Corvette display highlights model’s twists, turns
By Tom Matthews THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The vintage cars at the 2005 Columbus International Auto Show could be likened to fine wine. They’ve improved with age — just ask a Corvette enthusiast.
For the first time, the show will feature one car line — the Corvette and its six generations, from the first car in 1953 to 2005.
They will be complemented by ‘‘celebrity’’ Corvettes previously owned by famous people, such as Johnny Carson.
If you ask a Corvette lover, the past versions are special. But many enthusiasts think nothing beats the performance of the latest model.
‘‘The new generation is, by far, the finest Corvette ever made. It is truly America’s sports car,’’ said Duffy Parsons, president of the Central Ohio Corvette Owners Association, whose members are providing the six generations of Corvettes for the show.
‘‘From a technological standpoint, the drivetrain, horsepower and cubic inches are much greater than Corvette owners are used to.’’
In past years, the show’s vintage display featured a variety of classics. This time, organizers opted for the many styles of one car.
‘‘We wanted a theme,’’ said Mark Willeke, event coordinator for the Columbus Automobile Dealers Association, organizer of the show. ‘‘We were looking for something a little edgier.’’
Although the Corvette has undergone countless changes, officially there are only six generations. Body tweaks did not always constitute a new generation. That’s why some Corvettes from the same generation have different looks.
Parsons said new generations were assigned when the Corvette underwent a major overhaul or was given a new chassis.
The popularity of the Corvette spawned the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., near the Corvette plant.
Parsons, a member of the museum, said General Motors Corp. built only 150 Corvettes in the first year because the company did not know if the car would interest consumers. It was a two-seat, fiberglass car in an era of four doors and metal.
‘‘For that very reason, the first Corvette was not made in a factory,’’ he said. ‘‘It was made in a small warehouse of a General Motors vendor. They built it there for one year to see if it was going to catch on.’’
It came with a white exterior and red interior.
GM refined the Corvette in 1954, and in 1955 began to provide color choices.
Body enhancements were made in subsequent years. Eventually, the ducktail back replaced the rounded end. The Sting Ray was introduced in 1963. The Sting Ray had a sleek design and split-window back, along with a cockpit-style interior and retractable headlamps.
Parsons said 1972 was the last year that the Corvette featured two chrome bumpers. GM went to a rubber nose and rear chrome in 1973, and did away with the rear chrome in 1974. The body style held until 1982.
‘‘In 1983, they tried to shuffle in a complete redesign that had been in the works for almost 10 years, but they couldn’t get the production in place,’’ Parsons said.
That was the only year in which a new model never made it to market. Some 1983 models were developed for car shows, but they were not sold on the open market. One is featured in the museum.
tmatthews@dispatch.com
