THE COMPLETE BOOK OF CORVETTE

“Damn right!”

And then I thought that there might an even better way couch the claim, and it goes like this:  

If ever a book about the amazing, enduring, always-improving Chevrolet Corvette has had ALL the goods on the marque, this one, polished and tuned by Corvetteologist deluxe Mike Mueller is fully-equipped and fully deserving of the sobriquet.  

Go ahead, pick a page, any page, and dive headlong into this glowing and richly-illustrated history of the most important and most enduring American sports car ever (period).

Starting in 1953 with a cute/humble/heart-throb, straight-6 powered, narrow-tired, fiberglass-bodied, two-seater and progressing to today’s incredible, composite carbon fiber-bodied, all-wheel drive, hybrid-electric E-Ray (which pulls up to the stoplight on the main drag brimming with 655—that’s not a typo folks] horsepower, and 595 pound-feet of torque) in this handsome three hundred and fifty-two pages there are seasons, and reasons, facts, stats, and fond memories for every iteration of every Corvette ever in between. 

And in their own special places on the family tree between those two truly world class classic machines, readers are going to find a whole fleet of annual iterations of the car that’s named after a sleek, fast warship and that proudly sails and on as America’s flagship sports car.  

Here’s the deal … this one, this three and a half hundred-page manifesto has to be very damn close to being the ultimate compendium of Corvette charisma.   Fans, skeptics, and rim-riders are all introduced to and shown every variation of, every detail, every point of interest, every angstrom of the stuff that has made the Corvette the icon that it’s become.  The stories told here are inside, interesting, and plentiful as one watches this amazing machine blast through its seventy-some years of existence. 

Far from being simple a picture book of comely/menacing Corvettes of every color and engine combination, author Mueller weaves a wonderful history of the machine that has constantly evolved and become a true world-class world-beater.

The stat pages (all twenty-two of them) are a Corvette dreamer’s pages with all (ALL) of the glittering gamut of possibilities that one may drool over a Corvette as having.  

Since the first Corvette wowed us in 1953 with two but options: “#101A - Heater for $91.40” and “#102B - AM Radio signal-seeking for  $145.15” (The whole car went for $3,498.00 in and, just for comparison, the 2024 E-Ray Convertible 3LZ was listed at $127,945.00.)

Happily, just a few more opportunities to max and match goodies have been added since.  And they’re all here.

In fact, the latest order sheet (it’s in the book) boasts a mind-numbing laundry list of one hundred and eighteen (118!) options for the ‘25 Stingray.  One of them even offers the buyer the very “Euro” option head down to beautiful bluegrass country in Kentucky to the Corvette Factory (and Museum and Test Track) just outside Bowling Green for a private tour of the joint and handed the keys to their gleaming new Sting Ray almost as it comes off the assembly line.

I don’t think its a stretch to stipulate here that Chevrolet Corvettes (in all their past, present, and future glory) are pretty damn wonderful machines.  The good news with this special book is that the people stats here are just as interesting and just important.  Along the line you are a going meet, hear their part of the story of the Corvette Cavalcade, and get a little better look at the men and women who thought up, designed, built, raced, marketed, constantly improved and seriously sought to upgrade the Corvette and its position today as a bona fide world class sports car.   

Among the stalwarts outlined above you’ll (alphabetically) find: Zora Arkus-Duntov, Michael Andretti, Buck Baker, Mary Barra, Bob Bondurant, Harley Earl, Ryan Falconer, Ron Fellows, Doug Fehan, Herb Fishel, John Fitch, Jim Hall, Stu Hayner, John Heinricy, Jim Jeffords, Charles Jordan, David Kimble, Chuck Koch, Frank Kurtis, John Lamm, Karl Ludvigsen, Bob Lutz, Bruce McLaren, Dave McLellan, Rick Mears, Bill Mitchell, Tommy Morrison, Joe Negri, Jim Perkins, Lloyd Reuss, Don Runkle, Ron Sessions, Carroll Shelby, Don Sherman, Larry Shinoda, Betty Skelton, Danny Sullivan, and Paul Van Valkenburgh.  Each had a role and stake in the process, each earned a mention (and then some) here.

There have been countless books covering the Corvette stem to stern (extra points if you saw that as gratuitous nautical reference) this one does it in very fine fashion with added details that make it into an automotive EKG (once again shamelessly referencing Jerry Burton’s “Heartbeat” theme) that reads like a romance novel (because it might as well be one for true Vette Vets).  

Here’s to the classic, here’s to the Chevrolet Corvette, long may it run.  - DS

Note: Even though Chevrolet’s advertising agency people long ago retired Jerry Burton’s brilliant “Heartbeat” advertising motto, the thought occurs that the new E-Ray might well be a good reason for them to remind people that a Chevy Corvette can make even the stoutest heart beat 10-20 dBs louder just on it’s looks alone.

A CORVETTE SIDEBAR STORY

How I got involved with Tommy Morrison and Hal Needham in the clandestine quest to break the 24-hour speed record in a production Corvette ZR-1. Click to A Tommy Morrison-Hal Needham Corvette Sidebar Story.

PERSONAL

I had the opportunity to drive a 2020 C8 convertible for a week a few years ago now and I’m still telling people about it.  It was well beyond magic, the performance was amazing, and the sense of balance and stance was simply transcendent. 

That week (literally) went by way too fast and I ran out of excuses “...We need some of those great chili rellenos from that joint in Long Beach.” (we live near Pasadena 30-some miles from the delightful Baja Cantina) “...I’ll be right back.”  

I almost pulled the same trick that I had with the first Mazda Miata (which was not anywhere near so brute fast but that handled like a direct, hard-wired extension of one’s will) and that was seriously thinking about going to the market for a dozen eggs … one egg at a time.  

I actually had to turn away from the window, I couldn’t watch my red ride leave our driveway when the guy from Chevy came to pick it up after ONLY ONE DAMN WEEK.  I had given him the keys at the front door, muttered “Thanks” and turned away.  I waited in the kitchen at least 10 minutes so I would not have see that bolide leave the our driveway.  Corvettes (especially this latest iteration) are like that.

I also grin broadly (and have flashed more than one enthusiastic thumbs-up) every time I encounter a C8 on the boulevard, as well as have spent a fairly large (and undisclosed) chunk of change entering charity drawings run by the great people at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen with plans to drive my prize Corvette back to LA from Kettle Moraine country in central New York state when I win one. - DS