The National Corvette Museum and the  GM Corvette Assembly Plant are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Whether or not you’re a big Corvette fan, you can’t deny that they’re justifiably well-loved and iconic cars, and they have a great following in the US.  I’ve driven by a couple of times now, and finally decided to stop for a visit.  The timing was fortunate too, as the plant will be closed to tours starting in June, and only reopening in late 2018.  I got the combined ticket, $16 to see both the museum and the factory.

I went to the factory tour first, and as with most tours of this type, cameras weren’t allowed.  Having already been through the Ford and Toyota factories, I thought I knew what to expect.  Well, I was wrong!  Unlike the other tours, we were actually taken in groups to walk out onto the factory floor, and along the assembly lines. The tour was about 75 minutes and involved about a mile of walking total.  I learned from this experience that herding tourists is a bit like herding ducks, and almost anything you tell them not to do, they’re sure to try at some point.  Sigh.  But our guides, one in front and one in back, were very patient, and were obviously familiar with the many idiosyncrasies of starry-eyed corvette lovers on vacation.  We were herded to various areas of the factory, where we were corralled temporarily while our guide told us about what we were seeing, the characteristics of the cars, and the factory.  We saw the Corvette Stingray coupe and convertibles, and the Z06 coming down the line, with all possible variations.  All Corvettes are pre-purchased, mostly by new owners, but a few are also purchased speculatively by dealerships.

As with other auto factory tours I’ve been on, we saw the robots spot-welding the frames, with unmanned cart robots delivering parts by following magnetic strips in the floor.  We saw the paint shop from a distance, but spent most of our time viewing the chassis and body assembly lines.  In contrast to other tours, our guide gave us much more technical information about the options available on each model, going so far as to point out, for example, the variety of brake rotors and calipers being added to different vehicles, the characteristics of ceramic rotors, and how they need to be protected during assembly.  It was really quite educational as well as interesting!

Perhaps the part I found most interesting was the area where the Z06 engines were being assembled.  Unlike the rest of the assembly process, each engine is put together by a single technician, who moves along the line with it, and that person’s name is engraved on a plate that’s mounted on the engine.  To add to your coolness when ordering your car, you can actually opt to come to the assembly plant and build your own engine, with the assistance and guidance of one of these technicians.  At the end both of your names go on the engine plate.  I understand that it costs about $5k to do this, but seriously, if you’re already buying a brand new corvette, WHY WOULD YOU NOT DO THIS?!?!?!?  That is soooo cool!!  It takes about 4 hours for a technician to assemble an engine, and twice that if an owner is doing the job.  The chassis and body assembly lines move slowly, at about .09 mph, with the emphasis clearly on quality over quantity or speed of production.

We also spent some time watching the final inspection and testing of the cars, including vibration, water-tightness, and hundreds of computer diagnostics at various speeds.  I imagine that a disappointed Corvette purchaser is a thing to be carefully avoided.

I really enjoyed the plant tour and was rather disappointed that I couldn’t take any pictures.  On the way out to the museum, I drove by the corporate headquarters, however, and just had to pull over.  The signs all around said “Corvette Parking Only,” but there was no one around so… I took my chances.  Just look at that lineup.

This seemed to be the executive parking lot, and the other side held the classics, all clearly being used as daily drivers, and a very pretty sight gleaming there in the sunlight.

By the time I got to the museum it was well after noon, so I stopped for lunch at the Corvette Café first.  Given the décor, I was compelled to order a hamburger and root beer float from the soda jerk.  (Yes, I just like saying “soda jerk.”)

The central corridor leading to the museum contained about six brand new Corvettes of different models.  At first I thought they were on display, until I saw the signs listing the specifications of each car, and the new owners they were waiting for.  While I was there a couple arrived to pick up their new toy, and I watched as they were introduced to all it’s features, and the smiles on their faces when they started it up for the first time.  I’d be smiling pretty happily too, if I was picking up this car… soooooo shiny!!

The museum itself was like many other car museums, with cars arranged mostly chronologically, and a separate section for racing and famous vehicles.   As with previous posts of this sort, I think the best way to tell you something about the cars there is to just add the descriptive sign after the picture.  The following are in no particular order, and are just some of the cars that particularly caught my eye or seemed significant.

There were also sections of the museum dedicated to explaining the evolution of construction and materials used in assembly, and even the type of racing tires used for different conditions.

I could even look through the windows to watch mechanics working on maintenance and preservation of the museum’s collection, which I thought was a very nice touch.

Now here’s a surprise… In the early hours of February 12, 2014 a sinkhole at least 30 feet deep opened up under the National Corvette Museum and swallowed eight valuable cars.  Because it happened so recently, some of the security camera footage has been uploaded to YouTube: https://youtu.be/IukDWhf7U9I.  It happened much more slowly than I would have imagined.

As they were thinking about how to recover from this event, the museum management noticed an increased interest in the museum and the cars that were damaged or destroyed, so they decided to make lemonade by featuring the story of the sinkhole as an exhibit.  Since it opened last year this has already significantly increased the number of visitors!  In what seems a rather heroic feat of good nature, they even managed to keep their sense of humor about the loss!

The exhibit room is an amazing sight.  It’s best described on their website: “Perhaps the most awe-inspiring part of the exhibit is all eight Corvettes on display, placed in almost the same spots as they were prior to their fall. The 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil was restored by General Motors in the fall of 2014 and revealed at the SEMA Auto Show prior to being returned to the Museum. The 1992 ‘One Millionth’ Corvette’s restoration was a much more painstaking process garnering four months of work and 1,200 man-hours as the quest to save the signatures of those who built the car became top priority.  Five of the Corvettes sustained damage beyond repair, including the 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1993 ZR-1 Spyder, 1993 40^th Anniversary, 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 and 2009 1.5 Millionth.  The question remained: what about the 1962 Corvette? On Thursday, February 9 [2017] the car, still covered in dirt and debris from the sinkhole, was removed from display in the Skydome and transferred to a garage bay where it will undergo restoration work to bring it back, better than ever. The on-going work will be performed in the Museum, and guests will be able to see the car’s progress, oftentimes as it is happening. … The Corvette was donated to the Museum in 2011 by David Donoho, a die-hard enthusiast who saved up enough money to buy the car in high school, and ultimately owned it just over 50 years. David was so obsessed, in fact, that he earned the nickname ‘The Weather Man’ because his friends would tease him about how closely he would watch the weather, and quickly take his Corvette home when there was a chance of rain.  The Corvette needs about $15,000 worth of new parts, including a complete front end assembly, hood panel and windshield, but overall the damage was minor compared to the other cars. Thanks to the generosity of General Motors, all $25,000 in restoration expenses have been covered.”  (http://www.corvettemuseum.org/corvette-museum-commemorates-sinkholes-third-anniversary-with-1962-corvette-restoration/)

Although they contemplated leaving the sinkhole open as an attraction, it was eventually determined to be too risky and impractical.  But they’ve painted a jagged line around the room showing where its edges were, and placed the damaged cars in their original positions inside it.  There’s a small porthole where you can look down to the rocks and debris 30 feet below.  (My foot for scale.)

Once I got past the amazing damage that had been done to some of the cars, I got back to enjoying the displays.  I particularly liked this lineup of the Corvette generations.

As I was leaving, they seemed to be setting up a new exhibit.  None of these has signs yet, but they sure were pretty to look at.

And… exit through the gift shop…

From the café to the sinkhole, there was a completeness and quality about the museum that was really noticeable.  Just to show you what I mean, this was the ladies’ room…

I’m glad I finally got there, and I really enjoyed both the National Corvette Museum and the GM Corvette Assembly Plant more than I expected.  I wouldn’t mind coming back here someday with someone who actually knows something about Corvettes.  If that’s you…. you need to go here!