Confusion over name Stingray? Shark?
 

You're trolling - right?? :D

:lurk:

-W

Then wiki the Mako Shark and the Mako Shark II - also a youtube search.

All will be clearer........

-W

LOL, wanna have some real fun then ask the question, "why is a Stingray called a Sting Ray called a Shark"?

I'll add some fuel to the fire. Why aren't all C3's called a Stingray even though they don't use the emblem on all years. The design is still based on the same car, and it's not like a Stingray was a special version of the car no?

Even more of question - why are the guys that have a year which uses the Stingray emblem so touchy about the non Stingray emblem years being called a Stingray?

(stepping back now to see what happens). :D

Adam

I hav a question,why does a car that looks like a shark called a stingray:lurk:

double names
 

The probably origin of the stingray is the rise over each front fender which looks like the wings of a stingray swimming in the water and was true of some c2's and c3's. The C3 was reportedly designe to emulate the design of one of the best sport fish in the ocean aerodynamically, the Mako Shark. Hence, the two names application to the cars. In marketing it got all blurred at various times as GM referred to both at times and went back and forth with labeling. Most C3 owners call them "sharks" more than stingrays because the entire body shape is so sculpted and so different than the c2 designs.

Lance P.

Purchase any of the coffee table Corvette history books. You'll get great color photographs and find the answer to the Stingray-Shark mystery.

:thumbs:

The prototype cars for the C2 series were the Mako Shark I & II. Then, the '67 C2 and '68-69 C3 cars had "gills" on the front fender. The C2's were officially labeled as Sting Rays and, with public and internal pressure on GM, the '69-7? C3's were provided with a "Stingray" logos on the front fenders. The C3 body style gives the visual appearance of a shark's contour, so the name stuck.

Purists will only assign the name "Stingray" to those C3's that had that logo placed on the body. The rest of us refer to the entire C3 line are Stingrays.

I drive a shark and people outside of the community all refer to it as a Stingray. The idea of there being a difference between the two seems to baffle everyone when explained

Personally, I only use the term Sting Ray or even "Stingray" to talk about the 63-67 cars. (They sound the same when spoken)

The bottom line is that some marketing geeks (read idiots) decided to carry the "Stingray" word(s) over to the C3.

For whatever reason, good sense finally won out, and the 1968's were not badged as "Stingrays". :woohoo:
Then came 69-76 when the marketing boys got their way. Finally the name was dropped for 78-82.

Marketing geeks be damed - those of us that know the history, call them "sharks" - for good reason.

-W (glad my '68 says nothing about Rays on it)

PS: The Mako Shark II was the C3 prototype - not C2

So ... when people ask me if my 68 is a Stingray, what should be the "OFFICIAL" response.... :rofl:

I will stand back and enjoy the fireworks..... :hide:

:yesnod:

Stingray = http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...ay-picture.jpg

Shark = http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...reef_shark.jpg

I usually answer - "It's a long, strange, story - but no."

-W

Whatever you want. It's your car and you're the official. When people ask me if my 68 is a Stingray, I officially say "No."

If you've read Corvette history, there are indications the Stingray name was considered for the 68 models. Some of the early sales material uses the name. Just the same what GM might have been thinking of doing in March, or April or May, 1967, did not happen by August.

:thumbs:

Just FYI, in nature, sting rays and sharks are in the same family. They are elasmobranchs. All elasmobranchs have skeletons made of cartilage and 5-7 gill slits.

Could you say all stingrays are sharks? I guess so. But that's kind of like saying that dolphins are whales because they're both marine mamals who belong to the same family, the cetaceans.

Sting Ray or Stingray means nothing. just a styling term put out my GM to sell cars. at the end of the day its just a Corvette

:willy: :lurk: :smash:

Are you sure about that? The 68 is called a Sting Ray in the sales brochure. Did they publish a cleansed version after August 67? I have only seen the version with several Sting Ray references.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...brochure2a.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...tbrochure2.jpg