Corvette Team Loses Another Important Member in GM Performance Restructure

      Members of the Corvette team, including General Motors President Mark Reuss, were present on the track in Papenburg, Germany. The models displayed were preproduction versions.

      Corvette Exterior Design Manager Kirk Bennion has departed from General Motors, as noted on his LinkedIn profile. He joins Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and Corvette Project Manager Harlan Charles as the third senior figure from the GM Performance team to retire within the last year. Although GM has downplayed speculations about re-envisioning the Corvette "brand," these notable departures—whether voluntary or not—raise questions about GM's plans for the next generation of the program.

      While Juechter's retirement had been anticipated, the details surrounding Charles and Bennion's departures are less transparent. Charles referred to his exit from GM as a forced retirement and has begun signing social media posts as the “FORMER Chevrolet Corvette Product Marketing Manager.” Bennion has not made any public remarks regarding his departure, but CorvetteBlogger.com reported on Tuesday that he was terminated. Charles had been with GM for 37 years, while Bennion’s tenure lasted 41 years.

      “I have had the most incredible life imaginable because of Corvette. We were able to demonstrate that America can compete with the best in the world and succeed,” Charles stated during his farewell announcement on Facebook. “I had the opportunity to work across four generations. No one can take away what I believe to be Corvette's finest era in history. I had the privilege of collaborating with Corvette legends like Tadge Juechter and Kirk Bennion. My best wishes go to Josh Holder, Devon Blue, Tony Roma, and the rest of the team for their future endeavors.”

      It’s noteworthy that among the six individuals referenced in his message (including Charles), the first three are no longer part of the company. GM has asserted that the Corvette will stay within Chevrolet and will not be established as its own brand; this could simply reflect GM’s strategy to eliminate redundancies between the Corvette and the broader brand lineup, particularly if Chevy intends to produce only one dedicated enthusiast vehicle moving forward instead of two.

      We mention this because these departures may also support rumors regarding a substantial shift in the Camaro program. While Juechter and Charles were recognized as prominent figures within the Corvette team, Bennion also served as the lead designer for the sixth-generation Camaro, which just ended production last year.

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