With Redesigned Corvette, GM Ushers In New Era Of American Sports Car

By Sonari Glinton

Published January 15, 2013 at 2:24 AM CST

1 of 12 — The newly redesigned Corvette Stingray is unveiled by General Motors on Sunday. The Corvette's status as a cultural icon presents challenges for GM as it attempts to the bring the beloved brand into the 21st century.

2 of 12 — The first-generation Corvette was introduced in 1953, shown here. This year marks the brand's 60th birthday.

3 of 12 — A 1957 Corvette Roadster sits in a North Palm Beach, Fla., private car museum on Nov. 26.

Washington, D.C., dentist Richard K. Thompson races his 1957 Corvette Stingray at a Maryland track on July 31, 1957. The new 2014 Chevy Corvette revives the long-dormant Stingray name.

4 of 12 — Washington, D.C., dentist Richard K. Thompson races his 1957 Corvette Stingray at a Maryland track on July 31, 1957. The new 2014 Chevy Corvette revives the long-dormant Stingray name.

Johnny Unitas of the NFL's Baltimore Colts sits behind the wheel of his new fire-engine red Corvette in New York City, Dec. 31, 1958. The car was presented by <em>Sport Magazine</em> in recognition of Unitas' outstanding performance in the title playoff game.

5 of 12 — Johnny Unitas of the NFL's Baltimore Colts sits behind the wheel of his new fire-engine red Corvette in New York City, Dec. 31, 1958. The car was presented by Sport Magazine in recognition of Unitas' outstanding performance in the title playoff game.

6 of 12 — A new Corvette is shown on Sept. 14, 1967, in Frankfurt, Germany.

7 of 12 — The 1968 Corvette.

8 of 12 — The 1977 Corvette.

9 of 12 — A limited edition Corvette, Indy Pace Car, 1978.

A 1979 four-door Corvette built to sell for $44,000 (seen May 17, 1980, in Los Angeles) got 16 mpg on highways and was 18 feet long. Chevy's new 2014 Corvette uses aluminum and carbon fiber to make it lighter and faster.

10 of 12 — A 1979 four-door Corvette built to sell for $44,000 (seen May 17, 1980, in Los Angeles) got 16 mpg on highways and was 18 feet long. Chevy's new 2014 Corvette uses aluminum and carbon fiber to make it lighter and faster.

Assembly line workers follow the one-millionth Corvette as the car is pulled off the end of the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky., on July 2, 1992. The white car with red seats duplicated the colors of the first Corvette, built in 1953.

11 of 12 — Assembly line workers follow the one-millionth Corvette as the car is pulled off the end of the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky., on July 2, 1992. The white car with red seats duplicated the colors of the first Corvette, built in 1953.

President Obama sits inside a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 during his visit to the Washington Auto Show at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 31, 2012.

12 of 12 — President Obama sits inside a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 during his visit to the Washington Auto Show at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 31, 2012.

This week, the sleek, speedy Chevy Corvette turns 60 years old. In the increasingly competitive auto business, where few cars make it past their teens, that makes it nearly ancient.

General Motors, however, is not retiring one of America's oldest sports cars just yet, and is embarking on the perilous path of updating the beloved brand. The auto company unveiled the new 2014 Corvette at the Detroit Auto Show on Sunday, a model that also revives the long-dormant Stingray name.

The Corvette is iconic not just in the car industry but also in culture. Tadge Juechter, the chief engineer at Corvette, says the hardest part is bringing the car into the 21st century while making it look like a Corvette.

"We don't want to do retro," Juechter says, who has spent 20 years on the Corvette and almost 40 at GM. "We don't want to go back and do like some manufacturers [and] go relive the glory days."

What's new about this car, and almost every car at the Detroit Auto Show, is the push to make it more fuel efficient. The new Corvette uses aluminum and carbon fiber to keep it lighter and faster.

"It has a low roof and big wheels and a low hood. ... It [just] looks really fast," Juechter says.

It is very different, but you'll still recognize it as a Corvette.

Meanwhile, the current Corvette is in the basement as far as sales go. Chevy barely sold 12,000 last year.

Brian Moody of AutoTrader says that despite its price tag and impracticality, the Corvette's importance goes far beyond a sales number.

"It's almost like a rolling billboard for the company, for the attitude of the company [and] the spirit of the company," he says.

Moody says you don't necessarily build a high-performance sports car to sell a lot of high-performance sports cars; he says more people will probably end up buying Chevy Impalas and Malibus as a result of the Corvette than will actually buy Corvettes.

Eric Gustafson, the editor of Corvette Magazine, loves Corvettes as much as anyone, but he says he's part of a devoted but aging and dwindling crowd.

"The big challenge is to find new customers," Gustafson says, "and not only new customers now, but new customers that are going to buy the car in 10 years."