The Best Corvette Magazine Covers—Now as Prints
Stung by a Sting Ray: The Moment It All Began
Dateline:12.7.25
Greetings,
Please allow me to geeze for just a moment. I was “stung” by a Sting Ray that sat on display at Haddonfield Chevrolet in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Our home was just a mile west in Collingswood, New Jersey, only a few minutes from the Delaware River and Philadelphia. As a result, we often passed by the dealership. I was there with my older brother, who was bringing in his 1957 Chevy Bel Air for service, so I waited in the showroom.
While standing there—probably with my mouth wide open—I stared at the most beautiful car I had ever seen: a 1965 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe. Even though the color escapes me now, the memory of that moment remains vivid. I also can’t remember whether it had side pipes. Back then, I wouldn’t have even known what side pipes were for. However, everything changed in an instant. Suddenly, all I wanted to learn about were cars—especially Corvettes.
Discovering “The Car Gene” on My Own
No one in my family had what I like to call “The Car Gene.” Naturally, I became the lone gearhead. Without a cool uncle with a GTO or a neighbor with a Mustang, I had to figure out my new obsession on my own. Fortunately, Collingswood had exactly what I needed. The Collingswood Hobby Shop sat directly across the street from us on Haddon Avenue, and it quickly became a regular stop.
A few steps farther down the avenue was the local drug store with a large magazine and newspaper stand. Its car-magazine section was impressive. Because money was tight, I had to choose carefully. With only fifty cents available from my $2 weekly allowance—after setting aside quarters for my next Corvette model kit—I hunted for any magazine featuring Corvettes. In time, those magazines helped me become a better reader, and the model kits taught me the parts of a car. Between the two influences, I was building a lifelong passion.
Magazines, Models, and the Seeds of a Corvette Library
I still own many of my old car magazines, although not all of them survived the years. Eventually, the model cars went to another young enthusiast. Today, those magazines form the core of my Corvette library. A few years ago, while digging for a detail in an issue I hadn’t opened in years, I was struck by how strong the art direction was on those old covers.
By 2016, I was writing a monthly column for VETTE Magazine and occasionally producing feature stories. That year marked the 40th anniversary of the publication. Because of that milestone, I reached out to VETTE’s founder and first editor, Marty Schorr. Before launching VETTE, Marty edited Hi-Performance CARS Magazine, a New York–based title with an “in your face” attitude that perfectly fit this Jersey Guy. Consequently, CARS became my favorite monthly read for many years.
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How Corvettes Sold Magazines
During our interview, Marty explained the power of Corvettes on the newsstand.
“I always admired the Corvette’s ability to sell magazines. Issues with Corvettes on the cover or major Corvette features always spiked sales. Then we started doing Annuals, or as we called them, ‘one-shots.’ Around ’75, two years after I left CARS, I proposed a Corvette-only magazine. We went back and forth with Chevrolet over the title and settled on VETTE Quarterly. We got the first issues out and kept working on the advertising until we were able to get the book bi-monthly and finally monthly in ’80. Those were tough times—muscle cars were dead, but the passion for Corvettes was alive and well.”
VETTE’s success did not go unnoticed. As a result, brand-specific, bi-monthly car magazines exploded in popularity, giving enthusiasts more reading material than ever. By the mid-1980s, dozens of specialty publications filled the shelves, and I wrote stories and created illustrations for many of them.
Scanning, Restoring, and Preserving Classic Covers
Early in 2022, between projects, I began making 1200 dpi scans of my favorite vintage car-magazine covers. Using Photoshop, I repaired scratches, removed rips and mailing labels, corrected brightness and contrast, and fine-tuned the color saturation. After cleanup, the 1200 dpi files were downsized to printable 300 dpi and formatted for posters and canvas wraps. As you might guess, the results looked fantastic.
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Posters and Canvas Wraps from K. Scott Teeters.
What started as a small sideline project has grown significantly. Today, we offer more than 50 restored magazine covers in our Etsy shop, Man Cave Car Art, which has been open since 2017 and has over 2,700 sales. Meanwhile, our second Etsy shop, Car Guy Merch, launched in 2021 and has surpassed 1,700 sales. Both stores continue to expand as more people discover our vintage automotive artwork.
Explore Our Vintage Corvette Magazine Art
So, we invite you to explore the Car Magazine Art section of our store by clicking HERE. In addition, take a look at our car-guy swag at Car Guy Merch by clicking HERE. Finally, enjoy this trip down Car Guy Road!
– Scott
Check out our Corvette art and swag in our Etsy store, HERE!
Check out our Corvette art and swag in our Etsy store, HERE!
We also have Zip Hoodies with C1 to C8 Corvette art in our Car Guy Merch Etsy store, HERE.
PS – Be sure to check out our new line of Corvette Entine T-Shirts, “I Still Play With Blocks” in our Etsy store, HERE.
And, we have a very cool collection of old, defunct car magazine covers, featuring Corvettes, as posters and art prints in our Etsy store, HERE!
We have over 55 Corvette magazine covers available as art prints and posters in our Etsy store, HERE.
We have over 55 Corvette magazine covers available as art prints and posters in our Etsy store, HERE.
We have over 95 Corvette engine art prints and posters in our Etsy store, HERE.
