https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfASBwlxujY
The Chevrolet Corvette. It's been around for 65 years, and if you didn't know that, chances are you've been living under a gigantic rock covered by other gigantic rocks for a very long time. The Corvette is an American icon and the guys at Donut Media made a video wrapping up its most memorable moments.
What some may not know is that the Corvette was originally a publicity stunt for the New York Auto Show. GM's Chief Designer in the early '50s was a man named Harley J. Earl, and he thought it was time that an American car company produced a European-like sports car. He used a radical concept car to stir up the media at the New York Auto Show. If the concept was a success, Earl believed the higher-ups at GM couldn't say no to the idea of making an all-new sports car. Earl was right, and Chevy released the Corvette in 1953.
Read More: This Camaro ZL1 with Straight Pipes Was So Loud, the Airbags Blew at 140 MPH
The body was all fiberglass and it definitely looked the part, but only produced 150 horsepower from a weak six-cylinder engine. People didn't buy very many and the car was somewhat of a joke.
A few years passed and GM decided it was time to get serious by adding a V8 to the Corvette, and finally entering the professional race scene. The American sports car did well and people all around the world began to notice. Today the Corvette gets better every year, and the name Corvette has become synonymous with the term "best bang for the buck." The future looks bright for the Corvette and it looks like we will finally see the much anticipated mid-engine Corvette in the next couple years. A car that started out as somewhat of a flop is now one of the most respected names in the automotive industry, and for very good reason.
This post was originally published on February 1, 2018.