Among Faltering American Brands,Fans Drive Corvette Success

A brand-new corvette sits on the line at the assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky.
Photograph by Michelle Rindels

The first Chevy Corvette rolled off a Detroit assembly line two days after auto builder Dave Chrisley was born. So it only seemed proper that Chrisley buy his fire-engine red ‘Vette around his — and the brand’s — 50th birthday.

“I’d say, ‘Well, you know they made the Corvette for me because I’m two days older than it is,’” Chrisley would tell his friends.

The Bowling Green, Ky., resident not only obsesses over Corvettes (he and his wife have owned five), but he assembles them at the local plant. He’s also a prime example of why the sporty Corvette brand is defying the downfall of American-made cars.

The market evolves

In a floundering domestic auto industry, where many workers worry about layoffs and cutbacks, many employees at the Bowling Green Corvette plant feel a sense of security as they assemble the custom-made sports cars. While GM’s U.S. sales plunged 30 percent in May 2008 and the company announced plans to close four North American plants, Corvette sales have dipped only slightly. According to the company, sales from the first four months of 2008 are down 12.6 percent from the first four months of 2007 but are showing signs of recovery.

“People who are attracted to buying Corvettes – the economy just isn’t affecting them,” said Fred Kayser, president of the car club Corvettes Limited. “Corvettes aren’t going to hurt at all.”

Kayser describes resilience among luxury goods amid downturns in the overall economy.

“People with money are always going to have money,” said Eldon Renaud, president of United Auto Workers Local 2164, the plant’s union.

The Corvette in particular is insulated from the fluctuations of the auto industry because it has a well-established niche market, said William Davis, an economics professor at Western Kentucky University. With Corvette clubs scattered across the country, such a purchase is a rite of passage into an enthusiastic subculture.

And because the 430 horsepower base model starts at $47,000 new, compared to nearly $73,000 for a new Porsche 911 with only 325 horses, Chrisley calls it the “blue-collar sports car.”

An American Icon

While Wendy Clark, GM spokesperson, said most of her customers choose the car as a “passion purchase,” the Corvette is not entirely impractical. In a market that demands greater fuel efficiency, the ever-evolving ‘Vette seems to hold its own. Chrisley says his car can get as much as 30 miles per gallon on the highway.

Because the vehicle is priced within the range of many working-class Americans, Bowling Green plant employees can often afford the very product they build. An estimated 60 plant workers own Corvettes, which is why Chrisley founded a fan club among employees just over a year ago.

A major source of their pride, Chrisley says, is that the car is American-made. That makes it even more significant when the Corvette outperforms exotic European sports cars on their own turf in races such as France’s Le Mans.

Fans to the Death

Whatever the reason for the Corvette’s success, what is unmistakable is the dedication of the vehicle’s cult following. Tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage to the Corvette’s Bowling Green birthplace each year. For workers at the plant – a tourist destination that draws tens of thousands of visitors annually – their jobs are secure as long as fans like Ray Haas are around.

Haas bought his first Corvette 25 years ago and has restored it twice. Though the vehicle is older than most college students, the odometer is barely past 82,000 miles. Haas tows the car from its winter home in Florida to Kentucky in a protective trailer and only gets behind the wheel once he’s reached his destination.

Asked if he’d ever trade in his vintage ‘Vette, Haas grew serious.

“I’ll be buried in this car,” he said.