “A Century of Excitement.” He and Jerry Burton, a 2014 Hall of Fame inductee, co-wrote the widely acclaimed “100 Years of Chevrolet” book for Automobile Quarterly. “Though I left GM in 1995, I have remained involved with the National Corvette Museum ever since,” said Kramer. “They say you come for the car and you stay for the people, and that’s definitely true with Corvette. Coming to events in Bowling Green brings back great memories and it’s an opportunity to share Corvette history with those new to the hobby. I’m looking forward to the 22nd Anniversary Celebration and Corvette Hall of Fame induction Labor Day weekend and the opportunity to be inducted into a group of Corvette elite.”
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CORVETTES of BUFFALO
During Corvette’s early years, Bob Bondurant helped to validate the Chevrolet Corvette as
a world-class sports car, winning on racetracks both in the U.S. and abroad. Bondurant’s greatest racing achievements came while driving not only Corvette, but also Cobras and Formula One Ferraris. Some highlights of his Corvette achievements include in 1959, he won 18 of 20 SCCA-B production races, winning the West Coast Championship in his 1957 Corvette #51. From 1959-63, Bob won 30 of the 32 races entered, driving the Shelly Washburn 1959 Corvette and the 1963 Z06 Sting Ray, both #614. In 1967, Bob led the GT Class at Le Mans with co-driver Dick Guldstrand in a stock L88 Corvette Sting Ray until retiring at the 15th hour.
In 1967 while driving a McLaren Can Am car at Watkins Glen, Bondurant was seriously injured in a horrific crash when the steering arm failed at 150 mph. While recuperating in the hospital, he began drafting ideas for a high performance driving school. After a full recovery, he opened the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway. Forty three years later, Bondurant has graduated more than 500,000 students ranging from celebrities, military officers, professional race drivers, teens and driving enthusiasts to be better, safer drivers at his facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Like most racers, I started on ground zero. I am an original California hot-rodder turned WHITE HOT when I started winning everything in my Corvettes,” said Bondurant. “My Corvette race record reflects winning National Corvette Driver of the Year and the big launch pad with Carroll Shelby. I went on to win Le Mans, was the winningest driver on the American team, the f irst and only one to win the World Manufacturer’s Championship, and lived my dream to be a Formula One driver and work for another legend, Enzo Ferrari. Being inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame is my moment to honor and express my humble appreciation to the #51 and both #614 Corvettes that whispered to me after each win: ‘It’s your destiny to be a champion, now go live your dream’ . . . and I did.”
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CORVETTES of BUFFALO
Reprinted from: http://car.and.driver.com/
C8 in 2018: The Latest on the Mid-Engine Chevrolet Corvette
May 13, 2016 at 4:31 pm by Don Sherman | Photography by Chris Doane Automotive, Illustration by Nick Kaloterakis
It’s time for an updated report on the mid-engine C8 Corvette, and here’s the game plan as we understand it from our impeccable source: The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette (code name: ZERV, perhaps chosen as an homage to Zora Arkus-Duntov’s 1960s mid-engine CERV concepts) will bow in production form at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2018 with a version of today’s pushrod V-8 engine delivering 450 to 500 horsepower. Expect a base price of approximately $80,000.
When volume production begins, presumably later in ’18, today’s C7 Corvette will expire, although there should be remaining stock for those who prefer the traditional powertrain layout used for more than six decades. The C7’s final hurrah will occur at next year’s 2017 NAIAS, when a swan-song mega-power edition debuts, possibly wearing the illustrious ZR1 badge.
A notable power upgrade to the C8 will occur in January 2019, attributable to a new four-cam, 32-valve V-8 set to be presented at NAIAS. That C8 surely will top $100,000.
To continue building momentum, Chevy hopes to show, in 2020, a hybrid E-Ray Corvette—a term GM has trademarked—with electric front-wheel propulsion. C8 Corvettes may wear ZORA identification of some sort (such as ZoRa1) to pay homage to Zora Arkus-Duntov, the car’s spiritual godfather and mid-engine advocate from 1955 to 1975.
Experimental C8s currently reside in Building 54 (a.k.a. Area 54) at GM’s Milford, Michigan, proving ground. Since we nabbed aerial photos of one test mule two years ago, prototypes seldom leave the building during daylight hours. GM owns two Ferrari 458 Italia’s for benchmarking, and the company once had a McLaren in its benchmark fleet. Also owned by the General: a Nissan GT-R, two Porsche 911 Turbos, and a BMW i8, any of which may be being used to aid in C8 development. So focus your eye-in-the-sky cameras on coordinates 42° 35’ 11” N and 83° 41’ 10” W—in the event you hit pay dirt, remember Car and Driver is information central for all there is to know about the next-generation Corvette.
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CORVETTES of BUFFALO
Lockport Monday Night Car Cruise
May 20, 2016 - News - By Jennifer Lysiak Reprinted from: The Lockport Star http://lockportstar.net
Car owners Bob Harrer, owner of a 2016 Corvette, and Skip Polowy, owner of a 1967 Corvette, show off
their cars at the Lockport car cruise on Monday night.
Whether it’s a motorcycle, classic, custom, or modern car, Lockport’s
community of car enthusiasts know how to make a statement with a set of
wheels….As temperatures begin to warm up, we start to see them appear from
long winter hibernations. You may hear the rumbling of a mustang’s engine or
see a Ford Model T emerge from the garage ready to hit the street.
Now in its 17th year, the Lockport Monday Night Car Cruise, which is organized
by the Optimist Club, brings an average of 100 to 150 cars each night to Ida Fritz
Park, located in the heart of Downtown Lockport.
“We work on the premise of family, fun, and free,” said Lockport Monday Night
Car Cruise Optimist Club President, Pat Schrader.
There is no registration or fee to display your classic or custom car, truck or
motorcycle. Any money the club receives is from their sponsors and through
vendors, and after bills are paid, the club donates to charity. Some charities
include Lockport Youth Bureau, the city’s Easter egg hunt and parades, and the
The cruises are held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Monday night from early May
through Labor Day.
‘We wanted to do something different,” remarked Schrader. “We want to bring
people out on the warm summer nights.”
However, it was a little bit on the cooler side this past Monday, but cars and
motorcycles did line up to show off their wheels. Schrader, who doesn’t bring out
his 1988 Corvette in the winter or rain, said once it gets warmer the streets
around the park will be filled with vehicles. Schrader has owned his car for
nearly 20 years.
“It will lead my funeral,” laughed Schrader.
Cars can bring back a lot of memories for many people. Some even end up
buying that one particular car that they had when they in their late teens and
now that their older they say, “they’re going to get another one of those,” said
Schrader.
“This is their chance to bring it out, show it off, and talk to their neighbors and
their friends,” added Schrader.
In fact this Monday brought out car owners Bob Harrer, owner of a 2016
Corvette, and Skip Polowy, owner of a 1967 Corvette, who have a passion for
corvettes.
“They’re neat to drive,” said Harrer. “They’re fun to drive. It’s just a unique car
and there are clubs you can join.”
Harrer and Polowy both belong to the Corvettes of Buffalo, a club that has 127
members.
“We travel all over,” said Polowy. “It’s a family thing. All the husbands and
wives. It’s as much a social club as it is a car club. We hold fundraisers for
charities and we do all kinds of activities.”
Polowy said he got the bug in 1961 when his dad got a corvette and his uncle got
a 1957 corvette.
“I was a young boy at the time and they were beautiful,” added Polowy. “That
was my dream car when I saw my dad’s. He had a blue one and my uncle had a
red one. I knew I had to get one when I grew up.”
Polowy has owned a 1998 and 2005 corvette and currently owns a 1967 and 2015
corvette. Harrer has owned three corvettes, a 1965, 2006, and now a 2016.
Skip Polowy
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“Wheels in Motion Car Show”
Saturday - July 23, 2016 To be held in Ontario Beach Park, Lake Avenue, Rochester, NY
Sponsored By: The Ontario Beach Park Program Committee
"Hosted by the Rochester Corvette Club”
“Great Music, Food & Family Events”
50/50 Raffles & Proceeds to benefit the Patriot Guard Riders of N.Y.
Show Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Rain Date – July 24, 2016 Registration: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Award Presentation: 4:00 PM ___________________________________________________________________________
Please make checks payable to: Rochester Corvette Club
Mail to: Rochester Corvette Club, 386 Upper Valley Road, Rochester, NY, 14624
Early Registration: $10.00 - Must be postmarked by July 9, 2016 - Early entries will receive a FREE Dash Plaque Late Registration: $15.00 - After July 10, 2016 and Day of Show
Mail in Registration ends July 16, 2016 NO REFUNDS Questions? Contact: Dave Kuchman 585-506-8581 Email: [email protected]
Entry Form (Please print clearly) “Wheels in Motion Car Show” Office Use
Car Club Affiliation:___________________________________ Date Rec.______
Car Year:____ Make:__________Model:___________Stock:____ Modified:____ Entry #________
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2016 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Reunion
In celebration of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame celebrated an annual tradition that began
with Indianapolis Motor Speedway co-founder, Carl Fisher. Fisher chose to start the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911 with a flying, rather
than standing, start. Being a dealer of Stoddard-Dayton automobiles, Fisher chose that
brand for pace car duties in the inaugural race. Thus began the tradition of pace cars in motorsports. Through 2015, the 500 has
had 99 different pace cars, representing 27 different makes - from Buick to Stutz. The IMS Hall of Fame celebrated this tradition by hosting a Pace Car Reunion on
May 20-22, 2016, during qualifying weekend for this year’s Indy 500. The Hall of Fame asked owners of Indianapolis 500 pace cars, 500 Festival and track cars, replicas, and
safety/support vehicles to submit their cars for participation in the event.
Dave Huber
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Springville Parade
2016 Mother Nature didn’t disappoint us because again this year we had cloudy skies and light showers. This is a hard event to get a good day because it is early in the spring in the Northeast. We had 7 cars from Corvettes of Buffalo and about 4 cars from Springville residents. Our sponsor, Cappellino Chevrolet loaned the Pageant of Bands Committee a new 2017 Red Camaro Convertible. Great looking machine! Following the parade, Springville’s Kiwanis Club held a great luncheon for our members, the queens in the parade and dignitaries from New York State at Papa Jake’s Bar & Grill in the center of town. As always, we had a great time. On the way home, the clouds broke up and the sun came out. PERFECT! I want to thank those who braved the weather to drive their Corvettes in the parade: Skip Polowy, Pete Ricigliano, Mel Skeide, Joe Dionne, Grant Violino and Dave Spencer. Diane Skeide and Karen Rothenberger provided moral support. Nancy Conroy rode with Grant and braved the raindrops. Lowell Rothenberger
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12thAnnual
All Corvettes are invited to attend the Caravan & Luncheon
Sunday, August 21, 2016 – 8:30 AM to 3 PM
Hosted By:
COB Escorted Caravan, www.corvettesofbuffalo.com
Gathering at Cappellino Chevrolet Inc. 9000 Boston State Road, Boston, NY at 8:30 AM
Lunch Buffet & Awards at
The Grapevine Banquets, 333 Dick Rd., Depew, NY
Pre-Registration is Required – Limited to 150 Corvettes
