2005 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Preview

One thing that's for sure, the car looks like a Corvette. Its Kamm-style rear fascia incorporating circular quad taillights,

There is no doubt the new car is a Corvette through and through, with Chevy sticking with recognizable styling. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

raked beltline melding into swooping front fenders, are all dead giveaways. The only "radical" change to the coupe and convertible, as compared to the 1997 through 2004 C5, is a move to fixed headlamps, a design element the model hasn't featured since the 1962 model year. And it makes a lot of sense, being that most jurisdictions have passed daytime running light laws that would keep them exposed more often than tucked away out of sight. Aerodynamic efficiency being as important to new vehicle design as it is, they had to go.

There's something else the new convertible has in common with the 1962 car, it was the last model year that saw Chevy build only a Corvette roadster. OK, that's not totally in

Chevrolet, at least with the Corvette, is attempting to come up with fresh, new designs that don't completely depart from traditional values. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

common is it? But there's some kind of tie-in. America's sports car started life way back in '53 as a convertible with the availability of a removable hardtop coming later in its second generation car. The first coupe came in 1963, the much loved Sting Ray.

Of course, I wouldn't be the only one to wish Corvette would return to such styling glory days. But unlike Ford, which is focused on looking in the mirror for tomorrow's next design ideas, resulting in the 2005 cum 1967 Mustang and completely retrospective GT (40), Chevrolet is attempting to come up with fresh, new designs that don't completely depart from traditional values, in the case of Corvette anyway.