Chevrolet C6 Corvette production comes to a close

Chevrolet has officially closed the book on its C6 Corvette.

The last sixth-generation Corvette – a 427 convertible – rolled out of General Motor's Bowling Green, Kentucky plant on Thursday, closing out the C6's nine-year model run. The plant has already begun tooling up for the start of production of the next-generation C7 Corvette Stingray.

During that nine-year production run -- which spanned from 2005 to 2013 – a total of 215,100 C6 Corvettes were produced at the Bowling Green plant, including a handful of limited edition models. Chevy still has about 6,000 C6 Corvettes sitting on dealer lots, according to Automotive News, which should take about five and a half months to sell down.

With production of the C6 officially over, the Bowling Green plant is focusing all of its energy on the start of production of the new C7 Corvette, which debuted earlier this year at the Detroit auto show. The switchover has already begun, with the car scheduled to arrive in dealer showrooms by either late August or early September. Chevrolet will show a convertible version of the new Corvette at the Geneva Motor Show, with that model slated for retail sales by December.

Although the C6 is gone, it won't be forgotten. The final 427 convertible to roll off the line will be added to GM's Heritage Collection in Detroit.

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Chrysler to boost transmission production with $374M investment

Chrysler announced on Thursday plans to invest $374 million in its north-central Indiana transmission complex. Chrysler will use the cash to ready three-plants – Kokomo Transmission, Kokomo Casting and Indiana Transmission – for production of the automaker's latest eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions.

Chrysler will begin the factory updates during the second quarter, with the first of the plants expected to be up and running by late 2013. Chrysler's recently purchased former Getrag plant, which will exclusively make the automaker's new nine-speed box, will begin production by Q1 of 2014.

“Our investments in Kokomo and Tipton are a tribute to the character of the men and women of Chrysler who survived a near-fatal experience and have embraced the challenge of building an enterprise that is able to compete with the best in the world,” said Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. “Our powertrain team has consistently demonstrated the ability and the willingness to think in unconventional ways in order to exceed expectations.”

The investment is expected to create about 1,250 new jobs.

Chrysler's eight-speed transmission is currently used in the automaker's full-size sedans and Ram pickup trucks. The new nine-speed unit, which is designed for front-drive applications, will debut in Jeep's all-new Cherokee before spreading to the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200.

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Audi boosting German production to keep up with U.S. demand

Audi will boost production at two German factories this quarter in order to keep up with booming demand in the United States.

Audi confirmed on Wednesday that it will increase production at its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm production facilities in March in order to fill orders from the United States. Audi will add a total 12 special shifts at the plants, which produce the A6 sedan, A7 four-door coupe and Q5 SUV.

Audi spokesman Joachim Cordshagen told Automotive News that the German automaker might add more shifts during the second quarter, but declined to give any specifics.

Audi, Volkswagen's most profitable brand, has been running extra shifts in German since the start of the year.

The added shifts could pad Audi's U.S. supply by as much as 7,600 vehicles.

Photo by Mark Elias.

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