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No doubt many of you have seen this vintage ad for the 1968 Sting Ray.
Why is there is no Sting Ray, or Stingray, emblem on the 1968? I know the C3 body design was from the Mako Shark II concept car. Was someone on the fence about labeling a shark body car a Sting Ray?
Also, I’m curious as to why and how Sting Ray became one word. I presume it was to distinguish it from the C2 Sting Ray.
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One story I've heard was that GM wanted a clean break from the C2 so it was left off, and popular demand brought it back in '69.
I know GM made a trademark application back in 2010 for the word Stingray.
It seems Suzuki had a Japan only car with a Stingray trim level at the time. They got it & the C7 was born...
Since then they've trademarked a couple of others....Zora & E-Ray...
I have a early 1968 C3 and I LOVE the fact that it doesn't have all the chrome pieces or the name "Sting Ray" on it. The Chrome "C-O-R-V-E-T-T-E is all that is needed to identify the car. The 1968 model is a clean looking car and is an easier to maintain Corvette compared to the rest of the C3's. I used to use a set of 1968 Virginia License plates but got tired of people asking what year it was.
That newer StingRay (fish) emblem looks pretty silly to me, personally. Never have I EVER referred to my C3 as a "Sting Ray" nor will I as nothing but the sale brochure refer to my C3 as a Sting Ray. To me it is just a "Corvette" and a very fine one to boot.
Why is there is no Sting Ray, or Stingray, emblem on the 1968?
This has been asked in the past and discussed by Corvette enthusiasts at length, in fact far more than anyone at Chevrolet ever discussed it back in 1968/1969. The ad you posted is not the only one, nor the only reference GM made to the new '68 being called a Sting Ray. So if GM's marketing department considered the '68 a Stingray (or Sting Ray) that point has been solidly established, with or without a badge. I think if you just look at it from a common sense point of view the answer is pretty obvious. With the introduction of a complete new body style for 1968, designers and marketers had their hands full with hundreds of major issues and endless minor details as well as a deadline for production and, as history has proven, first year designs are always subject to some subtle changes by the time the second offering hits showroom floors. Those changes are (usually) financially driven as well as cosmetically, and of course customer complaint driven. The 1968 Corvette made a big splash with the public and GM had to keep that momentum going so any changes would be very slight. The radical new body style made a statement all on its own. There was nothing on any road in America that looked even remotely like the new Corvette so it could probably have stood alone without any badgeing at all, "Corvette" or otherwise. But that's just not the way things were in the 60's. Chrome, and plenty of it, was the order of the day and the buying public loved their shiny emblems, badges, and engine call-outs. And, as the performance age identified one so strongly with their cars at that time, they were also status symbols. When another driver pulled up along side you at a traffic light, the larger that engine call-out number on the hood, the better! Many of 1968's one year only items proved easier or less expensive to make differently so those changes were introduced for 1969 and I'm positive someone in design pointed out the fact that they were marketing a Sting Ray, the public already knew the car as a Sting Ray, so it only made sense to offer a newly designed emblem on the 1969 to seal the brand. I'm pretty sure if this had been clearly thought out earlier and the budget/time constraints allowed, the '68's would have carried the same new badge. Again, many things are overlooked or thought of after the car hits the showroom, with a first year design. Doesn't mean it's good or bad. It just "is". These are tiny differences that the average guy never really notices, he only sees a great looking Corvette. But enthusiasts will debate the minuscule details forever. I think each year is perfect in its unique identity.
Cheers, Greg
I agree...I even bought the emblems but just could not put them on.
It wouldn't be correct to put them on a '68 and would confuse folks anyway. If people prefer the Stingray emblem (I do) and want the shark gill vents, then just buy a 69. Lots of other subtle (and some not so subtle) differences as well between the two model years.
I'll go further why does anyone care about the name Sting Ray. its a Corvette end of story
It's a part of Corvette history going back decades and a significant part of what makes up the mystique of the Corvette since the C2, and continues today. It's not just a name GM threw on there, or some fad that died out.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Oct 18, 2023 at 05:26 PM.
It's part of Corvette history going back decades. It's a significant part of what makes up the mystique of the Corvette, since the C2 and continues today (hence the big stingray emblem on the C8). It's not just a name GM threw on there, or some fad.
That is a very fitting comparison. Stingray signifies nothing more than Corinthian leather, which signifies nothing. But, in both cases, it sounds so wonderful. That's why we have marketing departments.
I didn’t think “Sting Ray” meant nothing…I’d thought the whole purpose of the split window etc on the first Corvette coupe ever, the ‘63, was to emulate the style of an actual stingray…
I’d thought Sting Ray came from the designers and not the GM marketing department.
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Ive read in some history of the vette book about the rush to get it out the door, the fact that they were trying to get the T top cars out but had major issues, so much so that the first cars out the door were convertibles only. Ive read that the 68 was supposed to have the 69 trim. If you have a 68 and its early then you know how much was left off and how much had changed before the end of the 68 run and then into the 69 run....They are a decent car but not quite refined. The best thing I ever heard them described as was a factory Kit car. And they look like one with the way they are put together and how everything fit together.
Ive read in some history of the vette book about the rush to get it out the door, the fact that they were trying to get the T top cars out but had major issues, so much so that the first cars out the door were convertibles only. Ive read that the 68 was supposed to have the 69 trim. If you have a 68 and its early then you know how much was left off and how much had changed before the end of the 68 run and then into the 69 run....They are a decent car but not quite refined. The best thing I ever heard them described as was a factory Kit car. And they look like one with the way they are put together and how everything fit together.
the late great JohnZ was sent to St Louis to launch the 68 model year There was many horror story's about it. The new model was to be for the 67 model year but got pushed back due to too many flaws.
if the Sting Ray name plate meant something it was to Bill Mitchel. But the fact it was on the base motor cars to the L88 washes away any meanings it may had.
The two biggest problems were that they did not have Zora on board at the time and they tried to slap them together like the other metal cars and guess what, it didn't work! Corvette owners are fussier about their cars, especially since they almost cost twice as much as a Camaro does.
Back then C-2's were called mid years and no one called our cars Sting Rays. They were Vettes! Lou.
Why no Stingray emblem on ‘68?
