Gary and Cathy McPhee's C8
So, the journey for this car started back on the 18th of July 2019. This was when GM first announced that they would be producing a RHD C8 Corvette. I remember watching the announcement after Cathy found the link online and having several calls with AJ on the day.
There were many who said that it would never happen, and I think a few bets were won and lost within the club. At the time Cathy and I discussed the car, and she said that if you want to buy one then do it. I didn't ask her again. From that conversation I placed my name with a couple of Adelaide dealers and set about waiting for more information. As some of you would know this would be information that was very slow in happening. GM would then go onto change the structure of how they sold in GM products within Australia and only complicate the C8 even further.
There were several times when I thought that this car would never happen and to say the least, I found this very frustrating. In May 2021, I and a few others had the chance to see the C8 when it was shown at the Bend even if was in an LHD format. It was at this event that we had the chance to talk to the team from GMSV about the C8. Little did I know where that conversation would eventually take Cathy and myself.
A number of cars were delivered through Adelaide dealers in early 2022 and again I was not on that list. In February 2022 GMSV were good enough to bring the first RHD C8 to Corvettes Rock the Bay and it was also for the first Corvette Club event anywhere in Australia. It was the night before when the Club hosted three of the team from GMSV for dinner and we had a chance to meet and talk with the team again.
During these conversations I was explaining the club's charity to Jo, Jodie and Rob from GMSV and how Noah was our grandson was also a HeartKid. Sadly, the conversation also included Sean and how we had lost him to cancer just over a year before that. Un beknown to myself Jo and Jodie were in tears on hearing our story and the left the dinner with some thoughts on their minds.
It was from this meeting that I was to latter find myself on a list to get a C8, but I was asked to keep it quiet. To those of you that regularly asked me when I was getting a C8 I apologise for saying to you that it wasn't going to happen because I knew otherwise. I also didn't want to say anything until I had a signed contract in my hands and even did not tell our own daughters of what was happening for some time. Even at the club dinner in December I did not say anything after picking up the car that day.
On the 3rd of December Cathy and I went down to take delivery of our new car. We were more that blown away with what we saw in front of us even though it may not have been Cathy's original colour choice. She is even excepting of the fact that it is a coupe and not a convertible. To this day we are still learning new things about the car and waiting to get the car to the run-in stage for a bit of extra fun.
Our only wish is that our son in law Sean could be here to see what we have as we feel that he sadly is part of the reason as to why we have this car.
Remember everyone that if there is something in life that you want to do, "Then go out and do it as You do not know what in around the corner".
