[size=15]Corvette Trivia[/size]
Did you know.....
...that the man who named the Corvette, Myron "Scottie" Scott, was Chevy's Chief Photographer? He found the name in the "C" section of the dictionary. It means "a speedy pursuit ship in the British navy." Mr. Scott was inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame in 2002.
...before the Corvette was introduced, GM Management said they had to remove the flag because it was improper and illegal. So they quickly replaced the U.S. flag with the red Chevrolet bow-tie and fleur-de-lis.
...that the idea for the bow-tie logo came from a piece of Paris hotel wallpaper that GM Founder William Durant took in 1908 and brought back with him? Although his wife says he found the inspiration from an Ad in a Virginia newspaper in 1912. Maybe the "Coalettes Ad of 1911 that also used the same bowtie?
...that when Bill Mitchell named the Corvette the "Sting Ray," Zora-Arkus Duntov said "It's a dumb fish!" I don't know if the fish is dumb or not, but sales increased by 50% that year to over 20,000 for the first time (and never went below 20,000 again)! So the idea must have been pretty smart.
...that only 199 buyers chose the Z06 Stingray performance option package in 1963 when it was first offered? It was the namesake for the 2001 Z06. Today it is estimated there are between 80 and 100 1963 Z06 cars remaining and the value of these cars has gone from the purchase price near $6,000 to the six-figure mark!
...that GM was thinking of adding a back seat to the Corvette around 1966? Yup. They were going to make it 10" longer to add a back seat. But when they had to remove the front seat to get Jack Gordon (the President at the time) out of the back seat of the prototype, that killed that idea. Here's my own "prototype" of what it would have looked like!
...that only 20 L88's Corvettes were built in 1967 when it was first introduced? Chevrolet rated the L-88 at only 430hp, but the actual output was estimated upwards of 550hp. Note: These are the cars that can fetch $600,000 or more in auction today (where's my checkbook?).
...that 1982 was the last year for both the 8-track player and CB radio option?
...that there is actually two 1983 corvettes? The official one was the last survivor when the initial 43 1983's were produced, which now lives in the National Corvette Museum. However, they didn't finish "building" it until 5 years later. The other 1983 was won in a National Council of Corvette Clubs charity raffle and is now owned by Dick Goyner. It was raffled as the first 1984 (with the only "Serial Number 00001" from any generation of Corvette known to still exist). There were 70 test vehicles built first with VIN's 00002-0071, then the 71st car built was given the VIN 0001. Mr. Goyner still has this car's original Build Sheet dated December 16, 1982. So it has been confirmed that he actually has a 1983 assigned vin0001 for 1984!
...that the last C4 (owned by Mid-America Design's Mike Yager) was signed by each Bowling Green, KY plant worker as it was being assembled down the line on June 20, 1996? That's a LOT of autographs on one car! It was the 358,180th C4 corvette, an Arctic White LT1 coupe with special accents. Mike even got to help put it together.
