News: Corvette Chief Tom Wallace to Retire in November

[Rob]

Corvette Chief Tom Wallace to Retire in November

Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan announced last night that GM Vehicle Line Executive Tom Wallace will retire from the company effective November 1st.

The news, delivered at a Petersen Museum event honoring Corvette Racing history, came as a shock to enthusiasts involved in the hobby, who have come to appreciate Wallace's keen grasp of performance-car culture and obvious passion for the marque.

While no reasons were given for the move, Wallace's departure could be related to uncertainty surrounding the timeline for the seventh-generation Corvette. The car--originally slated for a 2012 model-year release--has reportedly been pushed back by at least two years, a span to which Wallace may have been unwilling to commit.

[catbert]

Must have gotten an early out offer he couldn't refuse. $$$$$$$$$$$$

[Rob]

Just an FYI, Tom Wallace will be succeeded by Gene Stefanyshyn, currently the vehicle line executive for rear-wheel-drive vehicles, including the Camaro.

[catbert]

Wonder what he will be doing? With no development on the C7, and darn little on the C6, life will be a constant string of show and enthusiasts get-togethers. Invite him to the Cruise Fest - he'll probably attend.

[nasajack]

To be sure of the Corvette living on, GM will need to bring in a Corvette lovin' guy/gal. It will take a love for the car and the right individual for the Corvette in order to see it through the leans years of the economy and have the correct vision for the Corvette in the future.

Don't bring in an exec, who drives to work in a Toyota, and views his/her position dealing with the Corvette, as a neccessary evil of the job.

[Hib Halverson]

Originally Posted by nasajack

To be sure of the Corvette living on, GM will need to bring in a Corvette lovin' guy/gal. It will take a love for the car and the right individual for the Corvette in order to see it through the leans years of the economy and have the correct vision for the Corvette in the future.

Don't bring in an exec, who drives to work in a Toyota, and views his/her position dealing with the Corvette, as a neccessary evil of the job.

The new VLE for Corvette and all the Performance cars is Eugene (Gene) Stefanyshyn, who was GM's Global Rear Wheel Drive Vehicle Line Executive, and the guy who oversaw the engineering of the 2010 Camaro.

It's frightening how many people who've influenced Corvette in recent years "took the buyout" on Nov.1.

John Heinricy, former C4 Chief Engineer and, of late, Dir. of Engineering at the Performance Division
Tom Wallace, Corvette VLE
Gary Claudio, the Corvette marketing "guy" at Chevrolet
Ron Meegan, Chief Engineer for the LS3, LS7 and LS9.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Hib Halverson

The new VLE for Corvette and all the Performance cars is Eugene (Gene) Stefanyshyn, who was GM's Global Rear Wheel Drive Vehicle Line Executive, and the guy who oversaw the engineering of the 2010 Camaro.

It's frightening how many people who've influenced Corvette in recent years "took the buyout" on Nov.1.

John Heinricy, former C4 Chief Engineer and, of late, Dir. of Engineering at the Performance Division
Tom Wallace, Corvette VLE
Gary Claudio, the Corvette marketing "guy" at Chevrolet
Ron Meegan, Chief Engineer for the LS3, LS7 and LS9.

Whoa. I heard about Gary Claudio, but not Heinricy or Meegan.

That's a damn shame.

[Hib Halverson]

Meegan is the guy who was instrumental in making the CAC's series on the LS3 and LS9 engines happen. We'd have never been able to produce the level of detail we did without Ron's help.

One reason why the CAC is far ahead of the CF and DC with respect to content is our good relationships with people in GM who'll grant us access.

[killain]

With so much downward pressure on General Motors and it's people, the economy and now the government turing down GM's request for 10 billion, I really fear what the next two years ahead for GM and the economy in gereral for all of us. I'm not looking to blame anyone or any group, but how did we get here? I WANT to see the 60th edition corvette roll off the assembly line !

[84Turbo]

Originally Posted by nasajack

To be sure of the Corvette living on, GM will need to bring in a Corvette lovin' guy/gal. It will take a love for the car and the right individual for the Corvette in order to see it through the leans years of the economy and have the correct vision for the Corvette in the future.

Don't bring in an exec, who drives to work in a Toyota, and views his/her position dealing with the Corvette, as a neccessary evil of the job.

I agree with your sentiment. It's been my impression that since Duntov's departure as CE, the top guy at Corvette has been steadily becoming more of a paper shuffler and less of a hands-on engineer. But on the bright side, as long as the Corvette group keeps the engineers and development staff who actually design and build the stuff (the dirty fingernail crowd, as it were), the car will turn out well no matter who's signing the paychecks.