Corvette StingRay

The Corvette third generation started in 1968 and ended in 1982. This generation has the distinction of being introduced to the motoring public in an unorthodox — and unintended — fashion. 1968 marked the introduction of Mattel's Hot Wheels line of 1/64-scale die cast toy cars. General Motors had tried their best to keep the appearance of the upcoming car a secret, but the release of the Hot Wheels line several weeks before the Corvette's unveiling had a certain version of particular interest to Corvette fans: the "Custom Corvette", a GM-authorized model of the 1968 Corvette.

Styling changed subtly over the generation. Minor trim changes occurred through the 1972 model. In 1973, the Corvette dropped the front chrome bumpers for a urethane-compound "5 mph" bumper but kept the rear chrome bumpers. In 1974, the rear chrome bumpers became urethane as well, resulting in the first ever chrome-less production Corvette. 1975 saw the last year for the convertible, which did not return until 1986. In 1968 the "Sting Ray" name was not used, but returned in 1969 as a single word "Stingray" until 1976, the last year in which the name was used. 1978 saw a 25th "Silver Anniversary" edition, the introduction of a "fast back" glass rear window, and the highest production number until the C-5. In 1980, the Corvette got an integrated aerodynamic redesign that resulted in a significant reduction in drag.

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Chevrolet Volt

The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid concept car created by General Motors. However, the company has avoided the use of the term "hybrid," preferring to call it an electric vehicle with a "range extender" due to its design.[2] The vehicle is designed to run purely on electricity from on-board batteries for short trips up to 40 miles (64 km) in the city—a large enough distance to cover the daily commutes of most Americans. With use of a small internal combustion engine hooked to a generator to resupply the batteries, the vehicle's range is potentially increased to 640 miles (1030 km) on the highway. The Volt concept vehicle was officially unveiled at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) on January 7, 2007 in Detroit, Michigan. An updated version will be unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai, China. [1]

At the time of unveiling, the Volt project had been in existence for less than a year. It was started in 2006 after Robert Lutz, Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America, learned of plans for the Tesla Roadster, a high-performance electric sportscar.[3] While the Roadster has a target price at or near US$100,000, the Volt project aims to produce a much less costly vehicle.

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Corvette Racing Tribute (50 Years)

For more than 50 years, Corvettes have combined very powerful engines, such as the 400hp LS2 or 505hp LS7, with relative affordability, especially when compared with more prestigious marques of similar performance. Older generations of the Corvette have been criticized for being crude and lacking in refinement by European sports car standards, and their on-limit handling is a divisive issue garnering both praise and reproach.

Recent generations of the Corvette, however, are widely seen as being much improved in these areas.

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Chevrolet Corvette C2 (1963-67)

The second or mid-year generation, designed by Larry Shinoda, started in 1963 and ended in 1967. 1963 would see the introduction of the new Corvette Sting Ray coupé with its distinctive split rear window, that was discontinued in 1964 due to safety concerns.Power for 1963 was at 360 hp (272 kW) hitting 375 hp (280 kW) in 1964.

In 2004, Sports Car International named the Sting Ray number five on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s.

The design of this generation had several inspirations. The first was the contemporary Jaguar E-Type, one of which Mitchell owned and enjoyed driving frequently. Bill Mitchell also sponsored a car known as the "Mitchell Sting Ray" in 1959, because Chevrolet no longer participated in factory racing. This vehicle had the largest impact on the styling of this generation, although it had no top and didn't give away what the coupe would look like. The third inspiration was a mako shark that Mitchell had caught while deep-sea fishing.

In 1962 Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov came up with a lightweight version of the C2. Concerned about Ford and what they were doing with the Shelby Cobra, GM planned 100 Grand Sport Corvettes. The plans never came about and only five were built.

The popular Z06 performance package on the C5 and C6 model Corvettes is named after a Z06 performance option dating back to the 1963 model year.

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Chevrolet Corvette Z06

The Chevrolet Corvette is the sports car that has been manufactured by Chevrolet since 1953. It is built today exclusively at a General Motors assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S.A..

The new Z06 arrived as a 2006 model in the third quarter of 2005. It has a 7.0 L (7,008 cc/427.6 in³) engine and officially certified output is 505 hp (377 kW). In a radical departure from anything Chevrolet has ever done before, the primary structural element of the C6 Z06 is aluminum instead of steel as on the non-Z06 cars.

With an official list price of US$70,000 per unit, it will likely be the only such vehicle in existence with a price tag under US$85,000. Proof that the car was priced aggressively, dealers in the United States have successfully marked the Z06 up to anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000, due to strong sales and low inventories [in 2006].

The 2007 Z06 was also one of Automobile Magazine's "Automobile All-Stars" for 2007.

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Chevrolet Camaro

The Chevrolet Camaro is a popular pony car made in North America by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors. It was introduced on 29 September 1966 — the start of the 1967 model year — as a competitor of the Ford Mustang.

The car shared the platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced in 1967. Four distinct generations of the car were produced before production ended in 2002. A new Camaro is expected to roll off assembly lines in 2009.

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