The Hemmings Motor News 25-year age limit for defining "classic" cars works pretty well as a yardstick for other cultural artifacts, like the original "Miami Vice." This homage from AmericanDLSR via Vimeo shows you don't need much more than the night, the right music and an attractive car — a formula that didn't exist before Don Johnson got his white suits. Today's comment from I work for GM offers a similar deep appreciation for the driver of the new 'Ring-blasting Corvette:
At first, I had a hard time believing Mr. Mero actually works for GM. How does a guy with that kind of world class talent end up working for GM, and not racing at Le Mans? For that matter, how does a company like GM (with bankruptcies, rotating executives, and an incredibly tumultuous quality/performance reputation) produce a car that can accomplish this kind of achievement, in a factory stock configuration - sans Ferrari-esque track day tuning?! And at less than half the price of contemporary rivals, for that matter!
I just looked in the GM personnel directory, and sure enough, James Mero of Corvette Vehicle Dynamics exists. Totally an unsuspecting guy. Middle-aged looking, with a goatee, and a smile that says "I'm just an average GM dude with a mortgage." I bet if you saw him in the market you wouldn't think twice. But little do you know, he drives like Chuck Norris kicks.
Granted, the guy probably races in his free time. He probably spends all day spinning ZR1s around Milford test loops. And he probably has a few hundred Nurburing laps under his belt. I think he ought to change his name to "Mero the Hero."
But it's still mind boggling to me that maybe he has a badge that looks just like mine. He goes to work at a place where I've been. We've walked the same roads and opened the same doors. On one hand, I want to jump up and down with glee that I work for a company who employs people like this. And on the other hand, I want to go home and cry softly into my pillow that I will never have the brass, or the chance, to zoom around a twisty track in this sort of "THE HELL WITH LIFE!" fashion.
I salute you, Mr. James Mero the Hero of Corvette Vehicle Dynamics, and everything you stand for. You have reassured me that yes, America still builds rockets...Of both the four-wheeled, and the two-legged, variety.