| Harley Earl was an automobile design
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| | expected to find.
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| expert at Chevrolet who noticed the
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| | Then came Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Russian
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| influx of small European sports cars into
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| | émigré and engineer who found a home at
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| the United States after World War II. He
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| | Chevrolet, and a project in the Corvette.
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| knew there was a market for a two-seat
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| | In 1955, Chevrolet introduced its first
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| roadster and convinced Chevrolet to
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| | V8 engine. Arkus-Duntov redesigned the V8
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| introduce their own version: The
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| | especially for the Corvette and placed
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| Chevrolet Corvette.
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| | the bigger, more powerful motor into the
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| In 1953, the first Corvette's were
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| | small-bodied car. He also replaced the
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| unveiled. The cars were unique in their
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| | old two-speed "powerglide" automatic with
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| construction. Instead of the steel bodies
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| | a 3-speed manual transmission. Suddenly
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| common for the time, the Corvette was
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| | the Corvette was no longer just a pretty
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| actually built from a much lighter
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| | face. The Corvette became a legitimate
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| material-fiberglass. This innovation,
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| | competitor for the other major U.S.
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| combined with its Earl-designed
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| | sports car, Ford's Thunderbird, and its
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| appearance, however, was still not enough
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| | popularity soared dramatically.
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| to make the car an overnight success.
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| | Arkus-Duntov is often considered the
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| At the time, Chevrolet was known for
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| | father of the Corvette due to his
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| producing inexpensive, but unexciting
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| | line-saving alterations.
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| vehicles. The Corvette, despite its sex
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| | Over fifty years later, Corvette remains
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| styling and innovative construction was
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| | a leading name is sports cars and is
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| "just another Chevy" at heart, and lacked
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| | currently offering its sixth generation
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| the performance sports car enthusiasts
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| | of products, including a rumored high
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| craved. The original Corvettes featured a
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| | performance model known as the Blue
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| less-that-impressive V6, a two-speed
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| | Demon.
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| automatic transmission, and a brake
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| | The Corvette is now known as the "poor
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| system taken directly from the regular
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| | man's super car" and is noted for its
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| Chevy line. In essence, the original
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| | relative affordability and impressive
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| Corvette was a sports car in appearance
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| | reliability records.
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| alone. Sales lagged and there was even
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| | But before there was a Blue Demon, a Z06,
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| talk of discontinuing Earl's pet project
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| | or any of the Corvette C classes that
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| after a few years.
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| | sports car enthusiasts love today, there
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| Sales were simply too low. Although the
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| | was Harley Earl and a cute design with a
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| fiberglass design wowed potential buyers
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| | V6 they called the Corvette. Chevrolet
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| and critics within the sports car
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| | embraced the idea of a truly American
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| industry and the appearance of the
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| | sports car, and with the help of a
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| Corvette was beyond reproach, the car
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| | Russian émigré, built one of the most
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| simply lacked the kind of performance
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| | popular and lasting sports car labels in
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| those searching for a true sports car
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| | the world.
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