Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Corvette

The Corvette is, and always has been America's sports car. First born in 1953, the Corvette sparked a new love for all things cars with Americans. It's had its fair share of engines over the years, too, ranging from a little inline six cylinder, to the most famous V8s. Now, though, you can get a wide variety of trimlines, with various V8 engine and transmission combos; truly a performance bargain, and a force to be reckoned with.
When the oil crisis hit in 1973-1974, the whole car industry took the brunt of the impact, the Corvette included. Gone were the fiery 454s, and 427s of the prime muscle car days, and in their place rested emissions-choked 350s, and in some cases, the godawful 305. Yes, the same engine that powered the pickup trucks was chucked underneath the fiberglass hood of America's sports car. The last of the C3s was a pretty bleak time for this icon. Iffy styling shunned by many a purist, ugly wheels hated by most diehards, and engines that were more suited to a truck or utility than speed. But forget all that.
The basic formula was still there; you still had your t-tops, you still had a manual transmission, and it was still a two-seater and with basic mechanicals shared by most of Chevy's lineup, performance parts were not that hard to come by, should you be dissatisfied with the meager performance this generation offered.
As Corvettes go, I'm a weird enthusiast. I don't really like Corvettes as a whole, but I like certain examples all across the board. I know many people will cry and whine that I'm saying this, but I honestly quite like this one as its presented. Yes, I realize this generation is all but frowned upon, but for some strange reason this one works. Maybe its the combination of the color and wheels, but I have no qualms about this example. Honestly, this is probably one of maybe five that I've cared enough about to shoot as a set, and that should say something right there. I normally pass on Corvettes but apparently I liked this one enough to give it a thorough look over, and I'm glad I did. I haven't seen it since, and I will likely never see it again.