The Chronicle

Issue date: 11/28/06 Section: News
Last update: 11/28/06 at 5:53 AM EST

Rick Wagoner

In the future, the name "Blue Devil" may be attributed to something other than a Dukie.

Chevrolet is now hard at work on the "Blue Devil" Corvette, a supercharged new model that will not hit the streets for several years.

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, Trinity '75, said the future is bright for the latest version of the classic American sports car.

"We have a terrific team of engineers, and they always have good ideas," he said.

Speculation abounds online as to the origin of the label, which the online forum AutoWeek said may only be a working name.

Spy photos revealing a sleek blue prototype running laps around test tracks may evoke the image of a Blue Devil, but The Car Connection and other auto enthusiast web sites have attributed the name instead to Wagoner's alma mater.

"I had nothing to do with the naming," Wagoner said. "I would attribute the name to the creative efforts of the design team."

He added, however, that he acknowledged the connection between the car and the University mascot.

"I admit I took note of the name and chuckled," he said.

Wagoner said the Corvette model is essentially a racecar derivative and that the company still pursues this idea in its more recent designs.

He also added that he takes special interest in the Corvette sector of General Motors and that the company is committed to further improvements of the model.

"The Corvette product has always interested me and I'm always interested in what we are going to do next," he said of future plans for the sports car.

And whether or not the name is derived from Duke's mascot, the car will be a devil of a competitor in the sportscar market: AutoWeek reported the revamped Corvette is rumored to push 650 horsepower-nearly 150 more than the previous Z06 model.

"This is an American-developed, -designed and -manufactured car that has the potential to compete with exotic cars," Wagoner said.

He added that GM's ability to produce such a competitive car at a relatively low price-rumored to be near $100,000-says a lot about the company's commitment to both value and quality.

"Our employees take pride in our cars," he said.

The car will likely not be released until 2008 or 2009, so Dukies will have to wait until then to see if the Blue Devil nickname sticks.

Although Wagoner could not specify many details of the new model, he said he was optimistic about the future of the Corvette. "Stay tuned," he said. "Let's see what happens."

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