One of the more popular American made sports cars for decades has been the Corvette. The Corvette is manufactured by General Motors owned Chevrolet and is one of the signature cars of not only that company, but of the American presence in the automotive industry as a whole. The Corvette has captured both the fantasy and imagination of the public and remains one of the more sought after vehicles in the United States and abroad. Many limited edition and classic Corvettes have sold for serious money at auction, proving that the desire for these cars is not temporary or on a fly-by-night basis. The Corvette continues to be the epitome of “cool”.
Here are some fun car facts that you may not have known about the Chevrolet Corvette:
-The original front emblem logo on the Corvettes that made the trade show circuit featured a checkered flag and an American flag crossed, later Chevrolet was alerted to the fact that it is illegal to use an American flag on a trademark and the logo was changed.
-As revolutionary that the Corvette was when introduced in 1953, the only part or component included in its manufacturing that was not already available in other Chevrolet models was the fiberglass body.
-Manual transmission was listed as an option on the 1954 Chevrolet Corvette, but no model was ordered, manufactured, or delivered that year with a manual transmission.
-The 1958 Chevrolet Corvette was the first ‘Vette with factory installed seat belts.
-The first year that an AM/FM radio was offered as an option in a Corvette was 1968.
-The 1963 through 1967 Corvettes were known as “Sting Rays”. The model name disappeared in 1968, but returned in 1969 only to be spelled as one word, “Stingray”
-The last Corvette manufactured to run on the old style “leaded” fuel was produced in 1974.
-The most Chevrolet Corvettes ever manufactured in one year was over 53,807 in 1979.
-The first Corvette produced with windshield wipers that clear water in the same direction instead of opposing directions was made in 1997.
-In 2005, Chevrolet manufactured Corvettes without the famous pop-up headlights for the first time since 1962.
The Chevrolet Corvette has been one of the most popular American made sportscars for decades, and with good reason. From its high performance design that delivers amazing on-road results to the always innovative thinking that brings new options and developments with almost every new model, the Corvette has set itself up to remain the standard by which all other American sportscars will be judged by in the future.
Check out CorvetteGuys.com and their line of Corvette Performance Parts.
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