The Corvette Was Dead in 1955 Until One Engineer Refused to Let It Go.

Past nine on the night of October 15, 1954, one office was still lit in the Chevrolet engineering building. The man in it was 44 years old, held the title of assistant staff engineer, and had no authority over the Corvette whatsoever. The first line he typed was not diplomatic. By the looks of it, the Corvette is on its way out. Chevrolet built 3,640 Corvettes in 1954 and could not sell them, leaving around 1,500 sitting outside in the weather. Then Ford launched the Thunderbird at $2,944 with a V8, roll up windows and a real trunk. In 1955 Chevrolet built 700 Corvettes against 16,155 Thunderbirds, a margin of roughly 23 to 1. We cover Zora Arkus-Duntov's memo, the 265 small block that arrived too late to matter commercially, 150.583 mph on the sand at Daytona, and a production Corvette finishing about 20 laps ahead of the Mercedes 300 SL at Sebring. 1955, and both American two seaters are on the lot. Thunderbird or Corvette. Which are you driving home, and be honest about why. #Corvette #ZoraArkusDuntov #Thunderbird #C1Corvette #DetroitIron