Thanksgiving – Corvette Style! Our Top 2022 Corvette Moments That Made us Feel Thankful!

Thanksgiving is the time of the year to focus on the positive. We look back at 2022 and highlight some of our favorite Corvette moments.

Happy Thanksgiving! 2022 may have had a few challenging moments but this is the time we give thanks for all the good that happened. At least as it relates to the world of Corvettes. This year we finally began to move on from the pandemic and saw the world getting back closer to normal. That and the health and safety of everyone is of course number one when it comes to giving thanks. But 2022 also saw some significant good news as it relates to the Corvette. And we are all Corvette fans, so naturally that is going to be our focus here.

A lot happened in 2022 so far and we still have a month to go. So, we will not be able to capture everything in a single article. However, we did take a look back and captured some of our favorite moments. If you have other moments that you would like to share, please do so. Head on over to the Corvette Forum forums and let us know what Corvette news you are most thankful for in 2022. Did you finally buy your dream Corvette? Did you add another to your collection? We would love to hear all about it. In the meantime, here are our favorites.

C8 Corvette Prices

Ever since the release of the much-anticipated C8 Corvette buyers have been faced with skyrocketing prices. The MSRP was not the problem, it was the huge dealer markups many had to deal with. That also led to inflated used C8 pricing. The ‘bargain supercar’ was looking nothing like a bargain. However, during the year there have been reports that despite the C8 popularity the prices were finally starting to return back to earth. Just don’t ask about the Z06. But remember, this is Thanksgiving, so we are focusing on the positive. Hopefully the downward price trend continues into next year and inflated pricing becomes a thing of the past.

Dealership Makes Good

A lot of negative out there about Chevrolet dealers. And for good reason with some adding on outrageous markups. That is what makes a story about a dealer doing the right thing really stand out. Many of you may remember the story of the service tech from Fremont Chevrolet taking a customer C8 on a high-speed joyride. Not cool. But the dealership stepped up in a big way to turn a negative into a positive. They offered a brand new C8 to the customer who owned the joy ride car. The owner was offered a 2022 C8 with all the features his car had plus any features that he could not originally get due to supply issues. The dealer also threw in an extended warranty can covered the taxes. Nice job. We are happy to report on a good story out of a dealership for a change.

Corvette Museum Factory Tours

It has been a long time but in October of 2022 the National Corvette Museum finally resumed factory tours. In 2017 tours were suspended due to enhancements and layout changes. Then COVID hit in 2020 and that delayed the resumption of tours even further. But finally, we are turning the corner on the pandemic and things are going back to normal. The factory tours being available once again is another sign of that. We are extremely thankful for that. To schedule your tour, click HERE.

General Motors announced earlier this year that the Engine Build Experience would resume in 2023. This time customers can build their very own LT6 for the C8 Z06. You will be located at a workbench and all the required parts will be brought to you. Of course, a master engine builder will be with you to show you the way. Once you are done you will get to see your completed engine tested on the dyno. The program will likely cost around $5,000 but if you are already shelling out for a Z06, that is a drop in the bucket. This is a very cool experience and one we are thankful to see returning.

C8 Z06 Production

Speaking of the C8 Z06. After writing and talking about it for what seems like forever production and customer deliveries finally began in 2022. This is one of the most anticipated Corvettes in history so to see these finally land on the streets is very exciting. If one would magically land in MY garage that would be even better, but hey I am still happy for those that did manage to get one this year. And as a Corvette community as a whole we should all be thankful that these machines are actually being built and delivered to terrorize racetracks around the world.

Largest Corvettes at Carlisle Ever

Corvettes at Carlisle has been running strong for 40 years now. The 2022 event was the largest one ever. In the fun field there were 2,926 Corvettes which toppled the old record set back in 2019. If you have never been to Corvettes at Carlisle, you really need to make the trip at some point in your life. It is a Corvette show like no other. I was at the show this year, as well as the last couple of years, and I can personally attest to how incredible this event is. It will be returning for 2023 on August 24 – 26. You have over 270 days to plan so there is no excuse not to be there and make it even better than 2022.

Electric Future

This might be a controversial addition to this list but there really is no choice but to include it. We all LOVE our gasoline-powered V8 engines. But there is no escaping the fact that the entire automotive industry is moving to electric vehicles. That means the Corvette needs to adapt or die. Nobody wants to see the Corvette die. So, we have to be thankful when the Corvette E-Ray was spotted testing at the Nürburgring earlier this year. We don’t know all the details on this Corvette variant yet. But it will feature some sort of electrification. It will also likely feature all-wheel-drive and be incredibly quick. We are thankful to see that the plan is to keep the Corvette alive well into the future.

We Aren’t These People

A lot of people have done some dumb things with their Corvettes in 2022. We are thankful that we are not any of these idiots. What is the deal with all the folks wrecking their Corvettes? Driving into curbs, trees, you name it, and someone did it in 2022. These drivers will find a ditch long before they hit an apex. We are thankful we have not become the latest internet sensation by destroying a Corvette in a spectacular and foolish fashion. Be careful out there folks. And remember there is no shame in attending a professional driving school.

Corvette Safety

See above for why Corvette safety is so important. While we are disappointed in seeing Corvettes getting wrecked by idiots, we certainly never want to see anyone get hurt. Thankfully what we have seen in 2022 is that the Corvette does an amazing job protecting its occupants. Even if those occupants appear to be intent on destroying the car. We are beyond thankful that most of the people involved in these Corvette wrecks managed to survive. That is a true testament to how safe a modern Corvette has become.

C8 Accolades

The C8 has been out for a few years now and it continues to be recognized as one of the best sportscars you can buy. Earlier this year U.S. News ranked the Corvette as the Best Luxury Sports Car for 2022. The number two spot went to the Audi R8 which has a starting price double that of the C8 Stingray. The Corvette also beat out a trio of perennial Porsche favorites. The Cayman, Boxster and even the vaunted 911 finished behind the Corvette. We have a world class sports car here in the C8 Corvette. Just in case you didn’t already know that.

Corvette Forum Members

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention how thankful we are for having such great members in our own community. You see it every day in the Corvette Forum forums with all of the helpful information being shared. Plus, our members have some incredible Corvettes. Some of the best are featured in our Corvette of the Year contest that we have been running throughout 2022. We are thankful to be a part of such a great Corvette community. Happy Thanksgiving!

Images: Joe Kucinski; Corvette Forum; Corvette Museum; CA Highway Patrol; CarSpyMedia; Mantua Twp. Fire Dept.

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