October--A Corvette Month: Part 1, National Corvette Museum

We've barely had a chance to take our corvette out this summer, but this month we tried to make up for that. For starters we took a 3-day trip to Bowling Green, KY, home of the Corvette factory and National Corvette Museum. The factory and museum are on adjacent properties. We toured the factory first, but no cameras are allowed inside. In fact, the only thing one can take is their ID and car keys. Everything else stays locked in the car.

All corvettes are made in Bowling Green, and all are made to order, whether they are ordered by the dealer or special ordered by a customer. And customers can make that order as special as they want. (We saw one 'fully loaded' with a price tag of $99,000! Personally, for that amount of money I'd rather have something on 4 wheels that's equipped with a bathroom and a bed!)

If you do order one from the factory you can arrange to go through the factory and watch it being made, then have it hand delivered to you at the museum! All this special treatment comes with a fee, but it is a really cool opportunity.

Assembly lines are fascinating. Watching robots bob up and down, or twist around welding parts is just fun to see. But I watch in wonder as a frame comes from one area and an engine or seat comes from somewhere else to meet at just the right spot and at just the right time.  I think the engineers who do the math and figure it all out are amazing. My mind simply can't work that way.

After the factory tour we visited the museum. Not being a true car buff, I focused on what made this place unique.

National Corvette Museum: They Yellow Cone is the Rotunda. More about that in a moment.

Entering into the building you are greeted by a long hall. The day we were there, there were eight cars lined up on each side of the hall, behind ropes. These cars were being delivered to their new owners at 10:00 that morning.

View from the back of the hall, facing the entrance.

Each car had a sign with the name of the person who would receive their car. Some of these people were already walking around, examining the one they would take home. Their excitement was palpable.

This guy was ready and waiting! It was actually a photo op of him in his new car; another 'special order' perk.

On the right side of the hall, was the gift shop and the rest rooms across the way were clearly marked.

There was an arrangement of flags on one wall that I found really unique. It seems people send American flags that have been flown in a variety of places to the museum and they have placed them on this wall. I called it The Wall of Honor.

(The plaque isn't crooked. It's the angle I had to use to avoid any glare.)

I also noticed a wall of military emblems in the factory. When I asked about it I was told that everyone who has been in the military and works in the factory has their name and branch of service on that wall.

There were lots of displays of cars that had stories behind them, but the focus for many people right now is the display in the rotunda. (That big yellow cone you see in the Museum photo) Early on the morning of February 12, 2014,  the earth gave way under the floor of the rotunda. A collection of cars on loan from various people and organizations was on display there. When the dust settled, eight cars had disappeared into the sinkhole. All eight were eventually recovered, although it took ground penetrating X-Ray to find some of them.

The building has been repaired and reopened. Two jagged lines are painted on the floor. One shows the opening in the floor, while the other outlines the entire hole under ground. The cars are once again on display, but there is a difference. Only three could be restored. The remaining five are on display as they were pulled out of the hole.

The blue car was the first one pulled out. It was damaged, but started right up and was driven out of the building. It has been fully restored. The white car was the 1,000,000 corvette ever made and had special signatures on it. It was a mess, but it was able to be restored. The black corvette on the lift in the background still has some damage on the door, and the fender. It will also be restored.

The pictures that follow are ones that were too damaged.

Wow. Not much to say here. Amazing the tires aren't flat.

Museums are good at salvaging and using everything. This rock is no exception. It was embedded in one of the cars. Now it is part of the landscaping.

After looking at the devastation, it was nice to go back to the entrance hall and see the brand new cars waiting for new homes.

The guy in the blue shirt (that would be my husband) isn't buying, just dreaming. For that's what corvettes do to people. Many start dreaming of owning one before they can barely drive. Just like that guy. And no matter when you get one, when you do, the wait was worth it.

Once you get it, the best part is just driving it. This month we had the chance to participate in a record setting event driving our car. Stay tuned for Part 2--The Tail of the Dragon!