Book Review: The Corvette Factories
Review by Russell Purcell
The label “icon” gets thrown around quite liberally when the discussion turns to charismatic politicians, exceptional athletes, celebrities long past their shelf lives, and ground-breaking products like the Yo-yo, Frisbee, Ginsu Knife and the Ronco Pocket Fisherman. As an automotive writer, I tend to use the term for car models that have survived multiple generations like the Porsche 911, VW Beetle, Ford Mustang and of one of the greatest American icons of them all, the Chevrolet Corvette.
Author Mike Mueller has penned numerous books – all focused on automotive subjects – many of which proved to be iconic models themselves. His latest title, The Corvette Factories: Building America’s Sports Car, is unique in that it gives the reader some insight into the six-decade development of America’s favourite two-seater, as well as an in-depth look at the three factories responsible for producing Chevrolet’s remarkable “halo” car.
A picture is worth a thousand words
General Motors provided Mueller with liberal access to the wealth of material housed in the GM Media Archives and it’s obvious that he dug deep into the photo collections for the images that illustrate this very thoroughly researched book.
A surprising amount of information can be gleaned by simply perusing the photographs included in this tidy tome. For example, a photo depicting a group of designers tweaking a clay mockup reveals that the fourth-generation (C4) Corvette was set to debut in 1983 (as there is signage denoting the mud-Vette as a 1983 model), but development delays bumped the launch to the following year.
He also chose to incorporate artist David Kimble’s cutaway illustrations which are sprinkled throughout the book. These elaborate works help drive home how incredibly complex the mechanical and electronic systems are that hide beneath the shiny bodywork of the modern automobile.
Six Decades of Innovation
Zora Arkus-Duntov (Chevrolet’s legendary Director of High-Performance Vehicle Design and Development) is often credited with bringing the Corvette to fruition, but Mueller corrects this by introducing readers to GM styling guru Harley Earl, the man responsible for many of the company’s most memorable concepts.
The drop-top “plastic fantastic” (complete with slip-in Plexiglas side curtains) was revealed in 1953 at General Motors’ “Motorama” auto show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, kicking off an almost uninterrupted six decades of production (there was no 1983 model Corvette). The Motorama concept was a huge success for General Motors from 1949-1961. The company used these events to showcase both technical and styling innovations to the consumer, as it toured through several major cities each year, and it could be considered the prototype for the auto shows we flock to today.
The book kicks off with a look at the first engine to provide the “heartbeat” for the Corvette, Chevrolet’s Blue Flame six-cylinder. This was the sole engine choice for the first two years of the car’s production (1953 and 1954). All cars afterwards came equipped with a V8.
The evolution of the car’s styling, powerplants, and the increasing levels of creature comforts, technology and safety equipment are examined as Mueller looks at the long history of the Corvette.
The author goes into great detail to dissect the unique construction and assembly process that was required to develop each generation of the Corvette. For example, from mahogany body molds, the designers created 62 fibreglass sections to assemble the body of the 1953 Corvette. These totaled 340 pounds when glued together. New processes like vacuum bagging helped give the fibreglass panels the smooth finish expected by car buyers.
The Factories
There have been a mere three factories involved in the production of the venerable Chevrolet Corvette. The first run of three-hundred identical cars (cloaked in Polo White and sporting red interiors) fitted with the 235-cubic-inch six-cylinder and a Powerglide automatic rolled off a makeshift assembly line in Flint, Michigan in 1953.
The following year, a dedicated factory was up and running to produce the 1954 run of cars, located in St. Louis, Missouri, and all Corvettes were made in this facility until 1981.
A need to modernize production methods as well as to solve associated environmental concerns had General Motors’ brass searching for a new factory in the late 1970s. There was also a need for greater capacity so that the company could meet growing demand for its most glamorous automobile. The basis for a new facility was purchased from rival Chrysler in 1978. This soon-to-be state-of-the-art factory was located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and was ready for action for the 1981 model year. The car is still being made here today, as was the now extinct Cadillac XLR.
Interesting Facts
Interestingly, the 1954 Corvette was Detroit’s first model to have its wheels balanced right on the assembly line.
We learn that the transition from C4 to C5 models resulted in the need for 1,500 fewer overall parts. Fewer parts mean less opportunity for things to go wrong.
Building cars with fibreglass bodies poses many hurdles when it comes to assembly, including paint issues. Through the use of a series of carefully selected images, descriptive text, and concise captions, Mueller helps the reader follow a 1953 model through the production process in Flint, followed by a similar step-by-step journey down the C6 assembly line in Kentucky later in the book.
The National Corvette Museum is showcased in the final chapter of the book, an incredible facility directly across the street from the factory in Bowling Green. Any true Corvette enthusiast will feel drawn to this impressive collection, but the real diehards will choose to take delivery of their cars at the museum, a clever marketing tool that comes with a host of VIP perks.
The Corvette Factories: Building America’s Sports Car would make a nice addition to the library of any fan of Chevrolet automobiles.
www.motorbooks.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-3551-2
Suggested retail price: CAN $49.99
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