Who killed the Corvette?
For weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, there were rumors, fueled by hints from the folks at Chevrolet, that the all-new 2014 Corvette would be playing a role in the halftime show starring Beyoncé.
But it didn’t happen.
The car did make a quick on-field appearance during after the game ended, and in Monday was ceremoniously presented to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as a prize for being named game MVP, but it never did get its close up on TV.
But it almost did.
According to Yahoo Autos, a contest winner who took part in the halftime performance posted a blog on MTV.com from one of the rehearsals that mentioned seeing the Corvette on stage.
“We finally gathered in the dome, where we got to see how the stage was set up and tried to guess who would be popping out of the red Corvette we saw at the back of the stage,” Lauren Craig wrote in the message that was later removed from the website.
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Craig went on to describe the singer arriving on stage when “suddenly, the Corvette turned into a transformer before our eyes and we realized Beyoncé herself was going to be coming out of it.’
But when the big game came around, she didn’t. And no one is saying why.
An NFL spokesperson told The Detroit News that "all creative decisions were made by the production team," but Beyoncés people have yet explained why the car was cut from the show.
Chevrolet isn’t pointing fingers, either, but has issued a statement confirming its involvement with the program that reads, in part, “we worked with all the parties involved on a variety of possibilities, including one scenario that would have included the new Corvette Stingray as part of the show. In the end it did not work out, but we were honored to be asked to be involved, and pleased the Corvette was the vehicle of choice.”
Although it did sponsor the MVP award for an unspecified amount, General Motors passed on buying any of the 30 second commercial spots during the game, which reportedly cost upwards of $4 million each.
Given how much attention it’s getting for not being in the show, it looks like GM may have gotten its money’s worth.