Larry Shinoda was the perfect designer/stylist for GM VP of Styling Bill Mitchell. In the same way that Mitchell fit with Harley Earl, Shinoda clearly understood what Mitchell wanted. As VP of Design, Mitchell’s job was to hold the vision for what he knew would be new and fresh, then lead his designers and stylists to bring his vision into reality. Corvettes were always Mitchell’s pet projects and he was famous for saying, “Don’t get cocky, kid! I design Corvettes around here!” Mitchell’s Corvettes were about design, speed, power, and performance. And for that, he needed a designer/stylist equal to Duntov’s engineering/racing prowess. Larry Shinoda was his man. Read More
Tag: Harley Earl
Founding Fathers Pt 3 of 6: Bill Mitchell, Creator of the Corvette Look
A few years before his death in 1988, Mitchell has this to say about the C4 Corvette, “That square box is pretty near plastic… the instrument panel – Dracula’s dressing room… it rides like a truck… it isn’t a style car, it’s an machine car… engineers are running it. Earl would never let that – I would never let that happen, and I condemn the guys for it!” Read More
Founding Fathers, Pt 2 of 6 – Ed Cole, the Corvette’s Godfather, Pt 2 of 6
Ed Cole was born on September 17, 1909 and grew up on his family’s dairy farm. As a kid, Ed designed, built, and sold radio sets and when he was old enough, the natural mechanic started working at an auto parts supply store and building hot rods. For a time, Ed thought he wanted to be a lawyer, but that “car thing” got in the way. Read More
WINNER of our January 2018 “Vette of the Month Photo Contest” – Mike Waal’s 1980 GT Corvette
Mike Waal from Maryland builds a Super Sano 1980 Corvette so that he and his wife Linda can “See the USA in their Chevrolet, CORVETTE!” Dateline: 2-4-18, Photos by Mike Waal – Mike Waal took a sensible approach to building a safe, dependable, reliable 1980 Corvette with the sole purpose of long distance travel. The… Read More
Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 65th Birthday to America’s Only True Sports Car, the Corvette! – VIDEOS
On this date in 1953, GM officials never imagined their little fiberglass concept car would one day become a world-class sports car and GM’s technological flagship automobile! Dateline: 1.17.18 – Story by Mike Waal, Images GM Archives – On this date in Corvette History, Harley Earl‘s prototype Corvette (EX-122) was introduced to the public at… Read More
Corvette “Timeline Tales” Nov. 16, 1956: One magnesium-bodied XP-64 (Corvette SS) would be built for the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring race
The 1957 Corvette SS Racer’s exotic body turned out to be the hot ticket to failure! Dateline: 11.16.17 (VIDEO BELOW!) – This was such a heady time! Corvettes were starting to do well in racing and the Fuelie was about to go into production. Chevy general manager Ed Cole gave Duntov the green light to… Read More
Corvette Timeline Tales: June 26, 1958 – A 1958 Corvette becomes the 39,000,000th Chevrolet built!
In the early days of the Corvette’s existence, GM had an odd relationship with the car. Power-players such as Harley Earl, Ed Cole, and Bill Mitchell went to bat for the struggling sports car many times. And then there was the wild Russian engineer with the funny name, Zora Arkus-Duntov that pushed to make the car a successful racecar. But GM is all about sales and Chevy wasn’t selling many Corvettes. By the end of 1957 Chevy sold 14,446 Corvettes in total from 1953. In 1957 alone, Chevrolet sold 254,331 4-door Bel Air Sedans! Read More
Ken Hazelton’s 1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Racecar
Ken Hazelton’s Sting Ray shows that not everyone raced Z06 and Fuelie Corvettes. When Ken bought the car in 1991, it was pretty much in its original racing configuration. The car was raced occasionally and never abused or wrecked. Frame was excellent, body was great except for a damaged nose. It looked like a jigsaw puzzle that someone put back together and not very well. Ken replaced the nose, mid tire forward with an original style nose. The 327 small-block with a Holly carburetor was not the original motor, but similar to what it came with from the factory. It had a 1965 drivetrain with a M22 transmission, and a heavy-duty rear with 3.55 gears. The car came with a 3.70 rear that Ken used until it broke, then replaced it with a 3:90, and eventually a 3.55 gear-set. Read More
Corvette Timeline Tales: 9-27-15 General Motors officially begins using the name “Corvette” for its new sports car
“By the books” the American flag, in its entirety, is not supposed to be used for anything but the American flag, and thus cannot be used as part of a logo or trademark. This “rule of the flag” is pretty much ignored these days, but back in 1952, GM’s lawyers nixed Harley Earl’s first Corvette logo design because Earl wanted to use the American flag. (How cool with THAT have been?!) Instead, Mr. Earl metaphorically used a “red flag” and emblazoned the same fleur-de-lis design he used on the very first car he designed for GM in 1927, the Cadillac La Salle. Read More
9-27-52 – General Motors officially begins using the name “Corvette” for its new sports car
Last month we told you about Chevrolet PR-man Myron “Scotty” Scott’s induction into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame. Mr. Scott was the man responsible for coming up with the name “Corvette” for Harley Earl’s “American sports car” show car concept. The working name for the two-seater had been “Opel.” How uninspiring! (Hey Man! Did you see the new Op?”) Over 300 names were rejected before Myron Scott found the word, “Corvette” in the dictionary. I wonder if a copy of that last is still around? Read More
Corvette Timeline Tales: September 4, 1956 – The second Corvette SR-2, for VP of Design, Bill Mitchell, is completed
Bill Mitchell launches a purpose-built 1956 Corvette race car As Director of Styling under Harley Earl and the appointed heir to the Earl throne, Bill Mitchell enjoyed some sweet perks – one being that he could have custom cars built by the Chevrolet styling department. Harley Earl’s son, Jerry caused some upper management concern when… Read More
Corvette Timeline Tales: NCM inducts James Jeffords, Myron E. Scott, & John A. Cafaro to the Hall of Fame
August 30, 2002 – National Corvette Museum, inducts James Jeffords, Myron E. Scott, and John A. Cafaro into the Hall of Fame. Dateline: 8.30.15 – The Corvette has lasted longer than Harley Earl, Ed Cole, Zora Arkus-Duntov, and Bill Mitchell ever imagined back in the 1950s, thanks to the continuing passion of men and women… Read More