We all participate in and attend Corvette shows and swap meets and join in forums, showing an avid interest in the Corvette. But do we all realize what actually made Corvette as popular as it is today. Not only was it the concept of a two seater sportscar, but for GM to compete against Ford Thunderbird and the foreign market, it had to be a concept for performance, styling and engineering advancement. Let me list some of the things that made Corvette different from the rest. 1) It was the first fiberglass automobile 2) Styling was very innovative for it's time 3) In 1957 performance advanced with fuel injection 4) And, where Ford didn't continue the two seater, Corvette did.
Motorheads and gearheads contributed to the success of the Corvette. GM was always innovative in their marketing strategies to come out with something a little bit different each year, making some Corvettes limited editions, higher performance, and more appealing the knowledgable Corvette enthusiasts, and making it more of a blue collar market. Also, contributing to after market vendors such as Motion Performance, Yenko, and Calloways, and setting the market standards for collectible series and higher performance cars. For instance, the '57 fuelly, '63 split window Corvette, '67 L88, '69 427, '70 LT1, '80 L82, '90-'95 ZR1 and the '99-'00 Corvette hardtop.
Apparantly, people that are buying the Corvettes today, live on these legends, and GM is pricing them out of the blue collar market, and into a higher golf club income market. Well, its the gearheads and motorheads who have contributed to making the Corvette such an icon.
I joined the chat room this evening, and a gentleman made a statement that he knew nothing about what his mechanic was doing on his car. When I asked him certain questions about it, his answer was "Sorry, I'm not a gearhead" My answer was that without gearheads we wouldn't have a forum. Nothing wrong with being a gearhead. His answer was "without computer programmers, who know html, we wouldn't have a forum. Well, we gearheads, survived without computers for many years, and our forum was getting together personally, and always respecting each other and appreciating each others cars. Also, mechanics today need to know programming in order to calibrate the engine for the mods that are installed. I know a lot of professionals other than programmers, who own Corvettes, and who couldn't stand sitting behind a desk anymore and wanted hands on experience, so they made an effort to learn more about their Corvette, getting more involved with it and gaining knowledge. It helped them to appreciate those that are tradesmen in the automobile business.
These forums are a great medium for people to interact, however, sometimes a few individuals ruin it by acting a bit childish. Its really hard to interpret if someone is laughing with you or at you sometimes.
Some people have asked me why I have such a great interest in the hardtops. My interest is in all Corvettes, but as an enthusiasts, collector, and tradesman, I am trying to highlight certain aspects of what makes certain cars more interesting to collectors and enthusiasts. And, the 1999 is the first nonremovable Corvette with a trunk ever to be built in Corvette history. I find this exciting. It's not better than a coupe or vert, or Z06, its just a first in Corvette history for its body style, and probably won't be appreciated or recognized for years to come. But, it will add a piece to Corvette history.
Remember, Corvette is not a pony car, it is the only true American Sportscar, since Viper is now owned by a German car manufacturer. Corvette stands alone.
Last edited by fatherlarry : 01-04-2002 at 06:55 AM.
Any person, gearhead, computer geek, college student, etc. Who goes in and plunks down her or his bucks contributes to making the Corvette an Icon. And yes, we do live on the legends, and many of us, including the gearheads, thrive on those legends. That’s not a bad thing.
With rising production costs and valuations of the dollar, it is inevitable that the cost for something like the Corvette is going to go out of reach of what you call “Blue Collar”. That is, unless the blue collar is a highly paid specialist or close to it in some other way. One of the appeals of the Corvette is that they are not as numerous as Pintos were.
Further, not being a gearhead, has little or nothing to do with driving and enjoying our Vettes. It’s not about oneupmanship. It’s about kinship and the lifestyle of Vettes, the brotherhood and sisterhood that goes with belonging to a group of discerning people. One doesn’t have to be a gearhead to drive and enjoy the Corvette or be in the brother/sisterhood. That is a limited vision that would, if real, limit the production of the Vette even more… And then we could talk about the cost of the car being out of the ball park in a very real fashion.
Not everyone who buys a Vette does so with the idea of making the screamingest machine on Earth. We do, however, get into the mindset, for whatever the reason, of owning what is, to each of us, the coolest car going. And not everyone who buys a Vette has the desire or need to be a gearhead. That is what some, like myself, depend on the Brother/Sisterhood for. When my cold air induction does come in, I will be going to see my friends/brothers, Frank (fcalmes) and George (Black Magic). They know how to do it the right way. I haven’t a clue, I simply know that I want one for my own personal vision of what my Vette is to be.
I really hate to see divisive issues like gearheads versus computer programmers. Each person in the wonderful world of Vettedom, regardless of her/his social status, technical prowess, driving skill, sexual origin, or even political affiliation, makes Vettedom what it is. There is much room for diversity here, and that is what makes this forum and Corvette people some of the coolest, best folks to be around.
No… You really can’t make social distinctions within the kindom. There are people here who can buy and sell me ten times over. They know stuff I’ll never know. I know stuff that they haven’t an inkling of. Still, I wouldn’t hesitate to call on them or to, in turn, lend a hand where I can …
That’s the beauty of this forum. People like you, Cemo, Frank, George, FastDog, Janet, JC, FRC Tom, FUBU/Les, Paul, RetiredSFer, Ranger, Zippy, and on and on, can make a difference in my life. We are, in sum, greater than the total of all of our parts. To try and divide it is to diminish what we are hoping to become and limiting the vision of the forum and all that it entails. When you involve yourself with folks like these, even in a distance situation like our forum, you forge bonds that can and often do last a lifetime.
Take care,
Dan Farmer
__________________
HallTech TRIC, B&M Ripper Shifter, MGW Anodized Pistol Grip shift knob, Stainless Screens, Illuminated Red Fuzzy Dice, Blue-yellow-green Scooby-Doo Steering Wheel Cover courtesy of my 5 year old grandson.
Originally posted by fatherlarry I joined the chat room this evening, and a gentleman made a statement that he knew nothing about what his mechanic was doing on his car. When I asked him certain questions about it, his answer was "Sorry, I'm not a gearhead" My answer was that without gearheads we wouldn't have a forum. Nothing wrong with being a gearhead. His answer was "without computer programmers, who know html, we wouldn't have a forum. Well, we gearheads, survived without computers for many years, and our forum was getting together personally, and always respecting each other and appreciating each others cars.
Neither Gearheads nor IT professionals made this forum. The people that created this forum are simply Corvette Enthusiasts These enthusiasts are what make this forum great!
Quote:
These forums are a great medium for people to interact, however, sometimes a few individuals ruin it by acting a bit childish. Its really hard to interpret if someone is laughing with you or at you sometimes.
If you feel that the post I made in the chat room last night was childish or rude then please accept my apologies.
Quote:
Some people have asked me why I have such a great interest in the hardtops. My interest is in all Corvettes, but as an enthusiasts, collector, and tradesman, I am trying to highlight certain aspects of what makes certain cars more interesting to collectors and enthusiasts. And, the 1999 is the first nonremovable Corvette with a trunk ever to be built in Corvette history. I find this exciting. It's not better than a coupe or vert, or Z06, its just a first in Corvette history for its body style, and probably won't be appreciated or recognized for years to come. But, it will add a piece to Corvette history.
I can respect that you feel that way and I love my car as well. But with all due respect your preaching to the choir.
Any person, gearhead, computer geek, college student, etc. Who goes in and plunks down her or his bucks contributes to making the Corvette an Icon. And yes, we do live on the legends, and many of us, including the gearheads, thrive on those legends. That’s not a bad thing.
With rising production costs and valuations of the dollar, it is inevitable that the cost for something like the Corvette is going to go out of reach of what you call “Blue Collar”. That is, unless the blue collar is a highly paid specialist or close to it in some other way. One of the appeals of the Corvette is that they are not as numerous as Pintos were.
Further, not being a gearhead, has little or nothing to do with driving and enjoying our Vettes. It’s not about oneupmanship. It’s about kinship and the lifestyle of Vettes, the brotherhood and sisterhood that goes with belonging to a group of discerning people. One doesn’t have to be a gearhead to drive and enjoy the Corvette or be in the brother/sisterhood. That is a limited vision that would, if real, limit the production of the Vette even more… And then we could talk about the cost of the car being out of the ball park in a very real fashion.
Not everyone who buys a Vette does so with the idea of making the screamingest machine on Earth. We do, however, get into the mindset, for whatever the reason, of owning what is, to each of us, the coolest car going. And not everyone who buys a Vette has the desire or need to be a gearhead. That is what some, like myself, depend on the Brother/Sisterhood for. When my cold air induction does come in, I will be going to see my friends/brothers, Frank (fcalmes) and George (Black Magic). They know how to do it the right way. I haven’t a clue, I simply know that I want one for my own personal vision of what my Vette is to be.
I really hate to see divisive issues like gearheads versus computer programmers. Each person in the wonderful world of Vettedom, regardless of her/his social status, technical prowess, driving skill, sexual origin, or even political affiliation, makes Vettedom what it is. There is much room for diversity here, and that is what makes this forum and Corvette people some of the coolest, best folks to be around.
No… You really can’t make social distinctions within the kindom. There are people here who can buy and sell me ten times over. They know stuff I’ll never know. I know stuff that they haven’t an inkling of. Still, I wouldn’t hesitate to call on them or to, in turn, lend a hand where I can …
That’s the beauty of this forum. People like you, Cemo, Frank, George, FastDog, Janet, JC, FRC Tom, FUBU/Les, Paul, RetiredSFer, Ranger, Zippy, and on and on, can make a difference in my life. We are, in sum, greater than the total of all of our parts. To try and divide it is to diminish what we are hoping to become and limiting the vision of the forum and all that it entails. When you involve yourself with folks like these, even in a distance situation like our forum, you forge bonds that can and often do last a lifetime.
Take care,
Dan Farmer
No one is trying to divide anything. I think we all know that. If you read my post again, it will be obvious that I am trying to defend gearheads. The obvious question to everyone should be, why am I having to defend them?
It may take some time to comprehend what I wrote, but if you read it again I think you'll understand what I am saying.
I also said that I enjoy all Corvettes, any year or model. As far as gearheads are concerned, they are a part of Corvette's history, but that certainly doesn't diminish the computer programmer, or dishwashers for that matter. When Corvette first came out, it didn't do to well with the market that GM was gearing it towards, and made a bigger hit with the blue collar workers, which helped make the Corvette what it is today. I am not belittling computer programmers, but went on the defense for certain reasons.
Someone in the chat room asked me questions about hardtops and some others thought it was funny to ridicule. Hence, the defensive attitude, but an apology was made, so that's OK.
I like to stimulate conversation, but the only time I get a response is when someone wants to attack, and they end up saying the same thing I said, in a different way in the end anyway.
As far as mods, I don't disagree with people that put mods on or race their cars. I'll like to stay purely stock, which makes the car more valuable in the long haul. Now, don't beat me up for this comment.
As far as diversity, did you know that my 5 ft 2 in 115 lb wife can pull one of these C5 engines apart blindfolded? And, she's a senior vice president for a fortune 500 company. She likes to talk a lot too, so don't let me get her started.
As far as diversity here, it would be nice to post interesting topics, without everyone huffing and puffing...oh no here he goes again! But that's fine, at least it keeps the board going.
The more members that join, the more this is going to happen. I don't take any of it personally. If I don't have something good ( or positive) to say( post), than why bother. All your going to do is offend someone. Everyone has their right to their thoughts and opinions. Take it all in stride.None of us have all the answers. None of us are any better( or worse) than the rest. This should be a place to relax, learn, ask questions,get answers. Not argue.Frank had to close a post earlier in the week, because it was getting out of hand. Not what I want to see(read). We all have at least one common interest. The ZO6. Enjoy this site. I know I do.
__________________
My 16th Corvette. 2001 ZO6. Lowered 2 in,04 shocks, HRE 547s, Mich Pilots,Eradispeeds, TPIS,Borla ,Cartek 2X, Blackwing/Power Duct,LS1 Edit,Kirban, DRM Roll Bar,Sparco, Specter Werkes rear facia and C5-R Hdlts, ACI splitter. 515 HP/471 TQ CSX1965@comcast.net
Originally posted by Baron The more members that join, the more this is going to happen. I don't take any of it personally. If I don't have something good ( or positive) to say( post), than why bother. All your going to do is offend someone. Everyone has their right to their thoughts and opinions. Take it all in stride.None of us have all the answers. None of us are any better( or worse) than the rest. This should be a place to relax, learn, ask questions,get answers. Not argue.Frank had to close a post earlier in the week, because it was getting out of hand. Not what I want to see(read). We all have at least one common interest. The ZO6. Enjoy this site. I know I do.
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