Repair-It

The C4 Corvette was a game changer, for the brand, when it came out in ‘84. The late C3 Vettes were embarrassing and were ruining the Corvette image/legacy. The C4 saved the Corvette from mediocrity and put the Vette back in the game. Just look at how it has evolved since then!!!

I think a lot of you are too young to remember how bad things were back then. The late 70s/early 80s were miserable for the American car market as a whole. It was around the mid-80s that all American performance cars slowly started to get better.

You kids are spoiled today. Look at all the fun, good quality toys you get to choose from nowadays. It hasn't always been this way and that is why the C4 was such a breath of fresh air.

The 1988-1989 Corvette Challenge series came about because, in the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) Showroom Stock GT category, Corvette had no challengers. From the fourth generation Corvette's introduction in 1984 through the 1987 season Corvette's combination of superior handling, excellent brakes, sticky Goodyear "Gatorback" VR50 tires and the Small Block V8's power and torque ran away and hid from its Showroom Stock competition. It didn't matter what the series was called, Playboy Challenge, Showroom Stock GT or Escort GT Endurance, Corvettes were unbeatable. Literally. They won every race they entered, with the only competition coming from among the Corvette entrants.

In racing dominance by a single marquee is a promoter's nightmare and by 1987 competing manufactures were ready to withdraw their support for one of SCCA's most successful and high visibility series. SCCA responded by removing Corvette from the approved list of competitors for 1988, leaving the tiddlers to compete among themselves. Big Dogs, however, like to run in packs and that's what the Corvette racers, under leadership of John Powell, did. Powell was a successful Corvette racer, operator of one of Canada's leading competition driving schools and creator of the Player's Cup, a Canadian series for Camaros and Firebirds. He quickly gathered support from the Corvette drivers and entrants and proposed a one-make series to the SCCA to take advantage of Corvette's popularity with both entrants and fans.

Perhaps you would be interested on a more family friendly C4?

Word is they built a cable test mules to do real world long term testing of the powertrain (presumably workout the transverse leaf IRS) and also used them to carry spare parts and test gear during pre-Production testing.

My mixed commute get’s me 24.5 to 25.0 which is exactly what I averaged with my 2008 Civic Si that this C5 replaced. It gets freakishly good fuel economy, rides exactly as well as my Honduh, holds 2 golf bags (or 5 rifle bags), and has been reliable as the sunrise for year I’ve owned it. Insurance is cheaper than my Civic too, because fat old men don’t wrap their garage queens around telephone poles!

5. There are TONS of cars you can buy for 5k, and even 2 of before buying 2x Taurus, but how many cars for 5k can you pass newer STIs, M3s, Cooper S on slicks, Spec Miatas, BRZ/FRS, AMGs on and on and on? I can load some videos to YouTube if you want proof.