Tadge and Harlan Talk to Hagerty in a Three Episode ‘Tell All’ Interview

When it comes to learning how the C8 Corvette came to be, it’s best to hear it from those who were there. Retired Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter recently sat down for a long-form interview with Hagerty Media editor-in-chief Larry Webster for a wild discussion featuring stories from Tadge’s long tenure on the Corvette program. Tadge is also joined by Corvette Product Marketing Manager Harlan Charles as well as Corvette Hall of Fame member Jerry Burton, who writes for Hagerty and was also the founding editor of Corvette Quarterly magazine.

This interview has been split into three parts with part two coming on Thursday and part three dropping on Friday.

The questions are really quite interesting, especially surrounding the development of the Mid Engine Corvette, which was originally planned to arrive in 2012 as a C7 according to Harlan. They were quite deep into the program with a model lineup laid out and plans in place for GM to build the new engines and transmissions. Just getting the program approved was a Herculean task, but that all got put on hold as GM was sliding into bankruptcy.

Another line of questioning discusses Corvette buyers and their motives for buying the car, as well as demographics. One of the hallmarks for the C8 Mid-Engine Corvette was that it appealed to the different types of buyers which is why the car as successful when it was launched.

Tadge discusses interviewing for the Corvette engineering position in 1992 with Chief Engineer Dave Hill. He says he didn’t actually believe that he would be hired on, so he was a little more casual about the prospect. But he developed a list of things that were bad with the C4 Corvette and how to improve it for the upcoming C5 Corvette. Turns out that Dave Hill had a similar list, so Tadge was hired on to the program.

There are some fun stories coming from this time period, from Tadge having to make the presentation to the GM board to gain support for the C5 program, to the possibility of building a “budget” C5 that would sell for under $30K thanks to its cloth seats, manual windows, and other lack of conveniences. Luckily, that car was scrapped and the C5 Z06 was launched in its place.

This was a fun interview and a must watch for any Corvette enthusiast who wants to hear some of the back stories behind America’s Favorite Sports Car. Unfortunately, the video is native to Hagerty and not available on YouTube for embedding. You can watch the first episode here.

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