The Chevrolet Corvette
Far and away the most successful American sports car has been the Chevrolet Corvette. It has been in production for more than fifty years and has been so dominant that it is hard to think of another American sports car that could even rival its success. Of course over the last five decades there have been a number of design changes on the Corvette but it has always retained the features that have made it popular. That is primarily a large powerful engine in a reasonably priced sports car.
The Corvette originally came into being in the 1950s as the result of the new found popularity of sports cars following World War 2. Sports cars had long been popular in Europe of course but they had never really caught on in America where consumers were more interested in larger cars. However when the soldiers who had been sent to Europe during the war started coming home they were bring sports cars with them. Soon a number of American manufacturers jumped into the sports car market where the met with limited success, mainly because of the high cost of their cars. General Motors where the first to recognize that there was a demand in the American market for a reasonably priced sports car and so the created the Corvette.
The Corvette went into production for the 1953 model year where it was lucky to survive its first year. The original Corvette did not sell well mainly as the result of a number of design and manufacturing flaws. In its attempt to provide an affordable sports car the quality suffered, the biggest problem being that the engine was underpowered but there were also issues with fit and finish. GM seriously considered shutting down production after the 1954 Corvette showed very poor sales. There were two things that saved the Corvette, the first was that ford entered the sports car market with the Thunderbird making GM loath to retreat from the market. The other thing that saved the Corvette was the production of a new engine which significantly improved performance. Even with the improvements sales where slow during the rest of the fifties but they did start to improve as the nineteen sixties rolled around.
The real success for the Corvette came in 1963 when a major redesign brought the Corvette Stingray to market. This car was widely praised and considered to be one of the best sports cars ever built. The result was a massive increase in sales. Although the Stingray only lasted in production for a short time as there was another redesign in 1968 it was this version that made the Corvette synonymous with American sports car. Over the years the Corvette has gone through a number of changes but it remains true to its roots and one of the greatest vehicles ever built. There is no end in sight for the Corvette as it looks likely to remain very popular for years to come.