First Corvettes roll off assembly line 56 years ago

June 30, 11:37 AMCorvette ExaminerMark Leevan

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The first Corvettes rolled off the assembly line 56 years ago. The first Corvette rolled off the end of a so-called “assembly line” in a make shift garage in Flint, Michigan. Fourteen cars were on the assembly line that day.

Later, St. Louis, Missouri became the home of the Corvette in a specially built facility. The plant had a capacity of making 10,000 cars a year, but the first year only 300 were built.

The Corvette used a "space age" material called fiberglass for it's body - the first ever car made of this new revolutionary material.

The Chevrolet Corvette is the only true American sports car.

Corvettes were formulated after American GI's returning from Europe after WWII brought home tales of the wonderful small sports cars they drove and heard about.

The GI's wanted such a car. GM legend, Harley Earl designed the Corvette, and GM advertising executive Myron Scott named it after a fast Navy boat.

Fiberglass was the car material of the future. Every hand-built ’53s was the same.

GM focused on working the new Fiberglass material and not worry about trim and options. The standard Corvette was Polo White and Sportsman Red interiors, black tops, white wall tires, interior instruments included a 5,000-rpm tachometer. MSRP was $3,513, equivalent to about $28,000 in today’s money.

The first Corvettes were woefully underpowered with a six cylinder engine attached to a two speed automatic that came from the Chevrolet Sedan. Not the car the GI's wanted.

The introduction of Chevrolet's small block V8 engine with 265 cubic inches, gave Zora Arkus-Duntov, considered the savior of the Corvette, an engine that could be tuned for high performance.

The Corvette has steadily inched up in body size and wheelbase, but the power plant and drive train never fell behind the advancement in styling. A fully independent rear suspension an disc brakes all around, made Jaguar and Aston Martin sit up and take notice.

The Corvette Grand Sports could keep with the vaunted Shelby Mustang Cobra until he dropped in the 427. Corvettes were crushing Jaguar XKE's, Astons, Healey, and Porches of the time.

Corvette became a touchstone for the times. A large number of movies and songs paid homage to the great American sports car.

Six stylings of the car have occurred over the 56 years, and every Corvette lover will argue for hours why their favorite is the "one true Corvette." Perhaps the loneliest Corvette is the 1975 model was the base car only could muster 175 horsepower.

As GM falters, the Corvette remains one of its crown jewels and a formidable sports car. The top-of-the-line Corvette ZR1 is the best Corvette yet, it is widely accepted. 638 horsepower and a top speed of over 205 mph, the most powerful Corvette can run with the best from Tokyo, Stuttgart and Maranello, having shown it's muscle and stamina in the 24 Hours of LeMans with class wins on a regular basis.

The Corvette remains the pinnacle of American sports car design. And they’re still made of fiberglass.

Bowling Green, Kentucky is the definitive home of the Corvette.

Despite a small start in a garage in Flint, Michigan, and a stay in St. Louis, Missouri, Bowling Green, Kentucky has embraced the Corvette as it's own like no other community.

The Corvette is built Bowling Green, Kentucky, where a sign over the entrance reads,

“Through these doors walk the finest auto builders in the world.”

Across the street from the plant is a loving tribute to the Corvette - the National Corvette Museum. This fall marks the 15th Anniversary of the museum and a national Corvette Caravan will descend on Bowling Green on Labor Day Weekend for a massive amount of Corvette fever.