Travels with our 2008 Chevrolet Corvette to interesting places, automotive-related and otherwise, and to meet the people and cars that make up the Corvette Community.
Our car returns home, nine years to the month it was built in Bowling Green
The Chevrolet Corvette, as a comparatively small-volume vehicle, has only been built in a few places. The first 300 cars were constructed in 1953 in a very makeshift arrangement in Flint, Michigan and then production moved the next year to St. Louis, Missouri, where Corvettes were assembled until 1981, when the Bowling Green, Kentucky, factory (formerly used for the manufacture of Chrysler air-conditioning units) was opened.
The plant sits on a 212 acre site and covers 1,450,000 square feet, including the recently opened paint facility which is nearly 500,000 square feet. It has around 1,000 employees, of which 840 work on the line. The plant generally produces about 150 cars daily in a single shift.
Parking in front of the administration office and the famous Corvette plant sign, I was pleased to see that there were lots of Corvettes owned by employees.
I was fortunate on this blazing hot day to be able to visit the plant, which typically gets around 50,000 visitors per year, with three tours daily. The plant is now closed to visitors due to a number of changeovers until early 2019. Rumours are rife about new Corvette models but I was there to see the fabulous C7 being assembled.
As photography is not allowed in the plant, I have downloaded a number of nice photos courtesy of General Motors:
The aluminum chassis of the C7 is made in Bowling Green now; previous C6 Z06 frames were brought in although the Base C6 had a steel chassis made in the plant. In addition, the High-Performance Facility was moved to Bowling Green from Tonawanda, New York, in 2014 for assembly of the Z06 LT4 engine, with its supercharger and 650 hp. For an additional fee (US$5,000) customers can assemble their own LT4 under the watchful eye of a technician--and the customer gets to sign it off in the end of the process. Nice!
Here is a video showing the whole production process for the C7:
At the end of the line I was amazed to see the test driver start the car and then slam it over a series of ridges on the floor. This apparently sets the suspension as up to this point the car has had basically no weight on the wheels. This gives one confidence as to the integrity of the car. The driver then takes the brand new car to a test cell where, after the doors closed, it is hammered with monsoon-like rain for 10 minutes in a search for leaks. So those owners who never drive their cars in rain have no reason not to...
The plant is much quieter than I had expected, although plastic-bodied cars are part of the reason I suppose. As well, air circulation was very good so one did not have the impression of the sweltering heat that was outside.
As I drove my older car away from the plant, some of the test drivers were out. Their cars were covered with cloth that would be used as protection when being shipped on the transport trucks. It was especially nice when one of the drivers beeped his horn and waved at me. Corvette people for sure! A very enjoyable visit and I sure that the employees must be proud of their handiwork.
(As we drove in Indiana a few days later we passed a car transporter that was coming from Bowling Green with a load of new Corvettes. I missed a chance to photograph it as I was driving at the time but here are pictures of what it looks like:)
The National Corvette Museum (NCM), Bowling Green, Kentucky
Driving south and west through Kentucky, we passed near the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln in Hodgenville as we made our way to Bowling Green (which, interestingly, is midway between Lincoln's birthplace and that of his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, in Fairview). But we were on Interstate I-65 for a more modern history lesson. As we approached Bowling Green our anticipation built--there was a huge billboard for the National Corvette Museum!
The Chevrolet Corvette has been a cult object since its production began in 1953. "America's Sports Car" is now in its 7th generation and the enormous enthusiasm for this car is manifested in the number of marque clubs, the huge events that attract thousands, the successful racing team, and the only museum in the world dedicated to a single model of car. It is here in Bowling Green that one finds not on the GM assembly plant, where Corvettes have been built since 1981, but also the truly superb National Corvette Museum, which opened its doors in September 1994. And as Corvette owners (albeit only since 2015), many had encouraged us to make the pilgrimage to Kentucky. It was certainly worth the effort!
Here is a recent video that the NCM has prepared to give an idea of what to expect when visiting this excellent facility:
The attractive modern building covers 115,000 square feet, while the surrounding campus not only features a great deal of parking for all those Corvette enthusiasts but also 60 landscaped acres. Highly visible is the orange 12 story tall spire, "the Skydome," which was designed to provide a visible reference to take advantage of the nearby Interstate.
Upon entering the NCM, the first thing the visitor is confronted with is a whole lot of brand new C7 Corvettes behind theatre ropes. This area is where customers can take delivery of their new cars, fresh from the factory down the street. Museum delivery is an option on the order sheet and from what we saw a lot of people take advantage of this, which has no equivalent by any other domestic manufacturer. Factory delivery is quite common in Germany but the NCM makes a whole ceremony out of it. You can even have your old Corvette polished up and presented on the floor.
For the devoted Corvette fan, the Museum has so much to offer. After enjoying a short film presentation about our favourite car, you pass by a display devoted to the American astronauts who, in a brilliant publicity stunt by a Florida dealership, drove Corvettes on lease in the early 1960s. But then entering the winding hallways of the museum proper we see a lot of early Corvettes and the beginning of the story. While the Museum does have many cars of its own, there are also cars loaned to it on display, and what is on exhibit changes. And there are special exhibitions as well. When we were at the Museum there was an exhibtion marking the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 race. As I write this there is a special exhibition devoted to the history of Kentucky transportation.
A bevy of fine Corvettes in a display echoing dealerships of the past
One of the most evocative displays was devoted to the unique and colourful Zora Arkus-Duntov (1909-1996), born in Belgium of Russian parents, who joined General Motors in 1953 and became the de facto Chief Engineer of the model until his retirement in 1975. Arkus-Duntov, who certainly did not fit the staid image of GM's typical Midwestern executive, raced at LeMans, winning his class for Porsche twice, set a record climbing Pike's Peak, and another one for the flying mile in a sstripped-down Corvette at Daytona Beach in 1956. He was married to a German beauty who had been a dancer at the Folies Bergere in Paris. Arkus-Duntov is considered the man who turned the Corvette, with its initial two-speed automatic gearbox and six cylinder engine, into a true sports car. After his retirement he was present in Bowling Green to turn the first spade of earth for the construction of the NCM in 1994.
The Arkus-Duntov Story
Arkus-Duntov entered the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1991. His ashes, and those of his wife Elfi, are interred here at the National Corvette Museum.
The only Corvette, a 1982 Coupe, that Arkus-Duntov actually bought himself.
As the exhibits continue as you meander through the museum, there is a section devoted to the long and impressive Corvette racing history, which includes recent class wins at LeMans but extends far beyond road racing to encompass all aspects of motor sports, including drag racing, sprints and autocross.
There are interesting individual cars on display as well, including one of only six Guldstrand GS90s built. Dick Guldstrand, a noted racing driver and builder, used the Corvette C4 ZR-1 as the basis for a beautiful high-performance coupe. High-performance meant high-cost as well and the planned production run of 100-150 cars never happened. With a price tag of US$135,000 in 1995, or double the already costly ZR-1, there were not many takers unfortunately.
Another remarkable car is the bone-stock 2012 ZR1 Corvette with which GM engineer (and racing driver) set a lap time of 7:19:63 at Germany's Nurburgring track using the standard Michelin street tires. The yellow supercharged ZR1 is on display with a big screen behind it so that you can actually watch the lap. Impressive driving that is certainly beyond the range of most Corvette drivers.
The next section we came to was devoted to the design and engineering of the Corvette over the years. Pride of place was given to a slew of concept cars, including the Aerovette and much-loved Corvette Indy, none of which ever approached production. Zora Arkus-Duntov had always dreamed of a mid-engined car but it was not to be under his term or that of his successors.
Part of the exhibit showed how prototypes are actually conceived from drawing to clay models to mockups.
Our walk next took us to the Skydome section of the museum. This achieved worldwide fame on February 12, 2014, when a giant sinkhole opened up under the floor, causing eight display cars to fall some 30 feet below ground. The NCM, given a big lemon, turned it into lemonade: the sinkhole became alone responsible for a marked surge in Kentucky tourism!
The museum has made an impressive display about this geological incident, called "Corvette Cave-In: The Skydome Sinkhole Experience," which allows visitors to virtually experience what happened on that fatal night.
Of the eight cars that fell, two have been restored by General Motors, including a white C4 convertible, the 1,000,000th Corvette made. An additional black convertible will be restored in the shops of the Museum but the remainder are beyond repair. It is a grim picture for Corvette lovers but in the Skydome you are surrounded by a lot of pristine Corvettes still, so there's that...and on the dome one can read about the inductees to the Corvette Hall of Fame.
Superbly restored over two years: 1992 Corvette , No. 1,000,000
Only slight damage was suffered by The Blue Devil, the prototype C6 ZR1
Among the more unusual Corvettes (including a weird C6 that appeared to be modified for rally driving!), there was another unique car: the only 1983 Corvette C4. With production delays experienced with development of this all-new model, GM managers took the decision to skip the 1983 model year and introduce it as an early 1984 car. Around 60 engineering prototypes of the 1983 car were built and all were destroyed subsequently except for the car on display in the Museum. No 1983s ever reached the hands of the public.
The National Corvette Museum contains an elaborate workshop for the maintenance of cars, including those now used on the recently-built nearby motorsports track.
Corvettes being serviced at the NCM
As we approached the large gift shop there was one more exhibit to enjoy: a special non-Corvette one marking the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. I have a particular fondness for the big ol' front-engined roadsters that were such a mainstay of the track for so long.
1953 Kurtis Kraft 500B
1963 Watson Roadster
But what really excited me was seeing, yes, a Corvette in the display. For some reason unknown to me except for GM's careless management of its own history, the 1957 Corvette SS (Super Sport) XP-64 racing car that ran at the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring, was given away at some point and ended up at the Indianapolis Speedway Museum, where it currently resides instead of at the GM Heritage facility.
Arkus-Duntov's brainchild, the car was rushed and was never properly developed. Although exceedingly fast, it only completed 12 laps at Sebring. The car, GM's first factory-sponsored raod racer, clearly had great potential but the project died a few months later when the US domestic industry trade group. thenAutomobile Manufacturers' Association, afraid of the liability implications of a developing horsepower war, instituted a ban on all factory-backed racing.
In addition to the Museum proper (which has a modest 1950s-style diner) and its track, the NCM offers a range of travel events and even the chance to watch the 24 Hours of LeMans live at the Museum. It also offers copies of the original build sheets and window stickers of every Corvette built since the GM assembly plant opened in Bowling Green in 1961. An impressive and lively facility, it is a must-see for every Corvette owner and enthusiast.
40 kms southwest of Lexington, after travelling pretty Kentucky backroads, one reaches the National Historic Landmark of Pleasant Hill, a village that was established by the Shaker religious community in 1805 and has been the object of a successful preservation effort since the 1960s. The village contains 34 buildings from the 19th Century and the property covers some 2,400 acres. I had visited the community in 1981 at the suggestion of a friend in Lexington and had enjoyed an excellent family-style dinner in the Trustees' House. Now on this trip through the Midwest we took time out for a non-automotive theme and enjoyed the opportunity of staying overnight in one of the historic buildings as there are 72 rooms available for visitors.
Trustees' Office, 1839
After checking in at the Trustees' Office, which also houses the restaurant and a gift shop, we drove around the village and quickly found our accommodation in the Old Stone Shop. We had a simple but comfortable room on the second floor, which included some Shaker-style furniture.
Old Stone Shop, 1811
The Shakers occupied the village from 1805 until its dissolution in the 1920s, after which is gradually became derelict. In its heyday it boasted 500 residents and was a very prosperous and quite advanced community. The Shakers were industrious and innovative people and they built solidly. Unfortunately, the communal lifestyle did not appeal to many people and after the Civil War converts were few and as the Shakers practiced celibacy their numbers declined. \\\
East Family Wash House, 1827
The village has an interesting history and is a very charming reminder of a movement that once flourished. The Shakers were one group practicing communalism in the United States but are probably the best known. First established near Albany, New York, Pleasant Hill was a Southern outpost which became noted for its hospitality and economic success.
Center Family Dwelling, 1824-1834, with separate entrances for men and women, who lived apart
After an excellent dinner in nearby Harrodsburg at an old inn that had once been a girls' school, we returned in the evening to an absolutely still place, with candles (well, electric ones now) lighting the street, and you could believe it was still the 19th Century. But tomorrow would bring the 21st as we would turn our car towards Bowling Green and the Corvette Heartland.
