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Corvettes and all things about them

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#9 of 1908 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 25, 2002 (7:45 am)
Louis Chevrolet was a great race driver, born in Switzerland. Like with David Buick's creation, , Chevrolet's car was gobbled up by Billy Durant who formed General Motors. So both Chevrolet and Buick had the odd experience of seeing millions of cars with their name on them, even though they were not profiting at all from them.   Here's a photo of Louis:
#10 of 1908 Additional input copied in the interest of 'the whole story' by starrow68 Mar 25, 2002 (11:03 am)
History of the Corvette Emblem Over the years, the Corvette has gone through many design changes; some subtle, some not so subtle. The Corvette's symbolic crossed flags emblem has also seen its fair number of changes. If you've taken a close look at the emblem over the five generations of Corvette, you'll notice that even though the design has changed dramatically from time to time, a few design cues remain. These include some form of a checkered flag and a bow-tie emblem. From time to time, a strange, maple leaf type of insignia, called a "fleur-de-lis" also shows up from time to time in the emblem. So what does all this mean and how did it get started?   The original Corvette logo (Figure 1) was designed by Robert Bartholomew, an interior designer at Chevrolet in 1953. This emblem was destined to appear on the 1953 Corvette prototype which was introduced to the public for the first time at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in January of 1953. It had crossing staffs with the checkered flag on the right hand side, and the American flag on the left hand side. However, four days before the Corvette was to go on display at the show, Chevrolet management decided that it should be redesigned. The problem with the proposed emblem was that it included the American flag which is illegal to use on a commerical product. Right before the show, redesigned emblems were attached to the front hood and steering wheel of the Corvette. The new emblem contained the checkered flag on the right side as well as the white racing flag, red Chevrolet bow-tie symbol and a fleur-de-lis (Figure 2).   Where did the fleur-de-lis come from? At the time, Chevrolet was conducting research on various emblem designs for the 1953 and 1954 passenger cars. They looked at the Louis Chevrolet family history in an attempt to discover a crest or some type of heraldry that they could utilize. Unfortunately, they came up empty, but they did realize that Chevrolet is a French name and the fleur-de-lis (flower of the lily) is a French symbol meaning peace and purity. They decided to use the fleur-de-lis along with the famous blue Chevrolet bow tie on a new flag which replaced the American flag on the Corvette. When the 1953 Corvette first appeared to the public at the Waldorf Historia Hotel, the redesigned emblems were in place.   However, this emblem was temporary and used only for press photography at the show. A new emblem was designed prior to the 1953 Corvette going into production.   If you're wondering what ever happened to the original 1953 Corvette emblem by Robert Bartholemew, it's currently on display at the National Corvette Museum!
#11 of 1908 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 25, 2002 (2:38 pm)
The legend says that the original Chevrolet "bow-tie" emblem came from wallpaper that Billy Durant saw in a Paris hotel. No way to know for sure, of course, but it's a great little logo nonetheless.
#12 of 1908 by rumc3 Mar 27, 2002 (4:02 pm)
Anybody hear anything about the '03's? More power, new colors, etc? Something I always wondered about Vette roadsters: Why no roll bar? Every other 2-seat sports car I can think of has them, right?
#13 of 1908 by ruking1 Mar 27, 2002 (5:45 pm)
#12   "Why no roll bar?"   I am not sure but the Z06 aka FRC, has intergrated ones in the roof.
#14 of 1908 Rumc2, Say what? by andys120 Mar 28, 2002 (9:27 am)
Can't think of any other 2-seater that doesn't have a rollbar? I find it harder to think of any that do. Among those which do not: Porsche 911 Cab and Boxster, Ferrari 360 Modena, Jaguar XK8, Maserati Spyder, Toyota MR2 Spyder....I could go on. Perhaps I didn't understand your question, are you talking about anti-sway bars in the suspension?
#15 of 1908 Really couldn't tell how new or old this was, FWIW by starrow68 Mar 29, 2002 (11:54 am)
http://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/roadtests/PrintArticle.asp?ArticleID=55
#16 of 1908 To Starrow68 by stormbringer Mar 30, 2002 (11:07 am)
I found your post about the evolution of the 'vet emblem very interesting, but I couldn't view the Figures you refer to. How can I see these? Is it possible to email them? Thanks.   Hivoltag2aol.com
#17 of 1908 Alignment Heads up by ruking1 Mar 30, 2002 (11:37 am)
Starrow68,   I hope you are enjoying your Vette! I sure like mine!   But, in the process of putting on a few miles, a heads up on checking your alignment and tire balance! Seems that the GM alignment specs have a lot of play and that can inadvertently cause premature front inside tread tire wear! My tire balance at the 24k mark was almost dead on (two front tires were dead on, rear tires slightly out), but the Z06 needed to be aligned, taking into account the front tires inside tread wear issue. Otherwise mechanically, there has been absolutely NOTHING wrong. Happy motoring and miles of smiles!
#18 of 1908 Thanks and no can do. by starrow68 Mar 30, 2002 (8:45 pm)
ruking1 thanks for the input. Something I will check along the way, only have 6000 + miles so far and also I'm still only watching when I go to the track.   As to the figures from that cut and paste, I got it from a cut and paste without reference to it's origin, so, No can do, as far as the logo's. I will, when time permits do some searching as I'd like to have a copy for down the road myself.

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