ashfrj

My sister bought me a 1977 edition of "Corvette: A Piece of the Action" for Christmas and I've been reading it this morning. The first chapter is written by Bill Mitchell, the then VP of GM's Styling Section.

Customising vs. stock is often a hot topic on here, so I thought you guys might be interested in his opinions on the subject:

"The Corvette is you, whoever you are. After I mounted that shark I caught at Bimini, I kept looking at it on the wall, and I said I'm going to make a car look like that. It wasn't one specific thing about it, it was the whole - the blue body with the white belly, the shimmery silver that was picked up when the sun hit it. I just had to have that car. And after the Mako Shark, there was the Manta Ray devilfish. I saw a Corvette in it too.

And that's what the Corvette owners do. They see the car as a vehicle of personal expression, an extension of themselves, a car that is individually their own. Whenever I go to a Corvette Corral, I recognize this. I'm for the customizing of a Corvette. Lots of times when it's known I'll be attending one of these events, I'll get a call or two, somebody wants to bring out a pet Corvette and show me what he's done. That's one reason we may have to keep to fiberglass for Corvettes. It lends itself so readily to change.

In a way a Corvette is never really finished. There's always something you can do. You've got to wear it, and after you've worn it a while, you'll find things you can do to make it more your own, more comfortable to you. How long have I had the Shark? I still drive it home every night, along back roads so I can play a little bit. And the Manta Ray and racing Sting Ray are years old; every year I'm doing something, fixing the pedals, arranging the wheel, fixing the seat, so that when I take those babies around, boy, it's me.

And the wild paint jobs, the fun, the humor that you can bring to the Corvette - I enjoy seeing that."

redman76

People are always asking me if I'm done with mine or what do I have left to do. I think Bill summed it up pretty good, " . . . a Corvette is never really finished". Interesting post.

66L36Coupe

His quote is a surprise to me. In my experience, most professional designers, architects, and creative specifiers in general are very particular about locking a finished design. When it's done, it's done.

Obviously, Mitchell was not this way - and that's probably why the Corvette was - and still is one of the most iconic looking cars on the road; he wasn't afraid to let his team think and do in new ways. His cars were his canvases. Brilliant.

Thanks, Bill!

69VetteFla

Very interesting post/quote - thanks for posting

3JsVette

"They see the car as a vehicle of personal expression, an extension of themselves, a car that is individually their own."

Bill Mitchell was never shy when it came to personal expresion.
http://0.tqn.com/d/corvettes/1/0/N/8...l_Mitchell.jpg

billcarson

no doubt we should all dress to match our interiors.

Big Block 69

I have somewhere a magazine where Zora was interviewed. He had basically the same thoughts on the car being an extension of who you are. He didn't speak much about customizing. He advised against buying whatever Corvette just happened to be on the sales floor. He advised sitting down with a salesman and ordering what you want, the way you want and you would be more satisfied with your Corvette.

PeteZO6

That's what I did with my '07 ZO6. The local dealer had a ZO6 allocation and was willing to let me spec my Corvette the way I wanted it. The first Corvette I have bought this way. I hope to do the same with any future Corvettes I might buy. LINK By the way, I have modified the startup greeting to say "The Zoras Spirit Lives"..

Having said that, I still cherish my '69 convertible LINK


Pete

Jim Shea

This is a story that I was told about Bill Mitchell and the Mako Shark II Prototype. Bill had told his styling team to paint the prototype two tone with the blue to match his mounted shark trophy. Several tries later his experimental model shop just could not come up with the exact duplication of the blue trophy color. Bill was getting upset with the failure of his shop to match his trophy.

Bill Mitchell went on vacation for a couple weeks. His trophy was removed from his office, the blue on the trophy was repainted and the same paint used to paint the Mako Shark prototype. When he got back and compared colors, he was satisfied.

Jim

80Baby

I also like that quote, "...a Corvette is never really finished". As I get into the home stretch of my resto-mod, I'm sure my wife would hate hearing that.