6 Things to See and Do at the Bowling Green Corvette Factory
Who knew Bowling Green, Kentucky was the place to be?
Welcome to Bowling Green, Kentucky, the heartland of America and the home of your Corvette. Assembly of Corvettes is still very much a hands-on process, with a lot of people passionate about the marque assembling America’s sportscar. It’s a very cool site for Corvette owners, and aspiring owners, with a lot to see and do. Open to the public 5 days a week, you have no excuse to visit if you consider yourself truly dedicated to the clan of Corvette. C’mon, you owe it to yourself.
1. Take the plant tour
The plant is open for touring, 5 days a week. Reservations are required, so grab yourself a spot via CorvetteMuseum.org and consider it $10 well spent to see how ‘Vettes are made. The walking tour is about an hour, and having taken it myself, I can say there are some fascinating insights to be gained in seeing the assembly process up close and personal.
2. Take pictures (not during the tour!)
Talk about a great photo-op, the B.G. plant sits on a vast grounds, and makes for a cool backdrop for some nice pics of your ‘Vette. The folks at the B.G. plant are all for helping to facilitate pictures, just as long as you don’t take any during the plant tour. They never know when the competition could be checking in on things, so photography inside the plant, without specific permission, is not allowed.
3. Check out the museum
As the plant tour runs it’s course, the ending point will get you just as excited as the beginning, as the tour ends in the National Corvette Museum. The NCM has a comprehensive written history of the Corvette as well as the prominent models across all generations to get up close and personal with. Additionally, you can see “the cave” where, in February 12, 2014, a sinkhole under the museum caused the floor to collapse, enveloping several classic Corvettes. The vehicles have since been restored, and are now displayed, living on in infamy.
4. Take delivery of your Corvette
If you’re having a brand new Corvette built, taking delivery of it right off the assembly line is an option. A delivery ceremony will take place right outside the plant. After this, the road trip home will be the perfect way to break in your ‘Vette and get acquainted with it. Alternatively, if you’re a fan of a different kind of break in procedure, #5 on this list will be right up your alley.
5. Do a track day
Across the way from the NCM is NCM Motorsports Park. Over 200 acres of road course goodness awaits, with multiple configurations and event types. Driver training, autocross, and high performance driving events (HPDE – track days) are all things that regularly happen at NCMMP. The cool thing is that you don’t even need a Corvette to participate in an event there. The NCMMP facilitates track events with a variety of event organizers and groups. That said, it was designed with Corvettes in mind, and in one is the best way to experience this track.
6. Have a Corvette meet
Fill the front lot with ‘Vettes, all ‘Vettes and only ‘Vettes. That’s one way to blow your local Cars & Coffee out of the water. The NCM is equipped to host events and parties, and actually has a specific package deal that can be arranged for your local Corvette club. If you check in on the forums, annual meet and greets at the NCM have been "a thing" for a long time, and will continue onwards. A party with your hundred closest Corvette buddies would certainly be the way to go.
If you're interested in participating in these Corvette gatherings, feel free to jump into the discussion on CorvetteForum.com.
For more information on your Corvette, including maintenance and repairs, check out our do-it-yourself technical articles at CorvetteForum.com/how-tos/