The Chevrolet Corvette is a car that immediately inspires passion. No matter the generation, pages and pages of praise for the styling of America’s sports car can be written without any knowledge of the Corvette’s specs or history.
Corvette Forum has plenty of posts about how attractive Corvettes are, but it’s also rich in knowledge about them. A layperson might look at the ’67 you see here and think, Wow! A “highly restored, fully documented” red-on-red convertible. Where do I sign?
You all, on the other hand, were…less than impressed. True, this C2 has a 427-cubic-inch 435-horsepower V8, the F41 suspension, and side pipes. However, equipped with your abundant knowledge of classic Corvettes, you all picked this shiny droptop apart until it was a pile of steel, rubber, and glass doubts.
For instance, Velox said, “A quick look identifies that the stinger should be black, not white.” According to SupremeDeluxe, “With red/red, the tags are suspect until proven otherwise.” Nowhere Man said, “The [$109,900] price reflects a wrong or restamped engine.”
On the other hand, ecke (aka Erik) offered this: “This is what they answered when I pointed out the white stinger and wrong exhaust.: ‘Obviously the car is not 100% the way it came from the factory as you already know. Whoever restored it, restored it to their liking. It is priced very very good based on these items.'”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
