A legendary American sports car, the Corvette was imagined as a foreign sports cars of the era. Harley Earl, General Motors chief stylist ', visited a Watkins Glen sports car race in 1951 and quickly became impressed with a foreign sports car. After such an emotional picture on sports car he saw, he decided to create an All-American sports car: the Corvette.
In 1952, the first prototype was built. With the exterior fiberglass and balsa wood floor, the Corvette has improved the speed of its competitors, mainly due to its lightweight fabrication. The car started to take shape, but still without a name. Finally, members of the public relations department of General Motors suggests " Corvette ". The name comes from the class of Navy warships in UK with the same name. The name is synonymous with strength, speed, and maneuvers in Britain. Now, years later, the Corvette name holds the same symbolism in the side of the Atlantic.
In 1953, in New York Motorama Show in the Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, a Corvette first appeared in the middle of a lot of anticipation. Logos classic vehicles and even changed out at the last minute for the now famous "fleur de lis" and check the image crossed racing flag. At first, he should have the American flag and checkered racing flags, but the American flag from the use of copyright protected commercial and therefore withdrawn from the logo.
Despite the logo change last minute, people are captivated by a new sports car. 300 Corvette first rolled out of Flint, Michigan assembly plan within six months. original sticker price of the new Corvette is $ 3,000.
To minimize the cost on a new line of vehicles, GM decided to make all the 300 is exactly the same. All Corvettes come Polo White with Sportsman Red interior vinyl and a solid black top. Most of the vehicles targeted at public officials and celebrities, making this a sports car in public view.
Original release did not meet GM's expected big sales. In fact, many people love the car but could not see spending U.S. $ 3,000 for one. In addition, the car became two-seat vehicle is making it impractical for many individuals. Many times in life Corvette that meets resistance. Several times considered canceling the General Motors line, but loyal fans continue to live the sports car.
The Corvette Chief Engineer Zora's arch-Duntov. He was employed early in the life of a sports car production, and become one strong supporter. Many fixes it adds to the vehicle help to improve the public image. Zora fell in love with the Corvette, and it became workers love. After retiring in 1974, he was still working to maintain the Corvette brand strength increases. When he died, his ashes are placed on display at the National Corvette Museum as of his last wishes.
Under the government's arch-Duntov, Corvette sales rose and cars become widely available to the public. Because of the increase, a second assembly plant opened in St. Louis, MO. Then, the third factory will be opened in Bowling Green, KY.
After seven generations of the Corvette, they seem to be here to stay. The title "House of the Corvette" has been given to the Bowling Green assembly plant and the National Corvette Museum across the street. It is a Mecca for Corvette lovers from all over the world. Certainly looks like an All-American Sports Car are here for the long term.