The Complete History of the Corvette
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- This is the complete edition of the RCR Stories on the history of the Corvette. Originally released as a trilogy on the main channel, this edit compiles the award-winning saga into one epic video.
Follow the history of one of the most iconic cars in American automotive history, from its genesis at Chevrolet under the visionary Harley Earl, through its rise in popularity, the suspicious year that didn't have a Corvette at all, and all the way through to the march to mid-engine. It's an unforgettable saga of automotive ingenuity, innovation deferred, and a remarkable resurgence in prestige for a car whose identity has changed over the years from sports car superstar, to mid-life crisis car, and back again.
How was the Chevy Corvette created? Why is it so revered? And what is its outlook for the future? Originally released in installments over on the main channel, this is the omnibus that collects the three different parts into one engaging whole. This is RCR Stories: The Complete History of the Corvette.
Chapters:
00:00 Prologue
01:48 Harley Earl and the Early Auto Industry
27:04 Zora Arkus-Duntov and the Birth of the Corvette
45:20 The Motorsports Ban
50:28 The Stingray
69:00 Rise of the C3
76:00 Death of a Legend
79:43 The Year Without A Corvette
92:54 The Corvette C4
104:54 Rescuing the Corvette
128:05 The March to Mid-Engine
152:16 The Financial Crisis
161:28 Reinventing the Corvette
178:02: Recalls, Recollections, and Epilogue
For more RCR Car Stories:
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• The Life and Death of ...
The Life and Death of SAAB:
• The Life and Death of ...
The Life and Death of AMC:
• The Life and Death of ...
The Life and Death of Pontiac:
• The Life and Death of ...
The Cash For Clunkers Disaster:
• Cash For Clunkers: RCR...
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I still have an hour of the Saab history left to watch.
Inbred.
You're welcome!
I save their videos. Then I binge under the pretense of "errands"
@Kevin84 Well, I think that is definitely thinking outside the box 📦 brother! 💯🤣 goat 🐐 status 🤣 I definitely give you an "E for Effort"
Sincerely: Stephens Motorsports of "Best Virginia" / Huntington WV
@@KevinM23 ya lost me. But I believe you are saying you enjoy them so cheers to you!
This is with out a doubt the best story on the Corvette I have ever seen. As a restorer in the late 70's to the late 80's I thought I knew the facts but you have opened my eyes. A suggestion for a future episode, the tail of the "shade tree" owners of Corvettes. The individuals that kept the 'older' Vetts alive. There is a difference between Corvette Owners and Owners of Corvettes.
I have a 1999 Corvette and Iove, Iove, Iove my baby! Took it on the Vegas Raceway track and had a 'IittIe fun' a few years back, and it IS the most soIid vehicIe on the road!
@@staralioflundnv I drove a 99 for 20 year, still have my 92 ZR-1 in the basement. got a 2015 for my daily driver.
@@drbooo -- That's awesome! They're great vehicIes, I'm a "Iifer"for sure, and have a passion for driving a vehicIe that is such a joy and pIeasure...one truIy feeIs aIive!
I don’t understand why Roman gets so much hate. Sure, he’s no voice actor but his videos are incredibly informative and I find his narration style “welcoming.”
Some hate comes because these videos are full of errors. I stopped watching at the C3 section when he said 75 lwas the start of the hiatus on convertibles (wrong, 75 had a convertible and 76 is when it was discontinued) and that the 76 model year saw the end of the sugar scoop (also wrong; 78 was when it ended). Some may not think these are a big deal but it does bring into question how many other mistakes if he’s getting very easily gathered information wrong.
@@user-ro2kr1dk8uAs a ‘74 owner, those two were the obvious mistakes I noticed. Made me also wonder what others there may be that I am not knowledgeable enough to notice. Still an enjoyable program. I quit watching after the ‘77 mark as that is when I loose interest in Corvettes.
Who hates Roman?
My dad had a service station where I got my very short mechanics career started (I finally gave up trying to keep track of tools). One of my customers never failed to mention that he was a road tester for a corvette prototype. Obviously, it was the highlight of his life. He also liked to nitpick everything I did. I smile when I recall those exchanges. Thanks for this informative video.
I have never been more excited to watch 3 hours of something in my life
Incredible sir. Having recently ended my career with GM recently, you have accurately captured some of the magic of their incredible history. Well done.
That metal gear reference at 2:42 made my day
It’s Māko Shark. 😊
May, may, may, Mako shark.
That was long. Thank you for your hard work and thoughtfulness. And I'm not even a Corvette person. I used to have a 356B. But I loved cars in my youth... yet, for the past 12 years I got rid of my E280 and started bicycling as my main day-to-day transportation. Thank you again... my favorite would be '56.
I drove a $500 “junker” ‘56 for two years from 17yo. Self-maintained 301” (327 block, 283 crank) w/ dual quads & Warner 4-speed. Most fun car I’ve ever driven, including continuous rotarys from ‘84 GSL/SE to RX-8, plus current M3P.
Thanks for such a great documentary of Corvette History. Thanks for giving my brother, Joe Spielman, credit alongside Jim Perkins, for one of the many saves from extinction. Joe loved that car from the very beginning and it was a big reason for his unwavering dedication to GM for his entire career. Well done!
Looking forward to watching this. For some reason, like a lot of Americans I guess, I have an irrational nostalgic love of Corvettes. I guess it's always been our one shot at being part of the international sportscar scene, so they always seem a little more special than all of the great muscle cars we've had here.
If only they listened to Duntov instead of the bean counters in the '60s and made it midengine from the C3 onward. It would have been right up there with other "exotics" since then, it's only with the C8 that people are taking it seriously even though it has always had very quick and great handling special editions throughout the years.
I'm glad they finally went mid-engine, it does make the car seem more exotic. I think in some ways the C6/C7 are better sportscars though.
@@anydaynow01 i disagree. The c6 and c7 were extremely capable track cars even with that big motor up front. They are front mid engine anyways. I think its even better that we had the c7r to dominate the rear mid engine super cars one last time before crossing over to compete more directly.
The story I got from Tom Hill back in 1988 was there was a rebellion in the ranks about destroying the last and only 1983 Corvette that so many of them had done so much on to create. When they learned there would be no production 1983, they didn't want to destroy any of them, but they were darn sure that the last one would not be destroyed.
So they didn't hide it out back, they brought in right into the lobby, right where everyone could see it, and build four concrete pillars around it to contain it there. It became part of the building, trapped inside four huge concrete columns. It stayed there on display until it was moved to the Corvette Museum across the highway in the '90s, which involved closing the front lobby and breaking in equipment to tear out the columns. By hiding in plain sight, the amount of interest by the public was something Chevrolet couldn't risk destroying. Every plant tour was taken to it and shown it.
And yes, I saw it there in 1988, where Tom pointed out to me the various differences in the 1983 and the 1984 Corvettes. Sadly, Chevrolet still had their no-cameras inside policy or I'd have a picture. And since this was a special tour with Tom, I didn't want to risk his job by sneaking on in, like I had done several times in St. Louis.
I've never heard the "lost under a tarp" story or the cowboy boot story.
And I'll bet you've never heard a Mako pronounced Mocko either!
I went from buying a Corvette to enjoy a few weekends driving on back roads.. to setting up an entire garage bay dedicated only to the vette, buying literally as much stuff possible with my generation corvette logo, planning a motor and trans build, buying every new interior audio part and new seats and dress up details, of course without making it gaudy. This car has actually changed my life for the better. 😊 Im constantly learning how to fix or program the car, which to my surprise is to my absolute enjoyment. If you don't have one or thought " im not a Corvette guy" perhaps drive one and maybe just maybe you might find yourself feeling like i do. I absolutely adore this car. 😊
Simply outstanding. I don't normally watch long videos on TH-cam but what you have created here drew me in 100%. Just plain good content, well worth the time to watch.
Great video, learned some new info about the Corvette and really enjoyed the history.
The pics of the C7 brought back memories from a few years ago when I worked for a company that built the dash, door panels, center consoles and other interior parts for that model run.
I still have the different dash plaques with the different designs for each model from that run.
Looking forward to watching more of your videos, keep up the great work.
Many thanks from a long time Corvette owner! I did learn several things and feel very lucky that the brand didn't end so many times in the past. I have traveled all lower 48 states in a Vette and loved every minute running the back roads of America.
loved it. great amount of work and well presented documentary. very fascinating, thank you for this
You are the Dan Carlin of automotive history. Thank you for your depth and unending love of history.
Extremely well done. I was born in 1953 same as the fiberglass fossil. owner since 1974. this is good.
Mocko shark??? I always thought it was Mako Shark. Not tryin' to be a dick, but it drove me crazy every time he said it.
I’ve got all the RCR stories downloaded on my phone, I have them playing in the background most evenings after a long day of driving.
Such high quality content !!!!!
I have usually found that Corvette is divisive because it is better than its critics want to admit. I was always moderately enthusiastic about Corvettes, my father having been a GM executive ( Oldsmobile Division ). But I tempered my enthusiasm as I grew fonder of German cars during the malaise of the domestics in the 1970s and 80s. That fit right in with the snobbery of some of my friends regarding "Detroit". Ultimately, while still driving and tracking my BMWs, I bought a collectors edition C4, arguably one of the least appreciated generations of Corvette. ( My brother-in-law, meantime, was winning awards all over the world for his stunning C2 restorations. ) I quickly became a Corvette enthusiast, a real "owner" of the marque, through my C4 ownership. Even to the point where I was alienated from my "Europhile" car friends. They thought I'd lost my mind, or at least my taste. I would challenge them, "Have you ever driven a Corvette?" Invariably, the answer was "Well, no." So, their shunning of America's sports car was based on nothing but pure, old-fashioned prejudice. Not a sound basis for a car assessment in my opinion. The critics hate Corvette because it has beaten Europe's best on their own terms, at half their price. That's enough to make anyone ( without an open mind ) furious. So be it. Corvettes are great cars, and, dollar-for-euro, fantastic bargains.
I loved every minute of it. Amazing work!
after owning many cars over the years, I never thought about owning a corvette....but the C8 changed my mind! Cheers and thanks for the video!
The best narrative History of the true American Sports Car, Corvette!!
I thought I was familiar with all this since I was 13 but am still learning new things from this, like the women design team
Thanks for the complete video put together. I learned a lot. Keep up the good work.
I wasn't sure I would get through it when I saw 3hrs but it was very engaging and I'm glad I got to the end.
Woah.. excellent! Watched it start to finish!! ❤
These videos are very well done and include so much information.
You can see many Hollywood cars mentioned in this video at the Nethercutt Collection and Museum for free in the San Fernando Valley. Over 250 cars in drivable condition. Very impressive and diverse group of cars. Located near the San Fernando mission.
A very cool and wonderful video. Thank you so much for posting it. You brought out many things I didn't know. I hope you will continue to put out more of these Corvette videos in the future. Thank you again for your work and dedication to Corvette.
Aside from the pronunciation of "mako" (think and say "Maaco", as in the nationwide body shop company), your lengthy video was very informative and filled in a lot of holes that I previously didn't know I had in my own mental database on the Vette. Although I'm more of a Porsche guy than a Corvette one, I've always admired America's longest lasting sports car since the C2. I've told myself that one day I'll have to scratch that itch to own one and probably will start with what I think is the prettiest one--the C6--and then who knows where that will ultimately lead. I doubt that I'll ever choose not to have at least one 911 in my life,. but having a Vette as a counterpoint to the German would be a very welcoming act by this American. Thanks again for the great video.
this is the best audiobook I've ever listened to. Chapeau!
Sitting here on a JetBlue flight to Newark to get a cars and bids auction car (1996 Lincoln Town car hearse) in Staten Island to drive it home to Florida (if RCR wants to review it though I did submit an app!) Watching Boruto 😒 and then this pops up! I have a 64 C2 red vert and a 95 ZR1 purp so it's an obvious choice
Here's to hoping Brian and Roman see this so you can make a detour to PA.
@@TheyCallMeMrMaybe perfect name perfect reply ty kindly!!!!!
Thank you for proving that any idiot can live a life of leisure.
Thank you for the Steiner reference
This is going to be amazing!
Outstanding! It's a definitive course in American management history!
“Dynamic Obsolescence” of American automotive design … ended at about 1973. After that, the accountants took over as auto designs such as the 1980’s GMC trucks stayed the same for eleven years.
Well, I finally did it… I got through all 3+ hours of this video. it was interesting and informative tale of hopes and dreams, fears and misery, opportunities seized upon, and some opportunities lost. One thing that I seriously did not know until making it through this video is how many times the Corvette was almost killed off! Anyway, very well done and well put together documentary about just about every car enthusiasts favorite car.
I didn’t know that I wanted to hear this story. Thanks for your work on it.
Love these long format videos but I have to say that every time I heard the pronunciation "Mah-coe" I had to cringe. I have always heard it pronounced "May-coe".
I'd love to see more of these videos. Thunderbird? Corvair? Wagoneer?
I'm stuck in the same mud puddle... MOCK-O... so cringe!! lol
May-coe...as it should be. Just like the shark.
Sure, I wouldn't mind watching these again.
Outstanding.
Thank you for this, Roman
Thanks Roman, I'm all podcreased for a day of admiring the corvettes from the podcoast. As we say in automobiling, parts is parts.
That was really fun to watch, thanks for producing it 🫵🏻👍🏻
Beautiful video thank you!
Excellent, and just what I needed to get to know the Corvette!
Do not take a drink every time he says quote/end quote, you'll die.
Godsend! Just in time to keep me company for a boring analog photo scan session (it just takes so damn long).
Awesome Video bro
I love your content as well as regular car reviews. May-ko, not Mack-o. Seems like something a deep dive woud have discovered. Its a shark.
Appreciate you efforts. Amazing.
I've loved this entire video! For me it's the L88 in big block cars, the LT-1 in small block cars.....C3's are my favorite corvettes.... probably because I was born in 68. Of the modern corvettes I think the Pinnacle is the C6 ZR1. It was the first true Corvette supercar. And it was still available with a manual transmission. And for me a Corvette isn't a Corvette without one.
I hope you’re making money with this! So well written, informative, and the voice acting is superb! I never thought I’d watch a 3 hour TH-cam video! I have many favorite moments, but the best was, “To CERV Man.”
I love videos of all the Big 3....Stangs, Dodge, Vette...but very well done
Can't believe it took me two days to see this, starting immediately.
18:31 "coming up Milhouse!?" Awesome lmao
great video, thank you. I have a c6 and love it...way long
I am not a mechanic once inside a motor thank you for explaining what your looking at where I can easily follow the video and it makes complete sense. Occasionally explain things like what may cause journals to be scarred or why it's important to replace the caps exactly as they came out
Excellent video. Very interesting for car enthusiasts.
Well done. Really like the long format as well.
Strangely interesting like iconic movies 'Director's Cuts'. Three hours of pleasantly brought information whilst working on my hobby room renovation and overhaul. Top notch!
As a boy growing up in St Louis a favorite field trip involved going to the Corvette plant on Grand Avenue (?). The employees would drive the finished cars away from the assembly line with a stylish screech of the tires.
Interesting story....
I myself am not a Corvette fan, but I can appreciate it, because I need SOMETHING to be able to blow away between red lights, and down drag strips... 🤷🏻
I'd follow up with a complete compilation of all the Corvette reviews you've ever done from C1 to C8. Also, it would be awesome if someone would loan you a C2 to review. I don't think you've reviewed A C2 beyond nominating one for "Best Corvette" one year.
1. 63-67 Corvettes were Sting Rays or Mid Years 2. Its predecessor was from the Mako Shark, not Maako shark. Grrrrr.
Great video, I learned a lot.
Great video
THAT. WAS. SO. F'N. GOOD!!!!! and I learned how to replace a fuel pump on a 90s Porsche.....
Great content. Subscribed
As great as the LS1 engine is, it is NO comparison to the now legendary Lotus engineered D.O.H.C. LT5 that STILL holds the 24 hr and 5,000 mile speed endurance records to this day. That LT5 engine is bullet proof. And don't let the speeds of 175.8 mph ( for the 24 hr record ) and 173.5 mph ( for the 5,000 mile record ) fool you. Those are AVERAGE speeds because repeated pit stops for tire changes, fuel, and driver changes have to be counted. There is an excellent article that states the drivers were running most laps @ 181 mph NON-STOP........and they actually ran a few hot laps of 190 mph. Now think about driving any production car BONE STOCK except for headers & open exhaust @ 181 mph FOR 5,000 MILES STRAIGHT. That's equivalent to TEN Daytona 500 races back to back to back, etc. NO OTHER AUTO MAKER HAS BROKEN THESE RECORDS TO THIS DAY. If that doesn't prove how bullet proof the LT5 engine truly is, then nothing does. When you run ANY engine & vehicle that hard for over 500 miles, things begin to deteriorate and break down. Several other auto makers including Ford and Mercedes tried to break those records AND FAILED. And just because there are production cars today that can top 200 mph, it doesn't mean it can withstand such insanely long distance high speeds & break those records that the LT5 equipped C4 ZR1 still holds.
The TNA Stiner voice was gold
Definitely one of my top five cars ever!
yayyyy im happy now, I watch
So the first v8 powered Corvette and first fast GM car ever was Ford Powered.
I knew it!
Fantastic documentary my friend. Like your viewpoint👍🏻
I wondered why this seemed familiar. I finally read the description
Dude, you have a great voice for this.
Great video, but it’s May-Koh Shark not Mack-Koh.
I love "Everything was coming up Milhouse" reference line. A-1. =D
Not even a corvette fan. But this was excelent. Thanks
It was pops for me at the end , his face said it all 😂😂
Some '83s exist, but resold as '84s, so really, they're just '84s despite rabid sales pitches on various sites stating otherwise. There is a 83 C3, but that was a special twin turbo, don't think that one was ever sold. Another true '83 is cut in half unless someone wants to weld-together the parts. Corvette Black Book says there's potentially 6 total with the VIN "D" marking given to extreme private collectors in the same way there are GM EV-1 cars that "exist" in-secret (about 6 or 7) in working condition. None of any of these will ever come to market due to agreements. The mythical '83 is the stuff of lore and legend at-best, and I have no first-hand knowledge, nor do I know anyone who actually owns one but I "know a guy" who "knows a guy" has one mothballed "in secret" and has it mothballed and sealed-up like an archeological mummy. What's the good in that? Apparently, agreements were made that of the 6, none of them are allowed to admit it or talk about it, sort of like how a real "gangster" never brags about that kind of business for leverage. Just like the few EV-1 owners, it's to be kept hush.
Most Corvettes from the past were junky, they raddled, didn’t steer well at all. They were just fast.
The drove well by standards back then, but it’s universally known the build quality wasn’t good but you can’t get speed for cheaper
Very entertaining. I did however, find one small flaw. The 1982 C3 collector's edition had a glass hatchback.
Great Video, C4 ZR1owner.
Harley Earl and Zora Arkus-Duntov..... People were just better at naming back then.
Thanks
Time to brew some Pauper's roast and relax listening to this. I'll swing by the local department store later to pick up a spare sock.
Good show!❤
Anyone notice the 56 Vette with the modified v8 duntov set the flying mile record with, was a HEMI head engine? The spark plug holes go down the middle of the valve covers. It also seems to be deep holes which would indicate an overhead cam engine as do the insanely WIDE valve covers. They look more like a Ford sohc cammer valve cover than any smallblock or even big block gm heads ever seen.
So maybe he did device an ohc setup and hemispherical combustion chambers. It's possible! If anyone has further engine details on that particular car please help he out here! I'm only 36 but an auto Machinist major and my A.D.D. is going wild trying to fly by the possibilities here!
Update: it's not a hemi nor is it a gm engine at all. Turns out, if this is the type engine used, in the photo, and it's highly possible because it's the only v8 Duntov had a ton of experience modifying... Then Duntov would be the first man to Ford swap a Corvette and then destroy all the other Corvettes ever produced EVER with said Ford v8 swapped car. 😂
That there is a Ford flathead V8 with Ardun (ARkus DONtov) overhead valve conversion heads on it, that yep, Duntov designed and was selling at the time, himself.
So a Jewish Russian immigrant SAVED the Corvette for all of history, by Ford swapping it and actually making it fast.
Talk about breaking stereotypes with a sledgehammer.
Frikkin awesome if you ask me.
You’re laughably wrong. 😂
The picture you refer to has the caption “Ardun-powered Allard”. That isn’t the record setting car the narrator is talking about, which was powered by a Chevrolet V-8.
Although they did consider building a hemi SBC for the Grand Sport in 1963, which was going to be 377 cubic inches. Same as a “383 stroker”, except with a standard 4-inch bore. 16 plugs like a modern Gen III hemi. My source is the book “Corvette, America’s Star Spangled Sports Car” by Karl Ludvingsen, 1975. They built at least one; there’s a picture which came from GM’s photo archives.
Brian 'Mr. Regular' Reider (born 1981) is the founder, co-owner and co-writer Regular Car Reviews, providing the majority of the narration over the titular reviews with the help of his friend, channel co-owner, songwriter and occasional narrator Nick 'The Roman' Roman.
Excellent research. Had no idea the LA Tafts were not related to the president.
It's pronounced May-Co... no Mach-Co
24:40 seeing black and white footage of new zealand really threw me off after being tunnel visioned in on the video for the past half hour lmao
To dream the impossible dream. This is my quest to create the mid-endine Corvette.
*rips dab rig*
okay let’s do this