Latest news with #ChevroletCorvettes
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Police Say Las Vegas Couple Defrauded Investors of Over $57 Million in Exotic Car Sales Scheme
A Las Vegas couple has been accused of defrauding investors of more than $57 million in an elaborate exotic car scam. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), the couple persuaded people to invest in extremely high-end exotic cars and boats that would be sold overseas for massive profits. However, an investigation found that these overseas buyers apparently didn't exist — and now the couple is facing 75 fraud-related charges. According to police, Jong Rhee, 45, and Neelufar Rhee, 34 ran their scam through their two businesses, Twisted Twins Motorsports, LLC and Lusso Auto Spa. And some of the cars involved are far more exotic than Porsche 911s or Chevrolet Corvettes: LVMPD posted a video of some of the recovered cars involved, with highlights including a Bugatti Divo and a Chiron, a Pagani Huayra, and a one-of-10 Apollo Intensa Emozione. Just these four cars alone are worth eight figures. However, the couple allegedly promised 10-figure returns. Las Vegas-based news outlet KLAS reports that the suspects told the victims that wealthy clients in Singapore were lined up to buy these high-end vehicles for approximately $2.5 billion. The couple claimed that they could sell a $526,000 Rolls Royce Spectre for $7.5 million, and that a $3.9 million boat would bring $13.5 million in Singapore — but the overseas buyers didn't exist, according to police. The Vegas couple is accused of taking the funds that were supposed to be used for these overseas transactions and instead used them for personal gain. Last summer, the Rhees reportedly spent $60,000 chartering a private plane to Missouri for a boating trip; that same boat was allegedly also one of the assets that was supposed to be sold overseas. KLAS reports that money woes could have been the motivation behind the scam. The couple's financial situation was reportedly bleak as of last year: Jong Rhee allegedly decided to use their last $10,000 to buy into a World Series of Poker event. When the gamble didn't pay off, the police claim that's when they turned to fraud. Jong Rhee and Neelufar Rhee each face 75 counts of fraud related charges such as racketeering, forgery, theft, and money laundering. Police believe that there may be additional victims of this scheme that have not been identified. They are asking for anyone that has done business with this couple to contact them by email at criminalintel@ You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Auto Blog
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
General Motors Donated Some Cool Cars to Help Train the Secret Service
Secret Service agents have a very important job Granted their status as one of the world's most influential political leaders, the President of the United States is one of the most protected human assets in the world. Without fail, it is nearly impossible to spot them during public appearances without being within a stone's throw away from a member of their security detail; members of the United States Secret Service. Even when the President is paraded in different countries to meet other world leaders, it would be impossible not to spot the convoy of vehicles in the presidential motorcade, which includes many different cars, including some specially equipped Chevrolet Suburbans. Although it may seem like something out of TV or the movies, Secret Service agents responsible for the safety of the President are trained to be ready for anything, even if it means commandeering an unfamiliar car. General Motors donated a cornucopia of cars to hone Secret Service agents' skills This is where General Motors comes in. Earlier this week, the U.S. Secret Service rekindled its close relationship with the Detroit automaker after it donated 10 different vehicles to the agency's James J. Rowley Training Center (RTC) in Laurel, Maryland. These vehicles serve a broad spectrum across the automaker's brands and include some of its desirable high-performance offerings. GM provided the agency with two Cadillac CT4s, two Cadillac CT5s, and two Chevrolet Corvettes—including one Corvette E-Ray. Curiously, two of the Cadillacs provided were CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings equipped with manual transmissions; a fairly unusual car for Secret Service use. A Cadillac Escalade at the James J. Rowley Training Center. A Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing at the James J. Rowley Training Center. A Chrvrolet Corvette E-Ray at the James J. Rowley Training Center. Though car enthusiasts and muscle car fans will drool over the idea that the Secret Service gets to train how to protect the President behind the wheel of a CT5-V Blackwing with a 6.2-liter V8 pumping 668 horsepower, the Secret Service sees this as a valuable teaching tool for scenarios when driving stick will be required. They maintain that its special agents assigned to foreign field offices or protective visits could be required to drive manual cars. 'Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift,' said RTC driving instructor Mark Armstrong. 'Having that platform here will enable us to give instruction on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips.' The fleet of vehicles donated to the Secret Service training ground also included a Chevrolet Suburban, a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. Scott Simons, the special agent in charge at the James J. Rowley Training Center, noted that having a variety of vehicles on hand helps agents adapt to different vehicles they may encounter. Vehicles being unloaded at James J. Rowley Training Center. Vehicles being unloaded at James J. Rowley Training Center. 'Experience with different types of vehicles can help instructors teach students how to adapt their driving techniques based on the vehicle they are operating,' Simons said. 'Because each vehicle handles differently in any given situation, exposure to new cars will challenge instructors and give them an opportunity to develop more realistic training scenarios.' Constantine Gerukos, a driving instructor with 13 years of experience at the Secret Service, noted that while advanced driving is an important skill for agents, it is important to test out which vehicles are suitable for training and the field as auto technology evolves. 'I think it is cool to try out all these different platforms to figure out what is going to fit, and what we can use,' Gerukos said. 'The times are changing, and so is the rest of the world. So, we have to do the same thing.' Final thoughts In the press release, one of the driving instructors, Brandon Bohonek, noted that agents are trained to deal with various 'realistic' scenarios and that these vehicles will help add more depth to it. 'The students wouldn't be expecting it,' Bohonek said about the new cars. 'We won't have these vehicles in view. So, they won't know it is out there. They may be expecting a (police) SUV, and all of a sudden, one of these vehicles rolls up. We try to make it as realistic as possible out here, which is not always easy to do.' It should be noted that the Secret Service's responsibilities go beyond protecting the President. Up until 2003, they were a division of the U.S. Treasury, and are currently tasked with investigating a wide range of financial and cyber crimes, including credit card fraud, wire and bank fraud, computer network breaches, ransomware, as well as currency counterfeiting. It would be interesting to see Secret Service agents roll up in Cadillac CT5-V Blackwings to carry out a search warrant for a Superbill investigation or track down the origin of some hackers.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trio of Unique Chevy Corvettes Headline Spring Carlisle Auction
⚡️ Read the full article on Motorious The Spring Carlisle Collector Car Auction is revving up with a standout lineup of Chevrolet Corvettes, including a custom twin-turbocharged beast, a historically significant Indy Pace Car edition, and a low-mileage survivor with nearly complete originality. Lot #181.1 – 1999 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Leading the pack is a heavily modified 1999 Corvette Convertible finished in black with blue accents. Beneath the hood is a crate V8 equipped with twin turbochargers and a nitrous system, boasting over 1,000 horsepower. The high-performance build includes a 6-speed manual transmission, a roll cage, a five-point harness, and a line lock system for drag strip action. With just 3,000 miles on the engine, this Corvette is as aggressive as it is unique, offering custom paint and a distinctive Billy Bob exhaust. A matching Harley-Davidson motorcycle is being auctioned separately under Lot #180.1. Lot #201 – 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy Pace Car For collectors seeking originality and historical significance, Lot #201 presents a pristine 1978 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car Edition. One of the most iconic special editions in Corvette history, this example has only 25,000 original miles and remains entirely factory stock. Finished with mirrored T-tops and detailed to a high standard with ceramic coating, it features cold air conditioning, power windows and locks, cruise control, and a tilt-telescoping steering wheel. Its factory AM/FM 8-track radio adds a nostalgic touch. Lot #204 – 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Rounding out the trio is Lot #204, a highly original 1971 Corvette coupe in Steel City Gray. Still wearing its original paint, engine, transmission, and carburetor, this T-top car includes a removable rear window and new fuel tank and exhaust. With just three owners—all from Sunbury, Pennsylvania—this survivor represents classic Corvette purity and is ideal for preservation-minded enthusiasts. All three Corvettes are scheduled to cross the block without reserve, adding excitement to one of the year's most anticipated auctions for American muscle and classic car collectors. The Spring Carlisle Collector Car Auction runs April 24-25 at the Carlisle Expo Center (100 K St. in Carlisle, PA) and this year, has an ALL NEW START TIME of 10 AM each day. The excitement of the spring auction is a perfect companion to the neighboring Spring Carlisle collector car flea market event. Spring Carlisle is the world's largest automotive flea market and runs April 23-27 at the neighboring Carlisle PA Fairgrounds (1000 Bryn Mawr Rd. in Carlisle, PA). Pre-inspection/preview hours start at 8 AM on April 23 for the auction and continue through its duration on the 25th. Don't miss your chance to own one or more of the 400+ anticipated consignments that span all eras of automotive production. All consignments are priced to sell with many crossing the block at either a low reserve or none at all. The auction is a great way for a first-time collector to pick up their first classic or grow their collection. The popular all-Truck hour is not only back in 2025, but also has been expanded to two days. Don't miss a full hour of trucks starting at approximately 3 PM both days of the auction. Be sure to check out the vehicles for sale at The best part is the reciprocating admission. When you register to bid, you AND a guest can be part of the auction and attend Spring Carlisle for one great price! In addition, if you purchase a discounted spectator admission ticket online for Spring Carlisle, that also gives you access to the auction, again as a spectator. Carlisle Auctions has THREE ways to bid and buy – in person, on the phone and online. Call 717-960-6400 to learn more about consigning for the auction or to register to bid. Register to Bid - Save $50 and use Promo Code SpeedDigital (includes guest).
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lingenfelter's New C8 Motor Reminds Us There's No Substitute for a 427 in a Corvette
Some pairings are just an inherent part of the American experience. Burgers and fries, arms and the right to bear them, and Chevrolet Corvettes with 427-cubic-inch V-8s are about as red, white and blue as they come. While Chevrolet has shied away from the large-displacement recipe for the C8-generation Corvette, the team at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is ready to deliver on that almost-constitutional right. Not only has the company developed a 7.0-liter monster for the C8, but it's also getting ready to drop a new twin-turbocharged variant — with ZR1-rivaling levels of power. A little history first. The original 427-cubic-inch big block V-8 arrived on Corvette order sheets for the first time in 1966. Customers could initially choose between a 390-hp variant known as L36, or a rowdier L72 with 425 hp on tap. The next year saw the addition of the "Tri-Power" L71 variant, which upped performance to 435 hp. And few engines are quite as legendary as the L88 and all-aluminum ZL-1 variants that shortly followed, cementing the 7.0-liter engine as an undisputed Corvette icon. GM would return to the 427 recipe for the C6 Z06 and 427 Convertible models with the small-block-based LS7. Many consider that high-revving V-8 to be a high point of modern Corvette powertrains — so it's no surprise that LPE mirrored that engine's famed bore and stroke figures for this new project. 'There's just something about Corvette and 427 that just kind of has to go together,' says LPE owner Ken Lingenfelter. 'And, you know, I think that's part of the inspiration. I think part of it is just, we're always trying to get as far as we can go, take it to the limit." The brand approached the 427-cubic-inch engine project with the care and attention to detail that's long characterized its builds. "We do a lot of testing, and we have to make sure. We can't send a car out of here and have people looking at lights popping up on a dashboard. I mean, it's got to be a solid project," he says. "We're 52 years old this year. So you know, we want to make sure that we're sticking with the right things, and going down the right paths. But, I mean, as soon as we let the word out we were doing 427, it was like, 'Oh yeah! Attaboy!' And that's what we want to hear.''It's the iconic GM way of doing it, you know?' says Brandon Baker, vice-president of sales and marketing at LPE. 'To our knowledge and from our testing, GM didn't just make a 427 out of those numbers randomly. It was very strategic, and the 4.125-inch bore and the 4.00-inch stroke definitely came for a reason. It wasn't them just throwing those numbers on a table." "So we definitely [wanted] to stick with that. We didn't want to cheat the system and run a little bit shorter crank, and just run a larger piston... we could have definitely taken the easy way out and had it out probably five, six, or seven months before we did. But we tend not to take the easy way out here. Sometimes it holds us back a little bit and puts us behind a few other places out there, but we just like doing our homework.' Adapting the Corvette Stingray's stock 6.2-liter LT2 V-8 wasn't quite as simple as swapping out the crank. LPE wanted to keep the factory oil pan in place, as customers weren't interested in spending several thousand dollars on a part so 'inconsequential" to big power. The C8 features a dry sump oiling setup, to assist with packaging and track performance, but that means the factory pan is already quite tight. LPE teamed up with the folks at Callies to custom develop a custom weighted stroker crank that wouldn't disrupt the factory pickup and scavenging locations. The camshaft has also been specially tuned for use with a dual-clutch transmission, ensuring smooth pickup and power delivery. The vast majority of components can be shared between LT1 and LT2-based builds, but the engines do have some fundamental differences that require a rethink. That's particularly true in the valley of the LT2s, which are substantially changed versus the LT1. Eliminating the factory Displacement on Demand system played a huge role in sorting out the breathing issues presented by the reworked valley design, however, and the DoD delete kit has become a popular standalone part for LPE as a result. 'The LS7 blocks were the absolute best for those bay-to-bay breathing, crankcase, windage — all of that stuff they did really well,' says Baker. 'We lost that on the LT1, and we lost it even more on the LT2 block. So the LT2 block isn't really designed for big, high-horsepower applications, or big cubic-inch deals. That's where we ran into problems pretty early on." "But you do all of that testing and do all of the stuff in house to find those limitations and those areas that need improvement,' he adds. Lingenfelter sources LT2 block 'cores' from customer cars, with each undergoing a CNC blueprinting and sleeving process. From there, the engines receive all-new pistons from Mahle, as well as ported cylinder heads developed in-house. Naturally-aspirated builds retain the factory fuel system, with tuning centered around 91 octane fuel; LPE says they've had more success with the mid-grade octane than 93, owing largely to the car's direct injection layout. Tuning for 91 also provides better flexibility for customers out West, where punchy fuel is less available. The end result is no less impressive for using 91, however. LPE claims more than 700 hp at 6700 rpm and 600+ lb-ft at 4800 rpm. (In stock form, the LT2 engine is good for 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque.) That sort of output does require a clutch upgrade from Dodson in New Zealand, who have been working with LPE as development partners since last November. For those who need even more power, LPE is also developing a twin-turbocharger package to bolster the 427, which will see outputs well in excess of 1100 wheel horsepower when drinking E85. A package with closer to 700 horsepower will also be available on the 'lower' end of the spectrum. The development mule has already been running around for a few thousand miles, but LPE is waiting for warmer weather in Michigan for its final tests. The package is designed to look nearly factory-spec, with the final layout set to mirror the turbo placement found on the C8 Corvette ZR1's LT7. It only takes around 15 pounds of boost for LPE to extract all of that extra performance, though an upgraded fuel system is also required for the boosted application. Full details on the turbocharged package pricing are slated to arrive soon. The 427 can also go hybrid. Thanks to the way GM designed the Corvette E-Ray's electric front axle, that model offers another pathway for more performance out of the 427 package. The electrified front axle brings an additional 160 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque, and is seamlessly integrated with the higher-power motor out back. The E-Ray also benefits from Chevrolet's magnetorheological dampers and carbon ceramic brakes, making it a great launching point for this kind of build. (Lingenfelter is no stranger to the platform either, having built the first supercharged E-Rays on the market.) As you can imagine, packing a 7.0-liter V-8 into a C8 isn't exactly a cheap proposition. LPE says that the naturally-aspirated packages start at $29,950, but most customers end up spending a bit more. Lingenfelter recommends pairing the setup with the brand's intake manifold, throttle body, and exhaust packages for better breathing; opting to skip these components will result in a slight drop in performance, so expect to spend closer to $35,000 for those claimed horsepower figures. That price does include all of the installation work, however — which is sped along by the supply of core motors already in stock. LPE is working with a wait list of a few months, though, so don't hesitate to pick up the phone if this all sounds good to you. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Brazen Kentucky Thieves Didn't Even Wait For Corvettes To Leave The Factory Before Stealing Them
Eight stolen Chevrolet Corvettes were recovered this week, according to Bowling Green Police. A somewhat disorganized auto theft ring targeted the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly plant where Corvettes have been built since 1981, making off with a grip of GM's greatest machines. According to WBKO News 13, the individuals were attempting to move the vehicles out of town when one of the thieves was apprehended. 21-year-old Deantae Walker of Westland, Mich. was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property, fleeing police, and resisting arrest. According to reports from the Warren County Sheriff's Office, a concerned citizen called police because a new maroon Corvette was in the parking lot of an apartment complex and the woman immediately suspected the car as being stolen. The giveaway was that the 'Vette was still covered in all of the decals and coverings that the factory installs to protect the cars in transit. If you're going to do a crime, try not to make it super obvious, you know? At the point the car had been spotted, GM hadn't even reported the vehicles as stolen yet, and didn't even know. WCSO got in touch with BGPD, and BGPD reached out to GM. It was then that Chevrolet conducted an inventory check and discovered a handful of missing Corvettes. A plant manager was called down to the scene to identify that the cars were indeed stolen from inventory. Read more: Judge Takes Away Man's Dodge Charger Hellcat After He Acted Like A Hellcat Owner WBKO also reports that two of the Corvettes were recovered from the parking lot of the Laurel Ridge Apartments, while a third was parked at a home across the street. The thieves had allegedly called a local transport truck driver to transport a "2017 Corvette" to Michigan from Bowling Green, and when he arrived to pick up the car there were three 2025 Corvettes waiting for him. The truck driver called police dispatch, which was when Mr. Walker was apprehended in possession of the three cars. Another suspect fled the scene in a Jeep with Ohio tags. In the end all eight cars were recovered and returned to General Motors with minor damage from the theft. "If I would have made it back to Michigan, I would have been paid big," Walker said in a statement while being processed, allegedly after having been read his Miranda rights. Clearly this guy isn't the brains of the operation. Reports from the scene indicate an estimated value for all eight vehicles of $1.2 million, meaning each of these Corvettes had an average sticker price of $150,000. Even decked out with every option, it's impossible to get a Stingray up to $150,000 from its starting price of $68,300. It's pretty easy to do with an E-Ray or Z06, however. Reports don't indicate which Corvette models were stolen, but Chevrolet told Corvette Blogger that none of the cars were pre-production ZR1s as had been initially reported. GM told the local news that it was "taking appropriate measures to address" the thefts. The investigation is ongoing. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
