As automotive events go, the arrival of a new Corvette is a
rarity; just six generations have appeared over 60 years. A new
one is slated to debut at the auto show in Detroit this week,
and although it's considered an American sports car, its birth
was GM's answer to European sports cars such as the Jaguar
XK-120. General Motors design chief Harley Earl created a
concept car code-named XP-122, one of several concepts unveiled
in January 1953 at the GM Motorama show held at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel in New York City. Response to the car was so
enthusiastic, it was put into production basically unaltered.
The rest, as they say, is history. 1953-1962: The first Corvette
looked fast, but used a six-cylinder engine and two-speed
automatic transmission from Chevy's family cars. Each year
brought further improvements. In 1955, Chevy's new small block
V-8 became standard. In 1956, the Corvette gained a three-speed
manual transmission, roll-up windows and door locks; in 1957,
fuel injection. That year also saw the fir