Corvette City

Corvette City

When Chevrolet introduced the Corvette in 1953, no one could have imagined that it would flourish as an automotive icon 52 years later. Fewer still could have imagined that this show of American muscle, first produced in Flint, Mich., would spend the last 24 years rolling off an assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky. (pop. 49,296).

"We figure we’re the caretakers of the corporation’s finest vehicle," says Wil Cooksey, plant manager of the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant since 1993. "We feel honored."

Previously assembled in Flint (1953) and St. Louis (1954-1981), Corvettes have been manufactured in this small southern Kentucky city since 1981. Today, the 1,200-employee plant builds about 35,000 Corvettes annually.

"People come here and visit while their car is being built," Cooksey says. "If the timing is right, they’ll try to see if they can start their car up. And an employee, in a weaker moment, may let them come over and put a part on the car," he says with a smile. "I don’t encourage that, but the opportunity may be there if the employee realizes that it’s going to be that person’s car. That’s what keeps the fire burning."

David Hill, the Corvette’s chief engineer, says that he looks forward to his frequent trips to Bowling Green from his Warren, Mich., office. "It’s a town where Southern hospitality is not a cliché," he says. "People are friendly and time is not rushed. We’re really proud of the work ethic we have at Bowling Green Assembly."

In fact, more than 40,000 sightseers each year see that strong work ethic. "For our workers, the customer isn’t some abstraction," Hill says. "A customer is someone they saw this afternoon. They’re building something that means a lot. They represent the best America has to offer."

The legendary status of the sports car is affirmed at the National Corvette Museum, which is located across the street from the assembly plant. The museum, which is owned by a non-profit foundation, opened in 1994 thanks to the efforts of Corvette enthusiasts around the world. Today, there are more than 21,000 members who help fund and support the 68,000-square-foot shrine to the classic American sports car.

"As our mission statement says, we’re here for the celebration, education and preservation of the Corvette," says Wendell Strode, executive director of the museum, which welcomes 150,000 visitors annually.

Among Kentucky’s rolling green hills, the museum has become a landmark, with its red 12-story spire topping a yellow conical structure. "It looks like a taillight," says former Mayor Sandy Jones. "To be there on an event weekend is wonderful. Each model has its own set of groupies. If you have a 1976 Corvette, then all of the 76ers will get together. Also, if you buy a Corvette, you can even have a delivery party at the museum."

The museum hosts nine major events each year and averages 15 delivery parties a week, where drivers can pick up their new fiberglass-bodied car with an assortment of festivities. Inside, more than 75 Corvettes are on display, including models from every year since 1953.

Of the annual events, the C5/C6 Birthday Bash is among the largest, drawing as many as 3,000 enthusiasts from around the world to celebrate the car’s fifth generation (known as a C5, built from 1997 to 2004) and current sixth generation (C6).

"Bowling Green is the mecca of the Corvette world," says Larry Martin, chairman of the National Corvette Museum Foundation’s board of directors. Martin spends each Birthday Bash—scheduled April 21 to 23—as a volunteer shuttling visitors around the museum. "Everybody on the board is a volunteer," he says. "We have a love for this place and a love for the car."

Strode agrees and says that residents also have a strong sense of pride when it comes to their association with the car. "When you get outside this area, and you tell somebody you’re from Bowling Green, almost immediately they recognize it as the home of the Corvette," he says. "That’s pretty powerful."

For more information, log on to www.corvettemuseum.com or call (800) 53-Vette.

Richard McVey is an Editor at American Profile.

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