Corvette Timeline Tales: July 22 2004 – A Commemorative Edition Coupe is the last C5 – VIDEO

We just love “firsts & lasts” of any important performance car. Why? Because there are only ever two – the first and the last ones to roll off the assembly line.

Dateline: 7.22.17 – The First C1 and C2 Corvettes are not known, however, the Last C1, a black 1962 model sold for $150,000 at the 2014 Mecum Seattle Auction. We covered the Last Sting Ray, HERE. But today, we honor the “Last C5 Corvette”, which if you are looking to add an important Corvette to your stable of Vettes, just happens to be For Sale at BuyAVette.net! More about where you can pick up this piece of unique Corvette history for only, $1,000,000. (Karen, call the Credit Union!)

But for now, lets step into the CorvetteReport.com Time Machine and dial it back 13 years to 2004. To celebrate the success of the C5-R Corvettes winning Le Mans in ’01, ’02 and ‘03, Chevrolet dished up the 2004 Commemorative Edition option. This was an intense option to put into the production schedule because it was an open option on all three models of 2004 Corvettes – coupes, convertibles, and Z06s. On top of that, plant managers knew that as soon as the Last C5 was rolling through its journey of assembly, the production line was disassembled.
“Special Edition” Corvettes are always a tedious enterprise because all of the unique parts of a package have to be on hand. For Limited Edition Corvettes, at least it is known ahead of time that X-number of parts will be needed. However, with “open production” Special Edition Corvettes, the marketplace determines how much resources will be needed. From a sourcing and production position, it is a difficult task. Continue reading


Corvette Timeline Tales: July 22 2004 – A Commemorative Edition Coupe is the last C5 – VIDEO”

Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!

Dateline: 8.28.11 (Our 150th post!)
All you’ll need is a knockwurst with mustard on a bun and a tall, frosty root beer!

Special thanks to Jason Harding at CorvetteForum.com.

Perhaps you are simply too far away from southeastern Pennsylvania to attend. Fret not, we’ll bring the show to you. Unless you have been holed up in your Corvette or in your man-cave, you may have missed the news that a hurricane zipped up the East Coast. Hurricane Irene made a mess here and there. While the southeastern part of Pennsylvania only caught the western edges of Irene, Saturday was a yucky day and Sunday was only better in that it was not raining like it was Saturday night. While Irene didn’t deliver a washout, it didn’t help.

I can only describe the Corvettes at Carlisle experience as a “happening.” Pardon the 60s expression, but I AM a baby boomer. There’s so much to see, look at, oggle, take in, sounds, smells, talking, laughing, smiling. Plus, the Corvettes! (12 more videos below) Continue reading “Vette Videos: 13 Videos Featuring the Sights and Sounds of the Corvettes at Carlisle Show!”

Vette Videos: Experience the C5-R Corvette at Le Mans!!!

Dateline: 8.13.11
Come on! Let’s take a HOT LAP around Le Mans in a C5-R Corvette!

After decades of “why can’t we have a factory Corvette racing team?” Chevrolet and GM finally got behind a racing Corvette in ‘97, the way they did with NASCAR Chevrolets. With the vastly superior C5 platform, Chevrolet and Pratt & Miller engineers took their time developing all aspects of the C5-R. The results were SPECTACULAR!

The C5-Rs raced for 5-1/2 seasons, with the half season being ‘99 with only 5 races entered and one 2nd place finish. For the 2000 season the team entered eight races, taking one 1st place win at the Texas Motor Speedway. But it was 2001 that the Corvette Racing team hit their stride. In the 10 races for the season, the two-car team took eight 1st place wins and six 2nd place wins, PLUS, they won their class at Le Mans. In international sports car racing, the saying is that if you win at Daytona, a lot of people will notice. But if you win at Le Mans, EVERYONE will know!

Continue reading “Vette Videos: Experience the C5-R Corvette at Le Mans!!!”

Vette Videos: 1997 C5 Corvette TV Commercial “WHAT IS IT?!?”

Dateline: 8.11.11
No, it’s NOT a preview for a new Tom Clancy movie, it’s the NEW 1997 Vette!

The C5 Corvette was supposed to be out years before, but financial troubles at GM kept pushing back the release date. While this was frustrating for Corvette fans, the positive part was that it gave the Corvette team the time to make the car as good as they could. The basic design of the C5 platform was started by Corvette chief engineer Dave McLellan. When mcLellan retired in 1992, former Cadillac engineer, Dave Hill was made the third Chief Engineer for the Corvette. The C5 was so well designed that by ‘99 engineers determined that they had done nearly as much to the car’s platform as they could, without designing a new platform. This naturally paved the way for the C6 Corvette.

1997 Corvette print ad.

Off the C5 platform we got the Z06 Corvette and the C5-R Corvette race. The Corvette Racing Team won Le Mans in ‘01 and dominated the 2002 ALMS  series with 10, 1st place wins and 8, 2nd place wins in 11 races with the two-car C5-R team. An interesting factoid about the C5 Corvette platform is that the car had over 1,200 FEWER parts than the C4 platform!

Someone must have been a Tom Clancy fan when they were designing this TV ad. Fun dialog from the commercial…
“Satellite just located another test site.”
“We don’t KNOW what it is!” Continue reading “Vette Videos: 1997 C5 Corvette TV Commercial “WHAT IS IT?!?””

C5 Corvette vs Toyota Prius in a Fuel Mileage Shootout!

This is NOT your grandfather’s 12-MPG Vette

“High performance” can be measures in many ways. While a “Corvette vs Prius” match up is truly apples and oranges for many obvious reasons rather silly, this competition is strictly a fuel efficiency contest.

(BOTH hands on the steering wheel, Prius “driver!”)

The video presents no background info on the two cars, so we don’t know the age of the Prius and since we never see anything other than the very front and rear of the C5, it could be anywhere from a 7-to-15-year old Corvette. After traveling 42.7 miles, the Corvette used just 1.402 gallons of gasoline, netting out 30.4 mph. The Prius drank only 1.083 gallons, netting out an impressive 39.4 mpg. Continue reading “C5 Corvette vs Toyota Prius in a Fuel Mileage Shootout!”