Chevrolet Parts Ways With Two Long-Time Corvette Legends

After 37 years with General Motors, Harlan Charles, product marketing manager and an outright champion for the Chevrolet Corvette, has left GM. Charles, best known for his 24-year tenure dedicated solely to the Corvette, announced his departure on LinkedIn. While he didn’t explicitly say he was fired, his post suggests he was let go by GM despite his long-term and significant contributions to the brand. “After 24 years on Corvette and 37 at GM, I was informed my time is up, and I will no longer be your Corvette Production Manager,” Charles wrote, “I am now retired.”

A Suit, An Enthusiast, An Advocate

While Charles was one of the top executives in the Corvette team, he is, or perhaps was now, also an enthusiast. He is well-known and respected in the Corvette community as an enthusiast and advocate. His 24 years specifically on the Corvette saw him involved in multiple generations, then with a key role in bringing the current mid-engine C8 generation to life.

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Charles hasn’t outright said he was fired, but it certainly seems that way. His social media post opens with the words “My Corvette dream is over – my bubble burst.” Speculation on the Mid Engine Corvette Forum is, of course, rife – particularly as Corvette Exterior Design Manager Kirk Bennion appears to have suffered the same fate. Bennion started working on the Corvette in 1984 with the C4 generation, which set the template for Corvette styling until it went mid-engine in 2020. He’s also worked on various other exterior designs for Chevrolet, including the final two generations of the Camaro.

Strange Decisions At GM

Speculation of why the two might have been fired ranges from an ageist corporate culture at GM to cost-cutting and restructuring via having too much integrity when it comes to “doing the right thing” for Corvette owners. Whatever it is, that’s two powerhouses in the Corvettes long-term development gone in quick succession, and GM isn’t about to part with that information.

This also follows the retirement of Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter in April last year after 47 years with the company, and being involved in the development of the Corvette since 1993. What it all means for the Corvette moving forward is hard to predict. For the community, it’s a huge loss as neither Juechter, Bennion, nor Charles are likely to be attending Corvette shows and events as they have in the past.

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What’s Next For The Corvette

This will be a major shift in leadership for Corvette within Chevrolet, with Tony Roma heading things up as executive chief engineer. Before moving to his position with the Corvette, Roma worked with the team before, as well as Cadillac’s performance V-series and Blackwing models. His enthusiast credentials seem solid with his car collection including a C4 generation Corvette ZR1, a C6 ZR1, a C8 Z06, and a Cadillac CTS-V Wagon. He’s also raced in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and has over 1,500 laps logged on the legendary circuit. However, he’s just lost two huge talents with the kind of experience and enthusiasm that simply can not, with the best will in the world, be replaced.

H/T: Motor1