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N0KFQ > TODAY 02.07.16 17:23l 60 Lines 2846 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 98459_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jul 2
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<ZL2BAU<N9PMO<NS2B<N0KFQ
Sent: 160702/1519Z 98459@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1992
Chevrolet builds 1 millionth Corvette
The 1 millionth Corvette, a white LT1 roadster with a red
interior and a black roof-the same colors as the original 1953
model-rolls off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky on
this day in 1992.
The Corvette, America's first all-fiberglass-bodied sports car,
made its splashy debut in January 1953 as part of General Motors'
traveling Motorama display at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New
York City. It went into production the following June, with a
base sticker price of $3,760 (around $30,000 in today's dollars).
Despite its sleek, aerodynamic exterior and the fanfare that
announced its arrival, early sales of the Corvette were
unimpressive. Many sports car enthusiasts scoffed at this
American response to the flashy, high-performance European
models, with its standard family-car components-including "Blue
Flame" six-cylinder engines, two-speed Powerglide automatic
transmissions and drum brakes from Chevrolet's regular car
line-and its lack of a stick-shift option.
By contrast, the Corvette's primary American competitor, the Ford
Thunderbird, was an immediate hit when it debuted in 1955,
selling more than 14,000 that year (compared to just 700
Corvettes). Faced with the Thunderbird's success, Chevrolet made
significant improvements to the Corvette's performance, including
adding a V-8 engine in 1955. By 1961, the Corvette had become
America's favorite sports car. Annual production of the Corvette
peaked at 53,807 in 1979; after that, yearly numbers dwindled due
to increasing competition from foreign-made models.
The ceremony celebrating the production of the 1 millionth
Corvette on July 2, 1992, featured a prominent appearance by Zora
Arkus-Duntov, the Russian engineer and race car driver who was
credited with turning Chevrolet's "dream car" into a classic.
Arkus-Duntov had seen the original Corvette prototype at the
Waldorf-Astoria in 1953, while he was working for a British
racing car company. Struck by the gulf between the car's
innovative design and its relatively lackluster engine, he
applied for a job at Chevrolet. He subsequently spearheaded
efforts to add ever more powerful engines to the Corvette, which
jumped from 150-horsepower in 1953 to 283 by 1957.
Arkus-Duntov also introduced a fuel-injection system that later
became standard on many vehicles, and the first four-wheel disc
brakes to be used on a mass-produced American car. Wanting the
Corvette to rise to the level of Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes,
Arkus-Duntov created the Corvette Grand Sport Program in 1963,
bringing Corvette to the highest levels of international
competition. Arkus-Duntov retired from GM in 1975; he died in
1996, at the age of 86.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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