The Bowtie Beast Gets Manners
When I was a teenager in the late '70s, I wouldn't be caught dead in a Corvette. Don't get me wrong, I'd loved the chrome bedecked '50s
cars and stunningly beautiful Stingrays of the '60s, and even the late '60s to early '70s Mako Shark body style Stingrays were kind of cool when they came out, but as the fuel crisis took its toll on all things enjoyable the once race capable 'Vette received swoopier styling and a more anemic V8 under the hood, making it a much less credible sports car.
Soon came the oh-so-cool wanna-be wearing his multi-colour stretch polyester button up shirt, white cotton Britannia flares wrapped so tightly around the crotch that future fatherhood was in jeopardy, gold chains dangling amid wooly chest hairs, and big, big hair, and how could there not be jokes associated: "What's the difference between a Corvette and a cactus," was a popular one. "With a Corvette the prick's on the inside."
The
1984 Corvette changed all that, well that and it wasn't very cool to wear such tacky clothing anymore. Like '80s styling, with which only big hair had remained and then only with some new wave bands, the 'Vette was much more subdued. It also returned to credibility to the nameplate as a world-beating sports car, restoring respectability to Detroit. It improved over the years, eventually in the late '90s evolving into the C5, five representing the fifth generation.
Some felt this model was too soft around the edges, a little more Acura NSX than all-American supercar. Still, there was no denying it was a looker, and for good reason sales took off. No doubt it's improved performance, moving it off the line faster than many Europeans, helped it move off the showroom floor quickly too.
When I was a teenager in the late '70s, I wouldn't be caught dead in a Corvette. Don't get me wrong, I'd loved the chrome bedecked '50s
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| As the fuel crisis took its toll on all things enjoyable the once race capable 'Vette received swoopier styling and a more anemic V8 under the hood, making it a much less credible sports car. (Photo: General Motors of Canada) |
Soon came the oh-so-cool wanna-be wearing his multi-colour stretch polyester button up shirt, white cotton Britannia flares wrapped so tightly around the crotch that future fatherhood was in jeopardy, gold chains dangling amid wooly chest hairs, and big, big hair, and how could there not be jokes associated: "What's the difference between a Corvette and a cactus," was a popular one. "With a Corvette the prick's on the inside."
The
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| Some felt the C5 was too soft around the edges, a little more Acura NSX than all-American supercar. (Photo: General Motors of Canada) |
Some felt this model was too soft around the edges, a little more Acura NSX than all-American supercar. Still, there was no denying it was a looker, and for good reason sales took off. No doubt it's improved performance, moving it off the line faster than many Europeans, helped it move off the showroom floor quickly too.