A Look Back at the Mid-Cycle Makeover for the Fourth-Generation Corvette

Published on June 16, 2015June 16, 2015 by Scott

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The Illustrated Corvette Designer Series No. 220: Mid-Cycle C4 Makeover

Art & Words by Scott Teeters as republished from Vette Magazine’s SuperChevy.com website

The mid-cycle makeover of the C4 was rolled out so quietly and with such stealth, it was hardly noticed. Things were tough inside GM in the early ’90s, so the major upgrades were on the installment plan. What is undeniable though is that the 1992 Corvette is very different from the 1989 Corvette. Here’s how things unfolded. Continue reading “A Look Back at the Mid-Cycle Makeover for the Fourth-Generation Corvette” →

Car Club USA: Corvette Homecoming – Video

Published on April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 by Scott

Here’s What Corvettes Mean To People

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The other day Joe Pruitt, the Event Coordinator/Owner of the National Corvette Homecoming event contacted me to tell me about their new event video by Efran Films that covered the National Corvette Homecoming 2014 event. This is a very touching video that captures what Corvettes mean to people. As we know, they’re not just “car” they’re something else. Actually, the people in the video say it perfectly. This video has heart! Enjoy! – Scott

www.corvettehomecoming.com
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Chevrolet Debuts the New 1987 Corvette on October, 9, 1986

Published on October 9, 2014March 18, 2015 by Scott

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The Gradual Refining Process of the C4 Corvette Is Underway

Dateline: 10.9.14 – Twenty-eight years ago today Chevrolet released the new 1987 Corvette to the buying public. A look back at the 1987 Corvette fills me with irony. Performance was back to ‘60s levels, fuel-injection was standard (yes, a Fuelie!), the car had a top speed of 150-MPH making it the fastest car in America in 1987, the Kim Baker’s Corvette was kicking butt in the SCCA Showroom Stock racing series, and it was one of Car and Driver’s Top Ten Cars of 1987. That’s not too shabby! Especially considering the Corvette’s dark disco days of the late ‘70s. Continue reading “Chevrolet Debuts the New 1987 Corvette on October, 9, 1986” →

Sting Ray III Co-Stars in 1993 Film Demolition Man, Staring Sly Stallone & Wesley Snipes

Published on October 8, 2014March 18, 2015 by Scott

1992 Sting Ray III, Another Corvette Movie Star

Dateline: 10.8.14 – Yesterday we told you about the debut of the 1960 TV series, Route 66. Well it was 21 years ago today that the film Demolition Man, staring Sly Stallone and Wesley Snipes debuted.

It was a dystopian, 1984, Brave New World, grim, not too far into the future, cop verses bad guy film, with lots of fighting, guns, sweat, muscle, and cool cars. Not surprisingly, the film got so-so reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 64% rating and Siskel & Ebert gave it a Thumbs Down, but Ebert liked the satirical wit. But it was good movie fun. The film debuted No. 1 at the box office and eventually grossed $58,055,768 by the end of the North American run and $159,055,768 world-wide. Continue reading “Sting Ray III Co-Stars in 1993 Film Demolition Man, Staring Sly Stallone & Wesley Snipes” →

Corvette History: 10-3-85 – The Return of the Roadster! The Convertible is Back!

Published on October 3, 2014 by Scott

1986 Corvette Convertible Is Back!!!

The Corvette was born as a roadster, so it was a sad day in 1975 when Chevrolet announced that the 1976 Corvette would only be available as a Coupe. Yes, the convertible was history! “Safety concerns” were the stated reasoning. Yea, it was “A Bummer, Man!”

Fast forward to October 3, 1985 Chevrolet announced that the Corvette convertible was back! Yes, the Roadster Corvette had returned!

A large X-brace was added to the bottom of the frame to stiffen the chassis and the ride height was increased slightly, and no one cared. The drop-top, open-air motoring Corvette was back.

Later it was announced that the ’86 Corvette convertible would pace the Indy 500 and that ALL 1986 Corvette Convertible would be designated as Pace Car replicas, regardless of the color. Of the 35,109 Corvettes sold in 1986, 7,315 (20.8%) were convertibles. Continue reading “Corvette History: 10-3-85 – The Return of the Roadster! The Convertible is Back!” →

NEW!!! Corvette License Plates Art Prints Series

Published on August 26, 2014December 5, 2015 by Scott

Corvette “License Plate” Art Prints 1953 to Present. A Limted Series of these new prints are now available from artist. K. Scott Teeters Continue reading “NEW!!! Corvette License Plates Art Prints Series” →

Corvette C1-C7 in Review…The Most Successful Car in Detroit History?

Published on December 12, 2013March 17, 2015 by Scott

Illustrated Corvette Series No. 200 1953 – 2014 Corvette

“DETROIT’S ULTIMATE SUCCESS STORY?” by K Scott Teeters as originally published in Vette magazine

In the February 2014 issue of VETTE Magazine, I celebrated my 200^th installment of The Illustrated Corvette Series with a look back at the entire history of the Corvette. The title of the column is, “DETROIT’S ULTIMATE SUCCESS STORY?” The Corvette has come a very long way from being a car that many inside GM wanted to kill off to becoming General Motors’ flagship halo car.

While the article in VETTE only shows one Corvette from all seven generations of Corvettes, I wanted to do something extra special. So, I created the 1’ x 3’, “Seven Generations of Corvettes 1953-2014 Corvettes” art print, available through our Fine Art America store, HERE.

The print is available in a variety of sizes and can be custom framed right from the site.

Here is the story……..

2013 may be remembered as the most extraordinary year in Corvette history. Not only was 2013 the last year of the sixth generation Corvette, it was also the 60^th anniversary of the first Corvette. The only way it could have been better was if the C7 have been released as a ‘13 model. Arguably, the C7 was the most anticipated Corvette ever seen. Continue reading “Corvette C1-C7 in Review…The Most Successful Car in Detroit History?” →

Scott Teeters Talks With VETTE Magazine Founder, Marty Schorr

Published on May 17, 2013April 10, 2020 by Scott

Bench Racing With VETTE Magazine Founder, Marty Schorr

Dateline 5.17.13

To listen to the FREE Archived Show, CLICK HERE.__________________________________

Marty-Schorr-FB-72 Our guest is author and automotive journalist, Marty Schorr. Marty is a “car guy’s, car guy.”

With over five decades of hands-on experience, behind the wheel and under the hood of some of the most amazing cars ever, plus capturing images with his camera and word-smithing the life and times of the American muscle car, Marty Schorr has a unique perspective.

Marty came of age in the ‘50s, right at the beginning of the birth of America’s postwar love affair with performance cars. After joining a hot rod club in his home town of Brooklyn, New York, Marty learned that his real talent wasn’t driving race cars or spinning wrenches, though he definitely is skilled in those areas.

Marty’s gift is in the arena of visual arts and word-smithing. By the late ‘50s Marty got the bug for writing stories and photographing hot cars for magazines. What started out as a passion for cars became a lifelong career. Continue reading “Scott Teeters Talks With VETTE Magazine Founder, Marty Schorr” →

Was the 1984 Corvette Really That Awesome?

Published on July 24, 2012 by Scott

Dateline: 7.24.12

An alternate look at the lowly 1984 C4 Corvette.

Be sure to CAST YOUR VOTE for your Favorate C4 Corvette, HERE.

The Illustrated Corvette Series continues on with its look back at the “first” of each generation Corvette. The latest issue of VETTE (November 2012) covers the first C4 1984 Corvette. It’s hard to believe that it was 29 years ago this summer that Dave McLellan and his team stunned the automotive press at the ‘84 press preview with the all-new ‘84 Corvette. I can sum it up with one expression, “Heads spun!”

Now, if are new to the Corvette hobby, you most likely know that as of today, an ‘84 Corvette is arguably the lowest valued Corvette on the market. But when you look back and read the reports and road tests, one can’t help but ask, “How could that be?!?” The quick answer is that the reason this happened was because the C4 Corvette improved so much, so fast. While the platform of a ‘96 Corvette (the last year for the C4) is the same, it might as well be a different car.

In the C4’s 13 model year run, here’s a short list of the big items that changed:

* Front and rear bumper covers, wheels and tires, front fender vents. Continue reading “Was the 1984 Corvette Really That Awesome?” →

Book Review: Corvette Sixty Years – by Randy Leffingwell

Published on July 5, 2012April 10, 2020 by Scott

Dateline: 7.5.12

A Most Excellent Addition To Your Corvette Library

I’ve been collecting car magazines and car books since the mid-’60s. My library has gotten larger than I ever imagined. There’s one book that I accidentally bought three times. I have four different versions of essentially the same book authored by Randy Leffingwell and published by Motorbooks. All four versions are very nice books, loaded with excellent images and well written prose by Leffingwell. But each time I bought the book online, I thought I was getting a different book because the covers and sizes are all different.

So, when I saw that Motorbooks was publishing “Corvette Sixty Years,” I was holding out in hopes of a totally new book and not a shuffled around version of the previous “Corvette Fifty Years” with some updated C5 and C6 material. I was NOT disappointed! Leffingwell and MBI have delivered the goods! The book is, for me, a visual delight. You see, when you have as many books and magazines as I have, you’ve probably seem nearly all of the old vintage photos showing the design and development work on the Corvette. At least, that’s what I thought!

Continue reading “Book Review: Corvette Sixty Years – by Randy Leffingwell” →

NEW Corvette Prints! The Corvette Box of Candies

Published on May 24, 2012May 24, 2012 by Scott

Dateline: 5.23.12

A colorful new addition to Scott Teeters’ collection of Corvette art prints!

1-Box-Corvette-Candies — To test drive our new site and design your Corvette print, CLICK THE ABOVE PICTURE. The vertical layout version is below.

Work continues on our new prints enterprise. In April 2012 we partnered with Fine Art America so that our Corvette art print customers could enjoy the many options afforded by FAA. Our latest offering, “Corvette Box of Candies” came as a happy result of working on our horizontal and vertical layouts of the Corvette Special Editions and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Cars layouts.

After I completed the graphics for the Special Editions and Pace Cars, it occurred to me that if I put them all on one layout, they’d look like a box of brightly colored, pretty, hard candies. You know those bright-colored, sweet, hard candies you often see in the display cases at Hallmark Card shops. Corvettes in the layout include all of the Special Edition Corvettes from the 1978 25 Anniversary Corvette to the 2011 Carbon Edition Z06, and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Cars from 1978 to 2008. So I ran the idea by the boss and she said, “Make it so, Dude!” So, the Dude, got’r done! Continue reading “NEW Corvette Prints! The Corvette Box of Candies” →

The Most Powerful Indy 500 Pace Car EVER – 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette

Published on May 11, 2012May 11, 2012 by Scott

Dateline: 5.11.12

Corvette paces the 2012 Indy 500 for the 11th time!

Every so often, a real bombshell goes off. Earlier this week, less than three weeks before the 2012 Indy 500 race, Chevrolet announced that a 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette would pace the 96th Indy 500 race. This will the the 11th time a Corvette paces the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsports and the 23rd time a Chevrolet automobile has paced the Indy 500. No other manufacturer has paced Indy more times. And, if that’s not enough, 2012 marks the return of Chevrolet as an engine supplier for IZOD IndyCar Series.

C6 Corvettes have paced the Indy 500 in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, but this is the first time the 638-horsepower ZR1 will do the job. The ZR1 is also the most powerful car to ever pace the Indy 500. And just like most of the previous Corvette Indy pace cars, the Corvete needed no performance enhancements – just the addition of various safety requirements.

Arguably, the only bummer part of the story is for Corvette collectors. There was no announcement of an optional Pace Car Special. The livery on the ZR1 Pace Car consists of the production 60th Anniversary decoration, with the addition of the 2012 Indy 500 logo, “Official Pace Car”, Indy 500 logo, “CORVETTE” across the top of the windshield, and the safety strobe light bar on top of the B-pillar. The ZR1’s astonishing hardware aside, this is the tamest-looking Corvette Indy 500 pace car we’ve seen since 1986. But, we’re NOT complaining. Continue reading “The Most Powerful Indy 500 Pace Car EVER – 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette” →