TODAY - The History of Corvette Changed Forever....
12-16-2010, 09:34 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
TODAY - The History of Corvette Changed Forever....
LONG READ, but worth it if your a die-hard Corvette Enthusiast...
For those that don't know the importance and story of what Zora Arkus-Duntov REALLY meant for our beloved car, read the letter that he wrote to the top brass of Cheverolet back in 1953. If it wasn't for AD, and THIS letter, we most likely would not be driving around today in America's Sportscar.
Today SHOULD be a Corvette Holiday IMHO!!
R.I.P. Zora!
“THOUGHTS PERTAINING TO YOUTH, HOT RODDERS, AND CHEVROLET”
The Hot Rod movement and interest in things connected with hop-up and speed is still growing. As an indication: the publications devoted to hot rodding and hop-upping, of which some half dozen have a very large circulation and are distributed nationally, did not exist some six years ago.
From cover to cover, they are full of Fords. This is not surprising that the majority of hot rodders are eating, sleeping, and dreaming modified Fords. They know Ford parts from stern to stern better than Ford people themselves.
A young man buying a magazine for the first time immediatly becomes introduced to Ford. It is reasonable to assume that when hot rodders or hot rod-influenced persons buy transportation, they buy Fords. As they progress in age and income, they graduate from jalopies to second-hand Fords, then to new Fords.
Should we consider that it would be desirable to make these youths Chevrolet-minded? I think that we are in a position to carry out a successful attempt. However, there are many factors againt us:
Loyalty and experience with Ford.
Hop-up industry is geared with Ford.
Law of number-thousands are and will be working on Fords for active competition.
Appearance of Ford’s overhead V8, now one year ahead of us.
When a superior line of GM V8’s appeared, there where remarkably few attempts to develop these, and none too successful. Also, the appearance of the V8’s Chrysler was met with reluctance even though the success of Ardun-Fords conditioned them to the acceptance of Firepower.
This year is the first one in which isolated Chrysler development met with succsess. The Bonneville records are divided between Ardun-Fords and Chryslers.
Like all people, hot rodders are attracted by novelty. However, bitter experience has taught them that new development is costly and long, and therefore they are extremely conservative. From my observation, it takes an advanced hot rodder some three years to stumble toward the successful development of a new design. Overhead Fords will be in this stable between 1956 and 1957.
The slide rule potential of our RPO V8 engine is extremely high, but to let things run their natural course will put us one year behind-and then not too many hot rodders will pick Chevrolet for development. One factor which can largely overcome this handicap would be the availability of ready-enginered parts for higher output:
If the use of the Chevrolet engine would be made easy and the very first attempts would be crowned with succsess, the appeal of the new RPO V8 engine will take hold and not have the stigma of expensiveness like the Cadillac or Chrysler, and a swing to Chevrolet may be anticipated.This means the development of a range of special parts-camshafts, valves, springs, manifolds, pistons, and such-should be made available to the public.
To make good in this field, the RPO parts must pertain not only to the engine but to the chassis coponents as well. In fact, the use of light alloys and brake development, such as composite drums and discs, are already on the agenda of the Research and Development group.
These thoughts are offered for what they are worth-one man’s thinking aloud on the subject.
Signed: Z. Arkus-Duntov
dated: 12/16/53
Then, about a year later - He wrote this letter specific to the CORVETTE....
"The Letter That Saved The Corvette"
"I was walking in the hall of the GM building (before the Technical Center in Warren was built). A man approached (I've since forgotten his name). He buttonholed me and announced with glee, "The Corvette is finished--no more will be built." The man was a high-up member of Chevrolet's sales department and was dressed in "uniform"--a blue suit and yellow shoes."
At that time, Mr. Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer, along with a handful of people like Harry Barr, "Rosie" Rosenberger and Russ Sanders, all former Cadillac employees, were trying to mold Chevrolet with an eye for the future. The Corvette was an important part of changing Chevrolet's image.
The monolithic Chevrolet organization and their 6,000 dealerships all were geared to sell family cars in the millions. Of course, in this regard the Corvette was a flop, and the prevailing attitude of many at Chevy was "good riddance." A Corvette failure would have been a black eye for Ed Cole and the organization. With this in mind, the letter I wrote to Cole and Maurice Olley appears here." - Zora Arkus-Duntov, pg 15, "Duntov: The Man Behind the Corvette" - by the Editors of VETTE Magazine, 1996
INTER-ORGANIZATION LETTERS ONLY
CONFIDENTIAL
TO Mesars. E. N. Cole and M. Olley ADDRESS
FROM Mr. Z. Arkus-Duntov ADDRESS Research & Development Section
SUBJECT CORVETTE DATE October 15, 1954
In this note, I am speaking out of turn. I am giving options and suggestions without knowing all the factors. I realize this but still am offering my thoughts for what they are. In order to make the content clear and short, I will not use the polite apologetic phrasing and say, "it is" instead of "it possibly might be" - and I apologise for this now.
By the looks of it, the Corvette is on its way out.
I would like to say the following: Dropping the car now will have adverse effect internally and externally.
It is admission of failure. Failure of aggressive thinking in the eyes of the organization, failure to develop a saleable product in the eyes of the outside world.
Above-said can be dismissed as sentimentality. Let's see if it can hurt the cash register. I think it can.
Ford enters the field with the Thunderbird, a car of the same class as the Corvette.
If Ford makes success where we failed, it may hurt.
With aggressiveness of Ford publicity, they may turn the fact to their advantage. I don't mean in terms of Thunderbird sales, but in terms of promotion of theirs and depreciation of our general lines.
We will leave an opening in which they can hit at will. "Ford out-engineered, outsold, or ran Chevrolet's pride and joy off the market". Maybe the idea is far-fetched. I can only gauge in terms of my own reactions or actions. In the bare-fisted fight we are in now, I would hit at any opening I could find and the situation where Ford enters and where Chevrolet retreats, it is not an opening, it is a hole!
Now if they can hurt us, then we can hurt them! We are one year ahead and we possibly learned some lessons which Ford has yet to learn.
Is the effort worthwhile? This, I am in no positon to say. Obviously, in terms of direct sales a car for the discriminating low volume market is hardly an efficient investment of efforts. The value must be gauged by effects it may have on an overall picture.
The Corvette failed because it did not meet G.M. standards of a product. It did not have the value for the money.
If the value of a car consists of practical values and emotional appeal, the sports car has very little of the first and consequently has to have an exaggerated amount of the second. If a passenger car must have an appeal, nothing short of a mating call will extract $4,000 for a small two-seater. The Corvette as it was offered had curtailed practical value being a poor performer. With a 6-cylinder engine, it was no better than the medium priced family car.
Timing was also unfortunate. When the novelty appeal was the highest, we hadn't had the cars to sell. When the cars became available, hypnotized by the initial overwhelming response, no promotional effort was made.
The little promotion which was made was designed to depreciate the car rather than enhance it. Hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars contained in the price of a sports or luxury car are paid for exclusivity. What did our promotion say on the radio and advertised in magazines? "Now everybody can have it! Come and get it". What virtues did advertising extoll? Only X inches high, only X inches long, etc. In the country, in which bigger is synonymous with better, and we really know it, we were trying to sell a car, because it is small! Crosley is smaller........
Were there no virtues to talk about? Quite some, but a condensation of best reports which appeared in motoring press previously had more glow and enthusiasm than our advertising.
Summarizing, the promotion was uninspired and half hearted attempt with no evidence of thought or enthusiasm.
Where do we stand now?
The Corvette still has the best and raciest look of all the sports cars, the Thunderbird included. performance is far superior to all the passenger cars and to 99% of the sports cars used on the road. It has flow in respect to passenger protection. Water leaks and cumbersome top and side window. With these minor flaws removed, we have a sports car with as much practical value as the sports care can have.
The borderline between the value and lack of same is not the absolute performance but comparative one. "My car can go X miles per hour does not mean as much as "My car can trim anything on wheels". The '55 Corvette will have this pride attached to its ownership. To be a success, it will need more emotional appeal which can be provided by promotion which will fit the product and inflame the type of customers which can buy the car.
As I see it and put it down, the Corvette is a product different from a passenger automobile having in every phase of operation problems of its own. With sales potential between 3 and at the most 10,000 cars a year, it is bound to be a hindering step-child in an organization which acts and thinks in terms of 1,500,000 units. A subdivision, section, department or what not, but an organization no matter how small but which is directly responsible for the successes of operation is necessary.
An organization which will eat and sleep Corvette as our divisions are eating and sleeping their particular cars.
I am convinced that a group with concentrated objective will not only stand a chance to achieve the desired result, but devise ways and means to make the operation profitable in a direct business sense.
Z. Arkus-Duntov
ZAD:he
For those that don't know the importance and story of what Zora Arkus-Duntov REALLY meant for our beloved car, read the letter that he wrote to the top brass of Cheverolet back in 1953. If it wasn't for AD, and THIS letter, we most likely would not be driving around today in America's Sportscar.
Today SHOULD be a Corvette Holiday IMHO!!
R.I.P. Zora!
“THOUGHTS PERTAINING TO YOUTH, HOT RODDERS, AND CHEVROLET”
The Hot Rod movement and interest in things connected with hop-up and speed is still growing. As an indication: the publications devoted to hot rodding and hop-upping, of which some half dozen have a very large circulation and are distributed nationally, did not exist some six years ago.
From cover to cover, they are full of Fords. This is not surprising that the majority of hot rodders are eating, sleeping, and dreaming modified Fords. They know Ford parts from stern to stern better than Ford people themselves.
A young man buying a magazine for the first time immediatly becomes introduced to Ford. It is reasonable to assume that when hot rodders or hot rod-influenced persons buy transportation, they buy Fords. As they progress in age and income, they graduate from jalopies to second-hand Fords, then to new Fords.
Should we consider that it would be desirable to make these youths Chevrolet-minded? I think that we are in a position to carry out a successful attempt. However, there are many factors againt us:
Loyalty and experience with Ford.
Hop-up industry is geared with Ford.
Law of number-thousands are and will be working on Fords for active competition.
Appearance of Ford’s overhead V8, now one year ahead of us.
When a superior line of GM V8’s appeared, there where remarkably few attempts to develop these, and none too successful. Also, the appearance of the V8’s Chrysler was met with reluctance even though the success of Ardun-Fords conditioned them to the acceptance of Firepower.
This year is the first one in which isolated Chrysler development met with succsess. The Bonneville records are divided between Ardun-Fords and Chryslers.
Like all people, hot rodders are attracted by novelty. However, bitter experience has taught them that new development is costly and long, and therefore they are extremely conservative. From my observation, it takes an advanced hot rodder some three years to stumble toward the successful development of a new design. Overhead Fords will be in this stable between 1956 and 1957.
The slide rule potential of our RPO V8 engine is extremely high, but to let things run their natural course will put us one year behind-and then not too many hot rodders will pick Chevrolet for development. One factor which can largely overcome this handicap would be the availability of ready-enginered parts for higher output:
If the use of the Chevrolet engine would be made easy and the very first attempts would be crowned with succsess, the appeal of the new RPO V8 engine will take hold and not have the stigma of expensiveness like the Cadillac or Chrysler, and a swing to Chevrolet may be anticipated.This means the development of a range of special parts-camshafts, valves, springs, manifolds, pistons, and such-should be made available to the public.
To make good in this field, the RPO parts must pertain not only to the engine but to the chassis coponents as well. In fact, the use of light alloys and brake development, such as composite drums and discs, are already on the agenda of the Research and Development group.
These thoughts are offered for what they are worth-one man’s thinking aloud on the subject.
Signed: Z. Arkus-Duntov
dated: 12/16/53
Then, about a year later - He wrote this letter specific to the CORVETTE....
"The Letter That Saved The Corvette"
"I was walking in the hall of the GM building (before the Technical Center in Warren was built). A man approached (I've since forgotten his name). He buttonholed me and announced with glee, "The Corvette is finished--no more will be built." The man was a high-up member of Chevrolet's sales department and was dressed in "uniform"--a blue suit and yellow shoes."
At that time, Mr. Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer, along with a handful of people like Harry Barr, "Rosie" Rosenberger and Russ Sanders, all former Cadillac employees, were trying to mold Chevrolet with an eye for the future. The Corvette was an important part of changing Chevrolet's image.
The monolithic Chevrolet organization and their 6,000 dealerships all were geared to sell family cars in the millions. Of course, in this regard the Corvette was a flop, and the prevailing attitude of many at Chevy was "good riddance." A Corvette failure would have been a black eye for Ed Cole and the organization. With this in mind, the letter I wrote to Cole and Maurice Olley appears here." - Zora Arkus-Duntov, pg 15, "Duntov: The Man Behind the Corvette" - by the Editors of VETTE Magazine, 1996
INTER-ORGANIZATION LETTERS ONLY
CONFIDENTIAL
TO Mesars. E. N. Cole and M. Olley ADDRESS
FROM Mr. Z. Arkus-Duntov ADDRESS Research & Development Section
SUBJECT CORVETTE DATE October 15, 1954
In this note, I am speaking out of turn. I am giving options and suggestions without knowing all the factors. I realize this but still am offering my thoughts for what they are. In order to make the content clear and short, I will not use the polite apologetic phrasing and say, "it is" instead of "it possibly might be" - and I apologise for this now.
By the looks of it, the Corvette is on its way out.
I would like to say the following: Dropping the car now will have adverse effect internally and externally.
It is admission of failure. Failure of aggressive thinking in the eyes of the organization, failure to develop a saleable product in the eyes of the outside world.
Above-said can be dismissed as sentimentality. Let's see if it can hurt the cash register. I think it can.
Ford enters the field with the Thunderbird, a car of the same class as the Corvette.
If Ford makes success where we failed, it may hurt.
With aggressiveness of Ford publicity, they may turn the fact to their advantage. I don't mean in terms of Thunderbird sales, but in terms of promotion of theirs and depreciation of our general lines.
We will leave an opening in which they can hit at will. "Ford out-engineered, outsold, or ran Chevrolet's pride and joy off the market". Maybe the idea is far-fetched. I can only gauge in terms of my own reactions or actions. In the bare-fisted fight we are in now, I would hit at any opening I could find and the situation where Ford enters and where Chevrolet retreats, it is not an opening, it is a hole!
Now if they can hurt us, then we can hurt them! We are one year ahead and we possibly learned some lessons which Ford has yet to learn.
Is the effort worthwhile? This, I am in no positon to say. Obviously, in terms of direct sales a car for the discriminating low volume market is hardly an efficient investment of efforts. The value must be gauged by effects it may have on an overall picture.
The Corvette failed because it did not meet G.M. standards of a product. It did not have the value for the money.
If the value of a car consists of practical values and emotional appeal, the sports car has very little of the first and consequently has to have an exaggerated amount of the second. If a passenger car must have an appeal, nothing short of a mating call will extract $4,000 for a small two-seater. The Corvette as it was offered had curtailed practical value being a poor performer. With a 6-cylinder engine, it was no better than the medium priced family car.
Timing was also unfortunate. When the novelty appeal was the highest, we hadn't had the cars to sell. When the cars became available, hypnotized by the initial overwhelming response, no promotional effort was made.
The little promotion which was made was designed to depreciate the car rather than enhance it. Hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars contained in the price of a sports or luxury car are paid for exclusivity. What did our promotion say on the radio and advertised in magazines? "Now everybody can have it! Come and get it". What virtues did advertising extoll? Only X inches high, only X inches long, etc. In the country, in which bigger is synonymous with better, and we really know it, we were trying to sell a car, because it is small! Crosley is smaller........
Were there no virtues to talk about? Quite some, but a condensation of best reports which appeared in motoring press previously had more glow and enthusiasm than our advertising.
Summarizing, the promotion was uninspired and half hearted attempt with no evidence of thought or enthusiasm.
Where do we stand now?
The Corvette still has the best and raciest look of all the sports cars, the Thunderbird included. performance is far superior to all the passenger cars and to 99% of the sports cars used on the road. It has flow in respect to passenger protection. Water leaks and cumbersome top and side window. With these minor flaws removed, we have a sports car with as much practical value as the sports care can have.
The borderline between the value and lack of same is not the absolute performance but comparative one. "My car can go X miles per hour does not mean as much as "My car can trim anything on wheels". The '55 Corvette will have this pride attached to its ownership. To be a success, it will need more emotional appeal which can be provided by promotion which will fit the product and inflame the type of customers which can buy the car.
As I see it and put it down, the Corvette is a product different from a passenger automobile having in every phase of operation problems of its own. With sales potential between 3 and at the most 10,000 cars a year, it is bound to be a hindering step-child in an organization which acts and thinks in terms of 1,500,000 units. A subdivision, section, department or what not, but an organization no matter how small but which is directly responsible for the successes of operation is necessary.
An organization which will eat and sleep Corvette as our divisions are eating and sleeping their particular cars.
I am convinced that a group with concentrated objective will not only stand a chance to achieve the desired result, but devise ways and means to make the operation profitable in a direct business sense.
Z. Arkus-Duntov
ZAD:he
Last edited by TOBASCO; 12-18-2010 at 03:52 PM.
12-16-2010, 09:46 PM
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Interesting read. Thanks for posting this up. 
Thanks for sharing.
12-16-2010, 10:13 PM
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12-16-2010, 10:37 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
Thanks for posting...and thank you Zora!!! I did find this quote humorous if it were said today.
"Ford enters the field with the Thunderbird, a car of the same class as the Corvette."
"Ford enters the field with the Thunderbird, a car of the same class as the Corvette."
12-16-2010, 10:53 PM
#10
12-16-2010, 11:06 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
I believe that I saw the original letter dated 12/16/53 by A-D pertaining to making Hot Rod Chevrolet parts readily available from dealers at the National Corvette Museum during my last visit there!
We all owe him a debt of gratitude for saving the Corvette by making it perform and then convincing the brass at GM to keep producing it.
We all owe him a debt of gratitude for saving the Corvette by making it perform and then convincing the brass at GM to keep producing it.
12-16-2010, 11:07 PM
#12
Le Mans Master
Great read. Thanks!
12-17-2010, 12:08 AM
#14
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12-17-2010, 12:37 AM
#16
Melting Slicks
Strange to think what Chevrolet would have become without a Corvette.
Would Camaro have been the flagship? I don't think so.
Would Camaro have been the flagship? I don't think so.
12-17-2010, 11:31 AM
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Quite a few things in life that are available to us now are the responsibilty of people who were thinking well ahead of their time. Zora certainly was one of those people!
Thanks for posting.
Zora certainly saw things differently than MOST of the automotive industry folks of the 50's
Thanks for posting.
Zora certainly saw things differently than MOST of the automotive industry folks of the 50's
