Tadge Juechter will be the first to tell you it takes a team of thousands to produce the award-winning Chevrolet Corvette.
Still, the day that so many Corvette enthusiasts have been dreading is officially drawing closer.
General Motors has confirmed to us today that after a “distinguished and dedicated” career with the company that stretches over the past 47 years, the 67-year-old Juechter will be retiring later this summer.
The much-respected chief engineer of the Corvette since 2006, Juechter has been a favorite of enthusiasts for years because of his willingness to talk one-on-one with many of us.
His career at GM began in 1977 at GM’s Assembly Division in Lordstown, Ohio, and he held a variety of roles in the company before joining the Corvette team in 1993.
He worked under chief engineer Dave Hill on the fifth and sixth generations before becoming the fifth executive chief engineer for Corvette in what he has described as “the promotion of a lifetime.”
And who can blame him for feeling that way? After all, in his final role for GM, he had the privilege of leading the development of the award-winning seventh and eighth generations, including the 755-horsepower C7 ZR1 in 2019 and then the switch to the long-awaited and much-discussed mid-engine format with the 2020 C8.
Photo Credit: General Motors
It’s fitting that his last contribution to the Corvette will be the recently announced ZR1, set to be unveiled sometime this summer and rumored to have a supercharged version of the Z06’s 5.5L flat-plane crank V8 that could belt out around 850 hp.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to work at this company, leading the men and women who have brought to life one of the most iconic and recognizable vehicles in recent American history,” Juechter said in a press release. “Their tenacity and ability to push what is possible with every variant and generation of Corvette was inspiring to see. I know the future of the nameplate is in the right hands.”
One of the thrills of our life was getting to meet Tadge in Bowling Green shortly after the C7s had come out, and his kindness and willingness to discuss Corvettes with us will long be remembered. Like so many Corvette enthusiasts around the world, including salesman Rick Conti who has a fitting “THX TADG” license plate on his 2023 Rapid Blue HTC Stingray, we salute Tadge Juechter and extend our appreciation for his hard work over the past nearly half a century. Here’s wishing him the best of retirements, and we certainly hope he continues to contribute to the Corvette hobby in some fashion for years to come!
Tadge Juechter Career Highlights
- 1977: Juechter began his career at General Motors
- 1993: Juechter joined the Corvette program
- 1999: Juechter was named assistant chief engineer of Corvette
- 2006: Juechter was named executive chief engineer of Corvette
- 2014: Juechter named “Man of the Year” by Automobile Magazine
- 2015: Corvette Stingray named in Car and Driver’s 10 Best Cars List
- 2019: Corvette ZR1 named Road and Track Performance Car of the Year
- 2020: Juechter named 2020 All-Star for product engineering by Automotive News
- 2020: Corvette wins North American Car of the Year
- 2023: Corvette wins Car and Driver 10 Best
- 2023: Corvette Z06 named Performance Car of the Year by MotorTrend
For more extensive background on Juechter’s illustrious career, take a minute to check out this story on MotorTrend at Tadge Juechter, Corvette’s Fifth Chief Engineer.
Source:
Chevrolet
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![[VIDEO] Poorly Stored 1978 Corvette Indy 500 with 293 Miles Receives First Wash in 45 Years](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/uploads/2024/04/042924_24-218x150.jpg "[VIDEO] Poorly Stored 1978 Corvette Indy 500 with 293 Miles Receives First Wash in 45 Years")
Congratulations to Mr. Tadge Juechter for a great career engineering our beloved Corvettes over the past years and most importantly, keeping all of these 71 years of Corvettes alive today through some crazy stuff happening in our Country and at GM.
“The Best Corvette Yet” is what all of us look forward to during each new generation or new model year presentation of Corvettes by Mr. Juechter and his Team while the Mid-Engine Corvette has truly become the Greatest Sports Car on our small planet.
If you can, before you leave the building Mr. Juechter – please go have a discussion with Ms. Barra to reduce the current costs of all models of Corvettes, from the Stingray to the Z06 and E-Ray.
If the MSRP is lowered right now, there would be around 3,726 New Corvette Stingrays sitting on all national Chevrolet dealer lots getting dirty SOLD to alot of happy Americans.
From Chevrolet.com:
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Inventory as of Wednesday 4-17-2024
2,000 miles from zip code 64114 (3726)
Showing 3726 Exact Matches – that’s crazy with these Corvettes priced so high!
Have a great retirement and we’ll see you at the Races.
Thanks for Listening
Taj is a class act. I have had the privilege to meet him several times over the years. Always gracious, warm and engaging.
Taj – Enjoy your retirement! Have fun!! That’s what you have earned!
Us Corvette fans will be reveling in your legacy for many years to come.
JEFFREY THOMAS with the post of the year. The $10k MSRP increase on all Corvettes needs to be repealed.
All hail Tadge! I think it’s a shame that he won’t be sticking around for a round 50 years, or at least until the release of the last C8, presumably a ZORA, which is likely the last ICE Corvette. Regardless, it has been a phenomenal run. THANKS for tending the flame of America’s Sportscar. Enjoy your retirement. Next act? How ’bout making some super special tuner editions with Jim Mero?
Wow, what a killer friggen life. I hope retirement involves many Corvettes and many burn outs and tire replacement:) Throw in some good food and you have the retirement that ANY of us would kill for. Congrats and enjoy!!:)
I’ve known Tadge for over 35 years. There is absolutely no doubt that he knows how to engineer a great road car. However, he completely understood the engineering, the executive support, the sacrifices, and the capital required to make the Corvette as exceptional as it is on the track. I can’t remember 1 time he denied me any support I requested when it came to track requests, and believe me, I asked for a lot. His intelligence intimidated me, but his personality eliminated that intimidation. If there was ever an icon that chief engineers should look up to to emulate, that person would be Tadge Juechter.
Tadge is a great guy and easy to talk, I met and spoke him several times over the years the last time at Sebring a couple of weeks ago.
He always stuck around at Corvette events and answering all the questions we all had.
He is handing the ball over to another nice Engineer who is also of the same character.
I hope Tadge has a wonderful retirement and enjoys driving his new Stingray.
Smart guy. Will be missed. Please no DEI for his replacement.
Tadge is a classy man.
Yes thanks for the overpriced C8.
I’ll add my two cents…I, too, have met and spoken with Tadge several times. The first time was at the Bash event at the NCM. I recognized him, so I just walked up and joined a group of four or five people talking with him. I listened in for a minute, and then, surprisingly to me anyway, he turned to me and asked if I owned a Corvette. I told him that I did, and he proceeded to ask me the usual enthusiast questions. Just like that, at my first ever NCM event, he made me feel like one of the group. Later, at the autograph session in the theater, he actually remembered me! I was floored. I felt, well, honored, I guess. He’s the Executive Chief Engineer, and I’m “just” a guy from the middle of nowhere fortunate enough to have one of his vehicles! What a stellar representative of Corvette, Chevrolet, and GM! As for Rick Conti, he truly does pay homage to Tadge (and Zora). How do I know? Because all four of my Corvettes have been purchased from him, including my new ’24 Red Mist Stingray Z51 coupe. He and I speak Corvette history every time we get together. Two great guys, fully immersed in Corvette. Tadge, here’s hoping you continue to stay active in Corvette activities! I hope to see you again! And yes, THX TADG!
Please note: Gm’s class action lawsuit over AFM lifter failures on C7 Corvettes?
The suite alleges that these systems malfunction and prematurely fail for several reasons, including non-conforming design specifications, failure to account for the expansion and contraction rates of the lifters and engine block, and failure to consider the increased pressure on the AFM lifters.
Replacement parts provided by GM have been shown to be equally defective and continue to fail, causing a ticking noise from the engine, the plaintiffs allege.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive lifter recall hasn’t been issued by GM?
Perhaps the Chief Engineer (Mr. Tadge Juechter, MBA) did not design the lifters or was not on-board with the lifter system, for his newly designed direct injection LT1 engine?
Many thanks,
Ray
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I own two Corvettes of Tadges’s generation and don’t have to look at anything else save maybe a C8 one day when the dealers stop partying. I know it’s not all him…there is Jim M. and many others. Tadge took something very good and lead to excellence in doing many sport cars things at a very good price point. I really think that he, more than his competitive contemporaries, understood the importance of utility in a toy car so that it’s less toy and more car.
Thank you Tadge.
No mention of his successor, or did I miss it?