Sixtyyears ago tomorrow, spectators lined New York City’s posh Park Avenue, waitingto get a glimpse of the ground-breaking 1953 Chevrolet Corvette on display atthe General Motors’ Motorama show. Today, the Corvette is back in The BigApple, marking the historic milestone with the all-new 2014 C7 ChevroletCorvette Stingray.“The all-new 2014Corvette Stingray is the most advanced and engaging Corvette in the long,prestigious legacy of this uniquely American success story,” said Chris Perryvice president of Chevrolet Marketing. “It is a car woven into the fabric ofAmerican culture and it got its start right here in the Big Apple.”
The introduction ofthe original Corvette took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Jan. 17, 1953.Only 300 Corvettes were built – all of them white with a red interior. Theenthusiastic response prompted Chevrolet to accelerate production plans and bylate June that year, Corvettes were rolling out of a specialized assemblyfacility in Flint, Mich. One of these 300 is on exhibit at the NationalCorvette Museum, along with another piece of important Corvette history thatmany don’t know about.
Although theCorvette crossed flags emblem has seen some variation over the years, it actuallyhad a controversial beginning. The first logo design included an American flagcrossing over the checkered flag to emphasize America’s entry into the sportscar world. Originally created by Robert Bartholomew, an interior designer atChevrolet, this emblem was installed on the 1953 prototype that was set todebut in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria during the “Motorama” show. As preparationswere made for Corvette's big day, the Chevrolet legal department discoveredthat it was against the law to use an American flag on any commercially madeproduct. With only four days left before the show, the pressure was on to comeup with a new logo, and fast.The designersacted quickly, and looked toward Louis Chevrolet for inspiration. Searching atfirst for a family crest that could be adapted into a flag they ran into a deadend, as the Chevrolet family didn't have a crest. Getting desperate, theylooked to the French origins of Chevrolet’s name for inspiration. They chosethe fleur-de-lis, which means “flower of the lily” as it is the French symbolfor royalty. Beneath that there are three lines to represent the threeChevrolet brothers. The revised emblem was quickly made by jewelers andinstalled on the prototype where it has remained on Corvettes ever since.
The actualAmerican flag emblem that was pulled off of the first Corvette for the Motoramashow is on display at the National Corvette Museum, on loan from GM.
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