Corvette Museum Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Chevrolet

Chevrolet’s first car pulled onto the auto scene like a decked-out debutante. Race-car driver Louis Chevrolet imagined an upscale dream car based on the racing cars he loved. The Series C Classic Six produced 40 horsepower and could go a whopping 65 miles per hour, competing with the high-performance cars of its time. For the first couple of years, it was simply called “the Chevrolet.” While Chevrolet co-founder Bill Durant would quickly shift the company toward affordability, performance would stay at the heart of Chevrolet for a century to come.

The National Corvette Museum celebrates Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary with a special 14-car exhibit, showcasing a variety of Chevrolet vehicles through the decades. On display are a 1912 “Little” – a product of the Little Car Company which was dissolved into Chevrolet; a 1928 Phaeton Touring Car; a 1935 Chevrolet; a 1936 Canopy Express Pick-up – used for produce display and delivery; a 1942 ‘War Car’, a 1955 Bel Air; a 1958 Impala; a 1964 Corvair; a 1965 Chevelle 300; a 1970 Chevelle; 1987 Monte Carlo; a 1996 Camaro; a 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette and a 2012 Volt.

“Our goal for this exhibit was to not only offer a wide variety of Chevrolet models, but also select vehicles to represent each decade of the 100 years,” said Katie Frassinelli, Marketing Manager and member of the Museum’s Display Committee.

As with the majority of vehicles on display in the museum, all of the exhibit cars are on loan from private individuals with three of them on loan from the General Motors Heritage Center. The display runs through December 31, 2011 in the Museum’s Exhibit Hall and is included with regular museum admission.

The National Corvette Museum is located at I-65, exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky and is open daily, 8am-5pm CT. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for kids age 6-16, kids under 6 are free, or family admission (everyone in the same household) is $25.

In addition to the Museum’s celebratory exhibit, Chevrolet has launched a special “Chevy 100” channel on Pandora featuring 100 popular songs with Chevrolet-related references such as Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and Don McLean’s “American Pie.” Additionally, Chevrolet is sponsoring the August 20 Woodward Dream Cruise – a grassroots event which draws an estimated 1.5 million car enthusiasts and 30,000 muscle cars to Michigan’s legendary Woodward Avenue. Chevrolet fans can also vote for their favorite models in a tournament-style bracket challenge which will eventually crown just one Chevy as “the best” at www.chevrolet.com/100-years/best-chevy-of-all-time/.

National Corvette Museum to Host Special Corvair Exhibit

Corvair Celebrates 50th Anniversary on October 2

October 2nd of this year marks the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of America’s first mass produced rear engine, air cooled automobile, the Corvair. In recognizing this special time in automotive history the National Corvette Museum will host a 6,000 sq. ft. exhibit solely featuring the Corvair.

“Occasionally we have ‘second season’ exhibits as a way to draw people in to the Museum,” said Executive Director, Wendell Strode. “We have found that often our non-Corvette exhibits bring in folks who may not have otherwise visited and in doing so are able to educate others on the Corvette.”

The Corvette and Corvair’s history overlap in many ways. Looking for a new and innovative design, designers used the new Corvette model as the basis for the new Corvair. Some called the car the "Corvette Corvair." In fact, former Chief Engineer for Chevrolet Ed Cole was key in the development and promotion of both, and former GM Design Chief Bill Mitchell designed the interior on certain years of the Corvair, and was instrumental to Corvette’s overall design from the late 50s through early 80s. These common denominators were strong selling points for Corvair’s temporary presence in the National Corvette Museum.

The 1954 Corvair and the 1960 Corvair have nothing in common but for the name. The ‘54 Corvair used the Corvette front end, had ribbed air intakes on the hood and fender vents. It had a wrap-around windshield and the fastback roof swept into a chrome-trimmed licensed plate housing. The rooftop seems to have simply been inserted upon a Corvette body as there was no storage behind the rear seats. The chassis and power train of the Corvair was Corvette 100%. Its windshield had a 53-degree slant. The interior of the car was really a ‘54 Corvette. Aside from the Corvette, the Corvair was the only American automobile that consistently appeared at American rallies, autocross meets, hillclimbs and sports car racing events.

Besides the first year four-door sedan and two-door coupe, the Chevrolet Corvair fleet included a station wagon (Lakewood), pick-up truck (Rampside and Loadside), panel van (Corvan), passenger van (Greenbrier), Spyder, Corsa and other specialty versions like the Fitch Sprint and the Yenko Stinger. Visitors to the Museum will not only see over 80 Corvettes on display, but also some of the finest Corvairs in the country including a: 1960 Sedan; 1964 Spyder Convertible; 1961 Lakewood; 1969 Monza Convertible; 1966 Corsa Coupe; 1966 Yenko Singer; 1965 Fitch Sprint; 1963 Rampside; 1964 Coupe; 1966 Sedan; 1965 Greenbrier and 1964 4-Door Sedan. The Corvair was produced from 1960 through 1969.

“In our minds, Corvette is the God and we’ve been allowed to participate in their heaven,” said Corvair Exhibit Chairperson Greg Scarboro. “We’ve been looked upon as the poor man’s sports car enthusiast, so to us it is very much an honor to be allowed in the Corvette Museum.”

The exhibit offers the chance to take an informative stroll down memory lane and learn about the rise and demise of the Corvair, and their similarities with the Corvette. The display will be on exhibit from October 2 through December 31, 2009. The National Corvette Museum is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky on I-65 at exit 28. The Museum is open daily from 8am until 5pm. For more information call 800-53-VETTE (83883) or visit the Museum website at http://www.corvettemuseum.org/.