To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

[Steven B.]

Corvette chief Wallace to retire on Nov. 1


By DALE JEWETT

Tom Wallace


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C7 on hold--How long must fans wait for a new Corvette?




Tom Wallace, the Corvette's chief engineer, will retire from General Motors on Nov. 1.

Gene Stefanyshyn, GM's global vehicle line executive for rear-wheel-drive vehicles, will add the Corvette chief engineer responsibility to his duties, a GM spokesman said Monday.

Wallace, who has worked for GM since 1966, retires just one month shy of having run the Corvette program for three years. He is only the fourth chief engineer in Corvette's 56-year history.

During Wallace's tenure, the Corvette team finished and launched the ZR1--a supercar laced with racing technology, from its carbon-fiber body panels to composite-material brake discs and its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 rated at 638 hp.

That should not be a surprise--Wallace is an avid racer in amateur series.

But Wallace leaves GM at a time when the automaker is strapped for cash and scrambling to raise funds. AutoWeek has reported that the cash crunch has led to the seventh-generation Corvette being put on hold indefinitely.

It would be 2014, at the earliest, before the new Corvette is launched, sources tell AutoWeek. The current-generation Corvette was launched for the 2005 model year.

Prior to running the Corvette program, Wallace led the team that developed and launched GM's mid-size pickups and sport-utilities--the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, the GMC Envoy, the Buick Ranier, the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon. Wallace's truck team also developed the Chevrolet SSR.



This article was last updated on: 10/27/08, 13:25 et

[John D.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

He's definitely not the only GM executive retiring. There's currently an incentive package for all GM salaried employees who are eligible to retire. Also there will be no executive bonuses anytime soon for very good reasons. So with 42 years and an uncertain future he decided to retire....I'd do exactly the same thing.

[Clem Z.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

any time the company offers you good cash money to leave take it and run i know i did. the only question i had was,"were do i sign" ??? people who thought the company could not run without and did not take the offer they got screwed in the end and the same thing will happen at GM. hope he did not take GM stock as payment.

[Duke W.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

That was a pretty short tenure compared to Duntov, McClellan, and Hill!

Given the current state of GM I don't expect any serious C7 work for quite some time and expect C6 to be around for a loooooooooong time - maybe even as long as C3.

Then if there is a merger between GM, Chrysler... whoever, the future of Corvette could be in jeopardy, but the current car will likely continue in production as long as it is profitable.

In ten years new cars/trucks will likely be quite different from what's in showrooms, today.

Duke

[Clem Z.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

In ten years new cars/trucks will likely be quite different from what's in showrooms, today.

Duke[/quote]in ten years i will only have to be concerned about what type of hearse they are building.

[Joe L.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

He's definitely not the only GM executive retiring. There's currently an incentive package for all GM salaried employees who are eligible to retire. Also there will be no executive bonuses anytime soon for very good reasons. So with 42 years and an uncertain future he decided to retire....I'd do exactly the same thing.

John-----


With 42 years on the job, he ought to be retiring with or without an incentive package----there IS life after working days are over. I know that although I enjoyed most aspects of my career, I long-ago decided that I would not sell one more day of my life than I had to and I didn't. I mean, let's face it, there IS definitely a finite number of days available to all of us.

[Clem Z.]

Re: To Wallace to Retire Nov. 1

John-----


With 42 years on the job, he ought to be retiring with or without an incentive package----there IS life after working days are over. I know that although I enjoyed most aspects of my career, I long-ago decided that I would not sell one more day of my life than I had to and I didn't. I mean, let's face it, there IS definitely a finite number of days available to all of us.

the sooner you realize there are more days behind you than in front of you the better off you will be. insurance company tables prove the earlier you retire the longer you live that i why a called it quits at 60 years of age and almost 15 years later i have never regretted it. i have 24 hours a day to spend time with mrs clem and the grandkids. it was worth working 2 jobs when i was younger so i could get out early