time4prime21

this is SILLY....if u have a vette..u have one...lmao..REAL vette owner...."lighten up Francis!"

CCA Corvette Parts

Pick Me, Pick Me!!!


Peace
Willfulone

rcingram

Ryan L., relax, don't go paranoid on us. We love you just the same even though you're just a wippersnapper

I try to wave all the time , I probably missed someone else's wave. I think we all do just about whatever each of us want to do, whenever we want to do it. We obviously are all free thinkers and ahead of the pack or else we wouldn't own a fantastic VETTE!

We're a family, just like all military folkes are part of a family. sometimes we fight , sometimes we cry , but always we're a family of sorts. Thank God for the difference.

GO AIR FORCE

gredmer

Agreed. I started owning Corvettes when I was 19. 30 years later I'm on #4. My driving habits have changed over the years (much more of a fuddy-duddy now)but my fondness for the car may be stronger than ever.

ytwokc5

A "Real" Corvette owner doesn't hem and haw between buying a Corvette and "insert any other car here".

A "Real" Corvette owner is someone who probably appreciates most performance cars, but is obsessed with the Corvette mystique.

A "Real" Corvette owner LOVES Corvettes and probably loved them for many years prior to ever owning one!

FASTFORM

This is probably semantics as much as anything but I think it is more accurate to compare Corvette ENTHUSIASTS to Corvette OWNERS. Two of my neighbors acquired 50th AE Coupes. Both drove them like old ladies and did not change a thing on the car. Interestingly, both sold them within 2 years, and both acquired new Cadillacs. IMHO, neither one of my neighbors was a true enthusiast - just an owner who happened to choose a Corvette for their driver for a couple years. I, on the other hand, searched a year to find a low mile Nassau Blue coupe, and have swapped out the exhaust, intake, suspension and wheels in my first year of ownership. The enthusiast invests a lot of effort, be it mental or physical, in their vehicle, while the owner just writes a check and gives it no additional thought. Age has nothing to do with differentiation of an enthusiast vs. an owner.

wit2pz

I wonder what point the threadstarter is trying to make. I learned about the reality of Vettes from my neighbor, who is over 50, and would not pass up the opportunity to drop a little tidbit of Corvette facts on me every time he saw me. He is a seasoned enthusiast, with a great love for his '95 Polo Green C4 Auto.

He got me interested when he invited me to drive his, and encouraged me to get a C5 of my own. I am an owner, I love to drive it(although I don't get many chances to lately), I love to learn more and more about Vettes, and I wave at every Vette I see. WGAF if I get a wave back? Many don't know about the wave, as mentioned before, because they don't have much exposure to enthusiasts. I learned about the wave before I developed a personal interest in Vettes.

BTW, for your information, these "trophy" Vettes you downplay are not like many "trophies" in the general sense... these "trophies" EARN VALUE over time. Even the ones that do get "used" and/or "neglected" by many peoples' standards, earn value over time.

I can still make about $8k on my 01 Coupe, which hasn't been raced, garaged, nor tricked out... so far...

What makes me a 'real owner' is the appreciation I feel when other people, whether they've owned a Vette or not, whether they're familiar with the history and heritage or not, show me smiles, thumbs up, or compliment me on my "trophy."

JD's C5

I don't know what a real corvette owner is vs. someone who owns a corvette. I have owned vettes now for about 35 years-so you can guess I am past the age of the average Z06 owner.
In recent years, I have noticed a decline in the corvette wave and it seems to me to be more with the C6 owners. I am not saying they are anti-social so don't jump in my shorts here. I think that the pricing is high on the cars and the new ones are purchased by a somewhat older consumer who is probably purchasing their first corvette and maybe unfamiliar with the history and traditions. I don't think it is an intentional slight by anyone, just a lack of background information. The corvette forum is a great place for people to come and learn about it.
Personally, I don't care if a corvette owner is 18 or 80. Whenever I see someone driving one or standing by one regardless of the vintage, I feel as if I have something in common to strike up a conversation. More often than not it turns out to be a positive thing.

FASTRICE

I beleive that a real Corvette owner is anyone who loves the car for what it is, and knows and is proud of its heritage. Those that simply buy it with indifference to its legacy and don't have any passion for it then I'd say they're the just owners. A real Corvette owner feels something down deep inside everytime he/she see a Vette. If they don't stir emotion to you then I don't think you are a Corvette enthusiast. With that said I beleive pretty much evryone on this board is a real Corvette owner with enthusiasm for them otherwise none of us would be on the board.

Mike McCoy

I'll throw my .02 worth in here also. My wife and I have enjoyed the "Corvette Fever" for just short of 49 years. A total of 10 vettes ('56,56,60,64,66,77,78,87,90,99) have resided in our garages over those years. We are not wealthy by any means, and all were bought with credit. We have been in two Corvette clubs for a total of 16 years. My wave is so built into me that I sometimes catch myself waving at a Corvette from my '97 Ford pickup.
I, too, have raced, rallyed, hillclimbed, and autocrossed almost everyone of them. But now, at a somewhat advanced age I now only have a '99 A4 as our retirement "tour" car. We still try to make out of area Corvette events, and I told my wife that I want my ashes taken by a Corvette the place of disposal (of my ashes, not the car). So, I think that I might qualify as a Corvette enthusiast.
What I see as different today, as opposed to 45 years ago, is that many people have the where-with-all to have Ski-Doos, Sea-Doos, bikes, boats, planes, ORV's, etc, in addition to their Vette. This means their time is very divided between these "toys", in addition to working longer hours to support the payments.
When we had our first few cars, that was all we had as far as a hobby. We partied every Friday and Saturday night, and autocrossed, rallyed, or toured virtually every Sunday. I think the cars were more affordable then. A nice 2-3 year old Corvette was $1500.00 to $2500.00 (a down payment and $50.00-75.00 a month for 36 months bought a nice car) and you could work on them yourself with a few hand tools. In many ways the earlier cars, to me, were more fun to own and drive than C-4's we owned. And the C-5 that we now own.
Of course the hundreds of (Corvette) friends we've made over the years has made a large difference in our lives as well.

widikerb

I would have to agree with everyone's post so far. I am 42 with my first vette, 03 coupe. But if it were not for the guy who bought a trophy and didn't drive it I would not have gotten it in june of this year with only 9k on it...I have allways wanted a vette and just because you don't mod it or change everything on it does not mean you don't appreciate the car for what it is. I drive aggressively when the time warrants and for the most part i drive it normally. But when you do put your foot in it and that grin creeps across your face that you can't wipe off for a half hour thats what makes it worth while.
As for the wave, a lot of people are not members of forums such as this and I can honestly say I never knew of the wave until i started surfing...but i love the tradition and I have missed a wave on occassion being sidetracked talking to my wife or looking at the scenery, i don't hold it against them. just my HO...Go AF

CleteZ16

I'm 35, and have had my '04 Z06 Lemans CE for 6 months. It's my first Vette. I've been wanting one for, oh, 20 years or so. I guess I fit the demographic ..

I started waving at other Vettes instinctively before I joined the forum.

The coolest thing about this car so far has been meeting other people who own them, and the cool thing about that is how diverse the group of owners is.

I've met folks who scraped every penny and put themselves into debt to own their single Vette, as well as those who have a collection of them in a climate-controlled garage on their estate. And we all get along great and have plenty to talk about: Vettes, cars in general, and going fast.

I think I'm a real Vette owner, as well as an enthusiast. The guys I wonder about.. well, for example, there's a guy in the parking lot where I work who has an '03 coupe, and the dealership's logo-sticker is still smack-dab in the middle of the rear fascia, just below the third brake light. I know he's a cool guy though and it's his DD, so I just don't know. Just my $.02

PaceThis

Well said...

themonk

Well I guess I'm not a Corvette "owner" because I am leasing mine because I couldn't afford the $34,000 price of admission to get into the club, eventhough I do plan on buying it out at the end of the term. Maybe call me a Corvette rent-to-owner.

The Monk!

Logg

My question.....When do you ever stop turning around to admire your Corvette as you leave it in the parking lot? Not to mention the S$%T eating grin it gives you as you return. Not too many cars can do that to you. That's why I own a Corvette. WAVE ON

mitch.smith

I am 43 and my defn of a corvette owner is anyone that enjoys the car and what it stands for. To me it is as American as baseball and apple pie!

Nukmeister1

I bought my Vette in 2002 and all I know is I feel like I am part of a family. Doesn't matter how we got it or how we drive it. If you make the payments or bought it outright. A Vette owner is a Vette owner.

I too have encountered some Vette owners that do not wave back and a couple of years ago I would have not known to wave back either. The newer owners will learn that we are all a part of an American History and American Dream. Just because I do not know what this or that is I still am a real Corvette owner. And if you don't wave back well then that's your problem but I have made it a habit to wave to my family of Vette owners.

Nukmeister1

barkingowl

A real corvette owner is one that has his Corvette tattooed on him like I do.

Martymar

FASTRICE

I couldn't of said it better myself. Nice job!