Driving this 1.6-mile road course was to benefit a children's charity.

I got to take a ride in a Corvette elevator at the dealership!

The first video got a BIG reaction (not all positive) in the YouTube comments. The second video is to answer questions that were raised and to clear up some assumptions people had made.

It's been a busy year since I waited outside overnight in New Hampshire winter weather for my chance to place an early deposit on an ERay at the #1 Corvette dealership, and it's interesting to look back on those events with a perspective that includes all that's happened in the Corvette world since. I'm presenting new photos and offering some very personal thoughts on the One Year Anniversary — and about my ERay color choice. To commemorate the event, I'm also posting this at exactly the same time I signed in with the two guys who were there when I arrived (that time is appended to the date stamp above only inside the post).

The 2024 Corvette ERay is a marvel of modern engineering, blending the raw power of a traditional internal combustion engine with the efficiency and responsiveness of electric motor technology. This hybrid supercar boasts an array of innovative features that set it apart from its competitors. According to Executive Chief Engineer for Corvette, Tadge Juechter, "An ERay retractable hardtop is one of the most complicated machines you can buy as a consumer. Of anything!" He stated that on a recent YouTube video with Jay Leno, and I'll explain some of what I think he was talking about.

Since I received my ERay allocation — and now have an official order at the assembly plant ready to be built — people have been asking me lots of questions about my build specs. Things like, "What color are you getting?" and "Did you get body color trim or Carbon Flash like comes standard on the Z06?" Considering all the options we can choose on these cars, there must be millions of different combinations, so it's a great opportunity to really make your Corvette your own and get it that way right from the factory! In this post, I'll present some of my considerations and why I chose what I chose.

All 2024 Corvettes (not just the ERay) will have several new safety features, and some Corvette enthusiasts are not happy about it! Corvette owners, in general, like to drive and feel in control of their powerful sports cars. Many don't want their car driving for them. I've had bad experiences with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) in the past, but the Corvette engineers have said that they've calibrated our 2024 Corvettes to not be intrusive. We'll see. How many of these features can be turned off, and which ones stay off between ignition cycles? I'll let you know!

Actually, they all will. The Corvette engineers didn't give us a choice because it's standard equipment. I wasn't happy about that at first because I'm not a wealthy person, and Carbon Ceramic Brakes (CCB) are expensive. Buying an ERay will be a financial stretch, but obviously one I've decided will be right for me in the long run, and I'm willing to make sacrifices elsewhere. For instance, this is my garage where I keep my Corvette and where I had my previous Stingray during winter storage on a battery tender.

When I decided to embark on this adventure of starting an ERay website, Instagram (@awdcorvette), and YouTube channel (coming soon), I carefully considered the spelling I would use. Officially, GM spells it E-Ray. I know that, but as I searched around the Internet, I found that other than professional automotive journalists, more people tend to omit the hyphen, and just type ERay. I've also seen eRay, but that is less common.