The Corvette was created by GM designer Harley Earl in 1951. He was inspired by European sports cars and wanted an American counterpart to compete and win on the race track. The first model was a convertible introduced at the 1953 GM Motorama. (This discontinued auto stage show was run by that GM from 1949-1961 to show off concept and/or prototype cars.)
Myron Scott, creator of the all-American soap box derby, is credited with naming the car when he as working for GM which anted a non-animal name starting with the letter "c." The name "corvette" was taken from a line of small, but fast Navy warships used in World War II.
While on a weekend trip to PA to attend a story-telling festival (more on that later), we saw nearly a dozen of these classics.
No, we didn't go to a cruisin' car show on this trip. Instead, during our weekend stay at a Holiday Inn, these Corvettes greeted our parking lot arrival. 
Their owners were a group of 60+ drivers who obviously did not let years stand in the way of having fun. They drove these beauties from Michigan to PA to visit Gettysburg National Military park and various points in between.
The Corvette was originally built in Flint, MI, and St. Louis, MO. The cars are now manufactured in a dedicated Corvette manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, KY. The Corvette is the official sports car of KY.
We talked to a few of the owners who told us they enjoyed driving these cars on long trips, adding that they were always garage-kept when home. After all, it does get cold and snowy in Michigan.
Between the first and most current Corvette, about 1.5 million have been made in the US and sold worldwide. (No, Grenville, isn't planning to buy one, but I did catch him smiling as he watched these cars leave the hotel.)
16 comments:
These are great looking cars. Looks like you had a fun time looking around these beauties.
Oh man, what a ride! I've never been in a Corvette but I'd love to take a ride in a convertible one.
Boys and their toys, eh? I imagine this trip is it before winter -- except for a couple of local runabouts maybe.
Lee used to have Corvettes, but hen he got married and he got children, instead. Now he is starting to look at them again. He'll have to cruise on his own. I can get in, but I can't get out!
Never had one, but stored one for a friend when he was overseas. Had to take it out and act like a kid.
Lovely photos . I am more for vintage trucks and cars . I remember when Corvettes were the rave though lol ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !
My brother and his wife drive all over the country with their Corvette Club.
So nice cars and interesting history!
I do prefer the older models though but I wouldn't say no if anyone wanted to give me any kind of them :-) :-) :-)
Have a great day!
Christer.
Cool cars! These are some of my son's favorites.
I had an employer who owned a new car lot. He sold ars for a living and always had a nice car to drive. But as soon as the snow was gone and he felt there would be nothing to damage it he would bring his Corvette out of the garage and drive it. He really loved that car.
They're quite beautiful cars!
Those are some cool cars!
How lucky for you to be there at that time. Those cars are beautiful and they have an interesting history. My cousin , who lives in Boise has a vintage Corvette.
it's a "mans-mans" car....something very intriguing about them!!!!
i'll bet this was fun to watch!!!
I had a corvette in 1962 for about 3 months ... then we had to trade it in so that my husband could get a dumptruck which he needed for his business. At least that's what he said...he never mentioned the catcalls & whistles that I got driving it !!
Always nice to see a group of old classics get together.
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