1st Time Owners (Oviedo): 2009 Cyber Gray C6 (1LT+Z51+NPP)

[Z51-9]

Some of you may have met me briefly at various events over the last few years. Probably the most recent event I was around was the Coke Zero 400 where I took these shots of the pre-race parade. For those that know Carl Smith, I am his eldest son.

My wife and I are now owners of a new, Cyber Gray Metallic 2009 C6 Coupe. It's just the basic 1LT Coupe package with Z51 and NPP added (decided against a Convertible, and the removable top is enough fun). It's our "pleasure/non-commute" vehicle (we'll put less than 5K/year on it), so the manual 6-speed is just fine (and quite fun, especially with the Z51 ratios). We just bought it this past Black Friday. I had to fly back to my client in DC on Saturday (actually got home from the dealership very early Saturday morning), so I haven't taken any pictures yet. But I have accessories coming in and will take some the weekend of December 12th and 13th.

We didn't plan on becoming Corvette owners. We're frugal and were content just hanging around select club events. We also became completely debt-free more recently, owning our home and all our cars outright. We had considered some used C5s in the past and never pulled the trigger. Well, our brother-in-law (who has been an engineer with GM since the mid '90) had been pressuring us to take advantage of his GMS discounts. One thing led to another and we realized we could get over $12K off of a stock C6 2009 model with the GMS+rebates, got enough for our Mustang Convertible (good riddens!) and that was that.

I thought I wanted the Jetstream Blue, which is a beautiful color and contrasts with the red in the emblems well. But the Cyber Gray Metallic grew on me, even if it's likely going to be more trouble in the Florida heat. It just seems to blend well with the red in the emblems, as well as silver for any lettering, as well as the ebony interior and the black windshield posts. Again, I've ordered some accessories although I'm going to try to not overdo it and make it too tacky (feel free to critique my selections at the next event).

Won't be modding, other than possibly considering adding the factory HUD at a latter date (although I heard the 1LT/2LT windshield isn't as clear for the HUD as the 3LT/4LT that come with it). In all honesty my "talent" (i.e., lack thereof ) in performance driving means the 436hp in the LS3+NPP already has enough potential for me to send the car sideways if I even attempt to floor it. So it's more than enough "supercar" for my wife and I.

Look forward to meeting some of you at future events. Don't know how many we'll make since I travel enough, but I definitely will make Sebring and likely a few other race events in 2010.