All Corvettes Are Red

by James Schefter

Book Overview

This work focuses on how the automobile giant GM reinvented the Corvette, a car which became legendary soon after its original release in 1953. It explains how dedicated designers, engineers and executives, eventually managed to produce the fifth-generation Corvette, which was originally meant to be released in 1993, but was delayed due to GM experiencing extreme financial problems. It is also a revealing account of the inner workings of the automobile...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684808544
• ISBN13: 9780684808543
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

For all Corvette lovers

Excellent behind the scenes of General Motors; unbelievable detail in what goes into bringing a new car to market; all the office politics withing GM; all the secret stuff you always wondered about are now exposed. This book provides the history and the detail all car enthusists will want. Anyone that owns a Corvette must read this book. Anyone thinking or dreaming about owning a Corvette should read this book.

Great book - Buy a C5 Today!!

As an avid vette fan since my teens, I finished this book in less than a week (I usually take months to read a book cover to cover). The C5 vette is a significant leap forward for chevy and it is amazing the car got built (read the book for the details!). You two may want to run out and spend $45k on a new vette for your garage after reading this book. I highly recommend it.

A rare inside view of GM and the auto industry

Being a two-time Corvette owner, I anxiously awaited the publication of this book, and had my copy on pre-order with a local bookstore. I had it read in under a week. I was not disappointed. Rather I was quite surprised."ACAR" is the story of the Fifth Generation of Chevrolet's Corvette, nicknamed C5. The author was given access to behind-the-scenes meetings during the entire development of the C5, albeit under gag orders until publication and until the C5 actually made production. In fact, James had access to parts of GM that some VP's couldn't even get to.The book is a great read. The C5 was nearly cancelled on several occasions, mainly due to money problems with a struggling GM. You learn about GM culture, especially in management, that helped cause many of these problems. You learn a lot about what it takes anybody to create a new car. And you learn the dedication of a few engineers and managers who risked careers to keep the project going.

The tale of the worlds greatest 'close call'

James Shefter's work is compelling. He was priveledge to have access to the Corvette development program which afforded him a rare glimps into GM's politics and policies of the early 1990s. While any Corvette afficionado will readily enjoy this 300+ page dairy of life at GM during the development of the Fifth Generation Corvette (C5), those with an eagerness to understand a Motor Giant's mindset will gain the most in terms of sheer knowledge. As inconceivable as the thought may sound, GM almost killed the Corvette in the late decade of the 90's and only a handful of dedicated engineers and artists were able to rescue the program from the trash bin. Mr. Shefter details, in 70, small-sized chapters, the daily life of C5 development in cramped quarters. He chronicles the clay to fiberglass to full first production car in a way that gives the reader a sense of "being there." The only negative which may be said for the book is the length of time it takes to tell the story. But this is easily forgiven since each mini-chapter usually ends in a cliff-hanger! To Corvette enthusiasts and car-maker students alike, "All Corvettes Are Red" is a must read.

Detailed insider's view of an automotive skunk works.

James Schefter should get a commission for every new Corvette sold! After reading this book, you will be convinced that the new Corvette is the best sports car made anywhere in the world today. Great detailed account of how the Corvette team survived multiple GM re-orgs and designed one great car