“High performance” can be measures in many ways. While a “Corvette vs Prius” match up is truly apples and oranges for many obvious reasons rather silly, this competition is strictly a fuel efficiency contest.
(BOTH hands on the steering wheel, Prius “driver!”)
The video presents no background info on the two cars, so we don’t know the age of the Prius and since we never see anything other than the very front and rear of the C5, it could be anywhere from a 7-to-15-year old Corvette. After traveling 42.7 miles, the Corvette used just 1.402 gallons of gasoline, netting out 30.4 mph. The Prius drank only 1.083 gallons, netting out an impressive 39.4 mpg.Continue reading “C5 Corvette vs Toyota Prius in a Fuel Mileage Shootout!”→
I consider Kevin Mackay to be a “Corvette artist.” Some of us use paint, markers, pen & ink, etc. You know, “artsey” stuff. Some artists work in other mediums – such as metal and fiberglass. Kevin Mackay’s “Corvette Repair” doesn’t just perform world-class restoration work on classic C1, C2, and C3 Corvette race cars and regular Corvettes, Kevin is also a mechanical, educational artist.
It’s always a pleasure to see Kevin at the shows. Last weekend we were vendors at theStrictly Corvettes and American Muscle Cars Show in Atlantic City. When you love Vettes, what’s there to not like about a Corvette show?We saw lots of smiles and had many interesting conversations. Kevin Mackay was on hand for the third year in a row with a delightful stable of customer cars, as well as several of his beauties. Continue reading “Kevin Mackay’s Drivable, See-Thru, ’69 L-88 Corvette”→
Corvette “Urban Legend” or FACT? What do you think?
Called by some, “The Original American Idol.” The rear split-window was one of chief of GM styling, Bill Mitchell’s pet design elements. And NOT to be messed with by a lowly engineer!
I have been writing about Corvettes and illustrating them since the mid-’70s. During that time and before then, I have read dozens of books and hundreds of articles about Corvettes. Somewhere, way, way back (I really do not recall when or in what book or article) I remember the following story about the ‘63 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Sting Ray…Continue reading “1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette – Minus the Split-Window?”→
Ocean City, New Jersey Lifetime Resident, Dewey Powell’s 4WD, 392 Hemi Powered Corvette to the Rescue!
When you live close to the shore, like I do, it’s not uncommon to see 4WD vehicles with surf fishing racks on the front bumper. The formula is this; fishing racks + beach = 4WD vehicle, usually a truck. That’s what threw me when I first saw Dewey Powell’s menacingly cool-looking ‘81-bodied Corvette at the Strictly Corvettes Show, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first thing I noticed was the stylized fishing pole rack and the way it was angled back from the middle to match the car’s pointed nose. Then the tall tires and L88 wheel flares got me. “WOW! What’s this?” When I looked under the hood and saw a dual-quad 392 Hemi, I said, “Who built this?!”
Dewey was completely relaxed in a lawn chair, wearing jeans, black cowboy boots, a black t-shirt, and his wrap-around shades. I could tell that he was “the guy.” I asked him, “I’ll bet that this is your car and you built it, right?” “Yea, that’s right, and I drove it here today. You should have seen it yesterday, it was covered with sand.” I had just met Ocean City’s local legend, Dewey Powell.Continue reading “The World’s Only 4WD Hemi-Powered Corvette”→
The January 2011 issue of VETTE Magazine is out (I know, I know, it’s only the beginning of November) and in my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 163 column I have covered the one and only, 1978 jet turbine-powered Corvette. The world’s ONLY jet-Vette is alive and well in an undisclosed location in Ohio. This is a story of unbridled imagination. Enjoy! – Scott
Detroit in the 50s and ‘60s was a time of “let’s try it” thinking. GM tinkered with the turbine-engine Firebird I, II, and III cars in the ‘50s. Chrysler had been making turboprop engines since before WW II and started their turbine car program in ‘54. Turbine-powered race cars showed up at the Indy 500 in ‘62 and ‘66, with little success. But it was the red STP-sponsored, Andy Granatelli car that stunned everyone in ‘67. By the end of the second turn of the first lap, Parnelli Jones took the lead until rain stopped the race. The next day, Jones picked up where he’s left off, leaving everyone far behind, until lap 197 when a $5 transmission ball bearing broke, putting the car out of the race. Granatelli was back the following year, but restrictions placed on his Lotus-built turbine car ended the Indy 500 turbine experience forever. Continue reading “The World’s Only Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette!!!”→
Pretty HOT-looking for a 50-year old babe! I’ll bet that Hemingway never drove anything like this!
Before The Corvette Report was a full-fledged blog, it was a monthly email newsletter. A regular feature of the newsletter was titled “Let’s Play Corvette Odd-Ball! Quirky Vette Factoids” In the October 2008 newsletter I posed the question, “What’s the highest mileage Corvette on record?” With a little help from former VETTE Magazine assistant editor, John Nelson, I reported on a VERY high-mileage Vette, owned by Bill Pierceall.
As of the 2008 report based on the June 2001 story in VETTE, Bill’s updated ‘60 Corvette had just over 500,000 miles on the odometer. In the ‘90s the car had been updated with a completely new ‘96 Grand Sport suspension and LT4 engine. The back end of the car had been widened 3-inches per side to cover the wide GS rear tires, dechromed of the side cove trim and the front fender top trim, and then painted pearl blue. I won’t retell the story, but you can check out the VetteWeb post with this link…
The 2,900-pound machine is good for a 162-mph ride, limited by the C1’s aerodynamics and what Bill calls “the pucker factor.” (I think most of us can relate to that). Pierceall obviously followed Duntov’s instructions to the letter, to all Corvette owners to “Drive and ENJOY their Corvette!,” and then some! Continue reading “Bill Pierceall’s 612,000-Mile 1960 Corvette!”→
Are These C7 Corvette Styling Concepts Making You Warm?
We want your opinion, and here is mine.
This is the Centennial/Transformers Movie/C7/Concept Corvette
(Editor’s Note: One of the cool things about running a blog, such as this one, is that we can track the popularity of the topics we post. So far, this post has garnered the most number of hits, telling us that there’s LOTS of interest in what’s in store for the C7 Corvette. After writing this post I was inspired to create a set of drawings that reflect my critique of the Transformers/Centennial concept car shown in this post. The illustrations appeared in my VETTE Magazine column in the October 2010 issue as a 2-page center spread. After the publication of the illustrations, I posted the article titled, “K. Scott Teeters’ C7 Split-Window Coupe Concept Corvette.” So, after reading this post, we invite you to check out the illustrations that reflect the comments below. I included photos of the real concept car and scans of the art so that you can clearly see how I came to my design. So, enjoy the post below, or CLICK HERE to jump ahead to the post with the illustrations. KST)
I want to address the issue as a Corvette enthusiast and an artist with a car designer’s heart, of some of the C7 Corvette concept cars we’ve seen so far. I’m going to give my critique of just the shapes. I’ll tell you what I like and why, what I don’t like, and why. I think the recent magazine articles for these cars are just a lot of PR speculation – some red meat for the fans. But I’m most interested in what YOU think of the styling of these cars. So let’s read what I think and then you send me your opinion at the end in the comments section, Okay?
When I told my wife what the sub-title of this article would be, she said, “Oh, don’t use that sexual expression.” I explained that sports cars are about sex. Driving them is a sensual experience – you don’t just “ride” in a sports car, you “DRIVE” the sports car. The hottest sports cars will always catch your breath. Even the old classics. That’s one of the cool things about owning a Corvette. Even people that don’t know what it is, (other than, just a “car”) will say, “WOW! What kind of car is that?” Continue reading “Today’s C7 Corvette Concept Cars – Revving You Up, or Stalling You Out?”→
Several weeks ago, while listening to Gerald Clemente on a talk show radio program, Gerald mentioned that the previous weekend in the State of Virginia, almost 7,000 traffic tickets were issued in ONE WEEKEND!
As townships and states all across the Union are feeling the pressure of this Depression, they are turning to police to help raise money through vehicle or traffic citations. Small towns are installing surveillance cameras at intersections that can catch drivers cutting a fast yellow light, running a red, not coming to a full stop, not stopping behind the line, etc. The camera catches license plate numbers and a computer sends the ticket in the mail. I think that soon they’ll just debit your checking account. Continue reading “Motorists, Beware! No More 5-MPH Cushion!”→
Dateline: 8.10.2010 Answer: Not for actual drag racing competition. (now THAT would have been interesting) But they did build a dragster Vette, just to show off a little.
69 454 ZL-1 Corvette Drag Racing Engineering Study
(SPECIAL TREAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!)
The introduction of the four wheel, independent suspension in the ’63 Sting Ray was a major breakthrough for road racers, but left drag racers with tons of rear suspension broken parts. Let’s face it, the production independent rear suspension was never designed for those brutal drag racing starts. Corvette engines, small and big-blocks have never had a problem producing lots of power. Too much power for the Corvette’s rear suspension.
Although there were a few successful drag racing Corvettes that included Bo Laws, Astoria-Chas, and Bernie Agman, most drag racers used the solid-axle Camaros, Novas, and C1 Corvettes.
At the ’70 press introduction in the Summer of ’69, Chevrolet had a specially prepared ’69 Corvette engineering design study set up for drag racing. Actually, it was the same car used the previous year to show off the ’69 ZL-1 engine. Duntov and his crew wanted to show off the awesome power potential of an even bigger ZL-1.
Chevrolet’s Hib Hufstader and Tom Langdon built the flaming orange, drag race prepared Corvette with a 454 cubic-inch version of the all-aluminum ZL-1 with a modified Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic, open 180-degree headers, and racing slicks for the press to “play with.”The menacing-looking Monaco Orange ZL1 was a press darling. Duntov enjoyed keeping the automotive press happy. Continue reading “Corvette Oddball: Did Chevy Ever Build a Drag Racing Corvette?”→
Holden’s new Commodore HSV W427? – Bing! Zoom! To the MOON! Get it Outta Here!
Talk about an act of desperation!
GM’s tired old car guy, Bob Lutz has spoken! But I can’t believe what I’m reading. Lutz says that a Holden-based four-door Corvette is a possibility. They’re getting all warm over the Corvette-powered Holden Commodore HSV W427. Obviously, with a Z06’s 427 LS7 engine the car will be bloody fast. Continue reading “A Four-Door Holden Corvette? Get Me a Barf Bag, NOW!!!”→
