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It’s taken 39 years, but one bright morning in early July, Chevrolet execs rolled out the red carpet as the one millionth Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Zora Arkus-Duntov is considered by many the father – and most certainly the savior – of the Corvette, even though, Chevrolet says, he didn’t get attached to the Vette program until about 1956-57. A revered guest at the Bowling Green festivities, he conducted the ceremonial “first start” of the millionth Vette’s engine, which occurs well down the final assembly line. Not surprisingly, the 5.7-liter LT1 V-8 fired up right on schedule, and Zora gratefully clasped his hands over his head in silent thanks before hundreds of cheering onlookers. In fact, the engine start sequence was staged two more times for video and still photographers.
Bowling Green Plant Manager Paul J. Schnoes and UAW Local 2164 President Billy Jackson drove the car off the line to the wild applause and popping photo strobes of a huge crowd, including Kentucky Governor Brereton C. Jones. Chevy General Manager Jim Perkins said, “Although the Corvette has never achieved more than two percent of Chevrolet car sales in any of its 39 years, it has added luster,excitement, and pride to all Chevrolet vehicles.” Its success has traced rays all over the sales chart, though. It took 16years, until Nov. 19, 1969, to make the 250,000th Vette, a gold convertible built in St.Louis. It only took eight more years, until March 15, 1977, to achieve the 500,000th car, a white coupe. Six years later, on Oct. 26, 1983, another white coupe was born as the 750,000th Corvette. Now nine years later, on July 2, 1992, the millionth Vette rolls into history.
Three factories have built Corvettes over the decades. The first 300 cars, all ’53s, were built in Flint, Michigan. The ‘54-’81 models were fabricated in the St. Louis plant. The Bowling Green factory was erected in time for the ‘82 model year, and Vettes have been made there ever since. The aborning National Corvette Museum will be built across the street from the plant, and the millionth Vette will eventually be on display there.
The historic ‘92 Corvette carries the same white exterior, red leather interior, and black top as the first ‘53 model, and two additional models identical to it were also built. The 999,999th will be raffled by the Corvette Museum, while Chevrolet will keep the 1,000,001st.
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