While perusing the internet searching for the "golden bolt"(hat tip to anyone who gets that reference) i came across an Article from Corvette News from a while ago - say a few decades.

Corvette News, in the beginning, was a FREE publication sent out by Chevrolet to Corvette owners. A great magazine whose origin goes all the way back to 1957 (the first edition, BTW, is quite a collectors item as you may well imagine.)*

The particular article, called "Save the Wave", which Is being quoted,, appeared in the August/September 1969, Volume 12, Number 6 -- *please* keep that in mind. Not only will you see that our fellow Corvette owners worried about carrying on the 'tradition' of 'The Wave', you'll see that times were simpler and that writing styles have changed. Happy New Year!



SAVE THE WAVE
Ever since Corvette No. 00001 first met Corvette No. 00002 on the road, their drivers saluted each other with waves. Today, unfortunately, this grand and glorious tradition is wavering.*

There's one item of standard equipment that comes as a pleasant surprise to every new Corvette owner. It's the instant wave of recognition he receives when he meets one of his ilk on the road. The first time it happens, he is taken by surprise. He immediately thinks: (1) he has been mistaken for Sterling Moss; (2) His lights are on; or (3) He has just been given the bird.*

Soon, however, the new Vette owner anticipates, indeed even relishes, en- countering other Vettes as he drives. During this period, he experiments with his waves, running the gamut from the gaping "yoo hoo" to the ultra-cool "two- finger flip." He perfects his timing, making sure he affects neither the too- eager, too-early wave, nor the jaded "oh brother" too-late variety. Determined not to be one upped, he even develops a defense mechanism for non-wavers, usually settling on the "Wave? My hand was just on the way to scratch my head" approach. (This is especially useful when you're not driving your Vette, but you forget, and like a dummy, wave anyway.)*

Indeed, one of the most perplexing problems facing a would-be waver is what to do when driving next to a fellow Vette owner. Passing him going in opposite directions is one thing. Greetings are exchanged, and that's that. But what happens when you pull up next to a guy at a light, wave, nod, smile and then pull up next to him at the next light, a block later? Wave again? Nod bash- fully? Grin self-consciously? Ignore him? Or take the chicken's way out and turn down the next side street? If you're expecting an answer, you won't find it here. Sad to say, some questions don't have any.*

Girl-type Corvette drivers also have a unique problem: to wave or not to wave. The miss or misses who borrows her man's Corvette for the first time is immediately faced with this quandary. Should she wave first and look overly friendly, or ignore the wave and look like a snob? Most ladies who drive their own Vettes prefer to suffer the latter rather than take the chance of being misread. For this reason, all girls are excused for occasionally failing to return a well-meaning wave. So are new owners who are still learning the ropes.*

There is no excuse, however, for the guy who refuses to return a wave, not out of ignorance, but of arrogance or apathy. While this type of behavior is the exception to the rule, it seems that a few owners of newer models [ remember, this was 25 years ago, 1969 :^) -- Phil ] refuse to recognize anything older than theirs, while some others simply won't wave, period. Boo on them. These ding-a-lings don't seem to realize that they are helping to quash a tradition that had its beginnings back when most of us were still driving Tootsietoys.*

And besides, in this era of mechanized anonymity, we need to save all the human relationships we can.*

What to do about the problem of non-wavers? Well, in the movie "The Hustler," Fast Eddie had his hands broken for not playing by the rules. But, maybe this is going just a bit too far. Maybe the solution is to cure these guys with kindness.*

So, take a look at these drawings and pick a wave you like. Then, the next time you pass a fellow Vetteran, make sure you use it. And the next time. And the next. Who knows? If you don't succeed in getting some of these hard-noses to wave back, at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've started a lot of them thinking. And that alone is worth a wave.

[ Unfortunately, my ASCII art is far below that which would be required to recreate the cartoon characters demonstrating the different waves, so you'll just have to imagine them; ]*

[ Man shown with steering wheel in left hand, right arm straight up, mouth open! ]*

The Gaping "Yoo Hoo!"*-*Good for waving at Vettes on the other side of divided highways, in medium-to-heavy traffic. Not much good for anything else.*

The Two-Finger Flip*-*A move that can say "Hi." Or "Wow!" Or "Victory." Or most anything else, depending on the action of the giver, and the reaction of the taker.*

The Four-Finger Pop-up*-*One of the classics. Palm grasps top of wheel, while fingers are extended snappily. An inscrutable expression helps the total effect.*

[ Man with hands a 11 and 1 o'clock, thumbs around wheel, all fingers up ]*

The Eight-Point Spread*-*Broad, expansive and outgoing. The hand action is reminiscent of Al Jolson at his best.*

The Pointer*-*Sort of a wink, a click and a "bang, you're dead!" combination. Can also be used to draw attention to a pursuing traffic cop, in which case, you are dead.*

The Wiping Swipe*-*Sort of a "Hi, guys." Primarily given by patronizing father-figure types.*

The Topper-Tipper*-*A rarely seen, but eloquent gesture. Can prove embarrassing when the tipper wears both a hat and a toupee.*

The Right-Handed "Hi-G'Bye."*-*A desperation move, given only at the last minute. Hand shoots straight skyward, occasionally scrunching fingernails or knuckles in the process.*

The Near-Futile Head Jerk*-*A last resort, when you think you'll be snubbed, but aren't; or when you think you haven't been daydreaming, but have.*

[ Rear view of man, left arm dangling out the window. ]*

The Last-Minute Left Elbow Grope*-*Another desperation tactic, usually seen only in rear-view mirrors. Has all the grace and finesse of a peg-legged man in a forest fire.

That's it folks! Remember, save the wave!

 

Always wave. 99% of the time, I get a wave back.

 

Same here, if they don't wave back I just assume they are preoccupied...

 

Ditto here ... Wave every time.

 

sometimes replaced by the one finger flip....

 

Any person driving a C3 over the years will always return a wave in my experience. C6 drivers; not so much.

 

 

Sometimes it depends if the window is up or down . . .but I always wave even if it approximates a 'peace sign' sort of gesture - - and yes, older drivers and older cars tend to respond more often than the reverse.

 

I wave at all Corvette's I see and for the most part I get one back...

 

There. Fixed it.

 

Ditto. Don't get much response from some C5s either.


Chappie

 

Been waving since 1965, response was better back in the old days. Too many new owners are not aware of the tradition, we need more posts like this (esp on the C6 Forum).

Sonny

 

http://www.savethewave.net/stw/Hands.asp

WB

 

I think the first entry in the Corvette owner's manual should be, "Wave to other Corvette drivers."

 

 

Heck ya, save the wave! We can't be too hard on the C5-C6 bunch, because many of them are 'guys (or gals) who happen to be driving a Corvette, versus the Beemer or Benz they had last year on lease. There are many of them who are Corvette enthusiasts and I got a wave last night from a silver-bearded gent in a nice C6. He knew what the C3 was and I'm sure he'd have waved to me in my C4 too.

 

Yeah I wave all of the time but lately I have been getting "ignored" and it kind of makes you mad. When I wave and get waved at it makes me smile, but when I don't get a wave it makes me kind of upset for a second or two. Also if I see a vette on the side of the road and I can pull over in time and I have time then I will assist them in any way. Back in high school I drove my 72 (has sat since 2010) and this kid Max who has a L-82 1979 with cracked and faded blue paint (looks white) with black interior. He thought he was hot $hit and he was jealous because my Ontario Orange 72 was way cooler looking, sounding and performing than his 79. The ladies loved the car..my car. His was not as nice and he was jealous. Another friend had a purple 1980 and it was bought at a garage sale for $3 K. It was nice but needed carpet. Well the school randomly assigned parking spots and what do you know...the assigned him to park behind me and I parked in front of him. Well when he was a senior, he sucked my gas out and I just filled the tank up with premium and octane booster. Well that jerk waited for me to roll out of the parking lot and it died and instead of stopping to see he waved....oh he waved the bird at me and while laughing. Well He was jealous because I had the cooler C3. Well Max still has car but like mine he has parked it. Well what I am saying is that NOT all vette owners are very nice. Max has since been a little nicer, but I will never forget what a jerk he was.

 

There is my 72 and his 79.



So who has the cooler vette?

 

Pulled away from a 3-way stop past a C6 20 minutes ago.

I got a 'do I know you' look when I waved as I drove by.

Sad.

 

I dunno, I see a vette older than my '72 on the road, I just wave with BOTH hands and arms and pray my alignment is ok......