Ever wonder what it’s like to pick up a new Corvette at the National Corvette Museum? Well, we have on several occasions.
As luck would have it, all the stars finally aligned. And while we wouldn’t personally be picking up a new C8, we did get a chance to tag along and experience the famed R8C delivery option firsthand.
We appreciate Doug and Linda Johnson for including us in their Museum delivery celebration. For those who enjoy our podcast series, you can listen to the complete conversation here: Experiencing The R8C National Corvette Museum Deliver First Hand.
What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation with Doug after he got home.
Corvette Journey
Rod Worley – Editor – Thanks for letting us tag along and experience your R8C Museum delivery. So as I recall, you’ve had numerous Corvettes over the years.
How many Corvettes have you had, and which clubs have you joined?
Doug Johnson – Well, Rod, you know, I guess I had kind of a unique Corvette journey. When I was in high school, I got hooked on Corvettes when a friend of mine got a 1964 coupe for his birthday, and he gave me a ride.
And that was the end of that. I knew that one day I had to have one of those.
Fortunately for me, the opportunity manifested quicker than I might have imagined. I was back from Alaska in the Air Force and stationed in Florida.
There are a lot of Corvettes in Florida, and the opportunity came up for me to make a horse trade and own the ugliest 1962 Corvette you have ever seen. But it was a Corvette, and I was cool.
So I was really excited about that, which led to a 1964 coupe not too far down the road. And when I got out of the Air Force, fortunately, I got a partner in the business that was as crazy about Corvettes as I was.
And over the years, I’ve had probably between 35 and 40 Corvettes. It seems like a lot, but back in the 70s and early 80s, the C2s and C3s were pretty cheap.
I was fortunate to help start a Corvette club down in Florida, the Space Coast Vettes in Melbourne, Florida. And now that I’m retired, I’ve had the opportunity to hook back up with them.
We’ve been members of Lanier Corvette Unlimited in Gainesville, Ga. Currently, were members of Corvette Cruisers of Atlanta.
Webcams Share The Experience
Rod Worley – Editor – Why did you choose the R8C option for this Corvette? And after you’ve gone through the experience, would you do it again?
Doug Johnson – Well, I had heard from friends how much fun they had with their Museum delivery over the years. Our first opportunity to do the R8C Museum delivery was when we ordered our 2022 C8 coupe.
One of the cool points was walking in and seeing our name on the display sign beside the car. Another great part was the webcams and sharing the experience with so many people in real time.
We thought the R8C option was an incredible experience. So absolutely, I would do it again and recommend it to others in a heartbeat.
The R8C Option Is Easy
Rod Worley – Editor – You know, I’ve often thought about what it would take to pick up a Corvette at the Museum. What were the extra steps involved in Museum delivery?
And were there additional issues with vehicle registration, insurance, and financing?
Doug Johnson – Interestingly enough, it’s almost as simple as just checking the box on the order form. We purchased our car through Kerbeck, which is now Ciocca Corvette, up in Atlantic City, NJ.
The folks at the Museum make the process so easy.
They send you everything you need. So the only thing we had to do was the usual things when purchasing a car.
I added it to my NCM Insurance policy through the Museum. They did a great job handling that for us, by the way.
It only took about five minutes to get the certificate that I needed.
The dealer sent me a temporary tag and a temporary registration to bring the car home, and the Museum had it ready to go and handled everything else.
Great NCM Communication
Rod Worley – Editor – How effective was the Museum’s communication, especially with scheduling the pickup? Did you have a time frame window to pick it up?
Doug Johnson – From the very first minute that I signed the paperwork to buy the car, the Museum was in communication with us. Shane Webb, that runs their delivery program is a great guy and is good about keeping in touch.
They sent us a very detailed list of all the things that would happen, the order they would happen in, and how things would go on the day of pickup. So we were well prepared through the entire process.
Of course, the Museum contacts you as soon as a delivery date has been established, and then they will give you notice that you have about a two-week window to pick up the car. But I sensed from them that that’s not necessarily hard and fast because they were so willing to work with us on everything.
We were in the middle of moving when we got the call so that made things interesting. But they were willing to work with us on the delivery date so we could get up there.
Interestingly enough, we drove our car away from the Museum at three o’clock in the afternoon, which was the day before the tornado hit Bowling Green. So we were very fortunate to get it out of there when we did.
Museum Has The Corvette Ready To Go
Rod Worley – Editor – Can you share your experiences that morning from walking into the Museum until they drove it out the door? How long did the whole process take?
Doug Johnson – Well, to answer the last part first, the whole experience is about three to three and a half hours. But, I’ve got to tell you, it was cool walking in there, seeing your car with your name on it in this famous Museum, knowing that all these people are watching you.
The museum folks were terrific. They assign you a private guide and educator.
Our guide was named Dean, and he was wonderful. He was incredibly knowledgeable.
The first thing you have to do is do all of the paperwork because everything runs on paperwork these days. So we sat down at a private table, went through all the papers, and got everything signed, organized, and ready to go.
Next, we were off to our private guided tour of the Museum. After that, Dean spent about an hour and a half going over every detail of the car.
He was informative and answered every question that we had. In the end, Dean drove the car out of the Museum amidst all the claps and cheers.
Linda and I were able to take over after the car got outside. We parked in a couple of spots near the Museum for pictures.
After that, we headed down the road to Atlanta because the Museum folks had the car ready to go. It was a great experience.
C8 Is As Good As Advertised
Of course, we had to get Doug’s thoughts on his new 2022 Elkhart Lake Blue coupe. According to Doug, “The car is absolutely amazing. We owned a 2018 Grand Sport, and I’ve got to tell you that the difference between the two is like night and day.”
He went on to say, “One thing that was of great interest to me is the legroom in the cockpit for a tall guy like myself. I never have to move the seat forward on a car, but I did on this one about two inches.”
We appreciate Doug & Linda Johnson inviting us up to be a part of their R8C experience. From our perspective, the National Corvette Museum has dialed in the process of Museum delivery to make it easy and a lot of fun.
Rest assured; we’re checking the R8C option box for our next new Corvette.
Articles We Recommend
Together They Keep The Good Times Rolling Along
The Corvette Faithful Turnout To See The All-New Z06
Sherri Gordon’s Memory Bears Bring Comfort To Many
- More “All Things Corvette” articles.