Killing off the Corvette

The Corvette is America’s longest selling most likely most successful sports car, and now I don’t like it. I have to admit I’ve had a love hate relationship with the Corvette. My brother has owned a few of them and loves them. I grew up loving the ’63 split window and have even sat in a few. I once even drove 6 hours away from my house to almost buy one. But mostly I’ve been put off by something about them. The very early models roof leaked, the mid models had awful interior, the 90s saw wiring issues, and the later years had the same style gauges as my Chevy truck. Now I know the first Corvette was built from parts around the shop to keep prices low, but when I step into a modern sports car it better not remind me of my pickup truck. But now I hate the new one for all new reasons.

Although the Corvette has had its ups and downs, the one thing it has been is original. From 1953 to 2013 the Corvette has looked like nothing else on the road, minus the Opel GT thing. Oh and before I forget, it’s always had circular taillights. I remember just last year sitting in a parking lot when a black 2011 Corvette pulled in and parked. I looked over at my passenger and said, “Perfect. That’s a Corvette I wouldn’t mind owning.” As soon as I uttered the word “perfect” the gods of karma cast down upon the earth a hideous brand new 2014 Corvette concept. All my prayers to take it away didn’t work and now I’m going to vomit a little every time I see a new Corvette. What causes my dislike you might ask? Well it’s the Viper front end, the Ferrari profile, Camaro taillights, and the “new” styled Corvette emblem that reminds me all too much of the late Firebird. It’s a copycat, a cut and paste here or there, a car built not by an artistic eye…but by marketing data.

Some Corvette people are with me too. The circular taillights are more than just lights; they’re 60 years of heritage. They are, now that fiberglass isn’t used anymore, the one thing that every (not just some but every) Corvette has in common. Taking that away is like, it’s like setting Smokey the Bear on fire. Will it be an amazing car? Absolutely. Does it look good? Yeah, okay. But does it look like a Corvette? No. It would, however, make the greatest 2014 Opel GT. 

photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/that_chrysler_guy/