As the 1950s dawned, general motors focused its industrial might on producing revolutionary rather than evolutionary cars with the ultimate goal to become the clear market leader in the automotive industry. I have read it and the writing and pictures are excellent ken pierson, palmdale, ca. Created in cooperation with general motors and illustrated with 500 color and blackandwhite photos from gms exclusive design and media. Chevrolet was in a sales slump in the early 1950s, and like many within the bowtie divisions ranks, brand manager thomas keating was. The 1953 corvette wasnt the only glasstastic experimental car to hit the show circuit one year after the vettes debut, dodge displayed its 1954 granada roadster. The variety of engine options also increased and several special performance editions were offered, such as the original racingoriented corvette grand sport in. Today it is the most popular collector car of all massproduced us cars. Read on for more information about its history and groundbreaking specs of that time. The 1954 corvette did not achieve its sales target of 10,000 cars. I purchased this book corvette fifty years for a christmas present. Suzuki cappuccino ea11r 21r mechanism japanese car magazine from japan 084. Organized by year, the best and rarest are illustrated. It has got to be the best in my corvette collection. American pickup trucks of the 1950s by norm mort 2016, paperback.
In this era, corvette production rose from about 10,00 cars each year to about 27,000 cars per year. He wanted to create an american sports car that could compete and win at the race track. Through hundreds of rare and unpublished photos from gms media and design archives, special gatefolds and indepth analysis from noted corvette historian randy leffingwell, corvette. The chevrolet corvette, colloquially known as the vette, is a twodoor, twopassenger sports car manufactured and marketed by chevrolet across more than 60 years of production and eight design generations. On the day of the song, and visual, release, kp spoke to the line of best fit about the inspiration of the track. The complete competition history from sebring to le mans tells the inside story of chevrolets top race car, with racing history, driver insights, technical details, and over 200 historic photos from the gm media archive, many never before seen in print. The complete guide to the chevrolet corvette from 1953 to 2015. There are a number of terrific books about corvette and its story.
From 1953 to 2019, it was frontengined, and since 2020, it is midengined. It sweeps the reader away on a magical tour of the corvette world from its inception in 1953 to the present. Created in cooperation with general motors, the book focuses as much on the corvettes place in popular culture as it does on the engineering and design history. Production first started around june of the same year. Durant and swissborn louis chevrolet and a division of general motors, chevrolet is an iconic us car manufacturer. Illustrator bruce lafontaine portrays the exciting cars of this period in a collection spotlighting the sleek 1950 mercury twodoor sedan. It makes a great coffee table book or as an addition to a library of automobile or corvette books. Few cars in history have ever been more eagerly anticipated than the arrival of the c4 corvette which was a completely original design. Find used 1950s chevy corvette for sale from thousands of classic car classified ads. Total ratings 3, chevrolet 230 250 292 194 inline 6 engine manual book rebuild six cylinder chevy. All 1953 corvettes were polo white with red interiors. This neat book contains fullsized authorized reproductions from the sears catalogs of every page of toy trains that were sold from 1950 through 1969. It was introduced late in the 1953 model year, and produced through 1962.
The 1957 chevrolet was a huge success in the 1950s due to its georgeous styling, impressive v8performance and outstanding luxury. Seven generations of american high performance celebrates sixplus decades of americas sports car, covering the revolution and evolution of americas. Since the release of the first corvette in 1953, chevrolets flagship sports car. During the decade, chevrolet introduced the smallblock v8, the. Elberts book on the marque is subtitled the mightiest american motor car. The corvette was equipped with a 290bhp engine capable of a 128 mph top speed. A buick model 10 at the long island automotive museum in new york state, circa 1950s.
With its generations noted sequentially from c1 to c8, the corvette serves as chevrolets halo vehicle and is. The 1978 indianapolis 500 pace car, the first corvette to pace at the famed race, finished third. Upon landing a shark he was inspired by the sharks lines as the basis of the upcoming experimental xp775, the eventual successor to the current corvette. The fifties were a heady time for america, and the futuristic new 1953 corvette embodied the eras whizbang spirit. Any corvette built from the models inception in 1953 can be properly overhauled and restored by following the guidelines, instructions and diagrams in these volumes. The chevrolet corvette from 1953 to 1970 old car and. The complete book of corvette by mike mueller the corvette store. The car is eventually even named the sting ray later years changed the spelling to stingray and the rest is history. Heres every corvette ever produced, sorted by year. Classic industries offers a wide selection of 1950 chevrolet truck parts, including 1950 chevrolet truck interior parts and soft trim, 1950 chevrolet truck exterior sheet metal, 1950 chevrolet truck moldings, 1950 chevrolet truck emblems, 1950 chevrolet truck weatherstrip and unique accessories, to nearly every nut and bolt needed for installation. Buy a discounted hardcover of the complete book of corvette online from.
Chevrolet has earned its reputation by offering consumers durable and affordable vehicles within its vast and complete lineup from subcompacts to heavyduty trucks. The 1959 corvette had a cleanedup look and a smoother, faster ride. No matter what part of the corvette scene fascinates you history, racing, restoration, high performance driving, engineering, technological innovations, or whatever youll not be disappointed in the complete book of corvette. Lionel, marx, american flyer, tyco and revell trains and accessories. The 2014 c7 chevrolet corvette won the fiberglass follies by a front clip over prerace favorite, the 1990 zr1. The chevrolet corvette c1 is the first generation of the corvette sports car produced by chevrolet. These corvettes were the first fiberglassbodied cars in history to be produced. Looking for a 1950 to 1959 chevrolet corvette for sale. In the complete book of corvette, american automotive expert mike mueller details all of the generations, offering the definitive, allencompassing volume showcasing over 60 years of corvette history. Car tech ct608 chevrolets of the 1950s history book.
Corvettes provided stylish features, and were easily accepted by the sports carloving americans. Though the book is listed as a paperback, i was surprised to find this book had covers more like cardboard about the thickness of the back of a pad of paper sort of in between paperback and rigid hardcover. The corvette was invented in 1951 by gm designer harley earl, who was inspired by the great european sports cars of the day. Explore a complete history of americas original sports car. Find 1950 to 1960 chevrolet corvettes for sale on oodle classifieds. Thus, in january of 1953, the first corvette appeared. The race was a figment of the imagination designed to fill a void in the real horse racing scheduled. By the late 1950s, the infrastructure of the automotive industry had begun a. The upcoming midengined c8 corvette represents the next chapter in the corvette story, one that begins in 1953. Isuzu amigo, pickups, rodeo and trooper, 19811996 by nicholschilton staff 1999, paperback 3. The complete history of the ford mustang cj pony parts. Take a walk through time as cjs looks at some significant moments in the history of the ford mustang.
Chevrolet 1950 book technical innovation decade temple fits. The futuristic new 1953 corvette embodied the eras whizbang spirit with constant improvements and two major upgrades in the ensuing six years. On may 15, 2012, motorbooks will release randy leffingwells corvette sixty years, a largeformat illustrated book that chronicles the history. The car is based on the c5 generation of the chevrolet corvette sports car, yet is designed purely for motorsports use. The most serious event of the year for car salesmen was the reimposition of regulation w, the governments credit control bill which. Over all they had ups and downs, highs and lows, but they still came out on top. In fact, over 1100 were unsold when the year ended. Granted, this is open to dispute, but it is going to be hard, perhaps even impossible, to find another domestic sports car that has lasted as long, been desired by so many, or delivered as much performance per dollar.
Chevrolet has called the corvette americas only true production sports car. Corvette restoration manuals, guides and books are available at the motor bookstore for the ponycar aficionado who wants to embrace owning a vette from every conceivable angle. The c5 corvette was not simply a redesign of the existing c4 corvette which most people thought. While the granada may not have been the first plasticbodied car, it was the first to feature a onepiece plastic body a type of body construction corvettes would. While the mustang has gone through many changes from its debut in april 1964 to the current generation of mustangs, the ford mustang is an american icon. We have thousands of listings and a variety of research tools to help you find the perfect car or truck. Learn about the small but significant changes chevy made to its classic car. Introduced in 2001 with 385 horses pouring out of its v8 engine, the z06. The chevrolet corvette c1 is the first generation of the corvette sports car produced by. The corvette fixedroof coupe begets the highperformance corvette z06. The chevrolet corvette s complete history, from c1 to c8.
After all, the corvette has become a shinning success story over the last half century. The name corvette was borrowed from a line of small, fast navy ships used in world war ii. Includes history, photographs, facts, performance statistics and information. The complete book of corvette, every model since 1953 by mike. Join millions of people using oodle to find unique used cars for sale, certified preowned car listings, and new car classifieds. For the first time in corvette history, the car exceeded 3,000 pounds, which was an increase of 200 pounds over the 1957 model. In the complete book of corvette, american automotive expert mike mueller details all of the. The 1967 corvette, a wellloved antique, still shows up at classic auto shows. Classic cars of the fifties dover history coloring book. Whether it is purchased for a corvette driver, collector or for someone who loves automobile history, this is the book to buy. Corvette grand sport 50 year history hardback book.
Le mans in the 1950s with disc brakes, chevy wouldnt add the technology to the production corvette until 1965. Introduktionen av denna motor var en omedelbar succe och forsaljningen okade raskt. The 1958 corvette not only looked heavier with its many new additions and design changes, but it had actually gotten heavier. To accomplish this goal, the company designed, developed, and consistently released innovative automotive technology. When chevrolets corvette debuted as a show car in the gm motorama, it was a stylish twoseat convertible, designed to show the world that gm could create a sports car to compete with european nameplates like jaguar and mg. These are the 8 best books about the chevy corvette car and driver. Its a rich and fascinating history populated by largerthanlife personalities. Every shred of corvette notable data resides in these pages including options, colors, stats, facts, history, prices, codes, and more. For a more complete history of the corvette please go to the following web sites.
Thank you for the copy of your new book on the history of the grand sport. Corvette black book 1953 2007 the corvette black book is the perfect companion volume for the dedicated corvette fan. The secret history of the covert catalina minelaying operations to. Every model since 1953 is by mike mueller, an author who has written many highly informative books on corvette.
From the first corvette thrown together as en experiment to 1959 corvette with a new engine and new colors and new design. It is commonly referred to as the solidaxle generation, as the independent rear suspension did not appear until the 1963 sting ray. Chevrolet has been pumping out corvettes for 66 years, building about. The automobile industry in the united states established in 1950 a new alltime production record for the second successive year. These are the 8 best books about the chevy corvette.