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<h3 align="center">Grinding the Corvette Axe</h3>
<img src="/images/columns/wheelspin/wheelspin2.gif" width="140" height="79" border="0" alt="wheelspin column" align="left" /><font size="+3"><b>W</b></font>elcome to the new "Wheelspin" column which is the first installment of a series of monthly columns we'll be rolling out over the next month.
The purpose of the "Wheelspin" column is to take a look at various aspects of the Corvette marque and examine related topics and how they relate to the owner and enthusiast. In essence, it's an editorial column which I hope will be informational as well as stimulating to the reader.
One of the projects I've been working on is compiling the survey data from the online C5 owners' survey that we had up on the site for several months. My initial intention was to use the article which looks at the results of the survey and discusses the concepts of Corvette ownership as the debut for this column, however I'm still in the process of putting the article together and after my experience today, it occurred to me that there is probably a more important issue to discuss and one which we all should take a particular interest in. I call it, "grinding the Corvette Axe".
There seems to be this sect....a growing faction of Corvette owner that drives around with a Corvette axe to grind. It's the owner who....doesn't wave when they pass another Corvette owner. It's the owner who looks down upon (and that's if they look at you at all) owners of Corvettes that have less performance, or cost less to buy or don't have the same aftermaket performance modifications. If they are willing to give you the time of day, they either usurp every opportunity to "mention in passing" how much the multitude of aftermarket performance upgrades cost them, or they'll just pay little if any attention to you when you're proudly telling them about how you acquired your prized Corvette from the original owner. They will look at anything and anywhere but won't look you in the eyes when you're talking to them.
At first, I thought this only existed at Corvette shows, but in the last few weeks, it's been brought to my attention that it exists online within forums and chat communities. More recently, I discovered it even exists on the road as I witnessed this afternoon while driving my own Corvette.
Coming home from the gym, I decided to take the long way home. Not a cloud in the sky, around 50 degrees with a slight breeze. Perfect driving weather. As I crossed an intersection, I noticed a 1993-1996 LT1 convertible dressed in Polo Green paint with a tan top getting ready to pull out. As I passed, I waved, but didn't take my eyes off the road in front of me to see if the owner waved back. Eventually, I came to a stop light and the Polo Green LT1 pulled behind a car that was next to me in the left hand lane. Nothing unusual. The light turned green and I took off like I normally do and settled down into a comfortable cruise. The LT1 pulled up behind me and matched my speed. I continued along my way until I came to another stop light. The LT1 suddenly pulled out from behind and stopped along side of me. As I looked over, the owner just looked straight ahead....gold bracelet dangling as his limp wrist hung over the top of the steering wheel. He obviously had a 6-speed as I could hear him incessantly switching in and out of gears. I couldn't figure out what the hell he was doing but I figured....whatever. The light turned green and he floored it leaving me in a cloud of dust. I eventually caught up to him and passed him. At the next stoplight he pulled up along my left side again, limp wrist hanging over the steering wheel...playing with his stick shift. The light turned green, and he punched it again. This happened one other time before he ended up turning off the road as I proceeded on. Each time, he refused to look at me which was probably a good thing because his eyes would have blistered if he read the language coming from my lips.
This isn't the first time I've seen this type of Corvette owner before. I simply can't understand where the attitude comes from and for what reason. Friendly competition is one thing, blatant ignorance and a pompous attitude is another. Unfortunately, it is this type of owner that ends up tarnishing the Corvette marque. It's this type of Corvette owner that everyone else remembers. The attitude is what sticks in everyone's mind. We've all heard the jokes that float around about how Corvette owners are nothing but gold chaing wearing, snotty jerks who use their Corvettes as an extension of there....well....nevermind. You get the picture.
I'm also willing to bet that he didn't even bother to return the wave when I initially passed by him. What's interesting is, I passed a beautiful 2001-2002 Torch Red Z06 shortly after meeting up with "Mister Bracelet". We were close enough that we looked right at one another. I waved. There was no wave back.
On the other hand, I had a small run-in with a brand new Ferrari 360 Modena convertible last summer. I happened to catch the evil front end smile approaching quickly in my rear view mirror. The owner was a grey-haired gentleman wearing a baseball cap. We were on a local highway and as the traffic cleared, I picked up the pace. No matter what speed I drove, he matched me effortlessly. He never tail gated, and never pulled outlandish maneuvers in an attempt to pass me. Eventually, my exit came up and as I was getting off the highway, I looked over at him as he looked at me. I threw him a thumbs up, he threw one back and took off his baseball cap and waved as he drove on. That to me, was a gesture of acknowledgement that I will never forget. To me, it was a mutual understanding that we both own and appreciate a specific type of automobile that is engineered and built to excite the driver and entice the senses. All that coming from someone who can obviously afford a stable full of Corvettes.
<img src="http://corvetteactioncenter.com/images/wave.jpg" align="right" width="160" height="130" />So you may ask what exactly is this...."wave" that I'm talking about? Shortly after the 1953 Corvette went into production, Corvette owners began waving to one another. Although I won't go into great detail about what "The Wave" is and what "Save the Wave" means since you can read a separate article about it in our <a href="http://corvetteactioncenter.com/history/index.html">History Section</a>, in a nutshell, it's nothing more than a quick hand-wave greeting between owners signifying they recognize each other as an owner of one of the most important American cultural icons on the road to date. Basically, your saying "hi, nice Vette" by waving to another Corvette owner. Plain and simple. Jaguar XKE owners wave to one another and will sometimes flash their lights. Dodge Viper owners wave to one another as do Ferrari owners. I'm sure owners of other special marques all do the same.
So why does it seem as though there is a growing population of Corvette owners that have an axe to grind and don't bother waving to another Corvette owner on the road?
It quite possibly could be due to the fact that each year of C5 production, the number of C5 sales increases. The C5 has enjoyed a multitude of praise and gratitude from automotive journalists. It's been well received by the public. And I'm willing to bet that a fair percentage of new Corvette owners are also new to the marque and what it means to be a Corvette owner. For those that can't afford a new C5 Corvette, previous generations are being purchased by first time Corvette owners. In essence, there is an influx of owners that are entirely new to the Corvette experience.
That's why it's up to you and up to me to help educate these owners. As owners and enthusiasts ourselves, we need to show those who are new to Corvette that the importance behind what they drive goes well beyond the sticker price they paid. On the rear bumper of every Corvette are the letters C-O-R-V-E-T-T-E and that is all that matters.
Each time you get behind the wheel of your Corvette you are essentially representing the mainstream owner of the marque. If you carry your attitude around like a chip on your shoulder and treat every stop light and intersection as a means of expressing your Corvette's performance potential, you will do nothing more than strengthen the already tarnished reputation that Corvette owners carry in the eyes of the public.
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="150" align="right"><tr><td bgcolor="#000000"width="150"><table width="150" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3"><tr><td valign="top" bgcolor="#3C66A0"> <font face="arial,verdana,helvetica" color="#FFFFFF" size="2"><b>Related Links</b></font> </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><font class="sf"><b><big>·</big></b> <a href="/history/index.html">History Section</a><br /><b><big>·</big></b> <a href="/history/wave.html">The Wave</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table>When you see another Corvette....WAVE. If you're a member of a local Corvette club, have the editor of your club's newsletter put a little blurb in stating "Help Save the Wave - Wave when you pass another Corvette". In short, help someone new to the Corvette marque learn what it means to own and drive the one and only "Heartbeat of America" and help dull that axe they may have to grind. "Save the Wave"! - <i>Rob</i>
Next Month: C5 Owners Speak Out
<img src="/images/columns/wheelspin/wheelspin2.gif" width="140" height="79" border="0" alt="wheelspin column" align="left" /><font size="+3"><b>W</b></font>elcome to the new "Wheelspin" column which is the first installment of a series of monthly columns we'll be rolling out over the next month.
The purpose of the "Wheelspin" column is to take a look at various aspects of the Corvette marque and examine related topics and how they relate to the owner and enthusiast. In essence, it's an editorial column which I hope will be informational as well as stimulating to the reader.
One of the projects I've been working on is compiling the survey data from the online C5 owners' survey that we had up on the site for several months. My initial intention was to use the article which looks at the results of the survey and discusses the concepts of Corvette ownership as the debut for this column, however I'm still in the process of putting the article together and after my experience today, it occurred to me that there is probably a more important issue to discuss and one which we all should take a particular interest in. I call it, "grinding the Corvette Axe".
There seems to be this sect....a growing faction of Corvette owner that drives around with a Corvette axe to grind. It's the owner who....doesn't wave when they pass another Corvette owner. It's the owner who looks down upon (and that's if they look at you at all) owners of Corvettes that have less performance, or cost less to buy or don't have the same aftermaket performance modifications. If they are willing to give you the time of day, they either usurp every opportunity to "mention in passing" how much the multitude of aftermarket performance upgrades cost them, or they'll just pay little if any attention to you when you're proudly telling them about how you acquired your prized Corvette from the original owner. They will look at anything and anywhere but won't look you in the eyes when you're talking to them.
At first, I thought this only existed at Corvette shows, but in the last few weeks, it's been brought to my attention that it exists online within forums and chat communities. More recently, I discovered it even exists on the road as I witnessed this afternoon while driving my own Corvette.
Coming home from the gym, I decided to take the long way home. Not a cloud in the sky, around 50 degrees with a slight breeze. Perfect driving weather. As I crossed an intersection, I noticed a 1993-1996 LT1 convertible dressed in Polo Green paint with a tan top getting ready to pull out. As I passed, I waved, but didn't take my eyes off the road in front of me to see if the owner waved back. Eventually, I came to a stop light and the Polo Green LT1 pulled behind a car that was next to me in the left hand lane. Nothing unusual. The light turned green and I took off like I normally do and settled down into a comfortable cruise. The LT1 pulled up behind me and matched my speed. I continued along my way until I came to another stop light. The LT1 suddenly pulled out from behind and stopped along side of me. As I looked over, the owner just looked straight ahead....gold bracelet dangling as his limp wrist hung over the top of the steering wheel. He obviously had a 6-speed as I could hear him incessantly switching in and out of gears. I couldn't figure out what the hell he was doing but I figured....whatever. The light turned green and he floored it leaving me in a cloud of dust. I eventually caught up to him and passed him. At the next stoplight he pulled up along my left side again, limp wrist hanging over the steering wheel...playing with his stick shift. The light turned green, and he punched it again. This happened one other time before he ended up turning off the road as I proceeded on. Each time, he refused to look at me which was probably a good thing because his eyes would have blistered if he read the language coming from my lips.
This isn't the first time I've seen this type of Corvette owner before. I simply can't understand where the attitude comes from and for what reason. Friendly competition is one thing, blatant ignorance and a pompous attitude is another. Unfortunately, it is this type of owner that ends up tarnishing the Corvette marque. It's this type of Corvette owner that everyone else remembers. The attitude is what sticks in everyone's mind. We've all heard the jokes that float around about how Corvette owners are nothing but gold chaing wearing, snotty jerks who use their Corvettes as an extension of there....well....nevermind. You get the picture.
I'm also willing to bet that he didn't even bother to return the wave when I initially passed by him. What's interesting is, I passed a beautiful 2001-2002 Torch Red Z06 shortly after meeting up with "Mister Bracelet". We were close enough that we looked right at one another. I waved. There was no wave back.
On the other hand, I had a small run-in with a brand new Ferrari 360 Modena convertible last summer. I happened to catch the evil front end smile approaching quickly in my rear view mirror. The owner was a grey-haired gentleman wearing a baseball cap. We were on a local highway and as the traffic cleared, I picked up the pace. No matter what speed I drove, he matched me effortlessly. He never tail gated, and never pulled outlandish maneuvers in an attempt to pass me. Eventually, my exit came up and as I was getting off the highway, I looked over at him as he looked at me. I threw him a thumbs up, he threw one back and took off his baseball cap and waved as he drove on. That to me, was a gesture of acknowledgement that I will never forget. To me, it was a mutual understanding that we both own and appreciate a specific type of automobile that is engineered and built to excite the driver and entice the senses. All that coming from someone who can obviously afford a stable full of Corvettes.
<img src="http://corvetteactioncenter.com/images/wave.jpg" align="right" width="160" height="130" />So you may ask what exactly is this...."wave" that I'm talking about? Shortly after the 1953 Corvette went into production, Corvette owners began waving to one another. Although I won't go into great detail about what "The Wave" is and what "Save the Wave" means since you can read a separate article about it in our <a href="http://corvetteactioncenter.com/history/index.html">History Section</a>, in a nutshell, it's nothing more than a quick hand-wave greeting between owners signifying they recognize each other as an owner of one of the most important American cultural icons on the road to date. Basically, your saying "hi, nice Vette" by waving to another Corvette owner. Plain and simple. Jaguar XKE owners wave to one another and will sometimes flash their lights. Dodge Viper owners wave to one another as do Ferrari owners. I'm sure owners of other special marques all do the same.
So why does it seem as though there is a growing population of Corvette owners that have an axe to grind and don't bother waving to another Corvette owner on the road?
It quite possibly could be due to the fact that each year of C5 production, the number of C5 sales increases. The C5 has enjoyed a multitude of praise and gratitude from automotive journalists. It's been well received by the public. And I'm willing to bet that a fair percentage of new Corvette owners are also new to the marque and what it means to be a Corvette owner. For those that can't afford a new C5 Corvette, previous generations are being purchased by first time Corvette owners. In essence, there is an influx of owners that are entirely new to the Corvette experience.
That's why it's up to you and up to me to help educate these owners. As owners and enthusiasts ourselves, we need to show those who are new to Corvette that the importance behind what they drive goes well beyond the sticker price they paid. On the rear bumper of every Corvette are the letters C-O-R-V-E-T-T-E and that is all that matters.
Each time you get behind the wheel of your Corvette you are essentially representing the mainstream owner of the marque. If you carry your attitude around like a chip on your shoulder and treat every stop light and intersection as a means of expressing your Corvette's performance potential, you will do nothing more than strengthen the already tarnished reputation that Corvette owners carry in the eyes of the public.
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="150" align="right"><tr><td bgcolor="#000000"width="150"><table width="150" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3"><tr><td valign="top" bgcolor="#3C66A0"> <font face="arial,verdana,helvetica" color="#FFFFFF" size="2"><b>Related Links</b></font> </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><font class="sf"><b><big>·</big></b> <a href="/history/index.html">History Section</a><br /><b><big>·</big></b> <a href="/history/wave.html">The Wave</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table>When you see another Corvette....WAVE. If you're a member of a local Corvette club, have the editor of your club's newsletter put a little blurb in stating "Help Save the Wave - Wave when you pass another Corvette". In short, help someone new to the Corvette marque learn what it means to own and drive the one and only "Heartbeat of America" and help dull that axe they may have to grind. "Save the Wave"! - <i>Rob</i>
Next Month: C5 Owners Speak Out